Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dark Matter were beings made of pure darkness and negative energy. And as one would expect, the light was a natural enemy of these beings. Weaker variants resembled black, one-eyed blobs with orange fins protruding from their bodies, while their leaders were a pure white color. Of course, some Dark Matter may change their form and color over time in order to adapt to their environment. However...there was a rare chance that a Dark Matter will be born...different from the others. And when they're "different", they were often treated as lesser beings. And in some cases, they would even be banished or killed if their leader didn't like them.

Just now, this specific Dark Matter had been banished from his own home, he vaguely remembered his brother's words as he floated through space. "Find a new home, and don't look back."

The Dark Matter was still young, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to find a new home in this empty space. He wasn't even sure about what he had done to earn Lord Zero's disdain. He was just like every other Dark Matter...right? The only thing that truly set him apart from his siblings were his two eyes, but other than that he had the same black color and orange fins as the rest of them.

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now, he shut his eyes tightly and wished that he was back home with his brother. Out here, he felt as if someone, or something, could kill him at any moment. The rays given off by the big light didn't help, either. If anything, it wanted to keep the Dark Matter from opening his eyes. Perhaps this was why Lord Zero wanted to extinguish the light so badly? Because not only was the light blinding, it also felt like it was burning the Dark Matter's skin.

Without realizing it, the Dark Matter was being pulled in by a large rock with rings that circled around it. Once he noticed, he rotated his fins as quickly as he could to get away from the rock. Unfortunately, its pull became stronger and stronger until the Dark Matter started to plummet into the atmosphere. If he had a mouth, he would be screaming right now. His eyes were looking all over the place, he inevitably passed out as he fell past one of the planet's rings.

He might not have found that "new home" his brother was talking about, but at least now he was going to a place where Lord Zero wouldn't have to worry about him ever again.

...He was alive? But how?

"..H...lo?"

The Dark Matter began to hear a voice from somewhere, but it sounded so distant. He could still feel the light burning his skin, the heat from it made him feel sick.

"Hey, are you all right?"

The voice was clearer this time, and the Dark Matter could feel someone nudge him. He didn't want to move, he wanted to stay like this until the sick feeling went away. However, his eyes opened wide as he felt someone tug his fins.

"Come on, wake up!"

Once the Dark Matter fully regained his senses, he quickly rotated his fins and tried to fly. He could hear the person yell in shock. Unfortunately, the Dark Matter couldn't fly any higher than an inch or two off the ground, he managed to collapse not long after he tried to take off. There was so much pain coursing through his body that he could barely breathe.

"I'm sorry!" the stranger said as he gently placed a hand on the Dark Matter's side. "You weren't waking up, so I thought that maybe..." He went silent, as if he couldn't bear the thought of finishing his sentence. "A-Anyway, how are you feeling? Do you need food? O-or water?"

The Dark Matter huffed bitterly as he tried to open his eyes. He didn't know what "food" was, nor did he know why this creature was being so nice to him. Though not only was the Dark Matter sick, he also noticed that cuts and scrapes had formed all over his body. It was as if he had gotten into a fight, and usually his brother would've taken care of him whenever he got hurt...But the Dark Matter had never been hurt THIS badly, before. Not for a while, at least...

"You can't talk, can you?" asked the stranger. "Wanna come to my house? You can stay with me until  you're better, OK?"

It wasn't like the Dark Matter had a choice, though he got a better look at the stranger as he was thrown onto his back. The stranger had a pink body, two blue eyes, a hole near the bottom of his face, and a pair of red appendages below him. Using what little strength he still had, the Dark Matter tucked his fins into his body and let out a weak breath. He felt so weak that he looked as if he was going to cry. How the pink creature could live in such a bright world confused him to no end.

"I'm Kirby, by the way." the stranger said happily. "And what about you, do you have a name?" It seemed more like he was asking out of politeness more than anything.

It was Dark Matter, just like his siblings. That's what the stranger meant by "name", right? As far as Lord Zero was concerned, all lesser Dark Matter were the same. Only special ones ever got to receive names.

"You don't have one, do you?" Kirby asked curiously. "That's OK, I'm sure we can come up with one later."

The Dark Matter wanted to protest, but he didn't have the strength to fight back. Then again...maybe having a name might not be such a bad thing? It was a new world, after all.

The duo had made their way into a small dome, and thankfully, the inside of the dome was more bearable than the outside. The light still shown through, but Kirby blocked it out with a cloth before dropping his guest onto the nest below him. The nest was much softer and fluffier than the Dark Matter expected, he could feel himself sink into one of the soft rocks beside him.

"You stay here," Kirby said sternly as he climbed out of the nest. Afterwards, he ran outside. "I'm gonna go look for something to help you with, OK?"

The Dark Matter sighed as he nuzzled against one of the soft rocks. For a moment, he liked to imagine that he was back home with his brother in the comfort of the darkness. He liked to imagine that the two of them were in a soft nest far away from Lord Zero. Of course, his brother probably wouldn't have liked such a bright place to begin with, but he probably would've had a better time putting up with the light here.  Especially with that cloak of his.

The Dark Matter's thoughts quickly returned to him as he felt a stinging sensation on his wounds, he saw that Kirby was by his side again. He sprayed a burning liquid onto him, standing beside the bed was more liquid with a cloth inside.

"I know it hurts, but hang in there," Kirby said  sympathetically as he placed something over the wound. "I'll give you some food after this, OK?"

The Dark Matter laid there with his eyes half-closed, wouldn't it have been better to let the wounds heal on their own? That way there wouldn't be as much pain involved? Still, Kirby was trying to be as gentle with him as possible. And whenever the Dark Matter winced, Kirby would stroke his back in an attempt to keep him calm. Once Kirby was done dressing the Dark Matter's wounds, he placed a wet cloth over his eyes and a round, red object onto the bed.

"It's an apple," Kirby explained. "You're supposed to eat it."

Eat it? What was that supposed to mean? He sprouted a nubby arm and nudged it, which caused it to fall to the floor. Kirby picked it up from the ground and dusted it off.

"Are you too sick to eat? That's OK," Kirby said as he inhaled the apple. "I'll give you something later, then."

Oh...was he supposed to absorb the apple? It's not like he needed to do such a thing to begin with, but now he was curious.

The Dark Matter jumped as he heard a knocking sound, Kirby jumped off the nest and headed towards the entrance of the dome. He opened the entrance and greeted the creatures on the other side. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Kirby!" said one of the creatures as they walked through the entrance. Two of them were white with orange spots, though the taller of the two had brown spots as well. Sitting on top of the taller creature was another pink creature. Unlike Kirby, this creature had more appendages.  Perhaps this one was a Kirby as well? Or maybe even a mutated Kirby?

The Dark Matter started to tense up as the group of creatures got closer to him. They didn't look malicious, but their curious gazes didn't bring him any comfort either.

"So...it seems like you've actually found a new friend, huh?" asked the smaller creature. "How did you find him?"

"He fell from the sky like a comet," Kirby explained. "He's sick, that's why he's on my bed right now."

"You're so kind, Kirby!" said the Kirby-like creature. "I'm glad that this thing has someone like you to look after him~!"

"Aw,  are we actually being nice today, Chuchu?" the smaller creature teased.  So that wasn't a Kirby? Regardless, Chuchu glared at him in response.  "Zip it!"

"Hey, I was just messin' with ya!"

"Well I don't  think it's a good idea to get everyone riled up," said the taller creature as he put Chuchu on the floor. "Besides, we don't want to scare Kirby's guest...do we?"

"Right...sorry," said the smaller creature. He slowly made his way closer to the bed along with the rest of the creatures.

"I'm Rick," said the smaller creature.

"My name is Chuchu!"

"And I'm Nago," said the larger creature. "What's your name?"

"I don't think he has one," Kirby explained. The group's eyes widened as they looked back at the Dark Matter.

"Well  that won't do at all," said Nago as he gently put his paw on the Dark Matter's back, though he frowned when he noticed how warm and sticky he was. "Perhaps we can come up with something right now?"

"Oh!" Kirby looked up at the ceiling as he tried to think. "How about 'Berry'?"

"I dunno," said Rick, "I don't remember seeing a berry with eyes before."

"I'd like to see you come up with something, then!" Chuchu said in a snarky tone, Rick huffed as he put his paws onto his waist. "All right, how about 'Squishy'?"

"Does he look like a squid to you?" Chuchu argued. "I think 'Comet' sounds better."

"But he's not a comet."

"YOU'RE not a comet!"

"Uh...W-which one do you like better?" Kirby asked in an attempt to get back on the subject. If the Dark Matter was being honest, he didn't like either name...Or at least the way Rick and Chuchu were saying them. He turned his attention to Nago and nuzzled his paw.

"Oh, you want ME to come up with something?" Nago asked as he pet the Dark Matter again. He hummed softly as he tried to think, his ears perked upwards as an idea popped into his head. "How about 'Gooey'?"

The Dark Matter glanced at Nago before nuzzling his paw again, the creature smiled victoriously. "All right, Gooey it is then!"

"What kind of name is that?" Chuchu asked in disappointment, only for Nago to shrug in response. "He looks kind of gooey to me."

"Oh, whatever!" Chuchu said while rolling her eyes. Kirby gave her a smile. "Cheer up, Chuchu. At least he's got a name, now."

Of course, the Dark Matter wasn't sure what a "Gooey" was, but he was willing to adopt the name nonetheless. It made him feel as if he stood out even more from his siblings, but he was fine with it as long as the others had something to call him.

Things started out pretty rough for the young Dark Matter, but perhaps staying here won't be such a bad thing? He had fulfilled his brother's wish in finding a new "home", but he couldn't help but wonder how long this would last?

Chapter Text

The darkness of the void stretch as far as the eye could see, which was a perfect home for the colony. But even with the vast amount of space, this was not enough to satisfy Lord Zero.  While he quietly examined the world outside with the world's Guardian, the young Dark Matter was watching his brother's sword techniques. Though his brother usually looked like the rest of their siblings, he would often take on a form that gave him more of a body with spines. Supposedly, this form was called a "Blade" form, though most Dark Matter didn't have spines like he did.

Just as his brother finished his demonstration, he handed the sword over to the Dark Matter. "Now I'd like to see you try."

Curiously, the Dark Matter formed small, nubby arms from his body and attempted to hold the sword. His eyes shimmered in amusement as he tried to swing it, but he accidentally dropped the sword by mistake.

"I suppose that's one way to handle a sword," his brother said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He grabbed the sword with an invisible hand and looked at his brother. "You still have a long way to go before you can fight like me, though."

The Dark Matter let out an annoyed sigh. He was different compared to the rest of their siblings. He couldn't talk, he couldn't hold onto anything like his siblings could, and he didn't have the abilities that his siblings typically had. He still remembered the time he tackled an N-Z in an attempt to possess it. Nonetheless, his brother gave him a patient look...well, as patient as one would look with a mask on, anyway.

A large, white blob with a red eye began to hover over the young Dark Matter, who quickly hid under his brother's cloak. The larger blob was giving the duo a bitter look, though the Dark Matter's brother looked unphased by this.

"Have you found a new world for us to invade, Lord Zero?"

"I have not," Lord Zero bellowed. "And how has training with that...defect been going?"

"We've made...some progress. And though we still have a long way to go, he's gotten better at using a sword."

"I would hope so, because the last thing we need around here is another disappointment!" Lord Zero said bitterly as he emphasized his last word. As he hovered away, the Dark Matter could feel himself getting wrapped in his brother's cloak.

Lord Zero was getting impatient with the Dark Matter, it was only a matter of time before something happened to him. It didn't help that the rest of his siblings weren't too fond of him to begin with. And despite what his brother had said, he wasn't getting any better at all.

The Dark Matter sank into his brother's chest as he got further away from Lord Zero. His brother wasn't one to show his emotions towards others. But even then, it was obvious that he was worried about the younger Dark Matter.

Perhaps one day he'll earn Lord Zero's respect. But with how everything was going, it didn't seem likely. For now, he was just happy that his brother was here to protect him.

Gooey didn't know how long he had been asleep for. From what he could remember, Kirby and Rick had ran off to look for a thing called "medicine". Nago was sitting at the foot of the bed while Chuchu drew something on the ground...Actually, those drawings looked an awful lot like Gooey's siblings.

"You're really looking forward to seeing the sunflowers, huh?" Nago asked.

"Oh, you have no idea!" Chuchu replied. "Nyupun and I have been looking forward to it for a while now."

"Do you plan on bringing anybody else?"

"Well I'm obviously gonna ask Kirby," Chuchu said happily. "You could probably bring Shiro if you want."

"I...don't know about that," Nago replied. His face turned red as he looked away, though his eyes widened as he noticed that Gooey had woken up. "Hey, Gooey...are you feeling any better?"

Though not as bad as it was earlier, the sick feeling was still there. Chuchu brought an arm over his eyes and frowned, "What do you think made him sick in the first place?"

"Maybe it's heat stroke?" Nago suggested. Chuchu shrugged as she took the cloth off of Gooey's face and dipped it into the bucket. "I just hope he isn't too dried out. As an octopus, I can tell you right now that it's one of the worst feelings out there."

Gooey closed his eyes again as Chuchu placed the wet cloth back on him. So Chuchu wasn't a Kirby, but what kind of creature was an octopus supposed to be? Maybe they were made out of water?

The door opened, and Kirby and Rick had walked inside. They were being followed by another person, however. He appeared to be a blue Kirby with a mask over his face and a cloth that flowed behind him. Gooey couldn't help but stare in admiration, this must've been Kirby's brother, he was even in his "Blade" form.

"So this is the creature you were talking about?" asked the blue Kirby. "And you said he had orange fins earlier?"

"He did when he fell from the sky," Kirby explained. "Do you know what he is, Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight stared at Gooey for about a minute. All Gooey could do was stare back. He was fairly certain that Meta Knight was a Kirby, given how round both of their bodies were. And thankfully, it seemed like Meta Knight had an idea of what Gooey was, too.

"I think you might've found a Dark Matter," Meta Knight explained. "It looks like he's started mutating, too."

"What do you mean?" Nago asked.

"Well, Dark Matter usually only have one big eye," Meta Knight explained. "They're said to be made from darkness itself, and they can control others to do their bidding. But it looks like he's started to change. And since he's still young, he could probably become a valuable ally one day."

"Really?" Kirby asked with an amused look on his face. Nago tilted his head in curiosity. "And how did you know this?"

"I have my reasons," Meta Knight said quickly as he wrapped himself with the cloth on his back. He gave Kirby a stern look. "But know this...Dark Matter aren't something to be taken lightly. This one could take control of you too if you're not careful."

That may be true for most of Gooey's siblings, but Gooey himself couldn't control anyone even if he wanted to. Thankfully, the others didn't seem too bothered despite what Meta Knight had said.

"Oh, we'll be fine." Kirby said while he waved an arm dismissively. "Besides...I took down Nightmare, I can handle a sick Dark Matter."

Meta Knight's eyes grew dim. "Yes, but...you were also the one that released Nightmare to begin with."

"Well, Dedede should've told me what happened before I fixed the Star Rod." Kirby said bitterly, causing Meta Knight to roll his eyes in response.

"Ah gees," Rick said as walked over to the bed. He poured a liquid into an oval and held it over to Gooey's face. "Here, this'll make you feel better!"

Gooey grabbed the oval and absorbed the liquid without a second thought. Chuchu gave him a curious look, "How did you drink all of that without gagging?"

"He probably can't taste anything," Rick suggested. Whatever the case may be, Gooey continued to sit there with a content look on his face. If that medicine was supposed to help the sick feeling go away, then he was sure that it'll work eventually. In fact, he could feel it working right now.

It had gotten darker the second time Gooey had woken up. There was still a light outside, but it wasn't as strong as it was before. It made the dome look more blue-ish.

Nago and Kirby were curled up beside Gooey while Chuchu slept on Kirby's back. Rick was snoring on the floor, and there was no sign of Meta Knight. Perhaps he left a while ago?

Gooey hadn't expected anyone to be nice to him when he came into this world. Everyone back home save for Brother and his old home's guardian weren't very kind, so he would've expected the same thing to be the case here, too. But instead, they were watching over him like his brother would've done.

Perhaps staying here really wasn't a bad thing? After all, he had yet to see what this world was really like. Lord Zero would never approve of such a bright world, but Gooey was sure that he could get used to it here.

Chapter Text

Several days had gone by, and with each passing day Gooey started to feel better. The moment he felt better, he would stretch his fins and fly around, and to say he was grateful to Kirby and his friends would be an understatement.

Of course...Gooey didn't have his own house like Kirby did, nor did he have anywhere else to go, so he was free to stay at the house for as long as he liked. He would spend most of the day either sleeping or flying around. However, he didn't want to go outside during the day, and Kirby wasn't awake during the night, so as time went on, Gooey couldn't help but feel a little trapped inside the house.

It was morning, and Kirby was going to set out for the day. Gooey was still under the covers, as he was ready to sleep the day away again. It was all that he could do while he was here, but his eyes opened wide as he felt Kirby tug the blanket.

"Hey, wanna go for a walk with me?" Kirby asked, earning a strange look from Gooey...Though to be fair, he gave everyone strange looks with those wonky eyes of his.

"I thought that since you've been in here for so long, you'd wanna go outside for a change."

Although it would be nice to go outside with Kirby for once, Gooey couldn't help but worry about the big light. He looked back and forth between the window and Kirby, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to tell him this. Noticing his distress, Kirby crawled under the bed and quickly pulled out a white and red...sword? The handle was curved, and the "blade" opened into a more "round" shape at the top.

"It's a parasol," Kirby said while handing it over to Gooey. "It should help keep you out of the sun."

Gooey's eyes sparkled as he accepted the parasol, he didn't think that there was any other way to keep the sun off of his skin. But with this thing, he could go outside for as long as he wanted.

Kirby lead Gooey outside. The light was blinding at first, but Gooey was quickly mesmerized by all of the colors this world had to offer. He hadn't noticed before due to being sick and in pain, but there were so many greens, blues, and yellows that it was starting to make him feel dizzy. He had to wonder what his brother would think if he were to end up in this world. Would he enjoy it? Maybe he would.

Gooey stretched his fins as he began to hover. He struggled to hold the parasol over him at first, but he kept a strong enough grip to keep it from falling. He stayed close to Kirby as the duo kept moving, though he couldn't help but get distracted whenever something caught his attention. Along the way, he had seen orange creatures the size of Kirby, brown pillars with green growths at the top, and white...what were they called again? Sunflowers? He grabbed one and showed it to Kirby in an attempt to ask what it was.

"That's a flower," Kirby said. "Don't they have flowers where you live?"

No, although they were shaped like Gooey's siblings. He knew what a flower was at least, but what was a sunflower?

The duo paused as one of those orange creatures from earlier walked by with a box in his hands. Unlike the others, this one had a blue cloth over his head. Kirby ran towards the creature and gave him a curious look. "Hey, whatcha got there?"

"I could ask you the same thing," the creature said while he glanced at Gooey for a second. "Are you taking him to see King Dedede?"

"No...why?"

"Because it's his birthday today," the creature replied. For a moment, Kirby looked as if the creature attacked him. "I-...kinda forgot."

"Well, I'm sure he'd be happy to see his favorite rival regardless."

Gooey was confused, did Kirby have his own "King" like Lord Zero? And what was a "birthday?" He still had so much to learn about this place.

"Anyway, this is Gooey," Kirby told the creature. "And Gooey, this is my friend, Waddle Dee."

Waddle Dee waved at Gooey before he focused on holding the box. Whatever was in there looked like it was heavy. "So I'm guessing that he hasn't met King Dedede yet, huh?"

"Not yet," Kirby said. He brought Gooey closer to him and started whispering. "Dedede's a bit of a jerk, but he's not a bad guy when you get to know him."

Soon, the group had made their way to a big gathering. There were Waddle Dees everywhere. Not only that, there were boxes sitting on one end of the table while food was placed neatly on the other end. Gooey expected King Dedede to resemble Kirby or Waddle Dee, but instead the creature that stood out here the most had a blue body and a red cloak. He was talking to another Waddle Dee, though this one only had one eyeball. When the group made their way to the creature, he greeted them with a wave.

"Hey, Kirby...Did ya come to steal a piece of my cake?"

"Maybe I did," Kirby said with a smug look on his face. Dedede grinned as he sat up from the chair, "You've gotta fight me for it, first!"

Gooey panicked as he hid behind Kirby. He'd been in a few fights with his siblings before, And when his siblings got angry nobody was able to leave unscathed. Even his brother had a temper that rivaled the rest of their siblings, so seeing him fight against their siblings was never a good sight. And once Lord Zero got involved...well, it barely ended without some kind of punishment.

"Hey, is something wrong?" asked Dedede as he walked around the table, only to step back as Gooey dropped to the floor to defend himself. Kirby patted his back, "He probably thinks you're gonna hurt him."

"But I don't even know this kid," Dedede replied. He scratched his head as he tried to think, "Do you think he might've...gone through some tough times before comin' here?"

"I dunno," Kirby replied. "He can't talk, so it's not like I could ask him to explain it either."

"Well...How about we settle this somewhere else while your friend watches over my party?" Dedede suggested. He took some cake from the table and handed it over to Gooey. "I'll even pay him in advance."

Gooey wasn't worried about himself, he was worried about Kirby. He gave his friend a worried look as if he were telling him not to go through with it, should he end up a mess like his own brother after a fight. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Kirby was going to back down.

"We'll be back before you know it, OK?" Kirby said before he began to follow Dedede. As they left the party, several other Waddle Dees began to follow them. So now, Gooey was sitting on the ground. He started grabbing chunks out of the cake and absorbing them. He still didn't understand the appeal of "eating" in the first place, but the other Waddle Dees happily absorbed their food, so the least he could do was be polite.

Waddle Dee placed his present on the table and grabbed a piece of cake before sitting next to Gooey. He gave the Dark Matter a reassuring pat on the back. "I know you're probably worried about Kirby, but he'll be fine. Besides, those two mostly just fight for the fun of it at this point."

Ah, so their "fights" were more like training, then? Perhaps Dedede wanted to show Kirby how to do something new? Compared to Gooey, Kirby must've been the perfect pupil when it came to training. He could probably even wield a sword like Gooey's brother.

"So...where did you come from, Gooey?" Waddle Dee asked. Gooey looked up at the sky, though he still held his parasol over himself.

"Oh, you came from the sky?" Waddle Dee asked. Gooey nodded, he was thankful that Waddle Dee got it right.

"I get it, so you're like Kirby when he first came to Popstar," Waddle Dee said as he absorbed a piece of his cake. Gooey's eyes widened in disbelief, so Kirby wasn't from this world? And what about Meta Knight? Did he come from the same world as Kirby? Were they banished from their home, too? There were so many questions going through Gooey's head that he wasn't even sure if - or how - he was going to ask them all.

"You see, nobody knows where any of Kirby's species came from. But when he first came to Popstar, he wanted to know everything about all the people that lived here...well, that and the food. He didn't get along with everybody at first, especially not our beloved King. But after trying to make Dream Land a better place, everyone eventually warmed up to him. Even King Dedede likes to spend time with him every once in a while."

But why would anyone hate Kirby? From the short amount of time that Gooey had known him, he was always willing to help out whenever he could.

Soon, Kirby and Dedede returned to the party. Based on Dedede's defeated look, it was safe to assume that Kirby won their "fight".

"So, how're you still holdin' up?" Dedede asked.

"We're fine," Waddle Dee replied. "We were just talking. So about the fight-"

"I lost," Dedede said bitterly. "But...I guess I can't be too mad. I got to fight Kirby today, so there's that."

Speaking of which, Kirby was already at the table. He grabbed the biggest piece of cake he could find before he quickly inhaled it. Gooey scooted towards Kirby and stared at him with...Admiration? Curiosity? Hope? He wasn't too sure, himself.

"Did...you do something to him, Waddle Dee?" Kirby asked as he placed a hand on Gooey's back.

"Well...we were mostly talking about you while you were gone," Waddle Dee said.

Kirby hummed quietly as he looked down at Gooey. "I guess we could talk about my adventures another time. Right now, we have a birthday to celebrate."

Right, there was still a birthday going on. But still, Gooey couldn't help but wonder...How did Kirby get used to living on Popstar to begin with? Did he ever miss his old home? Was he defective, too? Or maybe he was sent here for a different reason? Whatever the case may be, Gooey was happy to know that he wasn't alone in this world. Perhaps one day, he could be more like Kirby as well?

Chapter Text

It was yet another morning, and Gooey was sitting outside of Kirby's house with the parasol held over him. He watched as the clouds drifted carelessly across the blue sky, he was starting to notice that he really liked blue as a color. The sky back home was sometimes blue, though it was often blocked off by clouds that were darker than the ones found on Popstar. His brother once told him that the sky was different in other worlds, and since Gooey could go outside whenever he wanted, he was starting to appreciate the daytime a little more.

Kirby rubbed his eyes as he step outside of the house. The two of them were about to greet each other, but Kirby gave the blob a look of concern.

"You look pale," Kirby said as he placed a hand on Gooey's back. "Are you sick again?"

Actually, Gooey felt fine...although his body did look a little lighter than it did before. He's heard of stories where Dark Matter would gain color if they stayed away from Lord Zero for too long, including one where a Dark Matter had all kinds of colors on his body. But as far as Gooey was aware, he wasn't sick.

"Hey, guys!"

Walking along the dirt road was Chuchu, she was being followed by...an octopus, right? This one was yellow, and they wore a white hat with a pink ribbon tied to it.

"Hi, Chuchu! Hi, Nyupun!" Kirby said as he waved to his friends. "Are you off to see the sunflowers?"

"Well...yeah," Chuchu said as she bashfully hid her arms behind her back. "But I was wondering if you'd wanna come with us. You could even bring Gooey if you want."

Kirby frowned as he looked in Gooey's direction. "I don't know...he looks kind of pale today."

"But he looks fine to me," Nyupun chimed in. "Maybe he's learning how to change color?"

"Or maybe he's mutating," Chuchu added. "You remember what Meta Knight said about Dark Matter mutating, don't you, Kirby?"

"Oh, maybe!" Kirby said as he began to smile. Gooey couldn't help but look at Kirby with a worried expression. He hadn't been on Popstar for very long, so how could he start changing so quickly?

Still, the others didn't seem to be bothered by it. So perhaps it was best not to think about it for the time being. Besides, Chuchu's friend seemed pretty nice. They smiled as they looked at Gooey.

"I'm Nyupun by the way, it's nice to meet you!"

The feeling was mutual, one could tell that by looking at Gooey's eyes at that moment. He felt that today was going to be a good day.

It was a long walk, but the group managed to find themselves in a field of sunflowers. Unlike the flowers Gooey had seen before, these ones were actually pretty big. However, they were a lot smaller than most Dark Matter.

They were nothing like his siblings, despite looking so similar. In fact, looking at them made Gooey feel...warm. It was hard to describe, but the best thing he could compare it to was the warmth that the sun itself gave Popstar every day. The young Dark Matter couldn't help but playfully twirl his parasol like it were deflecting the sun's rays.

Gooey paused as he saw something green leaping across the ground, he began to follow the strange new creature. Kirby and Chuchu were more focused on the flowers, but when Nyupun noticed that Gooey had taken off, they began to follow him.

"Where are you going?" Nyupun asked as they caught up to Gooey. The Dark Matter glanced at them before looking over at the creature. It jumped into a body of water, where there were even more of these creatures.

"You just wanted to look at the frogs, huh?" Nyupun said with amusement. Gooey moved closer to the water and held his parasol close, he'd never seen such creatures before. He had to assume they were made of water like octopuses. Some of them were swimming through the water while others sat on rocks. Gooey's eyes even lit up when he saw one of the frogs grab a smaller creature in the air with a limb coming from its mouth. If Gooey had a limb like that, it would make grabbing things so much easier.

"There you are!" Kirby called out as he and Chuchu ran towards the duo. "I thought you two might've gotten lost."

Nyupun shook their head. "No, I think Gooey just wanted to see the frogs."

Gooey nodded as he quickly swiped an arm in the air, he was trying to mimic a frog.

"I see..." Kirby said while his back. "I suppose we could use a break from walking. What do you say, Chuchu?"

"I'm gonna go make flower crowns!" Chuchu said excitedly. With that said, it looked like the group was going to stay a little longer. Chuchu started working on a flower crown while Nyupun and Kirby helped her. However, Gooey was more focused with the pond. He wanted to see what else these creatures could do.

"They're neat, huh?" asked a new voice. It wasn't Kirby's, and it didn't belong to the octopuses either. Gooey felt something land on top of his parasol, he looked up with a curious expression. The creature's head peaked over the parasol. He looked like a small version of Dedede, except his body was small and green like the frogs in the pond.

"I gotta say, you look funny," said the creature. "Do your eyes always look that wonky?"

Gooey would've growled if he could, he twisted his parasol in an attempt to shoo the creature away. Said creature started to flap his arms and hovered over the lake. "Hey, I was just messing with you!"

Kirby and the octopuses looked in Gooey's direction. Once they noticed the Dedede-like creature, Kirby gave him a curious look. "Hey, Pitch! What are you doing?"

"I dunno," Pitch said as he landed back on Gooey's parasol. "But I don't think your wonky-eyed friend likes me very much."

Gooey huffed as he twisted his parasol again, causing Pitch to hover over him. It wasn't his fault his eyes were the way they were, his brother even told him that he was lucky to have two eyes to begin with.

Kirby sighed as he walked over to the duo, he gave both of them a stern look. "Listen, you two...we're not gonna keep being mean to each other while we're out here, so you'd better apologize!"

The anger in Gooey's face was quickly replaced with fear. He hadn't seen Kirby get this mad before, and he didn't want to start any fights with him either. Pitch, however, didn't look too phased by this.

"All right, I guess I shouldn't have said anything about your face," Pitch said as he landed in front of Gooey. He extended an arm as a sign of forgiveness. "What do you say...friends?"

Gooey was hesitant, he wasn't entirely sure if he could forgive Pitch at the moment. But he didn't want to make Kirby angrier, so he tapped Pitch's arm with one of his arms.

Thankfully, Pitch didn't bother him during the time they stayed with the sunflowers. Gooey was content with watching the frogs while the others were more focused on the sunflowers. Perhaps the frogs enjoyed the warmth of the sunflowers here as well? Gooey liked to think that they did.

Gooey looked into the water in hopes of finding more frogs under the water. However, he was face-to-face with his own reflection. He liked to think that his color wasn't too different from how it usually was. But as he looked at his reflection now, he was noticeably paler than he was before. He looked as if someone had painted googly eyes on a rock.

If his appearance were to change completely, would his siblings even recognize him? Would Kirby and his friends recognize him?

"Heya!"

Gooey looked to his side and saw that Pitch had hopped closer to him, he watched him cautiously just in case he tried something again. However, all Pitch was did was stare at him.

"So...Kirby told me you came from space, is that true?"

Gooey nodded.

"Ah, so I'll bet you've never seen a frog before, huh?"

Once again, Gooey nodded. Pitch tapped his foot against the ground as he tried to think of what to say next, he looked as if he were trying to be more careful with his words.

"So...since you've never seen a frog, I'll bet that you've never seen a tadpole before, either."

Gooey shook his head, he'd never heard of such a creature before. With that said, Pitch drew a circle in the ground with a long tail at the end, it looked a little bit like a comet.

"It's not the best drawing, but this is what a tadpole looks like," Pitch said as he stood over the drawing. "When they get older, they grow legs and start turning into frogs."

Wait, so frogs look like comets when they're younger? Do they fall from the sky too? At this point, Popstar was starting to sound more and more silly as the days went by.

Still, if frogs could change and still enjoy their lives, then perhaps whatever happens to Gooey might not be so bad? Then again, at least the frogs still looked like each other...

...Gooey wasn't sure what to think anymore.

Chapter Text

The Dark Matter watched as his siblings flew by. Some of them headed over to Lord Zero's nest while others got ready to train. Some would even talk amongst themselves, though most of the time their conversations revolved around Lord Zero, other siblings, or even the Lord Miracle. At some point, The Dark Matter started to hear about a sibling that learned how to "copy" their enemies in order to defeat them, much like their guardian.

It would be neat to join his siblings and hear more about these rumors, but nobody aside from his brother wanted anything to do with him. He assumed it had something to do with multiple eyes being "unsettling" and "creepy", but it might've also have something to do with his brother as well. Despite being Dark Matter, neither of them could really "connect" with their siblings. Not only that, they could easily feel things like "excitement" and "joy", things that Lord Zero described as "useless" and "weak". His brother was always good at suppressing these sort of emotions, which was something that the Dark Matter still needed to work on. Especially when Lord Zero was around.

Speaking of which, his brother lied down next to him with his fins tucked into his body. He resembled a spiky blob. Like the Dark Matter, he quietly observed his siblings as they floated by them.

"You know...our youngest siblings have learned how to talk not that long ago," his brother said as his attention turned to the Dark Matter. "So why can't you talk yet?"

The Dark Matter looked away in shame, he didn't have an answer. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out how to bring his own thoughts into words.

"Hm...perhaps you require more time before you can speak," his brother suggested. "Or perhaps you might not be able to speak at all? Either way,  I'm sure we'll figure it out."

Maybe, though the Dark Matter wouldn't count on it anytime soon. He wasn't like any of his siblings, but neither was his brother. Although the two of them couldn't "connect" to anybody, maybe it was better that way?

After all, the Dark Matter didn't need to "connect" to his brother to be close to him. But if he could find a way to talk to his brother, then they could talk about all sorts of things. Not just what their siblings talk about, but other stuff too...He just couldn't help but wonder what else there was to talk about...

It was day time, and Gooey stood outside Kirby's house yet again. He looked in front of a small mirror he had found earlier, he assumed that a Waddle Dee must've dropped it at some point.

He looked over his own body, he was still as grey as he was yesterday, though he was relieved to see that his fins were still orange. Change wasn't always a bad thing, though...right? If he were to keep changing, then perhaps he was on his way to gaining a "Blade" form like his brother? Most Dark Matter would say that he had a long way to go before he reached that point, but if that really was the case then maybe he wouldn't be as helpless as he was right now.

Kirby stepped outside of the house with a pole in his hand, the pole had a hook attached to it by a string. 

"Hey, Gooey. Wanna go fishing with me?"

What was fishing? Gooey gave him a curious look, as if he were asking that question. Was the pole some sort of weapon?

"Er...On second thought, maybe it'd be hard to do with that parasol of yours.." Kirby said quietly. "You can still come with me, though."

Gooey nodded as he followed Kirby. The walk wasn't very long, and the duo quickly made their way to a lake. Rick was already sitting under a tree with a pole in his hands. Nago sat closer to the water with his eyes wide open, he was watching something swim underneath. Sitting in the tree was another Dedede-like creature. However, his body was purple and his head was somewhat spiky. The trio waved as Kirby and Gooey got closer.

"Heya, guys!" Rick called out. "How've ya been?"

"We've been fine!" Kirby said as he sat down next to Rick. He threw the hook into the water and held onto the pole. "I thought we'd do some fishing today."

"And I suppose the blob you brought with you is Gooey?" asked the purple creature. Kirby replied with a nod.

"I figured as much, Rick told me you were taking care of a little blob a while ago."

Yes, but Gooey was doing just fine now. He tucked his fins into his body and crawled next to Nago. 

"Hello, Gooey." Nago said as he patted Gooey's back with his paw. "I hope you've been doing well."

Gooey nodded, though his attention turned to the water. He could see all kinds of creatures swimming underwater, these creatures looked a bit like comets. Perhaps these were the tadpoles Pitch told him about, earlier?

"I suppose you've never seen a fish before, have you?" Nago asked as he leaned towards the water. "Most of them live in the water, and they taste great if you know how to get them out...though not every fish can be used as food, of course."

As if on cue, Rick let out an annoyed groan. He lifted a large blue fish with yellow fins out of the water. The fish looked just as annoyed as Rick did.

"...Well...not fish like Kine, anyway," Nago continued. "But maybe later on we'll cook some fish up for you? I'm sure you'd love it."

So fish could be used as food? That would explain why Kirby and Rick had those poles to begin with. They were trying to catch their food much like the frogs did in the pond over at the Sunflower Fields.

Gooey couldn't help but wonder what it must be like to grab things like a frog. He could imagine himself with an open mouth as he grabbed the fish with a long, pink appendage. He could even imagine how scaly the fish were before he dragged one into his mouth.

Nago let out a loud "meow" as he looked down at Gooey, which prompted the others to look in their direction. Gooey couldn't tell what they were all surprised about, he hadn't done anything wrong...right?

...And then Gooey realized that he had a fish in his newly-formed mouth, he hadn't imagined anything at all! Gooey dropped the fish and stared at the water in disbelief.

"I forget...did he always have a mouth?" Rick whispered, all Kirby could do was shrug. "No...I'm pretty sure he might've mutated again."

Gooey couldn't believe it, he was changing AGAIN. And not in the way he wanted to, either. Although his memory wasn't the greatest at times, he knew most of his siblings didn't have a mouth, and even if they did Lord Zero would've scolded them for it.. Gooey placed a nubby arm over his face, he looked as if he was about to cry.

"Hey! Gooey! It's OK!" Kirby said as he dropped his pole and dashed towards his friend's side, with Rick and the others following close by. Nago stroked his back as a way to keep him calm, though the Dark Matter still sobbed quietly to himself.

"Take it easy, bud!" Rick said quietly. "We're just as surprised as you are, that's all."

"Do you wanna go home and take a nap?" Kirby asked quietly. "That's what I do when I'm upset."

"D...dunno."

The group stared at Gooey with wide eyes, though they stayed quiet. They hadn't expected their silent blob friend to speak so suddenly, but they knew it was best not to bring it up right now. The last thing they needed was to upset him even more.

"OK..." Kirby said as he put a hand on Gooey's back. "Do you just wanna let it all out then?"

"I not...apposed to...to cry," Gooey sobbed. "But...I...I can't...'top!"

No matter how hard Gooey tried to stop himself, the tears would keep coming out. Others would've punished him if he acted like this, and yet Kirby and his friends did nothing to stop him. He wouldn't blame Kirby for being angry with him, especially after ruining his trip like this.

Once there were no more tears to shed, Gooey started to feel drained. On one hand, he felt ashamed for crying for as long as he did. But on the other hand, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his mind. He felt Kirby grab him in an attempt to hug him, "Are you feeling any better?"

"D-dunno." Gooey said quietly.

"Do you wanna take a nap, then?" Kirby offered again. "I promise it'll make you feel better."

Given how drained he was, Gooey didn't have the energy to say 'no'. Kirby threw him onto his back and looked back at his friends. "I'll be back in a little bit, OK?"

"All right, take your time!" the purple creature called out. With that said, Kirby grabbed the parasol from Gooey and held it over him as best as he could.

Gooey's mind felt hazy, he could barely keep his eyes open. Next thing he knew, he had completely dozed off.

Gooey woke up back on Kirby's bed. It wasn't quite day time anymore, but it wasn't exactly night time either. There was a fish on the ground, with scribbles written beside it. The fish looked a little burned, but Gooey might still be able to eat it.

He wasn't sure where Kirby was, perhaps he was still with the others? Whatever the case, he needed to thank them later. He grabbed the fish and dragged it into his mouth. He wasn't quite familiar with the sense of "taste", but he enjoyed the fish regardless.

Perhaps change may not be as bad as he thought it was? Because no matter what, Kirby and his friends still treated him with kindness in the end.

Chapter Text

Gooey couldn't remember how many days it had been since he's mutated, but he quickly adjusted to having a mouth...and what the others called a "tongue". And like the frogs, Gooey learned how to use his tongue like a limb. Thankfully, none of Kirby's other friends minded the changes that were happening to him. In fact, they seemed to welcome it. But even though Gooey started to accept it, he would sometimes think about how different he looked from other Dark Matter.

It gave him a mixed feeling...it was one that he didn't know how to describe. He was happy to know that his friends would still be his friends no matter how much he changed. But at the same time, he felt as if he was losing what little he had in common with his siblings. At this rate, his brother wouldn't be able to recognize him anymore should he be able to find this world.

Gooey had just woken up. And strangely enough, Kirby was nowhere to be found. Sometimes when Kirby woke up early, he'd go out for walk. However, he would usually come back at this point. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to look for him, then? Gooey grabbed his parasol and headed outside. He made his way along the road and searched. Every once in a while, he would call out Kirby's name. But no matter how hard he looked, he was nowhere to be found.

Gooey sat there with a worried look on his face. Maybe it would've been better to stay home and wait for him? The only problem he had with this was that he couldn't remember where "home" was. He was so used to following Kirby that he never actually thought about how to get back.

He might not know where home was...but he DID see something interesting despite his frustration. There was a large red bird flying towards another bird...wait, that smaller bird was King Dedede! Not only that, he was holding onto one of his Waddle Dees. Before Gooey could ask anything, Dedede grabbed him with his other arm.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY, KID!" Dedede yelled as he kept running. The bird that chased him down let out a loud screech before she tried to grab him with her beak. Dedede quickly jumped out of the way.

"Hey, Gooey!" said the Waddle Dee as he waved. "You recognize me, don't you?"

Not really, most Waddle Dees looked the same. Although...come to think of it, there WAS something familiar about him...Wait, he must've been THAT Waddle Dee, except he was missing the cloth on his head.

"Where's your...?" Gooey pointed to where the cloth should be, though he couldn't remember what it was called. 

"It got taken away by one of Dyna Blade's chicks," Waddle Dee said like it was a normal thing. "I tried to get it back without her noticing."

"Yeah, and look where it got us?" Dedede asked bitterly. He continued to run until he made his way into a cave. He dropped the duo onto the ground before pulling out a large hammer, "Now WAIT HERE!"

Quickly, the King charged out of the cave to fight Dyna Blade. He'd swing his hammer towards her whenever she tried to attack him.

"I thought Dedede was apposed to be a jerk," Gooey said bluntly. Waddle Dee gave him a stern look. "Where did you here that? From Kirby?"

"Uh..."

The stern look on Waddle Dee's face shifted into one of amusement, despite not having a mouth. "I know he might come off as a little selfish at times, but he's always trying to look out for us whenever he can. And honestly, I wouldn't ask for a better king."

"Huh..." Kirby always described him as a jerk, but perhaps they got off on the wrong foot when they first met? Or maybe they liked calling each other names for the fun of it? Their relationship was weird, but as far as Gooey could tell, Dedede seemed to have a good heart.

Dyna Blade let out a cry in defeat as she flew away. Dedede swung his hammer over his shoulder, he walked over to Waddle Dee with a stern look on his face.

"I don't know WHAT you were thinking, but I don't want you doin' that ever again!"

"But my bandanna-"

"I'll get you a new one, just...don't go near Dyna Blade's nest again, got it?"

"...Understood, sire!" Waddle Dee said while looking away in shame. Dedede looked at Gooey with a worried look. "Sorry I had to drag you into this, but Dyna Blade would've torn you to shreds if I didn't grab you."

"Dun worry 'bout it" Gooey replied. "By the way, have you seen Kirby?"

"No, not today," Dedede said while scratching the back of his head. "I figured he took off to help Meta Knight with something."

"With what?"

Dedede shrugged. "I dunno...something about a mirror? Either way, we might not be seeing 'em for a while."

Ah...so Kirby went on an adventure without him. But if it was something Meta Knight needed help with, then it was probably best that Gooey didn't get involved.

"Say, kid...You've got a place to stay, don't you?"

"Uh..." Gooey rubbed his head with his tongue as he tried to think. "Kinda...I been 'taying with Kirby for a while..."

I see...well, do you wanna hang out at my castle until Kirby comes back?" Dedede offered. "I know we're rivals and all, but I'm sure he won't mind."

"Oh," Waddle Dee said as a thought crossed his mind. "You can even hang out with the other Waddle Dees, I'm sure they'd love having you around!"

Gooey continued to think. Sure, it might be better to go back home. But since he can't seem to remember where it was, it wouldn't hurt to get to know Dedede or the Waddle Dees a little better. After all, they've been kind to Gooey ever since they first met him.

"OK," Gooey said while smiling. "I'll 'tay with you guys 'til Kirby comes back."

"Great," Waddle Dee cheered, "It'll be like a long sleepover."

"Just don't expect me to treat you any differently from the Waddle Dees, all right?" Dedede teased. With that said, the trio began to make their way over to Dedede's castle. Along the way, Gooey could see some creatures crawl out of their hiding spots, some even hesitated as they were worried about whether or not Dyna Blade would come back.

Gooey had learned so much about Popstar since he came here, He'd learned about some of the different plants and animals that lived around here, and he's learned about some of the food here as well. But there was still so much about this place that he needed to learn about. And what better way to do that than to stay at Dedede's castle for a bit?

Though the walk was long, the group made their way to a large building. Gooey was told that castles were huge, but this place looked like it was hundreds of times bigger than Kirby's house...maybe even thousands of times bigger?

"Make yourself at home, kid," Dedede said as he headed inside the castle. "I'm gonna go take a nap, the Waddle Dees'll help ya if you need anything."

Gooey tilted his head as Dedede left the duo alone, but he felt Waddle Dee place a hand on his back. "Come on, I'm sure everyone'll love to see you!"

"Ah...OK."

Gooey followed Waddle Dee through the castle and into the...what was it called again? A kitchen? There were Waddle Dees scattered throughout the room, some were eating their lunch while others simply talked with one another. It reminded Gooey of when he used to watch his siblings float by him back home, which made him worried about whether or not the Waddle Dees would welcome him.

"Hey. guys!" Waddle Dee said as he walked into the kitchen. "You remember Gooey, right? Kirby's friend?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on Gooey. They didn't look at him with indifference or malice like his siblings usually did. In fact, many of them looked at him with wonder and curiosity. Even the Waddle Dee with a single eye looked at him with an intense gaze.

"Wasn't he darker the last time we saw him?"

"Did he always have a mouth?"

"Why are his eyes so weird?"

Gooey had to admit, he was starting to feel uncomfortable. He held his parasol over his face in an attempt to hide himself. After all, it wasn't his fault he was changing...right?

"All right, you guys...Take it easy!" Waddle Dee said as he stood in front of Gooey. "I think we're starting to scare him."

"But if he's here, then where's Kirby?"

"He's with Meta Knight," Waddle Dee said. "So we need to make sure Gooey feels welcome here, all right?"

The rest of the Waddle Dees cheered in agreement, though Gooey wasn't used to getting so much attention at once. Back in his old home, he'd only really receive this kind of attention from his brother. And even while living here, Kirby and his Animal Friends gave Gooey his space when he needed it. But now, it looked like Gooey had more attention on him than he knew what to do with.

...What was he supposed to do, now?

Chapter Text

So far, staying at the castle was a strange experience. The Waddle Dees that lived here gave Gooey all kinds of attention. He felt a little weird being around them, but he didn't have the heart to complain about it. In fact, maybe he was starting to enjoy it? He wasn't sure...

It was dinner time, Gooey quietly sat next to Waddle Dee himself. He saw that there was a lot of food on the table, which consisted mostly of noodles and bread. Gooey wasn't sure what kind of noodles they were, but they looked tasty enough for his mouth to start watering. Soon enough, Dedede himself walked into the dining room. He was being followed by several Waddle Dees, who started to pour drinks into everyone's glasses.

"All right, you guys!" Dedede said as he sat in a chair at the end of the table. "Now as you all know, one of Kirby's friends is staying with us for the time being. So I want you guys to be nice to him while he's here, got it?"

Gooey received several glances from the Waddle Dees before they looked back at their beloved king. The least that the blob could do was wave at some of them.

"Let's see..." Dedede tried to think as he rubbed the bottom of his beak. "Next thing I wanna bring up is that Dream Land's been relatively peaceful as of late...aside from a few hiccups here and there," he said while he looked sternly at Waddle Dee. "So while we don't have to worry about someone like Nightmare showin' up anytime soon, it's a good idea to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And if something DOES happen, I'll make sure it's taken care of. And with that outta the way, let's eat!"

The Waddle Dees cheered as they dug into their food. Gooey grabbed the bowl in front of him with his tongue and threw the noodles into his mouth. He was about to grab the bread the same way, but he recalled that doing so would cover the food in drool...which meant less food for everyone else, so he grabbed a piece of bread with an arm and ate it. As he looked around, he noticed that everyone else enjoyed their food while they talked to each other. Even Dedede happily talked with some of his subjects, despite his high rank. Lord Zero never would've talked so casually to anybody lower than him. Maybe to Lord Miracle at most, but certainly not someone like Gooey. But from the looks of it, Dedede seemed to enjoy being around his subjects no matter how low their rank was.

"Hey, Gooey!" Waddle Dee whispered as he tapped Gooey's back. He pushed his bowl towards the young Dark Matter. "Want the rest of this? I don't think I can eat another bite."

Gooey nodded as he grabbed the bowl with his tongue and threw the remaining noodles into his mouth. Waddle Dee gave him a curious look, but decided not to question it.

With all the food he'd eaten, Gooey sat with a content look on his face. He never would've felt this way while surrounded by his siblings, and hey...maybe his brother would enjoy Dedede's company? All that was missing now was Kirby.

Speaking of which, how was he doing out there? Did he have enough food to eat? Was Meta Knight keeping an eye on him? Gooey wasn't sure how much longer Kirby was going to be gone, but he wanted to hear all about his adventure when he got back.

Once night had arrived, Gooey was escorted to one of the guest rooms in the castle. The bed inside the room had many pillows and a thick blanket, Gooey couldn't help but fall asleep as soon as he climbed in.

As Gooey slept, he dreamed that he was on an adventure with Kirby. The two of them walked along a path surrounded by grassy hills. Every once in a while, Kirby would slow down and allow Gooey to catch up. Gooey wasn't holding his parasol, and yet the sun didn't seem to hurt his skin. He wasn't sure if it was another mutation or something else entirely. But at the moment, he didn't seem to care. He was happy to be frolicking along with his friend.

Soon, the scenery began to change. The sky started to turn dark, the grass started to wither. There were all kinds of creatures running past the duo. Further ahead, they could see Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee trying to protect Kirby's animal friends from...King Dedede? No, that couldn't be right. When Gooey looked up at the sky, he was horrified to see that Lord Zero was here. He shook as the larger blob stared back at him.

"Stand back, Gooey!" Kirby yelled as he ran towards Gooey's creator. He hopped onto a star and carelessly charged Lord Zero. Gooey panicked. He tried to fly behind Kirby, but he fell to the ground as if his fins no longer worked.

"Kirby, wait!"

...The next thing that happened was that Gooey had woken up on the floor. He was even more confused now than he was before falling asleep. He was sure that Kirby would protect him if anybody threatened him, but he really didn't want Kirby to go after Lord Zero. As awful as he was, he was still the one that created Gooey in the first place.

It was still night time, Gooey crawled out of the room and into the hallway. He would probably get lost inside the castle at some point, but he didn't seem to care as long as he could get his thoughts straightened out.

From the looks of it, most of the Waddle Dees in the castle had already gone to bed. It was dark and quiet, which Gooey didn't seem to mind. As he explored the castle, he eventually found Dedede, he sat in a dimly-lit room with the one-eyed Waddle Dee. They appeared to be playing a game of some sort, though it didn't take long for the bird to notice Gooey.

"What's wrong? Can't sleep?"

"Uh...no?"

Dedede replied with a shrug. "That's all right, I can't sleep either."

"Well you DID spend all day sleeping." The Waddle Dee added.

"Yeah, 'cause I had to save one of the Waddle Dees from gettin' himself killed!" Dedede argued.

"Er...understood, sire."

Gooey moved into the room and looked at the table, he could see black and red disks set up on a black and red board. He wasn't sure what kind of game it was, so he looked at Dedede. "What is it?"

Dedede tilted his head in confusion. "It's Checkers...haven't you played Checkers before?"

"Maybe they don't have checkers where he's from?" asked the one-eyed Waddle Dee. Gooey nodded in agreement.

"Ah, well...Do you wanna play after Waddle Doo and I are done?"

"No," Gooey replied. It was nice of Dedede to offer, but Gooey didn't want to risk angering him. Especially not when he had such a high status like Lord Zero. Nonetheless, Dedede shrugged. "All right, suit yourself!"

Gooey sat next to Dedede while he tried to think. Dedede was this world's king, right? Surely, he might be able to answer some of Gooey's questions.

"Can I...ask something?" Gooey asked as he looked up at the king.

"Sure, knock yourself out," Dedede said while Waddle Doo placed a disc at the end of the board. "King me!"

Dedede glared at Waddle Doo for a moment before he looked back at Gooey. He laid his arms across the chair. "So what'd you wanna say?"

"Um...Do you ever feel happy? But you feel sad at the same time?" Gooey asked. Dedede looked up as he tried to think. "Well...yeah. I'm pretty sure there's a word for it..."

"Bittersweet?"

"That's it, bittersweet!" Dedede said while he pointed at Waddle Doo in acknowledgement. "Why? Is somethin' bothering you?"

"Um..." Once again, Gooey tried to think. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to word this, but it was worth a shot.

"So...I lived with Lord Zero and my siblings...and the only nice one is Brother. But after I come to Pop'tar, everyone's been so nice to me. So I dunno how I should feel 'bout it."

Dedede brought a hand under his beak as he tried to think. "Let's see...This 'Zero' guy wouldn't happen to be your dad, would he?"

"My dad?"

"You know...Someone who takes care of you," Dedede explained. "Like...they're someone that watches over you and makes sure your safe."

"Oh!" Gooey's eyes suddenly lit up. "So a dad is someone like my brother?"

"Er...Kind of." Dedede asked as he gave Gooey a strange look. "What's Lord Zero to you, then?"

"He created me."

"Ah..." Suddenly, realization hit Dedede. "So he's the one that created you, but you don't consider him a dad...is that it?"

"I guess?" Gooey said with uncertainty. Dedede chuckled as he playfully patted Gooey on the head. "Tell ya what, kid. If you ever need a dad, you could always come to me for anything."

"Really?"

"Of course," Dedede replied. "Besides, a great king like me's gotta look out for his kingdom, you know?"

All Gooey could do at that point was smile. Though that bittersweet feeling was still there, he was happy to know that Dedede would look out for him just like Kirby would. He could certainly see why the Waddle Dees thought so highly of him. And hey, maybe one day Dedede might get to know his brother as well? If the two of them ever met, then maybe Dedede could be HIS dad, too?

Chapter Text

So far, the past few days that Gooey had spent here had been nice. He spent a lot of time with Waddle Dee, and he slowly started getting to know the other Waddle Dees here as well. One of them even told Gooey about how he caught someone running off with a piece of Dedede's cake before his birthday had started. Supposedly, this creature looked like a large bat.

As for Dedede, he said he was going to look for Kirby and Meta Knight today. He told Gooey that he was only looking for Kirby in order to challenge him to another fight, but Gooey didn't believe him.

Right now, Gooey flew beside Waddle Dee with the parasol held over him. It'd been a little while since he was outside like this, though the clouds looked much darker than they usually did. This happened every once in a while, but they usually would've cleared themselves by now.

During their walk, the duo found Rick and Chuchu sitting under a tree. hovering above them was Kirby's purple bird friend...Coo, right? Gooey moved closer to them with a curious look. "What's goin' on?"

"Oh, hey!" Rick said with a wave. "I was wonderin' where you've been all week."

"In other news, it's about to rain!" Chuchu said bluntly. Gooey gave her a confused look while Waddle Dee looked up with a worried expression. "It looks like it might be a thunderstorm, too."

"Is that bad?" Gooey asked, curiously. He knew that clouds would sometimes gather and block out the sun, but he'd never heard of rain and thunderstorms before.

"Usually, it isn't," said Coo as he landed in front of the duo. "You see...the rain can help food grow, or it can help cool you off when it gets hot out."

"It's especially great for sea creatures like me and Kine," Chuchu added.

"That too," Coo said, "But you also have to be careful when a thunderstorm happens. Because when you start to hear thunder, lightning will fall from the sky shortly after."

"Ooh, I know what lighting is!" Gooey said excitedly, which earned him a strange look from Waddle Dee. "Weren't...you paying attention at all?"

The group jumped as they heard a loud booming sound above them, that must've been the thunder Coo was talking about. Not long after that, water started falling from the sky.

"Ah gees," Rick said as he ran with his paws covering his face. "I-I'll see you guys later!"

"Are you two going to be all right on your own?" Coo asked while tilting his head. Waddle Dee nodded, "A little rain's never hurt us before."

"All right, just make sure you two stay safe out here."

With that said, Coo left the group as well. However, Chuchu stayed behind. Gooey landed on top of Waddle Dee's head and held the parasol over him as best as he could.

"You don't think Kracko's behind this, do you?" Chuchu asked.

"I would hope not," Waddle Dee replied. "And it's not like any of us can fly, anyway."

"I can fly!" Gooey chimed in.

"I know you can fly," Waddle Dee said, "But how are you gonna carry all of us?"

Gooey hadn't actually thought about that. He knew that Waddle Dees and octopuses couldn't fly, at least not in the same way that a Dark Matter could, so how were they all going to get up there?

"Oh!" Chuchu yelled as an idea popped into her head. "Maybe we could get there through a Warp Star? I'm sure Kirby still has one lying around somewhere!"

"That could work!" Waddle Dee said excitedly as he looked up at Gooey. "What do you think? Wanna go on a little adventure?"

Gooey nodded. Soon, the newly-formed trio headed towards the forest. Gooey wasn't sure what was in store for them, but he had a feeling that he was always going to learn something new from this place no matter how much he had gotten used to it.

As the group moved forward, the rain poured down even more. It poured harder and harder until it was like walking through a waterfall. Lightning began to strike the ground in certain areas as well. Gooey and Waddle Dee were almost electrocuted, though thankfully the lightning wasn't as bad once they reached the forest.

"It's gotta be around here, somewhere!" Waddle Dee said as he looked around. Chuchu looked behind a few bushes and some trees, but she sighed as she wasn't able to find anything. Gooey wasn't too sure where to look, either. He wasn't even sure what a Warp Star looked like, but given the name, he was sure that it would give off a bright light of some sort.

Soon, Gooey could see a light further into the forest. Perhaps that was what they were looking for? Gooey tapped Waddle Dee's head and pointed towards the light. "Is that it?"

Waddle Dee looked at the direction Gooey pointed towards, and so did Chuchu. After a few seconds went by, Chuchu darted towards the light. "I think it is!"

"Good work, Gooey!" Waddle Dee cheered.

Gooey smiled proudly as the duo kept moving. As they reached the light, they could see that it came from a glowing star-shaped vehicle that was partially buried into the ground. Chuchu grabbed one of the ends with her arms, and although she struggled, she managed to pulled it out of the ground.

"All right," Chuchu said as she hopped onto the Warp Star. "We've got ourselves a ride, now let's go!"

Waddle Dee and Gooey nodded as they hopped onto the Warp Star. They could hear it charge, and Gooey started to have second thoughts. But before he could say anything, the Warp Star started to fly. It was going so fast that he struggled to hold onto his parasol. Inevitably, lightning almost struck him and forced him to let go of it. So now, he was on a moving star without a parasol, and he had no idea what he was going to do when the group finally reached the sky.

Gooey held his eyes shut as the Warp Star broke through the clouds. The light from the sun blinded him. And soon enough, the Warp Star crashed into a group of clouds before it disappeared. The trio bounced into three different directions, with Waddle Dee being partially buried into a cloud.

Gooey stayed put as he felt he sun's rays beat down on him. Without his parasol, he expected himself to get sick again. But strangely enough, the light from the sun actually felt...pleasant. He felt that he was getting the same warmth that he'd gotten from looking at the sunflowers a while back.

"Is everyone all right?" Waddle Dee asked as he pulled himself out of the cloud, his fur was completely soaked from the rain. Chuchu lifted herself and shook some of the cloud off of her head. "Er...I think so."

Gooey stretched his fins as he floated towards the duo, Chuchu couldn't help but tilt her head. "Where's your parasol, Gooey?"

"I lost it."

"Well, we could always find you a new one," Waddle Dee offered.

"We can worry about that later," Chuchu said sternly. "Come on, let's go find Kracko!"

Waddle Dee shrugged before he and Gooey followed Chuchu. Gooey wasn't sure what Kracko was going to be like, but maybe they had a reason for why it was raining so badly under the clouds?

Chapter Text

Gooey knew that the clouds in his old home were different, but he had no idea HOW different they were compared to Popstar's. Not only could the clouds here support the weight of Chuchu and Waddle Dee, they could support the weight of other creatures as well. For the most part, Gooey could see Waddle Doos, birds, and beings made out of ice as the group moved on. Though they weren't being drenched in water like the creatures above the clouds, they still looked as if they were on edge. The constant thundering sounds below them didn't help, either.

Eventually, the group found what appeared to be a cloud monster with spikes and a single eye. At first, Gooey thought that he was a form of Dark Matter, but then he realized that probably wasn't the case. In front of this creature was Dedede, who leaned against his hammer for support.

"Sire!" Waddle Dee called out as he ran in front of Dedede, who gave him a puzzled look. "Shouldn't you be back at the castle?"

"We just wanted to see what was causing all the rain!" Chuchu added as she hopped on top of Waddle Dee's head. "So what are you up to now, Kracko? Did you lose to Kirby, AGAIN?"

While the duo focused on Kracko, Gooey hovered towards Dedede's side. "Are you OK?"

"Hm?" Dedede asked before he nodded. "I'm all right, I just got a few scratches is all."

Gooey sighed in relief, he was happy to hear that Dedede was doing fine at least. He looked back at the fight going on between Waddle Dee, Chuchu, and Kracko. Waddle Dee held a spear in his hands, which seemingly came out of nowhere. When Kracko tried to charge at them, Chuchu would hold the spear and spin it as fast as possible in order to hover over him.

"I didn' know Chuchu could fight like that," Gooey said in admiration.

"Well, that's 'cause some animals are able to enhance whatever abilities you've got," Dedede said as he watched the fight. "And if you're someone like Kirby, they could help you with all sorts of problems."

"What kind of problems?"

"Well...just about everything, really. Which makes him REALLY annoying to fight."

Gooey knew that there was something special about Kirby, but now he liked to imagine he was just as strong as some of Gooey's stronger siblings...maybe even Lord Zero, himself.

"LOOK OUT!" Dedede yelled as he pulled Gooey away from a spark-like attack. When Gooey looked back at the fight, Waddle Dee had fallen to the floor with Chuchu trying to help his back up. Kracko's attention had turned towards King Dedede.

"Say kid...you any good at fightin'?"

"...No?"

"Then wait here," Dedede said as he placed Gooey back onto the floor. Though he was still weakened from his fight with Kracko before, that didn't stop Dedede from lifting his hammer and trying again.

Soon, Kracko was defeated, and Dream Land would be able to dry off. However, Dedede noticed that there was a large mirror above them. It was a golden mirror with wings on its sides. For some reason, the mirror gave off a sinister aura.

"Do you think Kirby might be in there?" Waddle Dee asked.

"He might..." Dedede said quietly. "But...I don't think any of us should go in there for now."

"But what if something happened to Kirby?" Chuchu asked.

"He's probably with Meta Knight, so I'm sure they'll be fine." Dedede said, but with a hint of uncertainty. "Besides...just lookin' at this thing's givin' me anxiety."

"But what if they dun come back?" Gooey asked. Dedede sighed as he rubbed his head. "I say we give 'em a few more days. And if they don't show up by then, I'll go in there and look for them myself."

Gooey frowned. He wanted to see if Kirby was all right, but it looked like it might take a little while longer to see him. However, the group was able to defeat Kracko, so they were able to take care of at least one problem for today.

As the day went on, the storm that had suddenly appeared in Dream Land had been reduced to a light drizzle. According to Waddle Doo, the sky should be clear again by tomorrow.

Gooey sat next to a window inside the guest room, he watched as the rain continued to fall. It was actually much nicer to look at when it wasn't pouring down on him.

"Gooey, are you in here?" Waddle Dee called as he walked into the room. He held a plate with a dessert on it. It wasn't a cake. In fact, most of it looked like it was made out of fruit.

"The others were serving apple pie downstairs," Waddle Dee said. "I thought you'd like to have a slice."

"Ah...Thanks, but where's yours?" Gooey asked.

"I ate mine already," Waddle Dee replied. He handed Gooey the plate, who then grabbed the pie with his tongue and ate it in one bite. The pie tasted sweet, and it was still warm too.

Gooey went back to looking outside of the window, though Waddle Dee looked worried. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Gooey replied. "We dun have water fall from the sky where I'm from."

"Ah, so you just wanted to watch the rain?"

Gooey didn't answer, but Waddle Dee was sure that meant "yes".

"Say...Waddle Dee?"

"What is it?"

"Is Dedede your dad?"

"Excuse me?" Waddle Dee asked in bewilderment.

"He's the one that takes care of you, right? So is he your dad?"

"Er...I guess...you could say that, yes." Waddle Dee said while thinking. "Why do you ask?"

"'Cause he told me before that I could come to him if I need a dad."

"Well...if King Dedede was your dad too, then wouldn't that make us brothers?"

"B-brothers?" Gooey asked in complete shock. "But...you're not a Dark Matter."

"And you're not a Waddle Dee, yet here we are."

It wasn't that Gooey didn't like the idea of being Waddle Dee's brother, he just wasn't sure if it was fair to call him that. Especially since he had so many siblings to begin with. And what would Kirby say? or Gooey's brother? Would they approve of such a thing? Though compared to Gooey's siblings, the Waddle Dees accepted him right away. Plus, Waddle Dee was one of Kirby's friends, right? So Kirby should be fine with it at least.

"OK, we can be brothers then." Gooey said cheerfully.

"All right," Waddle Dee replied, he looked as if he were trying to smile. "It's nice to have you around...brother."

Gooey was smiling, given all that's happened so far, he couldn't wait to tell Kirby when he got back.

Gooey had woken up late that morning, he never thought he'd be happier to see the sun shine down on Popstar again. He left the guest room and headed towards the kitchen, though as he made his way downstairs, the Waddle Dees gave him curious looks. It was as if he was a completely different person.

Once he was in the kitchen, he saw Dedede lean against the counter with a hot drink in his hand. He was talking to several Waddle Dees, though Waddle Dee himself didn't seem to be around. Nonetheless, Gooey thought that he would join them. "Goo' morning."

"Er...Mornin', Gooey!" Dedede said while giving Gooey the same strange look as the Waddle Dees did. "You're lookin' a little...blue today."

"But I feel fine."

"No...I mean you look blue," Dedede replied as put his cup on the counter. He looked through the cupboards above him until he pulled out the shiniest pan he could find. He handed the pan over to Gooey, "See for yourself."

Gooey took the pan and stared at his own reflection. Just as Dedede said, he'd changed color yet again, this time he was blue instead of grey. It was no wonder he was getting such odd looks. But unlike the last several times he had changed, Gooey didn't seem to mind. Because no matter how many times he mutated, his friends still treated him as one of their own. And to him, it was more than enough to make him happy.

"I'll bet Kirby's gonna be surprised when he get back."

"Hopefully not TOO surprised," Dedede said quietly as he took a sip of his drink.

Chapter Text

Several more days had gone by, and as expected, Kirby had yet to come back. Dedede had already set off that morning to look for him, even if it meant going through that sinister mirror.

Gooey sat outside with a parasol over his head. Though he no longer felt that he needed it, one of the Waddle Dees was nice enough to give it to him anyway.

Waddle Dee walked outside, he looked happy this morning. "Oh, there you are Gooey!"

"Do you need somethin'?" Gooey asked.

"Uh...Just wait here for a second!" Waddle Dee said as he turned around and yelled. "He's over here, sire!"

"Good," Dedede yelled back as he stepped into the garden. He was being followed by two round creatures...It was Kirby and Meta Knight, the former of the two sprinted towards Gooey before the Dark Matter had a chance to say anything.

"Gooey, you're here!" Kirby yelled as he playfully twirled Gooey around. "I'm sorry I left without saying anything, but you're HERE! I have so much to tell you!"

"Me too," Gooey replied. "I got a lot to tell you."

"So this is Gooey?" asked Meta Knight as he stared at the Dark Matter for a moment. "He looks...very different from the last time we've met."

"That's because he's been mutating like you said," Kirby explained. "First he turned grey, then he grew a tongue, and then-"

As Kirby tried to tell Meta Knight what had happened since they last met, Gooey couldn't help but wonder...did Meta Knight always have an extra pair of hands? He wore a cloth the last time Gooey had seen him. But now, he had a pair of webbed hands with long fingers sticking out of his back...Or maybe they were what Kirby fins looked like?

"Hey, Kirby?"

"Hm?"

"Where are your fins?"

"My what?" Kirby asked curiously.

"Your fins," Gooey said while pointing at Meta Knight. "He has fins, so where are yours?"

Kirby looked puzzled, though thankfully Meta Knight stepped in. "I think he's asking where your wings are."

"Oh...I don't have 'em," Kirby said with a shrug. "Not yet, anyway."

Ah, so Kirby didn't have wings...perhaps this was something only given to Kirbies with a Blade form?

"Hey, kid."

Dedede walked towards Gooey and sat down, he gave the young Dark Matter a warm smile. "Don't forget...even though Kirby's my rival, I'll always be around if you ever need a dad to watch over you again...all right?"

"Yes, sir!" Gooey said cheerfully. He was happy to be able to spend time with Dream Land's king. And if he ever got lost again, he could always come back to the castle to see him. Besides, a King always had to look out for his people...or something along those lines.

After everything had settled down, Gooey started to follow Kirby home. From what Gooey could recall, Kirby told him that he was split into four, and that he had to collect shards to fix a mirror. He also had to save Meta Knight, who was trapped in said mirror. Gooey was sure that there were other details too, though he had trouble remembering everything. One thing he recalled, though, was how Kirby could "copy" his enemies. This was an ability that was rare for Dark Matter, so he had to wonder how it worked.

"So how do you copy people?" Gooey asked. "Do you jus'...look at 'em?"

"Uh...I usually inhale them. And if they have something I can use, I can borrow their ability for a while."

"OK," Gooey replied. "I think...some Dark Matters can copy, too." The only example he could think of was his home's guardian, Lord Miracle. But even then, there weren't many examples that Gooey could think of.

"Are you...the only one of your kind that can copy?"

"Nope, others of my kind have this ability too," Kirby said as he carelessly swung his arms. Gooey's eyes widened in disbelief. "So this is normal?"

"Uh...for me it is" Kirby replied. "Although...come to think of it, I don't think I've ever shown you any of my abilities, have I?"

"No."

Kirby stopped as he tried to think of something, he was thinking about what he could use as an example. Perhaps Gooey could suggest something?

"Can you copy me?"

"I don't think so..." Kirby replied. "I could inhale your parasol, but-"

"It's OK, the sun dun hurt anymore," Gooey said cheerfully. Kirby didn't seem to believe him. "Are you sure? Because I wouldn't want you to get sick or anything."

"I'll be fine, trus' me!" Gooey insisted as he handed Kirby the parasol. Though unsure at first, Kirby inhaled the parasol and a new one appeared in his hand. He twirled it around for a moment before spitting out what looked like a star. "It's something like that."

Gooey was astonished, he had seen a few abilities that stemmed from the copy ability, but he'd never actually seen someone COPY the abilities. And if Kirby could copy something as small as a parasol, imagine what he could do with a hammer or a sword?

"How do you learn to copy?"

"Uh..." Kirby rubbed his head as he tried to think. "I dunno, it just sort of...happened, I guess."

That wasn't exactly helpful, but Gooey figured that he shouldn't complain. Besides, there was no way someone like him could have such an ability. Especially since he didn't know how to fight to begin with.

The duo finally made their way back home. Gooey had forgotten how small Kirby's house was, but he was happy to be back nonetheless. Kirby immediately jumped to his bed and let out a deep sigh. "Ah...It's good to be back."

Gooey had many more questions that he wanted to ask, but it was probably best to let Kirby rest for now. Besides, he hadn't been home in a while. 

In the meantime, Gooey figured that he would look for something to do. He grabbed some paper and a purple crayon from under the bed and started drawing. He tried to draw a bunch of flowers on the paper, but they looked more like scribbles. Still, Gooey was proud of his work.

Next, he attempted to draw his and Kirby's friends. He drew Kirby, Rick, Chuchu, Nago...then he realized that he started to run out of room, so he drew Coo, Kine, and Pitch on another page.  After that, he moved on to drawing King Dedede with his Waddle Dees. All that was left was Meta Knight. Gooey decided to draw him with his brother, since he thought that they were similar to one another.

...All of the drawings looked like scribbles, but Gooey didn't seem to care. He liked how they looked, and that was good enough for him.

"Wake up, it's dinner time!"

Gooey could feel Kirby shake him, there was a sweet smell in the air. When Gooey opened his eyes, he could see that there was a plate next to him with a slice of pizza on top.

"...How long was I asleep?"

Kirby shrugged. "I dunno, you were passed out by the time I woke up."

"Hm..." Gooey looked down in shame, he couldn't help but feel as if he was being kind of rude.

"I like your pictures, though," Kirby said as he looked at Gooey's scribbles. "I really like the big fat flower you drew."

"That's Dedede," Gooey said with a chuckle. "And those are Waddle Dees."

"Ah, then who's this one?" Kirby asked while pointing at another picture.

"That's you."

"And this one?"

"That's my brother!"

"Oh, that's so cool!"

Though it had been several days, and even though he'd changed yet again, Gooey was happy to finally spend some time with Kirby. After all, he couldn't help but think of Kirby as another sibling. He may not have been created by Lord Zero, but he still fell from the same sky that Gooey did. That counted for something, right?

Chapter Text

Gooey shook as he sat beside a tree. He knew Kirby liked to fight his friends for fun, but that didn't make Gooey feel any less nervous.

Kirby had a sword in his hand as he fought Meta Knight, who tried to lash out with his own sword. The two of them had been at it for a while now, and had Gooey been able to handle these fights, he would've tried to stop this by now.

After such a long battle, Kirby landed a hard blow on Meta Knight. The older of the two managed to land on his feet, but his mask had broken in half. Not surprisingly, his face was similar to Kirby's.

Realizing what had happened, Meta Knight wrapped himself in his cape and disappeared. Kirby panted as he stabbed the ground with the sword, all that fighting looked like it had knocked the wind out of him.

Gooey crawled over to the broken mask and picked it up, he looked at Kirby with concern. "Should we give it back?"

"Nah, he's...he's probably got another one on him already," Kirby wheezed. Gooey couldn't help but scowl. "But what if you hurt him?"

"He's fine," Kirby reassured him. "If you wanna give him his mask back, go ahead. I'm just gonna..." Before Kirby could finish his sentence, he let go of his sword and fell onto the ground. Apparently, that fight had really tired him out.

Gooey would have to remember find some food for Kirby later. But for now, he wanted to give Meta Knight his mask back. So he took the mask with him and started to search for him. Besides, he couldn't have gone too far...right?

Unlike the rest of Kirby's friends, Gooey didn't know Meta Knight too well. He didn't know where exactly he was supposed to find him, so Gooey had searched high and low for him. Just as he was about to give up, he spotted the blue Kirby sitting against a tree with a book in his lap.

"E-excuse me," Gooey called out, which gained Meta Knight's attention. The blob crawled over to his side and noticed he was already wearing another mask. Nonetheless, Gooey still handed him the broken one. "I...think this is yours."

Meta Knight quietly glanced at Gooey before putting the book down and stuffed the broken mask into his cape. Gooey didn't have much of a reason to stay, and he felt as if he was going to anger Meta Knight if he stayed any longer. But he couldn't help but wonder...

"You know, your face looks pretty normal. Why do you hide it?"

That was probably the worst thing he could ask on impulse. Because once Meta Knight looked at him again, Gooey began to panic. "S-sorry, forget I say anything!"

"...Tell me, have you ever had someone talk down to you before?"

Gooey frowned, he didn't get what Meta Knight was talking about.

"You used to live with other Dark Matter, didn't you? Have they ever treated you...differently from the rest?"

Gooey looked down and nodded. "Brother and I are defective, so we act and think differently from everyone else. But unlike him, I dunno how to fight or possess anyone."

"...I see," Meta Knight closed his book and put it aside. "I can't say I know what you've been through. But it's hard to take someone seriously when they have a face like mine."

"Or mine," Gooey added quietly. "But...Kirby has the same face as you, and I take him seriously." Suddenly, Gooey came to an awful conclusion. "You're not ashamed of your brother, are you?"

"You mean Kirby?"

"Yeah, you're not ashamed of him...are you?"

Meta Knight let out a sigh of amusement. "First of all, Kirby isn't my brother....or at least, I don't think he is."

"But...aren't you the same?"

"Just because we're the same species doesn't mean we're brothers," Meta Knight replied. "And I'm not ashamed of Kirby, either. Although...I will admit, he still has a lot to learn."

"Ah...so wait, does that mean he learned how to copy from you?"

Meta Knight shook his head. "We lose our ability to copy by the time we're fully grown. I could teach Kirby how to use the Sword and Tornado ability, but he has to learn everything else through experience."

"Hm..." So Meta Knight didn't have the Copy Ability anymore. He had to wonder how Meta Knight learned so few abilities while Lord Miracle still learned so many...but that was a story for another day. And besides, Meta Knight just said that he knew the Sword Ability, right?

"Could you teach me how to use a sword?"

"I...don't think you're ready for such a thing," Meta Knight said sternly. Gooey huffed in annoyance, "You let Kirby use a sword!"

"Because I know he can handle it, do you really think you could handle someone like me?"

Gooey growled in defeat. It was true, he wasn't any good at fighting. He couldn't even hold a sword like his brother could, so what made him think that he could train with someone like Meta Knight?

"...If it makes you feel any better, I couldn't handle a sword either when I was young."

"How so?" Gooey asked, confused. Meta Knight looked up as he tried to think. "I...wasn't exactly at my strongest when I was Kirby's age. In fact, most enemies would knock me out pretty easily if I wasn't careful."

"So you're defective too?"

"...In a sense, yes." Meta Knight replied. "But I've grown stronger since then, and even now I'm sure there are still ways for me to get even stronger. But if I can reach the level I'm at now, then I'm sure you'll be able to reach that same level one day."

Though Gooey wasn't much of a fighter, the idea that he'll get stronger was enough to put a smile on his face. It might be a long time until Gooey reached Meta Knight's level, or even his brother's level. But either way, he was sure that he'll get there.

"Well when I get stronger, I wanna be able to fight you one day like you fight Kirby."

"...Maybe one day," Meta Knight said, though Gooey could sense that he didn't want to. He wasn't sure why that was, though.

Still, the idea that he'd reach Meta Knight's level excited him.

After getting to know Meta Knight a little better, Gooey decided that he needed to get back to Kirby. He held an apple in his hands just in case Kirby was still asleep, and sure enough, he was still passed out. The sword that Kirby stabbed into the ground had fallen over

"Are you OK?" Gooey asked as he put the apple down and tried to nudge Kirby. "I got you an apple."

Kirby groaned as he sat up, he rubbed his eyes as he let out a big yawn. "Hey, Gooey...did you give Meta Knight his mask back?"

Gooey nodded. "He had a mask on by the time I found him, though."

"That sounds about right, he doesn't like showing his face off to anybody."

Gooey could understand why, and he was sure that Kirby did too. Though if the two of them weren't brothers, then what were they?

"Hey, Kirby? What's Meta Knight to you?" Gooey asked. Kirby frowned as he pick up the apple. "What do you mean?"

"Is he your friend? Or is he your rival like Dedede?"

"Uh...I guess you could call him a friend?" Kirby asked with uncertainty. "He tried to take over Dream Land not long after I beat Nightmare, but he hasn't done anything like that since then."

Gooey was surprised, why would Meta Knight want to take over Dream Land? Especially when Dedede was always willing to protect it?

...Then again, perhaps it was nothing to get worked up over? Besides, Meta Knight seemed like a good person each time Gooey talked to him. And if the Kirby and Meta Knight truly hated each other, then Kirby probably wouldn't have helped him escape that mirror in the first place...right?

Chapter Text

"...Are you awake, brother?"

The Dark Matter shifted as he opened his eyes. His siblings should be sleeping as well, though it looked like sleep hadn't caught on to his brother yet despite being in their nest.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to see if you were still awake," the brother said as he gently squeezed Dark Matter against his chest. He looked like he was thinking about something, and whatever it was it probably wasn't a good idea.

"If...you had to live anywhere else, anywhere that Lord Zero couldn't find you, would you do it?"

The Dark Matter glared. Of course his brother was overthinking things again. As loyal as he was to their creator, he was always worried about Lord Zero separating the two. So every once in a while, he would get these "rebellious thoughts". When he did get these thoughts, it would eventually lead to him getting beaten by their siblings or berated by Lord Zero should they find out.

"Oh, don't give me that look!" His brother grumbled. "I know you're as worried about Lord Zero as I am...Besides, we both know things will end badly if you don't improve. If not for you, then for the both of us."

The Dark Matter nodded. He let out a deep sigh as he lied down, he could hear his brother's heartbeat this way. Lord Zero was losing patience with each passing second, and given how slow progress was, the Dark Matter was one mistake away from getting killed.

"You know...if I could create a world of my own, I absolutely would," his brother said. "That way, we wouldn't have to worry about Lord Zero's orders. We could do whatever we want, no matter how 'defective' we were. Wouldn't that sound nice?"

Well...If the Dark Matter could live in another world with his brother, then he absolutely would. But he knew it was nothing more than a dream. And besides, right now, the two of them needed rest. There was a lot of training to get done tomorrow, and they were going to need some energy if they were going to get anything done tomorrow.

"...I understand, brother. We'll talk about this, later."

The Dark Matter nodded as he started dozing off. He knew his brother meant no harm in talking about such things, but if he COULD make a new world like that,then who's to say that Lord Zero wouldn't try to conquer it?

More time had passed since Gooey came to Popstar, so much so that the sun felt as if it was at its strongest. It was at times like this where Gooey wished he still had his parasol.

"Ugh...why is it so hot, today?" Gooey asked. He hovered over the road so it wouldn't burn him, though he couldn't understand how Kirby could to walk on such a hot surface. Shouldn't it be burning his feet?

"That's 'cause it's Summer," Kirby explained. "The days are longer than they usually are, which means it's gonna get very hot."

"Well I dun like it," Gooey said bitterly. He felt as if his skin would dry out.

"That's all right, a lotta people don't like Summer," Kirby said. "But it's not all bad, though. Longer days mean more time to play. And if it gets too hot, we could go swimming."

"Hm..." Gooey hummed in acknowledgement. He hoped that Popstar wouldn't stay hot forever, but from how Kirby described it, he was sure that the planet will go back to normal soon.

At some point, the duo strolled past Dedede's castle. And for a moment, Gooey could've sworn he'd felt some kind of aura coming from the castle. It was an angry kind of aura, but there was something familiar about it.

"You OK, Gooey?"

"...You dun sense anything, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uh..." Gooey shook his head as he began to follow Kirby again. "Never mind, le's go."

There was something off about that aura, maybe it was just Dedede having a bad day?

...No, that didn't feel right. But whatever the case may be, he was sure that he would figure it out in no time.

Later that day, Gooey and Kirby ran into some of their friends. They decided that they were going to play a simple game called "Ball".

Like the name suggested, Kirby would kick a ball around with Rick, Nago, and Pitch. As for Gooey...he was the ball. And though most would've hated getting kicked around in the middle of a field, Gooey genuinely seemed like he was having fun. He laughed and hollered as his friends kicked him around. It actually helped ease the tension he felt from that aura earlier.

"I'm open!" Pitch yelled as Nago kicked Gooey towards his direction. Afterwards, Pitch knocked him over towards Kirby's direction, and then Kirby kicked him towards Rick's direction. But when Rick tried to kick him back to Nago, he managed to knock Gooey into a cliff, which caused him to bounce over to the dirt road.

Gooey still laughed, and he couldn't wait to go back to his friends. But despite his laughter, he was starting to feel the same angry aura that he felt by the castle. He jumped as he heard a harsh, yet quiet voice speak to him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Gooey looked up with his eyes wide open. King Dedede was scowling at him while Waddle Dee tugged at his arm. "Please, Sire. I know you're grumpy today, but you shouldn't take your anger out on Gooey!"

"W-why dun you play with us, instead?" Gooey offered.

"And why should I?"

"Uh..."

Dedede shook his head, he continued to stomp along the dirt road. He spoke again in that unusually quiet tone. "I have no time for such childish games today."

Well that was weird. From what Gooey recalled, Dedede was a lot nicer than that. He was sure that the bird would've loved to join in. If not for Gooey, then at the very least he would've joined in order to show off to Kirby or something.

"Sorry," Waddle Dee said quickly. "His majesty hasn't been acting like himself today, I'll see you guys later!"

With that said, Waddle Dee ran in order to catch up to his king. Gooey made his way back to Kirby with a confused look.

"What was that all about?" Rick asked bitterly. Kirby replied with a shrug. "I don't think I've ever seen Dedede get angry at Gooey before, it's almost like he didn't recognize him."

"That's because it wasn't really Dedede." said another voice. The group looked up, they could see Meta Knight standing on top of the cliff.

"How can you be so sure?" Nago asked as he tilted his head. Meta Knight hopped off of the cliff before he wrapped himself in his cape. "From what I've observed, he seems...angrier than usual. It's like he's angry with everyone around him."

"So what should we do?" Kirby asked.

"I suggest that we should keep an eye on Dedede just in case something DOES happens" Meta Knight replied. "And when it does, we'll have to take care of it as quickly as possible."

Gooey couldn't help but worry. He wanted to find a way to help Dedede in any way he could, but he wasn't sure how he could do that. He didn't want to fight Dedede. And even if he had to, he didn't have the same abilities as his other friends did. Perhaps if his brother were here, he would know what to do?

"What do you think we should do, Kirby?" asked Rick.

"Well..." Kirby tried to think. "I say we should look for the others and see what they think."

"Wait, what about Gooey?" Nago asked.

"He's...not much of a fighter, is he?" Pitch asked while tilting his head. Meta Knight walked towards Gooey before looking back at the group. "Don't worry, I'll take him back home."

"Thanks, Meta Knight," Kirby said as he dashed towards the dirt road. "C'mon, guys! We gotta go find the others!"

Gooey watched as the rest of the gang took off. Once they were gone, he extended his fins and flew behind Meta Knight.

"Can I ask something?"

"That depends on what it is."

"Um...How do I become stronger?" Gooey asked. "Do I have to do a lot of fighting?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I wanna help Dedede," Gooey replied. Meta Knight looked away, though it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Nonetheless, Gooey glared so hard that he would've shot lightning out of his eyes if he could.

"Gooey, listen!" Meta Knight said as he looked back at the Dark Matter. "I know you mean well, but I don't think you should be involved in this."

"But why?"

"Because I think Dedede might be possessed by another Dark Matter...perhaps even a sibling of yours."

"And how would you know?"

"Because I've fought one myself," Meta Knight explained. "I've had to help seal him in a chest before he destroyed Popstar. I know you want to help, but I think it's best that you stay out of this."

"But I wanna help!" Gooey complained. "I dun care if a sibling possessed him, I wanna help Dedede!"

Meta Knight stopped walking, he looked at Gooey with an intense gaze. "So you would rather help us than to help your own kind...Is that what you're trying to say?"

"Yes, exactly!" Gooey replied.

"...I still think that you shouldn't get involved," Meta Knight explained. "But...perhaps you might be more useful than I realize?"

"So does that mean I can help?"

"Er...How about this. If Kirby isn't back by tonight, come meet me outside of Dedede's castle and we'll discuss what to do from there."

Gooey smiled. Though he would have to go against one of his siblings at some point, it didn't seem to bother him. After all, he was sure that Dedede would've done the same thing if Waddle Dee or even Kirby were the ones in trouble.

It was almost night time, yet the sun was still bright. Gooey waited patiently at Kirby's house to see if he would come back. So far, he had yet to see him or any of the Animal Friends. Of course, he was willing to wait a little longer before going to the castle. He still needed to meet with Meta Knight, after all.

He had to wonder how they were going to help Dedede, though. They would need to find a way to coax the Dark Matter into coming out of the bird's body. Gooey wasn't well-liked amongst his siblings, so talking to them might be out of the question. Once again, he tried to think about what his brother would've done in this situation, but he probably wouldn't have been much help either. So how was anyone going to get the Dark Matter to leave Dedede's body?

Suddenly, the sky darkened, but not in the way that it usually would when night time happened. Instead, the sky looked as if it was invaded by dark clouds, and that angry aura was getting stronger by the second. The clouds outside were the kind of clouds Gooey used to see in his old home, they came from the direction of Dedede's castle.

Gooey wasted no time in leaving the house. Meta Knight was probably on his way to the castle right now, it was time that they got to the bottom of this.

Chapter Text

Gooey made his way over to the castle. At some point, the dark clouds had settled down. But even then, that didn't make Dream Land feel any less gloomy. He couldn't help but notice how bitter and empty the creatures here looked as he floated by them. It was as if he had stumbled back into his old home.

He gasped in horror as he got to the castle. Lying on the ground was Meta Knight's mask, which was split in half. He picked up both pieces of the mask and looked around. Usually, Meta Knight would've hidden himself when it came off, right? Perhaps he was hiding in the castle already?

"Meta Knight!" Gooey called out as he went inside. "Are you here? Meta Knight!"

The castle that once welcomed Gooey was empty, all that welcomed him here was an overwhelmingly bitter feeling. This wasn't something that he would've expected from a place like this, given the time Gooey spent here before.

Strangely enough, Dedede was nowhere to be found. And yet, somewhere in the castle, Gooey could sense someone panicking. He flew closer to the source until he could hear voices. They were coming from the guest room that he used to sleep in.

"I'm sure Kirby can handle it, it's not like he hasn't fought King Dedede before."

"Yes, but he won't be able to free him without-"

"Waddle Dee? Meta Knight?" Gooey called out. He could hear both of them scramble from the other side of the door.

"Is that you, Gooey?" Waddle Dee asked. Gooey nodded, despite the fact that the others couldn't see him. "What happened? Where'd everyone go?"

"They're...kind of on that Dark Matter's side," Waddle Dee explained. "I can't exactly describe it, but it's like they've fallen under that thing's control after those clouds showed up. Meta Knight and I tried to stop him, but...he kinda beat us up and locked us in here."

"So then...I couldn't help after all?"

"...Actually, I think I know of a way you CAN help," Meta Knight replied. "Are you any good at flying long distances?"

"Yeah!"

"Good, because I need you to find Kirby and tell him to look for the Rainbow Drops." Meta Knight explained. "If he gathers enough, then they SHOULD be able to free Dedede from that Dark Matter's grasp."

"But what about you two?"

"Don't worry about us," Waddle Dee replied. "we'll find a way out."

"Just go find Kirby before this world is engulfed in darkness." Meta Knight commanded. "We're counting on you, Gooey!"

"Yes, sir!"

With that in mind, Gooey dropped the mask pieces and flew out of the castle. He flew along the dirt road as he tried to look for Kirby. But even after leaving the castle, that aura was still present. He just hoped that nothing had happened to Kirby or his friends yet.

...So far, there was no sign of Kirby...nor any of the animals. Gooey rested near a river as he tried to think. Perhaps Kirby made it back to his house? Or maybe he hid in a place where nobody could find him? Before he had an idea on what to do next, Gooey felt someone throw a bag over him.

"Gah!" Gooey struggled as the enemy tied the bag close. "'Top! Lemme out! LEMME OUT!"

He could barely move, and it was hard to breathe. He didn't even know who or what it was that captured him, but he needed to find Kirby as soon as he could.

...He just needed to find a way out of the bag, first.

...He couldn't tell how long he had been inside the bag for, but he knew that it must've been a long time. At first, he tried to escape the bag by pushing his fins against it. However, there was no room for him to stretch them out. He also tried to push against the opening with his tongue, but it was tied up so tightly that he couldn't squeeze through. He still needed to tell Kirby about the Rainbow Drops, he hoped that he wasn't too late.

Suddenly, he could hear a fight happen through the bag. He couldn't tell what was going on, but it sounded like Kirby was here to attack his kidnapper. Once the outside had gone silent, the bag fell to the floor. Gooey squeaked as he felt the wind get knocked out of him.

"Sorry," Kirby said as he started untying the bag. "I was just trying to save...Gooey?"

Gooey was still somewhat dazed from the fall, and the cold air outside the bag felt like a thousand bee stings. But from what he could see, Kirby wasn't alone. He had Rick, Coo, and Kine with him on this adventure. Gooey wasn't sure where Nago, Chuchu, or Pitch were, but he hoped that they were safe regardless.

"I thought Meta Knight took you home," Rick said. "How'd you end up all the way out here?"

"...Oh yeah, Meta Knight wanted me to find you," Gooey said as he quickly came to his senses. "He said you need to look for the Rainbow Drops."

"Rainbow Drops?" Kirby asked as he stared at Gooey in confusion. Suddenly, an idea popped into Kirby's head. He spat out a shiny stone-like object. It sparkled all different colors of the rainbow. "You mean these, right?"

"I think so," Gooey replied. "How many do you got?"

"We have three of them so far," Coo said. "I knew Rick was on the right track when he said to keep an eye out for them."

Gooey was happy to know that his friends were already on their way to saving Dedede, but now...what was he going to do? He'd already helped Kirby, but he wasn't any good at fighting.

"How about you stick with us for a while, Gooey?" Kirby asked. "After all, it's a long way from home."

Wait...How far from home was he? Either way, it didn't matter. It would be neat to go on an adventure with Kirby for once, and now Gooey had the option to do so. "Of course I'll come with you!"

And with that, Gooey began to travel with Kirby and his friends. With how quick Kirby was at collecting the Rainbow Drops, they would be able to free Dedede in no time.

"Welp, this is it..."

After going through most of Dream Land, the group found themselves sitting inside a castle. Unlike Dedede's, this castle floated high above the sky. It seemed that the Dark Matter might've used magic to make this. Gooey's brother knew how to use some magic, but he always preferred to use weapons, instead.

Besides, his brother couldn't have been the one causing trouble...right?

...Right?

"Do you think you'll be all right without us?" Rick asked Kirby.

"I'll be fine," Kirby replied. "I just gotta hope that we can save Dedede before that Dark Matter causes even more trouble."

"...Can I come with you?" Gooey asked, the others looked at him as if he'd done something crazy.

"I...don't think that's such a good idea," Coo told Gooey.

"Besides, who's to say the Dark Matter won't hurt you?" Rick added. Gooey nodded in understanding. "I know. I dun want to fight the Dark Matter, I jus' wanna see the fight. I had a bad thought, so I wanna see the Dark Matter for myself."

"But what if you don't like what you see?" Kirby asked. "Are you sure you still wanna come with me?"

"...I dun, but I feel like I have to," Gooey replied. Kirby nodded in understanding as he gently rubbed Gooey's back. "Whatever happens, just know that I'll be right behind you, OK?"

Once again, Gooey nodded. Kirby looked at Rick with a determined look in his eye. "We'll meet you guys back in the Grass Lands when all of this is over, all right?"

"You got it, Kirby!" Rick said proudly. Soon, Kirby began to make his way to the top of the tower. Gooey stayed behind him, though he couldn't help but feel as if his heart was going to explode. 

His brother was the kindest one out of all of his siblings, so there was no way that he would ever do something like this, right? But the more that Gooey denied it, the more he worried that his brother WAS involved.

Soon, Kirby lead him to the top of the castle. Once again, he gently placed an arm on Gooey's back and smiled. "Stay here, Gooey. And if that Dark Matter attacks you, then I won't hesitate to beat him up."

Gooey nodded, he watched quietly as Kirby made his way to Dedede. The bird sat there as if he was asleep, and yet his hammer sat next to him as if he was ready to fight at any moment.

"All right, Dark Matter! Show's over!" Kirby yelled, which gained Dedede's (or rather the Dark Matter's) attention.

"So you've finally seen through my ruse?" The Dark Matter said quietly as he sat up. He grabbed the hammer with a firm grip. "I must say, I'm impressed. It's a shame that I'll have to end you."

"But why?" Kirby asked. "Wouldn't it be better to just be friends, instead?"

The Dark Matter let out a sinister laugh. "Why bother when I can just share my pain with everyone else? Looking at this planet made me sick. And besides, I think Lord Zero would be pleased with the progress I've made!"

"But maybe if you had a friend here, then-"

"SHUT UP!" The Dark Matter yelled as he swung at Kirby, he managed to knock him into a wall. Once Kirby was out of the way, the Dark Matter turned his attention towards Gooey. The young blob could feel every muscle in his body freeze, it was as if he'd turn to ice.

"As for you, just looking at you makes my blood boil!" the Dark Matter said as he started to tremble. "You look like a mockery of someone VERY close to me, AND FOR THAT I'LL HAVE TO KILL YOU!"

Gooey screamed as he covered his face. But before the Dark Matter could strike him, Kirby acted fast and kicked him in the head. "Fight me, he's got nothing to do with this!"

"Very well," the Dark Matter said as he tried to strike Kirby again. "I look forward to eliminating you first!"

Gooey watched helplessly as Kirby fought the Dark Matter. From the looks of it, the Dark Matter had a hard time using Dedede's hammer. He became more and more frustrated as the fight went on. Nonetheless, he was determined to defeat Kirby no matter what.

Soon, the Dark Matter reached a point where he could no longer fight as Dedede. Kirby managed to knock him into the ground. Before Kirby could figure out what to do next, he spat out the Rainbow Drops he collected as if they'd forced themselves out. They gathered in his hand and started to form into a sword. He looked at Gooey with a worried look, as if he knew this Dark Matter might've been someone special to Gooey. Once he brought the sword close to Dedede, Gooey's fears were confirmed to be true.

The Dark Matter screamed as the sword forced him out of Dedede's body. Unlike most of Gooey's siblings, this one had spines on his back. This confirmed that the Dark Matter that caused so much trouble was indeed Gooey's brother. He switched into Blade form and fled to the sky, the Rainbow Sword dragged Kirby up there as well. Soon, the two of them were so high up that they could no longer be seen.

As much as he didn't want to, all Gooey could do was sit there and cry. Ever since he came to Popstar, he had hoped that his brother would find his way here too. He'd hoped that his brother would get to know Kirby and his friends. He'd hoped that his brother would've loved it here.

Not once did it ever occur to him that his brother would be the one to attack Popstar, not until the last minute at least. He wanted to stop this fight, he really did. But there was nothing he could do. His brother no longer recognized him, just as he'd feared.

"Urgh..."

He didn't look right away, but Gooey could hear Dedede wake up from where he was. It didn't take long for the bird quickly run towards his side. "Hey! Gooey! Are you OK?"

Gooey didn't answer, the tears kept falling from his eyes. As Dedede realized this, he picked up Gooey and hugged him tightly. All the blob could do was bury himself into Dedede's chest.

"Guess you found out what happened, huh?"

"I-I dun get it," Gooey said as he sobbed. "Wh-why would...would Brother do...do this?"

"Well, to be honest...I think he's been hurt REALLY badly," Dedede told Gooey. "Can't say I know what happened after you left home, but I think letting you go hurt him so badly that he just wanted to share some of that pain with everyone else."

"...So it's my fault!"

"No, absolutely not!" Dedede said sternly. "You didn't know this would happen, so don't blame yourself!"

As much as Gooey wanted to believe Dedede, the only reason he could think of where his brother would lash out like that was because he lost his only friend back home. Lord Zero may have sent him here, sure. But that didn't change the fact that his brother was the one who tried to take over Popstar in the first place.

Soon, the dark clouds above them went away, and a bright rainbow formed across the sky. It seemed like Kirby managed to defeat Gooey's brother, Gooey just hoped that Kirby was going to be all right.

As for his brother, Gooey wasn't sure what to think of him anymore. Should he be angry? Or should he feel sorry for him? Either way, he never wanted to see his brother again!

Chapter Text

Even more time had passed since then, the strength of the sun had started to weaken. However, Popstar didn't go back to normal like Gooey expected. The leaves began to change color and the winds became stronger. It was as if Popstar was dying, yet Kirby acted as if this was normal.

During their morning stroll, Kirby and Gooey had come across the sunflower fields that they explored a while back. The flowers were replaced by orange fruit, and there were no signs of those frogs, either. Gooey looked at Kirby and frowned. "Why is everything so...dead?"

"It's Autumn," Kirby replied. "The days get colder, plants start to wilt, and animals get ready to sleep for the next several months."

"Oh, so...does that mean your friends are getting ready to sleep, too?"

"Um...I know Rick is," Kirby said while trying to think. "He'll wake up every now and then, but we aren't gonna see him as much until Spring."

"Oh..." Gooey looked down, he couldn't help but worry about Rick. But it shouldn't take long until Spring came back, right?

"What's Spring like?"

"That's when all the plants come back to life and the animals start to wake up," Kirby explained. "You were here when it was Spring, remember?

Gooey was shocked, "So Pop'tar really will go back to normal?"

"Something like that, yeah." Kirby told Gooey. "But Autumn's a lot of fun, too. It's just as normal as the other seasons here."

"How so?"

"Well, it's the time of year where we carve pumpkins," Kirby explained as he grabbed one of the orange plants from the ground. "And later this month, we dress up like monsters and collect candy."

So the people of Dream Land have an event dedicated to collecting candy? This sounded like something Dedede would've come up with. Gooey really liked the idea, though he wasn't sure what sort of monster he was supposed to dress up as. He wasn't really sure about what counted as a monster here, either.

"What are you gonna dress up as, Kirby?"

"I was thinking about being a ghost again this year, but I don't know." Kirby said as he grabbed another pumpkin. "What about you?"

"I dunno," Gooey replied. Kirby inhaled a third pumpkin before he started walking again. "Well, maybe we can find something when we get home?"

"Maybe..."

Kirby placed the two pumpkins in front of his house as soon as he got home. As he went inside the house, he started to dig under the bed for something he could give to Gooey. And whenever he grabbed something, he'd always ask about it before he tossed it aside.

"Wanna be a vampire?"

"No."

"All right...how about a dragon?"

"...No."

"A werewolf?"

"I dun even know what these things are!"

"Hm..." Kirby kept searching under the bed, so much so that he didn't realize that his feet barely touched the light outside. There were many clothes thrown across the floor. Some of them looked fancy while others looked kind of goofy. But if Kirby couldn't find anything soon, then Gooey will have to give up on getting any candy.

"Oh!" Kirby exclaimed as he pulled himself out from under the bed. He held onto a pointy hat. "How about a witch?"

"Uh...maybe?"

Kirby walked over to Gooey and placed the hat on his head. It was like a wide umbrella that shielded Gooey from the light. Given how many creatures liked to hide in the dark, something like this worked perfectly.

There was a knock at the door, Kirby walked over and opened it. Rick and Nago stood outside. For some reason, Nago looked fluffier than he usually did.

"Hey, Kirby!" Rick greeted. "Whaddaya up to?"

Kirby looked at Gooey and pointed. "I was just finding something for Gooey to wear."

"Well don't we look scary today?" Nago asked as he looked at Gooey. The Dark Matter smiled proudly. "Good, 'cause that means I get a lotta candy."

"Not if Kirby eats it first," Rick teased, which earned him a bitter look from Kirby.

"I can't help but feel like something's missing, though," Nago said as he placed a paw under his chin. He thought about it for a little while until an idea had formed in his head. "I know, you need a cloak! Every good witch needs a cloak!"

Oh, was Gooey's costume not done? A cloak would help him hide in the dark more easily, but he wasn't sure how it would fit on his body. Especially not without a Blade form...Maybe he could fit it over his fins instead?

"So what brought you guys here, today?" Kirby asked.

"Well...I was thinking that we should go camping before I get ready to hibernate," Rick said as he scratched his ear with his foot. "I wanna know if you guys wanna come with us."

"Sure thing," Kirby replied. "I could even bring my fishing rod!"

"But what about the candy?" Gooey asked. Nago sighed as he patted the Dark Matter's back. "That won't be until later this month, Gooey."

Oh...right...Gooey still had a whole month ahead of him until he could gather candy...how long was a month supposed to be, again?

"We could still roast marshmallows while we're out camping," Rick assured Gooey. "They're kinda sticky, but I'm sure you'd love 'em."

"Oh, maybe we should bring chocolate with us, too!" Kirby said excitedly. "We could make S'mores."

"Now you're talkin'!"

Nago sighed as he shook his head. Gooey looked at him with a curious gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Hm?" Nago opened his eyes for a moment. "I'm not a big fan of marshmallows, they always find a way to stick to my fur."

"But what will you eat?"

"There's always fish," Nago replied. "I could just cook it over the fire like you would with marshmallows."

"Ah."

Gooey wasn't sure what camping would involve, but he felt as if he might actually enjoy it. Especially since Rick was going to be sleeping soon, so the least he could do was to join him before the time came up.

Later that day. Kirby and his friends were outside, they were cutting up the pumpkins. Kirby would eat whatever was inside the pumpkin before Rick and Nago cut shapes into the sides. The shapes made the pumpkins look like they had faces. Gooey had to assume that this was another thing that happened during Autumn, as he couldn't recall any other time someone would cut faces into food before this.

"Why do you gotta cut up the pum'kins?" Gooey asked. "Why not something bigger like watermelon?"

"We COULD do that, but..." Rick paused as he tried to think. "Actually, why DO we carve pumpkins?"

Nago shrugged, as he didn't have an answer either. "I just know that watermelons aren't as good this time of year."

"We just cut pumpkins because it's fun," Kirby added as he ate a piece of pumpkin that he carved off. If that were the case, then Gooey would've loved to help. That is, if he were able to handle a knife. He liked to imagine that it was like using a smaller sword, except it was used for food rather than fighting.

There seemed to be so much to do in Autumn. Although it was getting colder, Kirby showed no signs of slowing down. Even Rick seemed happy, despite the fact that he was going to sleep soon.

Perhaps Popstar wasn't actually dying after all? Like Rick, maybe it was just getting ready to sleep, too? That's what Gooey liked to believe.

Chapter Text

A few more days had gone by, and the leaves continued to fall out of the trees. Gooey knew now that this was normal during Autumn. He had to wonder if it had to do with the colder weather, like everything else did on Popstar.

Gooey and Kirby were taking a path that lead to the forest. The more trees there were, the more the path was covered in leaves. Although Kirby didn't mind stepping on them, Gooey hovered over them so they wouldn't stick to his body. Though at this point, most leaves were old and crunchy. They didn't taste very good, either.

"So how long is camping apposed to be?"

"About...two days." Kirby explained.

"Oh, so we're not gonna go home for a while."

"Nope, we're gonna be outside most of the time." Kirby explained. "We'll get to play all kinds of games. And at night, we'll roast marshmallows and tell each other all kinds of stories."

"I dun have many stories, though..."

"You could always tell us more about your brother," Kirby suggested. Gooey looked away, a bitter expression formed on his face. He really didn't want to think about him after what he did.

Kirby frowned as he noticed Gooey's anger, he rubbed the side of his face as he tried to say something. "Uh...you know what? I think Coo's telling most of the stories anyway."

The duo moved further into the forest until they found their friends. Rick and Coo were trying to set up a tent, Chuchu was near the water with Kine and Pitch, and Nago sat under a tree with a basket of fish beside him.

"Hey, guys!" Kirby yelled as he ran towards the group, Gooey followed him as everyone greeted the duo.

"Hey, I'm glad you made it!" Rick said as he tried to tie the tent down. "I was startin' to think that you wouldn't show up."

"Why wouldn't we?" Kirby asked excitedly. "It's been a while since we've done any camping."

While Kirby talked with Rick, Gooey began to examine the area. It looked like most of the leaves here were put into neat piles. There was also a container here full of food, as well as a pile made from sticks. Once he was done looking around, he landed next to Nago.

"Hey there, Gooey!" Nago greeted as he took a fish out of his basket. "Wanna try one?"

Gooey took the fish from Nago's paws with his tongue and dragged it into his mouth. The fish wasn't cooked, but Gooey didn't mind. It was still fish, after all.

"It's nice to go camping every once in a while," Nago said as he sat back against the tree. "It's kind of like going on a small adventure."

"Like what Kirby does?"

"Well...you usually don't have to worry about someone like Nightmare or Dar...er...anyone else trying to take over Popstar," Nago said as he looked away from Gooey. The Dark Matter gave him a bitter look, which made Nago a little uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, Gooey. I wasn't trying to-"

The cat was cut off as he heard an argument at the river. Chuchu and Pitch were fighting over something. Although Kine tried to calm them down, he didn't make any progress.

"Give me a moment," Nago sighed as he headed towards the river. Shortly after Nago had left, Gooey started to hear voices. They didn't sound like they came from anyone here, so he decided to investigate. He hid in the bushes so nobody would be able to find him.

Not far from the campsite was another path. Here, Gooey could see two monsters walk along the road. One of them looked like a walking skull while the other was purple and spiky. He even carried a ball with spikes on it.

"How do you think the others are doing? Do you think they're missing out?"

"Not really, all I've seen so far are foxes and dead leaves."

"Yeah, but it's not bad out here. I can see why Kirby wanted to stop us back then."

"I just wish he didn't have to sink the Halberd. I mean no disrespect to our captain, but lemme tell ya...puffballs are stubborn."

So these monsters had a captain? Not only that, they've encountered Kirby before. Perhaps their captain wanted to take revenge on Kirby? and that was why they were out here? Gooey would have to keep an eye out for them, later, should they go through with their plan.

Later that day, the group gathered around a fire. Rick was telling the group about a time where he tried to climb a mountain with his girlfriend...or something along those lines, Gooey didn't really pay attention.

He was still thinking about those monsters from earlier. What were they doing right now? Were they still getting ready to attack Kirby?

"Are you OK, Gooey?" Kirby whispered in order to get his friend's attention. Gooey frowned. "Yeah, why?"

Suddenly, the marshmallow on Gooey's stick had caught on fire. Kirby inhaled it before anyone panicked, but doing so moved the flame on top of his head.  

"Is...everything all right?" Chuchu asked as she tilted her head.

"Everything's fine," Kirby assured her before looking back at Gooey and whispered. "You can tell us if something's wrong, Gooey. I promise we'll take care of it."

Gooey thought about it for a moment until he nodded. "OK, I saw mon'ters talk about you earlier. They said you...sank a bird? And then they talked about their captain and puffballs being 'tubborn."

It took a moment before Kirby understood what he was saying, he smiled in amusement. "I don't think those were monsters, Gooey."

"Yeah they were," Gooey argued. "One of 'em was a walking skull!"

Kirby let out a sigh.  "If you really think there are monsters out here, then Coo and I will go look for them later. All right?"

Gooey nodded. He was sure that Kirby could take care of those monsters, himself. In the meantime, he sat back and listened to Rick's story...Which had gone from mountain climbing to fighting a hoard of Gordos.

Not even Gooey could believe this story.

Later that night, Kirby took off with Coo in order to look for the monsters. Meanwhile, everyone else went to sleep. Chuchu and Kine were sleeping in the water, Pitch slept in a nearby tree, and Rick, Nago, and Gooey slept in the tent.

There was no sign of Kirby as time went on, but he should be fine out there...right?

Nago yawned as he sat up. Rick and Gooey started to do the same shortly after.

"Those two have been gone for a while, haven't they?" Nago asked. Rick quietly nodded as he let out another yawn.

"What if the mon'ters got him?" Gooey asked. Rick shook his head in disagreement. "Nah, he'd probably taken care of 'em by now."

"True," Nago said as his ears pointed downwards. "But...maybe it wouldn't hurt to look for him?"

"Suit yourself," Rick replied as he fell back onto his pillow. "I'll...watch the camp while you're gone..."

"Can I come with you?" Gooey asked. Nago stayed silent for a moment. He nodded quietly. "Yes, but I don't want you to run off on me. All right?"

"I wun."

With that said, Nago and Gooey left the tent and headed further into the forest. Although Gooey didn't want to run into those monsters, he still wanted to make sure that Kirby was all right.

Chapter Text

The forest was cold and dark, creatures could be heard howling in the distance.

Nago held onto Gooey as the duo moved through the forest. Though Gooey never had a problem being out in the dark before, there was something unsettling about going through a forest at night. There were all sorts of creatures hiding in the shadows, and any of them could attack the duo at any moment.

There was a fire in the distance. It wasn't big enough to cause any damage to the forest, but it was still big enough for the duo to see. Suddenly, the duo heard some kind of metallic noise.

"What was that?" asked Gooey.

"I don't know," Nago replied. "But I'm pretty sure Kirby's involved."

Quietly, the duo got closer to where the fire was. Sure enough, Kirby was here fighting a monster. The other two monsters sat closer to a campfire while Coo watched from afar. He was probably expecting Kirby to win this fight, yet Kirby himself looked like he had trouble keeping up.

Gooey looked around, he saw that there was a sword lying on the ground in front of him. Perhaps Kirby managed to knock it away from the monster he fought? But from the looks of it, the monster already had his own sword. Knowing this, Gooey took the sword off the ground with his tongue and examined it.

"What do you have there, Gooey?" Nago asked. Before he could answer, Gooey saw Kirby stumble backwards as the monster flew into him. The Dark Matter panicked, so much so that he accidentally swallowed the sword. Normally, one would expect to be cut in two upon swallowing a sword. And yet, Gooey felt as if something had woken up inside of him...He quickly slipped out of Nago's paws as a newer sword formed in one of his nubby arms.

"Gooey, wait!" Nago yelled as he tried to chase Gooey. Kirby and the monster looked over at Gooey's direction. But when Gooey tried to strike the monster, he was knocked into the ground. Gooey's sword had turned into a star before it disappeared.

"What's going on?" asked one of the monsters in concern. Their leader looked back at them, a familiar silhouette formed in front of the fire. "Calm down, it's just one of Kirby's friends."

...Wait a minute, were those wings?

"Meta Knight?" Gooey asked as he got back up. "You're the mon'ter?"

"And you need to work on your swordsmanship," Meta Knight replied coldly.

"Why did you have a sword, anyway?" Kirby asked. Gooey looked down in shame. "I might've...eaten it."

"What was that?" Kirby asked in complete shock. Gooey sank lower into the ground. "I ate the sword."

Suddenly, Kirby picked up Gooey and twirled him around. There was a sense of pride in his voice. "I can't believe it! You can copy! YOU CAN COPY!"

Could he really? Gooey had heard of Dark Matter that could learn how to copy their opponents, but he never thought that he would ever be one of the lucky ones. He was sure that if Lord Miracle were here, he would've been proud of him.

"Wait, what happened?" asked the skull-shaped monster as he ran towards group and looked at Gooey. "I thought puffballs were the only ones who could learn the Copy Ability."

"You'd be surprised," Meta Knight replied. Gooey looked at the monster with a puzzled look on his face. "So these mon'ters are your friends, Meta Knight?"

"You could say that, yes."

"So then...why did Kirby sink your bird?"

"Remember when I told you about Meta Knight taking over Dream Land" Kirby interrupted, which earned him a harsh glare from Meta Knight.

Oh, right...like his brother, Meta Knight had also tried to taken over Dream Land. And yet...

"Why did you do it, though?" Gooey asked. "Were you angry like Brother?"

"I...wanted to put an end to Dream Land's lazy lifestyle," Meta Knight said as he wrapped himself in his cape. "I didn't want to have another incident like we had with Nightmare, but I learned the hard way that Dream Land was in good hands once Kirby sank my ship."

"Nobody's let Meta Knight live it down since then," Kirby added with a smirk.

"...Yes, needless to say, I've regretted that decision since that incident." Meta Knight said quietly. "Nonetheless, I plan on restoring my ship to its former glory. And once I do, it'll be MUCH better than it was before."

Although Meta Knight had his issues, Gooey knew that he was a good person. Taking over Dream Land was pretty extreme, but it seemed like Meta learned his lesson since then. He just hoped that his brother learned HIS lesson, too.

"Anyway, maybe we should go back to our camp?" Kirby suggested. "After all, I'll bet Gooey wants to show everyone that he has the Copy Ability, too."

"Very well," Meta Knight said quietly. "We'll be here if you need anything else."

The group bid farewell to Meta Knight's group. Since Gooey now had the copy ability, he had a bit of training to do tomorrow.

...Come to think of it, he hadn't done any actual training since he was banished from his old home. He couldn't help but wonder what his brother was up to right now. Was he still angry? Or maybe he regretted what he did? Gooey didn't like the idea of his brother coming back, but he had to wonder if Lord Zero ever punished him. And if he did, it would've been because he failed his mission.

"Kirby...?"

"Yeah?"

"How long...did it take for you to forgive Meta Knight?"

"Why do you ask? Are you thinking about Dark Matter, again?"

...Was it that obvious?

"Listen, Gooey...Sometimes people do bad things, and sometimes it can take a long time to forgive them. But whether you want to forgive them or not is up to you."

But could he really forgive his brother for attacking Popstar? Especially when he could come back and do it again?

It was something he would have to think about for a while, but he was certain that he wouldn't have to worry about it for a while.

The morning was cold, Gooey could feel himself shake under the blanket. He missed the warmth that the sun used to give before Autumn happened, and he hoped that he would feel it again soon.

He crawled out of the tent and stretched. Kirby, Nago, and Rick were trying to revive the fire, which seemed to have gone out last night.

"Mornin', Gooey!"" Rick greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

Gooey yawned, Rick shrugged in response. "Can't say I blame ya, I had to be dragged outta the tent this morning."

That sounded about right, everyone else would probably be in bed right now if they didn't have to check on the fire.

Actually, maybe there was a way to keep everyone warm while the fire was out? Gooey grabbed one of the burning logs from the fire pit and swallowed it. His mouth burned, but now he was able to breathe a small flame from his mouth.

"Gooey, be careful!" Kirby yelled as he walked over to Gooey's side. "You don't wanna use Copy Abilities for every little thing. I've had to learn that the hard way."

Yeah, well...it wasn't like Gooey was burning the forest down or anything. He'd be fine as long as he didn't do anything crazy.

"I'll go look for some more firewood," Nago said as he headed into the forest. "Keep an eye on Gooey, all right?"

Kirby nodded before looking back at his friend, who continued to breathe the fire. Rick looked at Gooey with a curious gaze. "So when did he learn how to copy?"

"Last night, actually," Kirby replied. "I thought I could teach him a few things later."

"Oh, maybe we could play for a little bit?" Rick suggested. "We could get him to copy the Stone ability."

Kirby's eyes widened in excitement. "Oh, that's a good idea! Gooey could roll you around all day if you wanted."

Oh, right...animals were able to enhance the abilities of others, weren't they? Gooey never needed such help before, so he was a surprised to see how eager Rick was to play with him using these abilities. Perhaps he was as proud as Kirby was last night?

Nago returned with several pieces of wood in his paws, he dropped most of them into the fire pit as he brought one of them towards Gooey's mouth. Once it caught on fire, Nago dropped the wood into the pit so the others could burn as well.

"OK, Gooey. You can stop, now." Kirby said while he patted his friend's back. Gooey stopped breathing fire, he could see Rick grab a rock near the tent before offering it to him. "Hey, wanna see if you can use the Stone ability?"

Gooey nodded as he took the rock from Rick's paws. But when he tried to use the Stone ability, he managed to set himself on fire. He wasn't injured in any way, but it DID startle him pretty badly. He had the Sword ability knocked out of him last night, so how was he supposed to get rid of the one he had now?

"You gotta spit out the Fire Ability first," Kirby pointed out. "Just pretend you have a piece of food stuck in your throat and you wanna get it out."

Was that how it worked? It was worth a try at least. Gooey concentrated on getting rid of his ability. Once he felt something build up near his throat, he spat it out. What came out of his mouth was a star.

"All right, NOW try eating this," Rick said as he grabbed another rock off of the ground. Gooey grabbed it from Rick's paws and swallowed it. This time, he started to feel kind of heavy, he managed to turn himself into stone...well, a stone with wonky eyes anyway.

"You're doing great, Gooey!" Kirby praised. Gooey turned himself back to normal and smiled, things were looking good so far.

"Great, now hop on my back while using the stone ability," Rick told Gooey. The Dark Matter did as he was told and climbed onto Rick's back. But instead of turning to stone, he managed to turn Rick into a round boulder. Gooey was astonished. He started to roll Rick around, he found it to be kind of fun.

He couldn't believe all the praise and encouragement he had gotten after gaining such a new ability. It wasn't a Blade form, and it would probably be a long time until he could gain such a form. But for now, he was happy to have learned a new ability while he lived on Popstar.

Perhaps one day, he could even help Kirby on one of his adventures? The very thought of it excited him.

Chapter Text

As the days went by, Popstar felt colder and colder. Eventually, the night had come where it was time to collect candy.

Kirby had given himself the ghost ability earlier that day while Gooey dressed up like a witch. He had a black cloak that was set up to hide his fins while he hovered in the air.

"OK, so it looks like I've got everything," Kirby said as he held a bucket shaped like a pumpkin. "What about you, Gooey?"

"All ready," Gooey said as he grabbed a similar bucket. He followed Kirby outside, most of the ground was covered in leaves. There were many creatures outside as well...Or rather, creatures dressed as other creatures. Some even walked by with of their buckets half full of candy.

Not far from Kirby's house, Coo stood under a tree with his own bucket full of candy bars, as well as a bucket of paint. He would hand one candy bar to each creature that happened to walk by. Unlike most of the creatures outside, Coo wore a beret on his head, he looked like some kind of artist.

"Trick or treat!" Kirby yelled as he ran towards Coo. Gooey trailed behind him as he pulled the bucket closer to his mouth. Coo waved one of his wings as the duo approached him.

"So I see we've become a ghost again this year," Coo said as he handed the duo a candy bar each. "Did you find anybody to possess yet?"

"You can possess people?" Gooey asked in shock. Kirby frowned. "Er...only in ghost form, Gooey."

Ah, that made sense. If Kirby COULD possess people, he would've told Gooey about it.

"And what are you supposed to be?" Coo asked.

"I'm a witch, today." Gooey replied. Coo nodded in response. "I see...You know, I've met a little witch that came here not that long ago. From what she showed me,  she's able to bring all kinds of things to life."

"Really?" Kirby asked excitedly, Coo replied with a nod. "Seeing Gooey dress up like one made me think of her. I'm sure she'd love to meet you..when she decides to come out of her shell, that is."

But aren't witches supposed to be scary? At least that's what Gooey was lead to believe.

"In that case, we'll keep an eye on out for any witches while Gooey and I collect candy," Kirby said as he happily marched along. Gooey followed Kirby again while Coo waved to the duo. "Stay safe out there, you two!"

As the night went on, the duo managed to collect all kinds of candy. Kirby happily swung his candy-filled bucket next to him while Gooey held his bucket close with his tongue.

"I'm surprised I dun seen Dedede out here," Gooey said with concern. "Dun he like candy?"

"Eh...I'm sure he has all the candy he wants already," Kirby replied. "Now come on, we've got even more to collect!"

Kirby ran faster, he failed to notice the candy that started to fly out of the bucket. Gooey tried to keep up, but he flew at a slower pace so that he wouldn't lose his own candy.

Gooey began to hear something in the distance, it sounded like laughter. Perhaps it was the witch that Coo talked about earlier? Maybe she was busy creating things? There was a part of Gooey that told him to stick with Kirby, and yet there was another part of him that wanted to go see this witch.

...Well, since Kirby was already far ahead, Gooey started to follow the laughter. As he got closer, he could see several small ghosts float through the air. They were roughly half of Gooey's size, and as he kept moving, the ghosts would turn into globs of paint. He was so focused on the paint ghosts that he accidentally bumped into someone.

The person started to scream, which caused Gooey to start screaming as well. He fell to the floor and covered his eyes with his tongue. The candy in his bucket was now scattered across the ground.

"S-sorry," said the person. "I wasn't...I didn't mean to scare you like that!"

Slowly, Gooey lifted his tongue from his eyes. The person collected the candy off the ground and placed it back into Gooey's bucket. She was a pale creature that wore a black hat and a black cloak. She must've been the witch.

"What's with all the yelling?" a voice called out.

"I-It's nothing," said the witch. "Just a scared-looking blob."

Suddenly, Coo landed between Gooey and the witch. He looked at Gooey in surprise. "Hey there, Gooey...I thought you were supposed to be with Kirby."

"I was...but I heard laughing," Gooey replied. "But...I didn't think I'd actually meet the witch!"

"B-But I'm not a witch," the creature told Gooey. "I'm just dressed like one."

"But Coo was talking about a witch, earlier." Gooey said curiously.

"I did, but she's really just a human girl." Coo replied. "It's Halloween after all. And besides, you won't find a ton of humans on Popstar."

To be fair, Gooey had never heard of humans before, either. Lord Zero would sometimes mention a planet full of creatures called "fairies", which were similar to what the human looked like. However,  he would always emphasize to his scouts that they should stay away from that planet at all costs. The only thing the human was missing, though, was a pair of wings.

"A-anyway...my name is Ado," said the human. "I...I came here to study art."

"So you were the one that made the ghosts!" Gooey said excitedly. "Do you think you can show me?"

"Uh...of course," Ado said as she pulled a paintbrush and a palette out of her cloak. "Just follow me, OK?"

Gooey grabbed his bucket as he started to follow Ado. She lead the Dark Matter to a blank canvas, which Coo landed on top of. 

"Now...I haven't gotten the hang of this sort of thing myself," Ado said as she painted on the canvas. "But I think I'm starting to get better at it."

She drew three ghosts and a Waddle Dee, all of which jumped out of the canvas. They wandered for a moment before they dissolved back into paint. Gooey couldn't help but frown, as he felt sorry for the poor paintings.

"...Like I said, I haven't gotten the hang of it," Ado said quietly. "But...with some practice, I'm sure those paintings could stick around for a little longer."

"You think so?" Gooey asked in astonishment.

"Of course," Ado replied with a smile. She took out a smaller brush from her cloak and handed it over to Gooey. "Here, why don't you draw something?"

Gooey grabbed the paintbrush with an arm and dipped it in the paint from Ado's palette. He tried to draw a Dark Matter to see if it would come to life...And yet, it stayed on the canvas. He couldn't bring things to life like Ado could, though. So he shouldn't feel too disappointed.

"Here, let me try something," Ado said as she painted next to Gooey's drawing. Instead of a Dark Matter, she painted a small sun. For a moment, it gave the duo a warm light before it dissolved into paint again.

"I wish I could do that," Gooey said in amusement. "It looks fun!"

Actually, he could probably learn this ability if he started eating the paint, but something told him that it probably wasn't a good idea.

"Oh, what's all this?"

The group looked to see Kirby staring curiously at the canvas. From the looks of it, he'd also witnessed Ado bring the sun to life for a moment.

"This is Ado," Coo said while he pointed towards the human. "She came to Popstar to study art."

"She's a human, and she can bring things to life with her drawings!" Gooey explained. Ado nodded in response, "Y-yeah...what he said."

"So if you drew a bird, would it come to life?"

"Of course, wanna see?"

Ado started drawing on the canvas again, this time she tried to draw Coo. The drawing flew around for a moment before it dissolved once again.

"That's so cool," Kirby said excitedly. "How do you do that?"

"Well..."

While Ado and Kirby started to talk, Gooey started to dig through his bucket to find some candy to eat. It was nice to see a new face in this world, and Gooey was sure that Ado would love it here just as much as he did when he came to Popstar.

Chapter Text

Popstar continued to grow colder even after the night the candy had been collected. Gooey slept on the floor with a heavy blanket wrapped around him, though the fire in Kirby's fireplace had gone out hours ago. He was shaking, and his body was starting to feel sore.

"Gooey, wake up!" Kirby yelled excitedly. "It's snowing!"

The Dark Matter groaned bitterly as he moved out of the blanket, his body still shivered from the cold. He could see that Kirby was looking outside his window. Gooey climbed Kirby's bed and looked outside. Instead of rain, white flakes fell from the sky. There were so many flakes that the ground looked like it was covered in a large, white blanket.

"Wh-what do you c-call this again? W-winter?"

"Yep, it's Winter!" Kirby replied. "We got a lotta snow last night, though. So that means we can build snowmen and do some sledding...Doesn't that sound fun?"

Gooey nodded. Though if he were being honest, he'd rather stay home and sleep all day. Kirby frowned, as it seemed like he picked up on Gooey's mood.

"Are you all right? You don't have to go outside, you know."

"No! No! I'm fine," Gooey told Kirby. "I-I can't wait to go!"

Kirby still looked worried, but he hopped off of the bed and headed over to the door. "All right, but let me know if you wanna come back here...all right?"

Gooey nodded as he followed Kirby outside. The ground was cold to the touch, so Gooey brought out his fins and hovered over it. They felt stiff and frozen, but they should be fine if he kept moving them. And if they fell off, then they could always grow back.

There were less creatures out here aside from the occasional Waddle Dee that walked by. It was as if the whole world had fallen asleep, and yet Kirby didn't seem too bothered by it.

The duo stopped in their tracks as Waddle Dee suddenly stopped in front of them. He wore a scarf and he sat on a large disk...a sled, right?

"Hey, guys!" Waddle Dee greeted. Just then, King Dedede appeared. He sled down the slope on his stomach.

"No fair!" Dedede complained. "I fell off my sled, so that shouldn't count!"

"Forgive me, Sire. But I still made it down first."

Dedede glared at Waddle Dee for a moment before his attention turned to Kirby. "Whaddaya lookin' at?"

"I dunno," Kirby said with a shrug. "But it looks to me like you lost the race."

"Then how 'bout we have our own race? Right here! Right now!" Dedede demanded. "I won't even use the sled this time!"

"Oh, it's on!"

Gooey floated there with his eyes half-closed. Although he cared about Kirby and Dedede, their rivalry always seemed to happen out of nowhere. It was a strange relationship, one that he could never completely figure out.

"Well that happened..." Waddle Dee said as he stepped out of the sled and picked it up. "So how are you doing today, Gooey?"

"C-cold," Gooey replied. Waddle Dee nodded in agreement. "I wasn't expecting it to be this cold, myself."

"Wh-what about D-Dedede?"

"He can handle the cold better than the rest of us," Waddle Dee replied. "If it were any colder, though, then I don't think he'd be out here sledding right now."

That sounded about right. After all, a king needed to look after his people...even if the world was frozen.

Gooey started to follow Waddle Dee as he walked up the hill, though he struggled to keep his fins moving. From the looks of it, Kirby and Dedede had already made it to the top. It didn't take long for them to slide down the slope. Gooey couldn't tell who won, he found it hard paying attention.

...Actually, his vision was starting to get kind of blurry, too.

"You know...if we had any food on this hill, we'd have a Gourmet Race on our hands," Waddle Dee said before he looked at Gooey. "H-hey, are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine...I..."

Before Gooey could say another word, his fins fell off his body and he collapsed on the soft snow below him. Everything was a blur to him, yet he could hear Waddle Dee panicking.

"K-Kirby! Your Majesty! Something's wrong with Gooey!"

"What happened?"

"I don't know, he just...collapsed."

"Gah! I knew he sh...'ve ..ayed ...."

"Whi.. way's ..ur house, Kir..."

Everyone's voices started to sound faint, and Gooey found it hard to breathe. He felt something get wrapped around him before he passed out completely.

When Gooey regained his senses, he could feel that he was somewhere warm. When he opened his eyes, he could see that he was back in Kirby's house.

"You all right, kid? You had us worried out there for a moment."

When Gooey looked up, he could see that Dedede was holding him. It took him a moment to realize that he was wrapped up in Dedede's robe.

"Wh-where's Kirby?" Gooey asked.

"He's outside makin' soup," Dedede replied.

"Why...why not make soup here?"

"'Cause it's kinda hard to cook while I'm sittin' here. I could barely even fit through the door."

He wasn't sure why, but this scenario reminded Gooey of when he first came to Popstar. But when he got sick then, it was because of the sun. This time, however, it seemed like the cold was what had gotten to him.

"This...this happened before."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"When I come to Pop'tar, I got sick. Kirby and his friends took care of me after they found me."

"Ah, so this takes you back, huh?" Dedede asked while smiling. "And this was after Zero got rid of you, right?"

"Yeah...But I dun wanna get sick like that."

Dedede responded with a shrug. "Sometimes it just happens, all you can do now is rest up until you're better."

"Well...I dun like it!"

"That's too bad!" Dedede replied as he playfully squeezed Gooey. "You're trapped here whether you like it or not!"

"Nooooo~!" Gooey cried out, though he cried out in fun rather than anguish. He winced as the pain in his body started to flare up, and he quietly settled back into the robe.

"Ah gees," Dedede said while he petted Gooey. "Hopefully, Kirby'll be done with the food soon."

"Hopefully...." Gooey repeated.

The duo stayed quiet for a while, though it was the kind of quiet that came from comfort rather than loneliness...or something along those lines. A little more time had passed before the door slowly opened. Kirby and Waddle Dee carried two bowls each on their heads.

"Is Gooey awake,  yet?" Kirby asked as he handed Dedede one of the bowls. The bird replied with a nod. "Yep, he's been up for a while now."

Gooey frowned. Though Kirby was always patient with him, he couldn't help but worry about him getting angry whenever something went wrong.

"Sorry, Kirby."

"What are you apologizing for?" Kirby asked as he placed the other bowl near Gooey's face. "You just got sick, that's all."

"Yeah, but...I didn't wanna ruin your fun." Gooey argued.

"Look, Gooey. Sometimes you gotta worry about yourself." Dedede said sternly. "That's what I do when I get sick."

"That's what you do all the time," Kirby teased, which earned him a glare from Dedede. "But he is right, you know. If you're not feeling good, then you just gotta make sure you rest up, OK?"

"But what if you wanna do something fun?"

"You don't always have to worry about what I want," Kirby suggested. "Besides, you've done plenty of stuff on your own, haven't you?"

Of course he did, but he felt bad if he took off on his own without Kirby.

Then again, Kirby also had his own adventures that he'd have to go through, too. So it was only fair that Gooey would do his own thing sometimes, right? And if he ever felt lonely, he could always spend time with someone else, like Dedede or Chuchu for example.

With that in mind, Gooey picked up his bowl of soup and ate it. The soup was hot, but he enjoyed it regardless.

Chapter Text

"You've disappointed me for the last time!"

The Dark Matter shook as he stood face-to-face with Lord Zero. He tried so hard to fit in with his siblings, he tried to do everything he could to become strong like his brother. But with very little progress done, Lord Zero had enough.

"You have been completely useless to our kind, we can't conquer other worlds with the likes of you lagging behind. And for that, the only mercy I can give you is death."

The Dark Matter shook even more, his heart felt like it was about to burst. He wasn't ready to die. He wanted to show Lord Zero he was just as good as the rest of his siblings, but all he could do now was sit there and wait for his creator to kill him.

"Lord Zero, wait!" Yelled the Dark Matter's brother as he hopped in front of him. "I know you're angry, but there is no need for you to kill him!"

"So you STILL feel pity for this miserable thing?" Lord Zero asked in disgust. "Do you want me to kill you off as well?"

"I..." The Dark Matter's brother looked down, it was as if he was trying to contain himself. He looked back at the Dark Matter with a sympathetic look before he held his ground and stared into his creator's eye.

"I don't think killing him is necessary, at the very least...you should give him the chance to flee first."

"Do you honestly think that he would survive out there on his own?"

"I...I know he isn't very strong, but you HAVE to let him go," The Dark Matter demanded, his voice was much louder than it usually was. "Please, Lord Zero! I am BEGGING you!"

Lord Zero continued to give his creations a bitter look. He took a moment to think before he made his decision.

"Very well then. If he means THAT much to you, then I'll let him go. But he will NEVER come back here again. And should there come a day where we cross paths, then I won't hesitate to kill him!"

"...Understood, My Lord!" The Dark Matter's brother said as he quickly changed into his Blade form. He grabbed the Dark Matter with his cloak and floated away. "Come along, brother..."

The Dark Matter noticed something was leaking from his brother's eye through his mask...they were tears, weren't they? It seemed like parting was as much of a punishment to his brother as it was to the Dark Matter. Once the duo had gotten far enough from Lord Zero, his brother began to speak.

"You know that we are born to serve Lord Zero, no matter what he says. And you know that...we're not allowed to show any signs of weakness..."

The Dark Matter replied with a sigh, he held onto his brother as if he were living his last moments in this world.

"But you know that we're not like the others. We may never see each other again, but...I'm sure there's another world waiting for someone like you. They'll love you...just as much as I did"

Soon, the duo went through the dark clouds that surrounded their home, there was a bright light out here that hurt the Dark Matter's eyes.

"When I let go, I want you to fly as far away from here as you can," Brother said while he squeezed him one last time. "Find a new home, and don't look back."

The Dark Matter sprouted a pair of arms and hugged his brother back. Within a few seconds, he was released. The Dark Matter flew away as far and as fast as he possibly could. He flew away from his his home, his creator, his brother...He was leaving his entire life behind.

He didn't know where he was going, nor was he even sure if he was going to survive out here. But he knew that he couldn't go back, he needed to find a new home like his brother wanted. And when he did....

...Perhaps one day, he will see his brother again?

Winter had come and gone, and just as Kirby had said, Popstar had gone back to its usual green self. The plants came back to life, and the animals had woken up from their long slumber. Today seemed like it was going to be a nice day.

...Or at least Gooey hoped it would. He couldn't explain it, but he could feel a strange aura today. It was much stronger than the one Brother left when he tried to take over Popstar. But when he went outside, he could see that the world was as bright and as green as it ever was. Perhaps he was just worried over nothing?

Kirby stepped outside of the house with a fishing rod in his hands. He looked just as happy as he usually was, so the strange aura couldn't be from him.

"Wanna go fishing with me, Gooey?" Kirby offered. "I'll let you eat the first fish we catch this time."

"Sure thing," Gooey said cheerfully. He followed Kirby until the duo reached the lake. He sat near the water while Kirby tried to catch a fish. Thankfully, the fish weren't giving off any strange vibes, either. Gooey was convinced that this strange feeling could just be his imagination after all. He closed his eyes and began to doze off...though before he could sleep, he could hear Kirby shout from excitement.

"I caught one!"

Quickly, Kirby pulled the fish out of the water, which Gooey managed to catch it with his tongue. He enjoyed the taste of the fish, but that aura was getting stronger and stronger. The sky started to get darker, too. It was as if Lord Zero himself looked down at him, it was as if he questioned how Gooey was still alive.

"...Gooey? You might wanna look at this."

Gooey looked up at the sky and immediately spat out the remains of his fish. The sky was covered in a large black cloud, poking out of the cloud was a single red eyeball. As he had feared, Lord Zero had finally come to take over Popstar.

"Kirby!" a voice called out. Coo landed in front of Kirby with a worried expression. "Popstar's in big trouble!"

"I can see that," Kirby replied as he looked up at the sky. "Do you think Dedede might be in trouble again, too?"

"I would think so," Coo replied. "Those black clouds are causing all kinds of problems. and they haven't even been here for long."

Gooey frowned, this was almost like the time his brother tried to attack Popstar. With Lord Zero involved, it was probably better for Gooey to stay at Kirby's house. However, he didn't want Kirby to fight his creator, not alone at least.

"Can I help?" Gooey asked. "I wanna help, too."

"Are you sure?" Kirby asked. "Because you'll be going against your old family, you know."

"I dun care," Gooey replied. "If Lord Zero takes Pop'tar, we'll never see the light again."

"And given what's going on, we'll need to get as much help as we can get!" Coo added as he looked back at the sky. "I just hope that the others are all right."

Kirby hummed in acknowledgement as he looked back at the sky. "All right, you can come with us," Kirby told Gooey. "But I'll remind you that you're allowed to back out at any time, all right?"

"All right, Kirby!"

Of course...There was a chance that Gooey's brother came back as well. And if he was here, then there was also a chance that he would to fight Kirby again. But for some reason, Gooey wasn't bothered by this. As far as his brother was concerned, they were complete strangers to one another.

With all that kept in mind, Kirby and Gooey headed over to the Grass Lands. Their adventure had just begun.

Chapter Text

Part of the Grass Lands were covered in red flowers, which stretched as far as the eye could see. Gooey nearly trampled on one of them, but Kirby managed to pull him back. "Gooey, wait!"

"Hm?"

"Look, the flowers have faces on them!" Kirby pointed out. Gooey tried to focus on one of them, it swayed quietly with a worried expression.

"Hey!" a voice called out. There was a larger tulip at the end of the field, it waved one of its leaves in order to get the duo's attention. "Please don't crush us, just go around us instead!"

"But how?" Gooey asked while crouching to one of the flowers' level. "There's so many out here, I dunno if we CAN go around."

"...Why don't we just hover over them?" Kirby suggested.

"Oh yeah!" Gooey said in realization. "That way, we won't hurt any of 'em."

Kirby inflated himself and hovered over the flowers. Gooey thought about using his fins for a moment, but he didn't want Lord Zero to find out that he was still alive. He would probably kill him the moment he noticed him.

With that in mind, Gooey inhaled as much air as he could and tried to hover like Kirby. It was difficult hovering like this, he nervously looked down at the flowers as he tried to stay afloat. As he kept floating, he struggled to hold his breath. When he could no longer do so, he landed face-first onto the ground. The flowers flinched, but none of them appeared to be harmed.

Kirby exhaled and landed in front of the bigger flower. "All right, I think we should be good, now."

"Great," Gooey said wearily as he sat up. He scooted over to where the big flower was, who actually looked quite happy. "Thank you for listening, usually some careless fool likes to stumble around and hurt us."

Just then, a light came out of the flower. Gooey grabbed the light and took a closer look at it. It would morph between a yellow star and a pink heart. It gave off a comforting warmth, and yet it burned Gooey's skin after a little while. The Dark Matter recoiled as he dropped the light and started licking his burns.

"What IS that thing?" Kirby asked the flower as he picked up the light. Unlike Gooey, it didn't bother him no matter how long he held it for.

"I think it's called a Heart Star," the flower replied. "I don't know much about it, but I hear that they can repel darkness if enough of them are collected."

"If we gather enough, do you think we can take down Lord Zero?" Gooey asked.

"Oh, that's a good idea!" Kirby said excitedly. "We'll still stop by and help people, but we'll just have to collect as many of these as we can find!"

The duo parted ways with the flower as they moved forward. Although they weren't too sure how to collect the Heart Stars, they were more than willing to help those that were in need.

Further away from the Grass Lands of Dream Land were the islands of Ripple Field. Kirby and Gooey had collected 7 Heart Stars up to this point.

Gooey managed to borrow a parasol from a creature earlier while Kirby had found Kine waiting for him in the water. He was able to get through even the strongest currents on this island, which Gooey had trouble doing himself.

Eventually, the group made it to a quiet little island, inhabited by an egg-shaped creature holding a parasol on its head. It had a bored expression on its face.

"What's wrong?" Kirby asked. The creature glanced at him for a moment, but it looked away and continued to ignore him.

"Lemme try something," Gooey said as he scooted over to the creature. He held his parasol up as high as he could and started to spin it around. The creature was curious, but it looked away from Gooey after a while.

Kirby and Gooey looked at each other with uncertainty, neither of them were sure what they were doing wrong.

"How about you let me do something?" Kine suggested. He brought Gooey into his mouth and hopped in front of the creature. A parasol quickly opened outside of the fish's mouth and spun quickly, which caused the creature to laugh. It laughed so hard that it fell onto its side, Gooey crawled out of Kine's mouth to see what had happened.

"Are you OK?" Kirby asked as he helped the creature stand back up. It nodded as it started to spin its parasol around in a similar way that Gooey did. A Heart Star came out of its body.

"I think they'll be fine," Gooey said as he hopped out of Kine's mouth. Kirby nodded in agreement as he took the Heart Star. The group had made plenty of progress, but they were happy to know that the creature was going to be fine.

Further away from Ripple Field was a dry area called Sand Canyon. As far as the Heart Stars the duo collected went, the number had increased from 7 to 16.

Kirby, Gooey, and Chuchu climbed through a large tower. Gooey had a bruise on his face from startling Chuchu earlier, a mistake he was never going to make again. Though ever since they entered the tower, Chuchu seemed to be a bit more agitated than usual.

"Can't you slow down?" Kirby asked as he and Gooey tried to keep up. Chuchu shook her head. "Sorry, guys. I gotta make sure Nyupun's OK."

"What are they doing in the desert?"

"They said they wanted to do some exploring before all of this," Chuchu explained. "I can't say I blame them, but I just wanna make sure they're not all dried out or possessed."

"We could always get Gooey to lick them," Kirby teased, which earned him a glare from Gooey. "I'd rather not!"

The tower was incredibly dusty, and there were stone heads floating around everywhere. Chuchu was able to climb the walls with her arms while Kirby and Gooey were able to float. Eventually, the group made it to the top of the tower.

The group could see the entire Sand Canyon from here. They could see all kinds of buildings and structures, including a black pyramid and some pink clouds in the distance. Sitting at the edge of the tower was a familiar yellow octopus, who admired the view from the tower.

"Nyupun!" Chuchu called out, which gained the attention of her friend. Nyupun ran towards Chuchu and hugged her excitedly. "I wasn't expecting to find you out here!"

"That's cause I'm helping Kirby get rid of the darkness," Chuchu replied. "Or something along those lines..."

Nyupun's face lit up in realization as they looked at Kirby. "Oh, you're trying to get rid of that black cloud up there, aren't you?"

"Yep," Kirby replied. "We gotta get rid of it before Gooey's creator takes over Popstar."

"That thing created Gooey?" Nyupun asked curiously before shaking their head. "You know what? That doesn't matter right now. I know it isn't much. But if you're off to save Popstar again, then I'll be more than happy to cheer you on."

A Heart Star came out of Nyupun, which Kirby was happy to collect. They were one step closer to defeating Zero.

The clouds that had been seen earlier were an entirely different area called Cloudy Park, the number of Heart Stars collected was now up to 24.

During this adventure, the duo would sometimes run into others that had been possessed by Gooey's siblings. Thankfully, they would go back to their old selves once said siblings were defeated. This was all thanks to the Heart Stars that Kirby and Gooey collected. However, fighting everyone wasn't an easy task.

...Unfortunately, one of the ones who got possessed was the human girl, Ado.

Just as she had done before, she could paint creatures on her canvas and bring them to life. But unlike the docile creatures Kirby and Gooey had seen, Ado would paint larger creatures, which attacked the duo for her. She would paint a dragon, an angler fish, a sun, a moon, and then Kracko. Once all of these paintings were defeated, Ado charged at the duo while she swung her brush wildly like a sword.

"Knock it off!" Gooey yelled as Ado chased him around the clouds. "Your gonna hurt someone!"

"Isn't that the point!?" Ado yelled angrily. Kirby had a cloud in his mouth, he seemed to be waiting for the duo to get closer to him. When he finally had his chance, he spat the cloud at Ado and knocked her out...Given how tough other creatures were in this world, he could see how easy it was to knock out a human.

Gooey stopped running, he moved closer to Ado and examined her. As he did, the Heart Stars that the duo gathered hovered over her. The sibling, as well as Lord Zero's influence, had left her body, along with whatever dark influence was left in Cloudy Park.

"Do you think she'll be OK?" Kirby asked. Gooey backed away from her and nodded. "She'll be fine."

"Good, because it looks like the last place we'll need to get to is Iceberg."

The last place, already? Gooey hadn't thought about it too much. But now that he was this close to fighting Lord Zero, it was a lot to take in.

A Dark Matter's purpose was to serve their creator, or at least that's what Gooey was told before he was banished. And now, he was one of the ones that was going to stop his creator. But could he really do such a thing? Could he really stop Zero from taking over Popstar? And what if Lord Zero died, instead? What will happen to Gooey? Or his brother? Or even his siblings? Could a Dark Matter serve their purpose if they had no creator?

"Gooey!" Kirby called out. "We gotta go!"

Gooey took one last look at the sky before he followed Kirby again. Regardless of the questions he had, he gave Kirby his word that he would help defeat Lord Zero. He wasn't sure what would happen after his creator was defeated, but Gooey's purpose right now was to serve Kirby. He was going to help him, no matter the cost.

Chapter Text

From what Gooey recalled, Iceberg was a cold and lonely place. And just like the last time, Gooey could feel the lonely aura he'd felt back when his brother invaded Popstar on his own. There was no mistaking it, his brother really did come back for this invasion.

"Is something wrong?" Kirby asked Gooey. "Because you're allowed to back out of this at any time."

"I'm fine," Gooey said quietly, though there was an unusual bitterness to his tone. "Brother is here, so be careful!"

"Brother...?" It took Kirby a moment to realize who Gooey was talking about, "I hope the Heart Stars will be enough this time. Because I don't think we have time to grab the Rainbow Sword."

The duo went through a large castle. and at the very top awaited Gooey's brother. He'd possessed Dedede once again.

"When Lord Zero decided to invade this planet, I knew we would meet again," Gooey's brother said quietly. "You even brought that pathetic blob with you, though I doubt he'll be of any use to you!"

Gooey winced at his brother's harsh words. He knew that their reunion wouldn't be a happy one, but it didn't hurt any less.

"Enough small talk, Dark Matter!" Kirby yelled as he stepped in front of Gooey. "Now why are you back here?"

"Didn't you know? We wanted to cover this world in darkness," Gooey's brother said as he raised Dedede's hammer. "I will admit, the last time was due to my own selfish actions. But this time, I'm just here to protect Lord Zero. Even if it means the end of my life!"

"But if Lord Zero didn't send you to attack us before, then why did you attack Pop'tar in the firs' place?" Gooey asked angrily. "What did this world do to make you angry?"

"This world was too happy for my liking." Dark Matter argued. "After all, why should I be the one to suffer while everyone else gets to frolic without any concern?"

"You would've loved it here if you jus' gave this world a chance! You could've made friends here, and you could 'till make friends here if you jus' 'top!"

"What do you even know about me, you little pest? All you do is sit there and let YOUR so-called friends kick you around!"

"AT LEAS' I HAVE FRIENDS YOU ANGRY JERK!" Gooey yelled angrily.

...There was an uncomfortable silence as Gooey quickly covered his mouth. Kirby stared at him, and the expression on Dark Matter (or Dedede) was that of shock, but it quickly shifted into anger as he knocked Kirby aside and struck Gooey with his hammer. "I DON'T NEED TO TAKE THAT FROM THE LIKES OF YOU!"

Gooey flew into a wall, he laid there with the wind knocked out of him. Just as his brother was about to attack again, Kirby inhaled his hammer and spat it back at him.

A part of Gooey had hoped that Dark Matter would've recognized him, at least a little bit. However, it seemed like he managed to strike a raw nerve instead. Dedede wasn't lying when he said his brother was hurt, it just didn't occur to him HOW hurt he was.

Once Kirby managed to defeat Dark Matter, he ran over to Gooey's side and helped him sit up. "Are you OK?"

"I...yeah," Gooey said as he winced in pain. Kirby gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't worry, we'll bring down Zero as soon as we can."

"I WON'T let you do that!"

The duo looked back, they could see Dark Matter escape from Dedede's body. He shifted into his true form and flew high into the sky. "I WON'T let Lord Zero die because of you, I CAN'T let him die!"

Kirby threw his arms up in defeat. But before he could say anything, the Heart Stars he collected gathered together and formed a striped rod with a heart at the end.

"Is that apposed to help you beat Zero?" Gooey asked.

"I think so," Kirby replied. He grabbed the rod and it took him high into the sky. He started dueling with Gooey's brother yet again. As they fought again, however, Gooey noticed that his brother was much...weaker than before. He only stayed in his True form, he didn't even bother switching into Blade form like last time.

Gooey heard a groan coming from Dedede, he scooted over to the penguin's side and lied down for a moment.

"Ugh...what was all that about?" Dedede asked as he sat up. He looked like he was worried about something.

"Brother took over your body, again," Gooey replied. Dedede looked down and yawned. "I'm aware, but I honestly feel bad for the poor guy."

"But why?"

"Well-"

A light started to catch Gooey's eye, hovering over him was a single Heart Star. If he ate it, he could probably get the same kind of power that Kirby had right now. But he couldn't hold onto it for too long, not without burning himself.

"What's this s'posed to be?" Dedede asked as he looked at the Heart Star curiously.

High in the sky, Kirby was able to defeat Gooey's brother once again. His body tumbled down somewhere far away. But once Brother was gone, a sinister white cloud still loomed over them, Zero came out of the dark clouds while laughing.

"I guess he really was too weak to defeat you a second time," Zero said in an almost-mocking tone. "I knew I should've killed him when he failed his mission the first time."

Gooey let out an angry growl, he grabbed the Heart Star with his tongue and swallowed it. He felt as if a fire had formed in his belly. But at the same time, he felt an entirely new power awaken inside of him. Gooey extended his fins and headed towards Zero as fast as he possibly could.

"Gooey, wait! Come back!" Dedede yelled. Gooey ignored him, he could already see that Kirby was having trouble. He tried to dodge the blood that Zero kept shooting at him. Zero would even create more Dark Matter just to throw them at Kirby.  While Zero focused on Kirby, Gooey opened his mouth and spat stars at his creator.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Zero yelled before he looked at Gooey, he let out an annoyed huff. "I see...so this planet has its own Mock Mattter to protect it. How pathetic!"

"We'll see who's pathetic!" Kirby yelled as swung the rod in his hand, which caused more stars to strike Lord Zero. As far as Gooey could tell, Lord Zero didn't recognize him even WITH his fins out...or at least the young blob hoped it was the case. The outcome probably wouldn't have changed regardless.

The fight would go on for a little while longer, Zero would shoot his own blood at the duo while Kirby and Gooey would strike back using Stars. Once Zero had been defeated, the duo began to look at each other proudly.

"Hehe...I knew we could do it!" Kirby said proudly. And yet, Gooey could still feel the hateful aura. He looked back at his creator, who gouged his own eye out in a final attempt to attack the duo. The eye was going fast, and it was going after Kirby.

"LOOK OUT!" Gooey yelled as he pushed Kirby out of the way. Lord Zero's eyeball knocked the Heart Star out of Gooey's stomach, it hit Gooey like a boulder to the chest. His fins had fallen off of his body, and he was starting to lose consciousness. He was being pulled by Popstar's gravity.

Although it was faint, he could hear Kirby call to him as he fell. However, with Zero gone, he was happy to know that Popstar was safe. He would never get the chance to say it, but he was thankful that Kirby had given him a home...

...He was thankful to have been Kirby's friend until the end.

"...ey!"

"C... on, wa.. ..!"

...Gooey could hear voices, but they sounded so far away. His whole body was in pain, but his chest and stomach especially felt like it was burned. He couldn't tell where he was, either.

"Goo... Plea..."

That was Kirby's voice just now, wasn't it? But he shouldn't have died, did this mean that Gooey failed to save him?

"Come on, Gooey! Wake up!"

The pain in Gooey's body started to feel worse. Once he regained his senses, he could feel Kirby hug him. He could also feel tears coming out of his eyes.

Gooey started to open his own eyes, staring back at him were Dedede and the Animal Friends. They looked as if they had just witnessed the death of a close friend..

...But Gooey wasn't dead...

He wasn't dead!

With what little strength he had, Gooey hugged Kirby lightly. Tears were starting to fall from his eyes as well.

"I...I'm happy...I got to be...your friend."

Kirby jumped in shock as he looked back at the group in disbelief. He then looked back at Gooey and hugged him tighter.

"Don't you EVER do that again, do you hear me!?" Kirby wailed. "You...you weren't waking up, so I thought that you might've...might've..."

"We thought you were a goner, kid," Dedede said as he sat beside Gooey and patted him. "You had us worried sick. I mean, what would I tell the Waddle Dees if you'd died on us?"

"What would I tell Nyupun?" Chuchu added.

"Or Ado?" said Coo.

"I don't think any of us would know what to do without you, Gooey," Nago added.

Soon, everyone had surrounded Gooey as well, he felt so much love and kindness radiate from his friends that he could barely speak.

He could never go back to the life he once shared with his brother, but he was OK with that. After all, he was already home and he couldn't be any happier...

Although...Speaking of which, where WAS his brother, anyway? Did he flee again? Was he even alive? Gooey wished that he could apologize about what he said to him and explain everything. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like it would happen anytime soon.

Still, he hoped that his brother was going to be all right, wherever he was.

Chapter Text

It was a quiet morning, and Gooey had just woken up. Kirby wasn't here, so he must've gone off on one of his morning walks...Actually, he wouldn't be too surprised if Kirby was pulled into another adventure.

Regardless, Gooey scooted outside of the house and was welcomed by the sun. Oddly enough, not even the Waddle Dees were walking by today. All Gooey could hear were the birds chirping.

He scooted along the dirt road, perhaps Dedede wanted to play with him today? Assuming that he wasn't busy with anything else of course. Besides, his birthday was coming up soon, wasn't it?

"There you are, Gooey!"

The Dark Matter looked up, he could see Meta Knight and Waddle Dee hover above him. He waved at the duo using his tongue.

"Kirby wanted us to come find you," Waddle Dee said as he landed on the ground, with Meta Knight landing next to him. "He says it's important."

"Whaddaya mean?"

"He's been working on something since before the sun came up," Meta Knight explained. "And, well...it's better if you saw it for yourself."

The duo walked with Gooey as they headed over to Dedede's castle. Neither of them really spoke, but Gooey couldn't help but think that they were hiding something.

They finally reached Dedede's castle, Waddle Dee and Meta Knight didn't hesitate to open the doors. The inside of the castle was covered in decorations. There were streamers on the walls and on the ceiling. There was a table with a cake in the middle, as well as presents sitting on both sides of it. Dedede was having another birthday party soon, but today wasn't supposed to be the day yet. Why hide it from Gooey, anyway?

Suddenly, Kirby, Dedede, and the animal friends came out from behind the presents and yelled "Surprise". The Waddle Dees even came downstairs to greet Gooey.

"What's all this?" Gooey asked curiously. Kirby, walked over with a slice of cake in his hand. "It's your birthday today."

"But...I dun have a birthday."

"Maybe not, but it's been a year since you came to Popstar," Rick added. "Hard to believe, huh?"

"Anyway, Kirby wanted to throw ya somethin' special," Dedede added. "This means we get two cakes in one week, ain't that neat?"

Gooey couldn't believe it, his friends could've treated this like any other normal day. In fact...today probably would've been a normal day if Gooey hadn't come to Popstar. He started to cry, but he was crying out of pure joy.

"Hey, are you OK?" Kirby asked as he placed a hand on Gooey's back. The young Dark Matter nodded. "I-I'm fine, thank you."

With that said, Gooey started to enjoy the party. And since this was his home, he couldn't wait to have even more parties down the line.

From taking him into his home to now throwing him a party...he couldn't thank Kirby enough.