The sun shone brilliantly as it rose. It should have been second nature for one certain Waddle Dee to wake up at dawn, but after a few years of working under King Dedede, they still needed to be woken up by the blaring beeps of an alarm clock.

BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP!

Bandana Dee groaned as they fumbled for the alarm clock’s snooze button. They managed to find it and flick it, then push the sheets off their bed.

They stumbled out of bed and shuffled over to the coat rack in their room. It served no purpose other than to hold their iconic bandana when they weren’t wearing it. They grabbed their bandana from the coat rack and put it on over their head. That was much better.

Bandana Dee headed to the kitchen to get their spear (it was kept there for convenience) and grab a light snack before they headed outside.

The air was crisp and cool, like all mornings in Dream Land. It was refreshing, too. The sky was painted a light pink near the horizon, and that same pink reflected onto the undersides of the sparse clouds.

Bandana started walking through the damp grass. Destination: Castle Dedede. Their house was actually a fair way away from the castle, and their work started early, which was why they had to get up so early. But it was good exercise!

And since Bandana had to walk such a long way, it was also a good time to do a quick scouting of Dream Land. Bandana liked making sure everything was okay.

The sun had properly risen when they passed Kirby’s house. They were running on schedule, in other words. But as Bandana took a glance at Kirby’s house, they noticed something extremely off. Kirby’s curtains were open. Kirby’s curtains were always closed while he was asleep.

Bandana waddled over to Kirby’s house, a concerned frown on their face. They peered into the window to find that Kirby wasn’t even in! Bandana was starting to panic. If Kirby wasn’t in his house, then that meant… something bad must have happened! Bandana initiated a Spear Copter and flew to Castle Dedede as fast as they could.

Bandana Dee frantically knocked on King Dedede’s door and yelled, “King Dedede! King Dedede, Your Majesty! Something’s wrong!”

They heard Dedede mumbling something, muffled by the door separating them. They assumed it to be something along the lines of “hold your horses, I’ll be right there,” so Bandana stopped knocking and stared up at the door nervously.

The door clicked open a couple of minutes later to reveal King Dedede, who looked rather tired despite being fully dressed.

“I’m terribly sorry to wake you up so soon, Your Majesty, but something’s wrong!” Bandana Dee babbled, “I- I think Kirby’s gone missing!”

King Dedede’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “He what?!”

“Went missing, Your Majesty! He wasn’t in his house when I passed by!” Bandana Dee explained.

“This is bad. This is bad.” King Dedede ran down the stairs and yelled to Bandana Dee, “Come on!”

The two made their way to the throne room as quickly as they could. Few Waddle Dees were up, since it was so early, but as soon as they saw their king and their captain panicking, they immediately went over and asked questions.

“Please, everyone, one at a time!” Bandana said, trying to calm the small crowd gathered in front of them and the king.

King Dedede sounded the emergency alarm, and the rest of the Waddle Dees gathered, and all of them stood in their formations.

“Everyone, Bandana has reported that Kirby has gone missing. Squadrons A to E, I want you all to search Dream Land for him,” Dedede announced. “Squadron A, you check to the north. B and C, you check east and west respectively. D, you check to the south, and E, check in and around the castle.”

The Waddle Dees saluted before running off in different directions.

King Dedede pointed to the remaining Waddle Dees. “Squadron F, you tell all the citizens that Kirby’s gone missing, and if they find him, to report to me immediately.”

The Squadron F Waddle Dees saluted before scattering.

“What about Meta Knight, Your Majesty?” Bandana Dee asked their king, looking up at him.

“That’s a good point you raise there. Come on, let’s go find him.”

King Dedede and Bandana Dee ran onto the runway, with Bandana Dee shouting, “Meta Knight! Where’s Meta Knight?!”

Meta Knight was working on the top of the Halberd. He saw the two, and jumped down, landing in front of the two panicking Dreamlanders.

“You seem frazzled. What is it?” Meta Knight asked.

“It’s Kirby! He’s gone missing, I think!” Bandana Dee exclaimed.

Meta Knight’s eyes thinned.

“H-He wasn’t in bed when I was walking to the castle, and maybe he’s okay, but usually he’s still asleep by now! Something could’ve happened!” Bandana Dee explained.

Meta Knight’s cape morphed into his bat wings.

“I’ll go look for him. Where will you be?”

“The throne room,” Dedede replied.

Meta Knight nodded, then turned to his crew, who were by the Halberd. “Axe! Mace! Vul! Sailor Dee! Hold down the fort while I’m gone!”

They responded with a salute and, “Sir, yes sir!”

With that response, Meta Knight took off. King Dedede and Bandana Dee watched him fly away briefly before hurrying back to the throne room.

Meta Knight searched all over Dream Land, and even beyond that. Some Waddle Dees were kind enough to go with him and search on land. But Kirby was nowhere to be found. He asked the Waddle Dee squadrons if they had found him, but they all shook their heads and apologized - they hadn’t found him.

The sun had almost set when Meta Knight finally returned to Castle Dedede. King Dedede and Bandana Dee both looked grim, but his return cheered them up at least briefly. They asked if he found Kirby. He hadn’t.

Meta Knight went over to the runway to tell his crew he had returned, then immediately went to his room. He locked the door before sitting himself down on his bed.

He wished he could have found him. He wished that anyone could have found him. He just wanted to know if Kirby was okay. He might have been scared. He could have been hurt. Anything could’ve happened to Kirby and he wouldn’t know because he was nowhere to be found. He said that he’d intervene if worst came to worst, but what if he waited too long? Should he have done something sooner?

Meta Knight’s sight had blurred from the tears welling up in his eyes. He gingerly took off his mask, and wiped his tears with a hand.

“I’m sorry, Kirby…”