Chapter Text
The Waddle Dee tightened his blue bandana as he carried his spear to the throne room. The entire castle was in chaos; Waddle Dees were frantically running around, several wounded soldiers were lying on the floor, and parts of the castle's walls were completely obliterated. The great King Dedede's plan to control all the food and Sparkling Stars in Dreamland had been completely ruined. Now the glorious king was all alone in the throne room, fighting for his life to keep his stolen food and the last Sparkling Star safe from the deadly invader.
All because of the hero of Dreamland. All because of the one known as Kirby.
Now Bandana Waddle Dee (as he was called by others due to his blue bandana) had never seen Kirby before, but he had heard rumors about them. Apparently they had the power to consume like a black hole, and they could even sometimes gain the powers of what they eat. Bandana Dee had also heard that they were nearly invincible, and that their power could only be matched by their never-ending hunger. Bandana Dee had had all sorts of terrifying thoughts about what this "Kirby" could look like.
But that didn't matter right now. All that mattered was getting to the throne room and helping the king stop this vile threat. The Bandana-clad Waddle Dee clenched his special spear a little tighter. It was his prized procession, passed down in his family for over eight generations, and soon it would be his main source of protection against Kirby. Of course Bandana Dee knew how to use it; he was the most skilled fighter in King Dedede's army, but the Dee was worried that wouldn't be enough to stop the hero of Dreamland.
In a panting manner, Bandana Waddle Dee eventually reached the throne room, where the battle was taking place. Inside, the room was completely demolished, with dents in the walls and cracks in the floor. King Dedede was out cold on the floor, muttering to himself in his coma about potato chips. And that's when Kirby, the hero of Dreamland and destroyer of the castle went from staring at the king to looking at Bandana Waddle Dee.
Bandana Waddle Dee was never caught more off guard in his life. Kirby was practically the exact opposite of what the Dee had expected them to look like. Kirby was the same size of Bandana Dee, and was as pink as cotton candy. They were even rounder than a Waddle Dee, and had two tiny red stubs for feet. Their cheeks were bright red, and for some reason Kirby had a bright smile on their face despite the destruction all around them. Their eyes were dark blue with sparkles in them, like there was a miniature universe inside.
"Hi there!" Kirby greeted the Waddle Dee with a joyous expression, only confusing Bandana Waddle Dee more. "What'cha doing here, buddy?"
Bandana Dee snapped out of his daze and pointed his spear at the puffball. "I'm not your buddy!" he replied with fake confidence. "Now step away from the king!"
Kirby's happiness lowered just a bit. "Sorry, I can't do that. King Dedede stole a lot of food and I promised everyone I'd get it back so..."
Not waiting for Kirby to finish, Bandana Dee charged at Kirby with his spear. But before the pointed stick could jab them, Kirby leaped into the air and actually hovered by inflating themself like a balloon. This action took Bandana Dee off guard, causing the soldier to trip and roll to the ground.
Kirby stopped hovering to giggle at the accident. "You're funny! I like you."
"I'm not funny!" Bandana Dee could feel his cheeks going red in embarrassment, which only made the puffball laugh even more. During the childish dispute between the two, King Dedede got up and ran to the vault, where he was keeping all the food and the final Sparkling Star.
Kirby turned around, realizing Dedede ran away. "Oops," Kirby muttered before waving good-bye to Bandana Dee. "I gotta go get Dedede. See you later, buddy!" And with that, the tiny puffball ran deeper into Castle Dedede.
"WE'RE NOT BUDDIES!!!" was all Bandana Dee could yell before Kirby was gone. The Waddle Dee sighed and shook his head. He failed at stopping a happy pink gumball. How embarrassing.
-TWO WEEKS LATER-
The great King Dedede had set up the biggest contest in Dreamland in a way to entertain his subjects (and gain a profit), the Megaton Punch Tournament. Hundreds of people entered, all trying to prove they have the greatest strength in Dreamland, maybe in all of Popstar. Soon the tournament reached its final stages. The only competitors left were Bandana Waddle Dee, Knuckle Joe, Iron Mam, and of course, Bandana Dee's least favorite person in Dreamland, Kirby.
Bandana Waddle Dee prepared to fight; he was up next, and he was up against Kirby themself. It was finally time for Bandana Dee to get back at Kirby for embarrassing him at the castle. Since that day, Bandana Dee had been honing his skills for the next time he would fight that pink puffball.
But will Kirby even remember me? Bandana Dee thought as he walked up to the arena. It had been two weeks since they first met each other, and their battle (if you would call it that) had only lasted a couple of seconds. Kirby probably didn't even know who he was anymore.
Bandana Dee walked onto the platform, the hundreds of spectators roaring around him. The pink puffball (who was sporting the Megaton red headband) walked up at the same time, and soon they were face to face Just like they were two weeks ago. Kirby's face immediately flashed with happy recognition.
"Hey, it's you! Hey, buddy!" Kirby exclaimed as if they were old friends reuniting after a long time. Seems like Kirby remembered him after all.
"You still remember me?" Bandana Dee asked with both anger and surprise.
"Duh!" Kirby giggled. "I would never forget...uh, sorry, I don't think I ever got your name."
Bandana Waddle Dee groaned. "It's Bandana Waddle Dee, and don't you forget it!"
"Bandana Waddle Dee? Well that's not very original. If you lost your bandana, would your name just be Waddle Dee?"
"Enough about my name! It's time for me to get back at you for what you did to me!"
"I didn't do anything bad to you, did I?"
"You made me trip and then laughed!"
"Oh, that silly thing? That wasn't my fault."
"That was totally your fault! Now I'm gonna defeat you in the name of the great King Dedede!"
The tiny puffball giggled. "You're even funnier than last time we played together!"
Bandana Dee sighed. "You're ridiculous. Beating you will be a piece of cake!"
As soon as Bandana Dee said that, Kirby's mouth started drooling. "Mmmm, caaaaaake," the puffball moaned.
"ARE WE GONNA GET THIS CONTEST STARTED?" King Dedede's voice rang through his megaphone. "OR ARE YOU TWO JUST GONNA CHAT ALL DAY?"
"Sorry, your Majesty!" Bandana Dee apologized. With a jump and a short fall, Bandana Dee punched the ground, causing a decent sized crack in the earth. The Waddle Dees in the audience went wild with cheers. Then Kirby did the exact same thing, except theirs had a lot more force and power. Kirby made a large crack at least twice as big as Bandana Waddle Dee's. The Waddle Dee sighed; Kirby had bested him yet again.
"Good job, buddy!" Kirby congratulated despite how low Bandana Dee's score was compared to theirs.
"AND THE WINNER IS KIRBY, WHOOP-DE-DOO," King Dedede announced, obviously upset his nemesis had made it this far. "NEXT IS KNUCKLE JOE. BUT FIRST, EVERYONE TAKE A BREAK."
Just as Bandana Waddle Dee was about to walk away, Kirby called out to him. "Hey buddy!" they called. "Wanna play at my house later?"
Now that was weird. "Why would I do that? " Bandana Dee huffed, annoyed at the ridiculousness of that question. "We're enemies, not friends!"
"Oh. Well, do you wanna be friends?"
Even more ridiculous blabber. "What? No, leave me alone!" Bandana Dee commanded. As soon as those words came out of his mouth, Kirby's face dropped. Their smile turned into a disappointed frown, and Bandana Dee swore there were tears forming in their eyes. It was the first time Bandana Waddle Dee saw the hero of Dreamland saddened.
"Oh," Kirby sniffled quietly. "OK, sorry." And then they walked away slightly quicker than normal.
Now Bandana didn't like Kirby one bit, but he still wanted to know what that was about. So he ran after the puffball, who was already out of the arena and making their way outside. "Hold up!" Bandana called out, making Kirby turn around to see what was the matter. Bandana Dee asked his question. "Why would you want to be friends with me? I work for King Dedede."
Kirby gave him a small, sad smile. "Well, my animal buddies are great, but they're a lot older than me, so they never wanna do anything fun like have a picnic or play games. And I think you're funny and you're about my age so I thought you'd be fun to play with." Their expression turned sad again. "But you don't wanna be friends. Bye, buddy-I mean, Bandana Waddle Dee." And then the pink puffball ran out of the Megaton Punch Arena.
Bandana Dee walked away. "Jeez, they're weird." Bandana muttered to himself as he walked back to the Tournament. "I mean, we're enemies, and they wanted to be friends. Ridiculous."
Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows was the King's right-hand snail-man, Escargoon, who heard everything. "I bet the King will like this," the snail chuckled to himself as he slid away.
-A FEW HOURS LATER-
The Megaton Punch Tournament had ended hours ago (Kirby won, much to Dedede's annoyance). Bandana Waddle Dee rushed to the King's throne room, because he had been summoned by the King for an unknown reason. With enough running, the bandana-clad Dee made it to the throne room in time. The room had recently been repaired after Kirby's attack on the castle, so it looked better than it had in a long time. The walls were polished marble, and all the windows' curtains had Dedede's logo on them. A large, red carpet led to the sofa-sized throne in the middle, and on that very same throne was the one, the only, Dedede, the fat bird all the Waddle Dees called king. It was obvious he had just finished his afternoon snack, as he was rubbing his big tummy and licking crumbs off of his yellow beak. Right next to King Dedede was Escargoon, the king's most trusted advisor and right-hand minion. Bandana Dee had never liked Escargoon all that much; that snail was always sticking his shell into other people's business.
(BEANIE WADDLE DEE NOTE: KING DEDEDE'S PERSONALITY IS BASED OFF HIS ANIME COUNTERPART)
(BEANIE WADDLE DEE NOTE #2: DESPITE ALL THE CHARACTERS FROM THE ANIME, THIS WORK IS BASED OFF THE VIDEO GAMES)
King Dedede looked down from his seat to see Bandana Waddle Dee. "Oh, good," The king remarked, wiping off the last of the crumbs. "It's about time ya got here, Bandana Dee."
Bandana Waddle Dee bowed respectfully. "You wished to see me, your Majesty?"
"Yeah, I did," King Dedede boasted. "Now, Escargoon told me you and Kirby had a little chat back at the Megaton Tournament." Bandana looked over at Escargoon, who was just standing there with a proud smile. This is exactly what Bandana had meant by "sticking his shell into other people's business".
"That's true, my King," Bandana Dee explained, trying to hold back his annoyance. "Kirby walked up to me and expressed that they wished to be friends for some reason. I, of course, turned them down because Kirby is the number #1 enemy to your monarchy."
"Yeah, I figured that out," Dedede said casually as he picked his nose. "The thing is, I want you to become friends with that puffball." That statement took Bandana Dee completely off guard.
"What do you mean by that, Sire?" Bandana Waddle Dee asked, shocked, nervous, and confused all at the same time.
"Let me explain, my latest plan to clobber 'dat Kirby to you, Bandana Dee," King Dedede began. "You see, I've realized that the reason I've never beaten that pink gumball is because I don't know anything about them, other than that they never stop eating and they always ruin my plans for no good reason. So, I need someone to learn all of Kirby's secrets and weaknesses, and then report back to me so I can figure out how to pound 'em into da dirt!"
Bandana Dee had a sinking feeling where this was going. "And I'm guessing that someone is me?"
"Correctimondo!" King Dedede exclaimed, clapping in excitement. "That stupid puffball's already proven they like you, so all you have to do is go to their house and say you changed your mind and want to be friends. Then, gain their trust, and figure out how to defeat them!" The obese bird puffed out his chest in pride. "I call it Operation Friends Close, Enemies Closer!"
Bandana Dee thought about that plan for a moment. On one hand, it seemed a little cruel to play with someone's desire for friends like that. But on the other hand, Kirby did need to be stopped, and it was actually a pretty clever plan. And "clever" wasn't usually a word used to describe one of Dedede's plans, not that anyone would ever say that out loud.
"I think it's a good plan, Sir, this Operation Friends Close, Enemies Closer," Bandana Dee responded. "But couldn't someone else do it? I mean, I'm not a very good actor, and I hate Kirby too much to hang out! They're my mortal enemy just as much as they're yours!"
"And that's why you're the perfect Dee for the job!" Dedede answered as if it were obvious. "I need someone I can trust to actually pull this scheme through, someone who wants to see that gumball fall as much as I do! Besides, you're basically Kirby's favorite Waddle Dee!" Bandana Dee wasn't sure that was true anymore after the Megaton Punch Tournament.
"But your Majesty, I-"
The King's face went serious for once. "This is an order, not a request. You're gonna see this through, ya hear me?"
Bandana Dee sighed in defeat. "Yes, your Majesty. When do I start?"
The King started smiling again. "Right now. Get over to Kirby's house pronto!"
-ONE HOUR LATER-
The Moon was just starting to come out by the time Bandana Waddle Dee made it to Kirby's house, which was as round as the puffball themself. Kirby's house wasn't that far away from Mt. Dedede, but it took Bandana Dee a while to get there because he didn't know where Kirby lived. He ended up having to get directions from a large, talking hamster with an Australian accent. Yeah, it wasn't until that point that Bandana Dee started realizing just how odd Dreamland really is.
Now Bandana Dee was standing right outside of Kirby's door not knowing how to proceed. How was he supposed to trick Kirby into being friends with him after he yelled at them earlier today? Besides, a large part of the Dee really didn't wanna go through with this plan if it meant spending every day with Kirby for who-knows-how-long.
Do it for the King, Bandana Dee thought to himself, trying to psych himself up. Do it for the King, do it for the King, do it for the King...
With one final inhale, Bandana Dee knocked on the door quickly and loudly. A little too loudly. Bandana could hear a surprised scream emanate from inside. Next came some footsteps, and then the door was yanked right open, revealing Kirby, who, judging by the food crumbs all over them, had been eating dinner. As soon as Kirby saw who it was, their face dropped like a rock.
"Oh," Kirby said, obviously remembering what Bandana Dee had said to him, "it's you. Is everything OK? I thought you didn't wanna see me."
"Uuuuuhhh," Bandana Dee stammered, not sure what to say in order to deceive them. Just act friendly, he thought to himself.
"Hi there," Bandana Dee greeted, deciding to go slow and steady. "Uh, well, I've been thinking about how I acted back at the Megaton Tournament."
Kirby tilted his head. "You have?"
"Totally!" Bandana Dee lied, hoping his charade was working. "And, uh, I'm really sorry about what I said to you, and I've changed my mind."
Kirby's eyes lit up like fireworks. "You have?!?!"
Bandana Waddle Dee nodded. "Uh huh, and I've decided that I do want to be..." *gulp* "...friends with you, and I'd like to hangout soon." Bandana Waddle Dee practically choked out the friend part. But if Kirby noticed the horrible acting, they didn't show it through their smile, which was getting so big you could fit Dedede in their.
"But not right now, of course!" Bandana clarified, seeing Kirby shake in excitement. "It's almost night, so I was thinking we could hang out tomorrow, do whatever you want, if you'd like-"
Suddenly, Kirby tackled Bandana Dee and gave him the tightest hug of their life. Bandana could feel the breath being forced out of him by the hugging puffball.
"THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!" Kirby squealed in pure joy as they lifted Bandana Dee in the air, squeezing him even tighter with their two tiny arm stubs.
"Bones...breaking..." the Dee squeaked out as he gasped for air.
"Oops sorry!" Kirby put Banana Dee down, but they were still jumping up and down with joy.
"Uhhhhh, so," Bandana Dee groaned, still shaking from Kirby's death-grip. "What do you wanna do tomorrow?"
"leave it all to me!" Kirby said quickly as they ran back into their home. "Just be here in the morning OK bye buddy!" And then Kirby slammed the door, and Bandana Dee heard them running and knocking stuff over inside. Bandana Dee, who was still surprised by how fast Kirby left, sighed and walked back to the castle. Bandana Waddle Dee had no clue what kinda wild chaos Kirby had planned for tomorrow.
One thing's for sure; tomorrow was going to be the WORST day of his life.
Kirby ran around their cozy, dome-shaped hut, sometimes getting things ready for tomorrow, but mostly just trying to calm down. But they were just too happy! They finally had a friend who wanted to do all the things Kirby wanted to do, someone who he could have fun with. Eventually, Kirby (mostly) calmed down, and they started collecting everything they'd need for what Kirby had planned. And then Kirby got sleepy and went to bed, although it was hard to sleep with them being so excited. What a surprise! They didn't know what to expect!
One thing's for sure; tomorrow was going to be the BEST day of their life.