Chapter Text
Kirby skipped across the fresh dew-touched grass of Dreamland. It had rained heavily the day before, causing Kirby to be cooped up in his home with a hot cup of cocoa, but sadly, not much for terms in outside play. The sun was out, the day was new! And since he was inside all of yesterday, there was much fun to catch up on. He pointed out a glimmering rainbow in the sky, giggling happily to himself.
A mental list was made in his young mind of all those he would visit today. Those he wanted to spend this rainbow-filled day with. Before he dawdled anymore on the subject, over the hill he spotted a patch. From the distance, it was difficult to tell what fruitful goodies were hidden between the thick leaves. Kirby’s mouth watered with hope…so many options it could be.
He tread closer to the patch, curious to see what his after-breakfast snack would be! Among the leaves, however, laid another. A friend of ocean blue, he must’ve had the same idea as Kirby.
“Hai, Gooey!” Kirby greeted, waving his pink nub high enough to see over the patch.
Gooey turned around the voice and his face brightened. He returned the gesture, licking the air. “Kirby!”
Kirby broke in an excited run, he bolted down the hill, nearly tripping on a stone in his quest. He crossed into the patch and his blue eyes raced for any sign of his snack. He skidded to a stop in front of Gooey.
“Whoa…where is all the…?” Kirby asked.
“Watermelons?” Gooey finished.
“Is that what was here? This is-they're all gone! What happened?”
“Don’t know!” Gooey chirped. “I’ve been looking for them all morning!”
“But there were so many the day before the rain!”
“Maybe the wind took them away!”
Kirby let out a quivering sigh. He mourned the watermelon’s loss…what could have happened to them? Gooey nudged Kirby with his tongue, a giggle left the pink puff.
“Maybe it was just the watermelons! Let’s check the other fruit!”
Determined, Kirby and Gooey set off. Along with the state of the other fruit patches, hopefully they would also discover the location of the missing watermelons.
As the two orbs bounded down the greenery of Dreamland, their hunt proved mixed results.
The orange patches and lemon trees were spared. As were the bunches of grapes and strawberry patches. So was there some absurd watermelon theft? Or had Gooey been right and it was simply a matter of yesterday’s gloominess? But that brought on more questions…the rain wasn’t that harsh. Would it really be strong enough to pull all of the watermelons away? And a more important one: where had they gone?
Kirby began to think it was a personal vendetta against one of his favorite treats, until he and Gooey stopped by the apple trees. A distressed cry had come out from the shrubbery. The two looked at each other with befuddled expressions, before they raced towards the noise.
Bandana Dee frantically paced back and forth. Upon seeing Kirby, he whipped around.
“They’re all gone!” He practically wailed.
Indeed, the apples were gone. Apart from a few that were not fully ripe or others that had gone spoiled, the branches were bare. Gooey gave a quizzical hum, the tongue reached up to scratch at his head. Kirby went over to pat a kind nub on his dear friend’s back.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find the watermelons and apples!” He exclaimed.
“But why just those fruits? It couldn’t have been the storm…” Gooey murmured, doubt sunk into his original theory.
“They are nowhere to be found too?” Bandana Dee asked, fear heightened.
Kirby and Gooey both nodded. Their friend sulked and he glanced at the beloved apple trees.
“We should head to the castle!” He proclaimed. The tip of the spear pointed to the space of the sky where King Dedede’s castle stood tall like a mountain.
“The King or Meta will know what to do!” Kirby proposed.
Gooey agreed, and the three, with more vigor than previously, marched towards castle Dedede. As they left the apple trees and out into open land, Bandana Dee and Gooey tossed their own theories out, mostly playing detective and who would have the best motive. Kirby toyed with the idea that King Dedede was the culprit, when one takes into account his track record. However, why steal only two fruits and nothing else? There was no clue that pointed to anymore.
The castle emerged from the sky. When their small posse neared the entrance, they were interrupted by a sharp call, and the squeak of a rubber ball.
Behind them, Marx approached. He rolled on his ball with his face scrunched up in an unhappy glare. He jutted into Kirby’s face, his multi-colored hat swayed with the movement.
“What kind of prank are you playing, pink demon?” Marx sneered.
“Eh…?” Kirby said.
“Someone stole my whole collection of pillows!”
Bandana Dee stuttered, “pillows?”
Since Marx had chosen to reside in Dreamland, he had built himself a fort, mostly containing his balls and, of course, a horde of pillows. Kirby had seen an impressive collection, only after getting ‘special access.’
Marx carried on, “Yes, all of my pillows have vanished!”
“We didn’t have anything to do with your pillows!”
“As if!”
Gooey gave an annoyed groan, which Kirby couldn’t help but chuckle at. He never heard such a noise coming out the blue blob. It took…much more time and convincing to get it through to Marx that they had nothing to do with the missing pillows.
With a pout, Marx begrudgingly left them to their original mission. Although, he did swear there would be a larger prank in store for the one who dared to trick him. Shrugging, they carried on.
The castle door gave a loud groan as it opened for them. Everything seemed normal, Waddle Dees went about their business. Dusting, carrying plates of food for the king. Bandana Dee kept an eye out, seeing to see if anything in the castle had been taken. Nothing in the foyer was touched, nor the main drawing room. Paintings, tapestries, chests even remained. Kirby did a brief check of the bookcase, where King Dedede kept the boardgames. Yup, still there thankfully!
Prior to reaching the King or Meta Knight, they encountered the kitchen and vastly got distracted. Gooey’s tongue wrapped around the fridge’s handle and gave it a tug.
A shadow loomed across the tile flooring, Kirby glanced up to see Tranaza. The spider used all of his six, floating hands, to pull open cabinets. He gave a quick runover each one, sighed, and all six shut at once in a loud clap. It startled Gooey, who tumbled backwards. Tranaza noticed them then, but went right back to the cabinets.
“Hello, kids.” Taranza greeted dismissively, “have you seen my stash of tissues?”
“Tissues?” Kirby and friends all repeated.
Kirby and Bandana Dee passed one other a peculiar look. Gooey went back to the fridge. While that one likely had an explanation, it certainly was a pattern. Watermelons, apples, pillows, and now tissues? What kind of thief were they dealing with? Or was this just some insane coincidence.
“Come on, Gooey, we got to see the King.” Kirby said, bumbling over.
Gooey had a fish’s tail sticking out of his mouth. He swallowed it in a single gulp and followed. The King wasn’t in his throne or the dining hall, most surprisingly.
They heard King Dedede before they saw him.
“Just tell me the truth, Meta! Did you take it again?” He bellowed from down one of the many halls.
“My liege, I would not lie to you.” His loyal knight answered.
Bandana Dee’s pace quickened, he hurried down the hall, and turned a corner to see the pair, tucked away in a corner of not-so private discussion. He approached King Dedede to grasp onto his ruby-colored robe.
“What else has gone missing, sire?” He asked.
“Else-?” Meta Knight asked.
King Dedede let out a frustrated huff.
“My royal quilt has vanished! I had left it out last night to be washed in the morning. The Dee’s go out to do so-and they can’t find it anywhere.”
Kirby and Gooey managed to catch the chitting group then. Kirby’s eyes narrowed upon hearing the King’s answer. This was getting weirder and weirder. Meta Knight stepped forward, his armor clunking with his movements.
“Bandana Dee, you said else?” He asked.
Piping and high-pitched voices filled in Meta Knight on the befuddling day. Each thing they listed off, Meta Knight’s yellow eyes became smaller and smaller slits. Snubbed in intrigue. But then retracted. He held his cloak to himself, composed as always.
“I’m sure there is a logical explanation for the missing items.” Meta Knight reassured.
“But ALL of the watermelons and apples?” Bandana Dee exclaimed.
“Hungry creatures.”
“And Marx’s pillows?”
“Someone giving the jester a taste of his own medicine.”
“The tissues?”
King Dedede chuckled, he tried to hide his amusement behind his sleeve. “Well, he does have an act of crying.”
When laid out all like that, Kirby felt foolish for being curious about something that seemed so obsolete.
“Then where is everything?” He meekly asked.
The King scooped up Kirby, rubbing his knuckles into Kirby’s brow. He screeched in laughter.
“Don’t worry, they’ll turn up somehow!” King Dedede reassured.
“But who took them? And why?” Bandana Dee pleaded.
All that came was King Dedede’s roaring laughter. He lifted him from the ground too, he held the pair on each shoulder. He and Meta Knight did not seem concerned over the absent things. However, as Bandana Dee questioned, there was no reason as to why?
Kirby was not persuaded it was all some coincidence. There had to be more…right?
Gooey wasn’t either, but he was not present for the conversation. He had wandered over to the nearby open window. He was oddly calm, as if in deep thought. No smile, no darting tongue. His pupils stared directly up to the sky, to space beyond Planet Popstar.
The King and his Knight sent the kids back outside to play. Just to reassure them further, King Dedede had sent out some Waddle Dees to go out to search for the missing things.
Meta Knight was stern in his conclusion-there was a logical cause. First Dedede had agreed. It was no big deal. Just some fruit and other odd objects. But as the day went on, the items did not reappear. Truly, he wasn’t too concerned about the quilt. He had plenty of warm comforters, that one just happened to be left out…ripe for stealing.
Quilts and fruit don’t just disappear in thin air.
As he pondered on the morning and facts of the case more…Dedede found himself with more questions. Though, he would hastily rationalize them with any and all reasons. Round and round he went. This cycle haunted him all throughout the day.
Even as he and Meta Knight climbed into the royal bed. Dedede ran his wing across the blanket, trying to distract himself with its intimate softness. He probed the ceiling with his eyes, as if searching for the answer to the atypical annoyance. Meta Knight rolled over.
“Mi amor, is something the matter?” He asked.
Dedede did not look away from the ceiling. “Why would someone come into the castle to steal a quilt?”
That was the thought that racked him the most. If there was a secret thief, they had broken into the castle to steal the quilt. Someone was here without invitation.
Meta Knight gave a resounding sigh. “I’ll get you a new quilt, my liege.”
“This ain’t ‘bout the quilt! Someone was here and they robbed me!” King Dedede exclaimed.
“Are we sure it was not misplaced? The guards never detected an unwanted being here.”
“But what if there was…?”
This was true, and all of Dedede’s wayward thoughts stopped. Meta Knight sat up a little further and adjusted the heavy blanket around his partner.
“I think Kirby and Bandana Dee have gotten your anxieties raised. I will say again, there is a sensible answer.” He reassured softly, and leaned in close. “And it is my pledge to protect you and the castle. If I am not worried, I do not want you to be.”
Dedede deflated under the velvety voice and calming words. No matter the strangeness of the whole thing, Meta Knight’s logic had a point that was hard to refute with fact.
“Ah, fine.” He admitted.
After the light was flicked off and goodnight’s shared, nighttime took over Dreamland. All around, its residents were cradled by the chill of night and rested underneath a sea of stars.
Dedede couldn’t sleep. He stayed awake by the castle's natural noises. A creak here, a shuffle of a Waddle Dee down the hall there. No sound that indicated an interloper was sneaking about. He replayed Meta Knight’s words in his mind. It was okay. Meta Knight wasn’t worried. Why should he be? The items would turn up, and if not, an explanation would at least come to light.
He hoped these thoughts would lull him to rest. As time went by, the night became deeper, it seemed sleep touched everyone but him. Even worse, his stomach rumbled and an annoyed gaze crossed the king’s face.
Hunger was what ultimately got him up. The bed creaked loudly as he exited. He checked briefly on Meta Knight, who was still fast asleep. He made sure he was tucked in before Dedede carefully crept outside of the master bedroom. Before he left, he caught sight of his hammer beside the closet.
Images of…what if entered his mind once again. No. No. Everything was fine. There was no interloper within the castle walls. He held his head up and marched out of the bedroom. Then he hastily returned to swipe his hammer. It was…just a precaution.
Down the hall went, his gait cautious yet brisk. A snack, after that, straight back to bed! His guards lounged about pillars. No wonder they reported anything alarming, they weren’t awake to see it! Dedede couldn’t bring himself to be angry, his Waddle Dees worked hard enough. Perhaps, he should get Taranza to form a shift system, so none would be too tired to properly attend to their nightly duties. Dedede clutched his hammer tighter, it was never heavy upon his shoulder.
Just then, he heard a…clatter? It didn’t sound like it came from the kitchen. He knew he wasn’t the only one who charmed the fridge for a midnight snack. It instead sounded like it came from the washroom…Dedede froze, awaiting for…something. A Waddle Dee to show up and explain the noise. Or Taranza still on the hunt for the box of tissues. It was only a minute, yet Dedede could feel his heartbeat quicken at the wait.
Partially scared, while feeling protective of his castle and those within, he pushed on towards the unusual noise. Dedede himself made as little sound as possible, the best scenario is that he would get a glimpse of the thief.
The washroom’s doors were just ajar, as if someone had not closed it all the way. Clattering continued. Dedede furthered and he opened the door. The torches from the adjusted wall casted an orange glow into the washroom, just enough to see the…the interloper.
It hovered about the medicine cabinet, it did not touch the floor. A bottle of cough syrup tumbled down, slammed into the sink below, and joined a pile of containers of pills, bandages, toothpaste, and mouthwash. Who had their face deep into the cabinet was a circular shadow. Black was coal with orange globes on its side, top, and bottom. Like an ugly blooming flower.
“Hey!” Dedede exclaimed, his voice cracked, more than he expected.
It whipped around in shock. The eye gawked back. That piercing eye. It was wide as the moon, iris auburn as rust.
Dedede’s wing slammed down to his stomach, palm gripped his flesh through his nightgown. It all came back to him in an instant. Belly ripped open, brain fogged by blackness. The darkness consuming him in a moment’s time.
Invader and King stood in tense silence, waiting for one to make their move. Dark Matter didn’t express emotion, at least as far Dedede was concerned. For all he knew, it waited to pounce, to attack with its spite. He brandished his hammer high over his head. He would not be possessed again.
The hammer must’ve caused something to stir in the creature, for it turned around and zoomed towards the washroom’s open window. Dedede hadn’t seen it at first, but he felt the cold night wind quickly. He pursued with a loud call. He would not be prey again, he would be larger and louder. It slipped through the open window and Dedede took a reckless swing, the hammer flogged the air. His hammer did not come close. He leaned on the ledge on the window-and watched.
Once out in the air, the splice of dark rose up. Up and up it went. Past the castle’s highest tower, Meta Knight’s Halberd. It entered the atmosphere, and rapidly disappeared entirely from Dedede’s sight.
Even with it gone, Dedede could not breathe. His heart thumped at what felt like a thousand miles. He clutched his stomach again, his scars throbbed with the memory. He, instead, kept surveillance of the sky. If one Dark Matter was back…where were the others? What were they planning? He had to stay up, in case a swarm was upon them. He would not be prey again.