A/N: About two days ago I was playing through level 4-3 in Kirby's Return to Dreamland and died twice/thrice in this room because of the puzzle's timing (hint: Cutter Boomerang, INSTANT KILL). Then this story idea popped into my head in between deaths. If you haven't played 'Return', you'll still get this (although you might not be as familiar with Bandana Dee and the group psychology), but for those of you who HAVE, this will just bring back happy memories.

2/22: I finally got around to fixing this (part of it, at least). The plot is still the same as the first time I wrote this, but I hadn't written in over a year when I created this, so there were some things that I thought I'd fix. What was that? Well, let's just say that it's really bad when you set up a scene solely because you enjoy writing that sort of thing…and then you rush it like you have five minutes to write it down before you die…and a whole bunch of other things.

I may very well include a bonus chapter for the summer as well…if I remember…

"It's cold," Dedede whined as the foursome trotted through the icy underground cavern. Bandana Dee nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything.

It only took four seconds before the king was unsatisfied with no answer. "Why can't we ask some of the locals for some soup or something warm?"

"We'll do that later," Kirby assured him tiredly. The pink puffball wished he could dish out some comfort. He really did. But he hadn't eaten in hours, Dedede had woken him up last night and he had NEVER gotten back to sleep, he was really low on HP, and dang the cold wasn't helping that any; he didn't have anything to protect him but he'd developed a bit pride over the years and he wasn't going to ask Dedede to let him huddle in his coat.

Okay, that wasn't because of his pride. That was because he knew Dedede wouldn't let a soaking wet puffball snuggle in his robe unless it was an emergency. Maybe. Which reminded him, he was still a little irritated about Dedede eating that chocolate in front of him an hour ago…

"Yeah, like he said," Meta Knight added. "We're kinda in the middle of an icy cavern, here. I don't think that there ARE any locals around; just standard monsters. Where the heck do they come from anyway…and why are they—"

"You, unlike ME, Kirby, also have a fire power-up. What do you say to that?" Dedede cut in.

"That you, unlike ME, Dedede, are wearing a robe with a jumpsuit on underneath it. I don't have any other clothes," Kirby countered, trying to focus on the icy terrain in front of him so that he didn't slip and fall down a gap into the pouring, probably freezing, water.

Bandana Dee, who was wearing a scarf and his bandana, kept moving despite his lack of boots. Bandana Dee was simply tired of listening to his king bicker with Kirby. He didn't care that teasing was just something that Dedede felt was necessary; he was just frustrated with having to put up with his arguments solely to 'prove that he was better than Kirby.'

Dedede, unfortunately, was not about to give up. "Well, you, un—"

"Could you two please cut it out?!" Bandana Dee shouted, mainly at Dedede. "We're looking for Energy Spheres and Ship Parts, not a free meal! Have you two no dignity? Does it really take an interest in something technical to gain sanity?!"

Both Dedede and Kirby looked away in embarrassment, but the puffball could hear his rival snickering, which instilled mixed feelings in him. True, Bandana Dee kept the group together, but he didn't get angry like this unless it was something really wrong. His patience was a little shorter than Meta Knight's, but it was definitely better than Dedede's despite the Dee's occasional sarcastic comments. He rarely spoke badly of Kirby, simply because the puffball had such a happy-go-lucky demeanor that you couldn't really stay mad at him for long. This, unknown to the others, made Kirby feel bad. Dedede was the one starting the argument, not him! Why was Bandana Dee angry at him? As if it already wasn't hard enough to anger Bandana Dee for no reason, it wasn't enough that he could exclude Kirby from the blame, either; no, it was his fault too! It wasn't fair, especially when he was tired like this.

Kirby sighed, though the small cloud of steam from his breath was the only giveaway. It's okay. Just keep going. Don't get angry at them; don't say anything; just keep…going…

Bandana Dee rolled his eyes, oblivious to Kirby's unhappiness, and instead turned to Meta Knight to see his reaction. Much to his half-surprise, Meta Knight kept walking, appearing to be oblivious to the argument. While Bandana Dee would normally have assumed that he was just ignoring the argument and was just thinking of what to say, this was…different. For some reason, the blue puffball had been distracted since they'd entered this world. He was still as alert as he'd always been, if not more, but he seemed more interested in the surroundings and snow than the mission. Dedede and Bandana Dee had thought this was a bit strange (and had both been caught staring at him quite frequently), but Kirby had been quite accepting of it despite the abnormality it presented. Maybe he knew what was causing it, maybe he didn't. Either way, he didn't feel like leading a discussion on it, especially in his current condition.

The partially-organized quartet kept trekking through the cave in much-needed silence, with Kirby at the lead and the others following behind. None of them complained about Kirby getting the most fighting time, simply because there weren't many enemies around. Kirby would have complained about getting the most fighting time, but if he did so, the others might not have been as likely to let him fight when he was feeling better-rested. Normally Kirby took pride in leading and fighting like this, but now he just felt dragged down by group effort. He felt bad about that; he loved having his friends around, but…maybe he was just looking at it the wrong way.

At this point, everyone's feet were freezing. The group continued on their way for quite a while until they reached a point where the only way to cross to the other side was either over a swirling, freezing mass of water that had run into a crater-filled hole, or through the waterfalls that poured into this hole. Now, any normal person would have just swam along the edge of the miniature lake, but since Kirby, Meta Knight, and King Dedede could float and Bandana Dee had an anti-gravity device he had borrowed from Meta Knight, they jumped right into the waterfalls, disregarding the fact that most people would think they were insane.

They knew they were, but there were no locals around, so it didn't really matter.

The going was pretty good, but Kirby was having a bit of trouble with the swimming which was doing more than irritating him a little. After a few minutes of traversing the waterfalls, he started pondering whether or not he should voice his complaints. On the one hand, he didn't want to slow anyone down…but on the other hand, he was really struggling and wanted a little help.

"Guys, I'm having some trouble here!" He wasn't sure whether they could hear him, so he thrashed out of the waterfall and continued shouting. "Hello? I don't have any arms!"

"Excuse me, look at ME," Bandana Dee snapped. "I don't have any arms either, and I'm FREEZING."

Dedede looked a bit sympathetic, but that flash of sympathy quickly vanished into what Kirby figured was a figment of his imagination. He looked to Meta Knight for some relief, but the blue puffball had taken the lead for him despite still being lost in the 'winter wonderland' of a cave they were in.

Yeah, I'm just too weak to do it myself. Meta Knight has to take the lead, and nobody wants to help. Well, Bandana Dee doesn't want to help, and who am I to expect Dedede to step off his royal throne to help a commoner?

He knew that was wrong. He knew his friends would help him…but he just didn't feel like pressing the issue. Honestly, it was easier to sulk at this point and just hope for some food or something. He'd have more than enough time to apologize when they were all well-fed and warm…

The waterfalls thinned out to an open area where a mostly-intact ice platform was. The band of adventurers jumped onto it, glad for a rest. They all sat down and propped their swim goggles on top of their heads (or, in the case of Kirby and Meta Knight, ate them while the other two weren't looking) for a nice break, even though their bottoms would probably be frozen to the platform by the time they got up. After a little while of just sitting doing nothing, Kirby decided to wander over to the edge of the platform. He stared down into the water, wondering about things like how long the cave was, or what Meta Knight would say when he finally realized how weird it was that he'd been staring off into the cavern looking for some nonexistent puzzle, or when Dedede and Bandana Dee would stop bickering in the background after they'd just told him to shut up—

"Kirby?"

The pink puffball glanced to the side to see Meta Knight sitting down next to him, and couldn't help but inwardly sigh. "Hi Meta Knight..."

"What's wrong?" Meta Knight asked, hoping that speaking in their native language would make Kirby feel a little better. He didn't know what was wrong, so it seemed like the best choice.

"Oh, nothing. Listen, could you just leave me alone? It would really help."

"You aren't being possessed by Dark Matter or something, are you?" Meta Knight started glancing him over, as if he was searching for any evidence to prove or disprove the statement. "Even if you just feel weird, you could tell me…"

Kirby's eyes flickered red in anger. "I'm fine, okay? I'm not being possessed or anything; I'm just tired. Okay? You can go now."

Why didn't Meta Knight understand that he just wanted to be left alone? Sure, Kirby stayed to bug Meta Knight if he didn't want to talk about things, but that was just because everything had to be a mystery with the blue puffball and Kirby wasn't like that. (Or at least, he hoped he wasn't like that.) This was kinda annoying, but he didn't want to—

"You do realize that's probably the most suspicious thing that you'd ever say—"

"STOP it!" Kirby shouted, giving his friend a shove…toward the water. He'd hoped it was just enough to get his message across that he wanted to be alone, but Kirby had underestimated his strength and knocked Meta Knight into the water with a loud splash. The pink puffball stared down at the water in realization, already starting to feel regret for his actions. He sighed.

I'm WAY too nice about feeling bad for people…oh well, I guess an apology is in order anyways…if something doesn't happen first…

Meta Knight, however, had decided to take Kirby's advice instead, which would be 'leaving him alone'. He was already a bit cautious about giving advice or comfort to anyone, and he was not about to throw away any more of his dignity by facing Kirby back up. The only decision he had to make now, though, was where and when he should resurface. He was feeling a little upset toward Kirby, not that he'd let anyone know that. He wanted to stay down here for as long as possible, just to show him that he wasn't letting it bother him…but there were a few things that he wasn't enthusiastic about in the water. Besides the fact that he might actually be capable of drowning, the water was really dark and he had no idea what was in it…if he had even opened his eyes in the freezing cold water. Even with his boosted tolerance for cold, he didn't want to stir up the water around him that still held the heat it had sucked from his body.

His decision to stay underwater for a little longer was quickly changed when he found himself in an eel's mouth. He had forgotten about the huge, quick, silent, hungry eels that lurked in cave-like passages, though they normally didn't like water that was as cold as this, and they certainly didn't like cramped spaces unless they were hunting or it was around—

Their nests; DANG IT ALL!

After some struggling, Meta Knight managed to break free of the eel's grasp…at the cost of three-fourths of his luckily-full HP bar. The blue knight kicked his way to the surface, wishing that he had the floaty rings from Onion Ocean to cling to while he made sure he was still in one piece. He didn't want to open his mouth because his mask sealed some of the water to his face, but after a bit of struggling he assured himself that none of his belongings had been eaten. He swam over to the closest edge of the iceberg they'd been resting on and tried sticking his sword into the side of it so he could pull himself up.

On the third attempt, Bandana Dee's face appeared over the edge. "Why…are you swimming here…?"

"Can you just pull me onto the ledge?" Meta Knight asked, defeated.

Bandana Dee rolled his eyes before looking behind him. "Great King, can you fish—"

"Fish? I love fish!" Dedede leaned over the edge and grabbed the first shadowy shape in the water he could find, which was, of course, Meta Knight. Dedede's expression changed instantly when he saw what he'd caught. "What, were you asking me to fish him out? He was just too lazy to do it himself?"

Meta Knight raised a paw. "I—"

Dedede and Bandana Dee continued arguing. Meta Knight just sighed to himself as he tried to shake all the water out from his armor. "Never mind…"

"Hey GUYS!"

The king, his servant, and the knight turned toward Kirby. The pink puffball pointed to an area on one of the slightly-higher ice platforms nearby. "I'll bet there's something up there."

"I'd bet so, too," Dedede muttered. "Why else would there be a suspicious iron platform hanging up there for no reason?"

"Yeah, by a really thin-looking rope," Meta Knight muttered. "The ancients must have been really good at making rope…"

Kirby noticed a Sir Kibble's blade lying to the side and popped it in his mouth. The screen flashed to a starscape for a split second as Kirby gained a yellow hat with a blade on top. He then turned to the platform, and sank into thought. "I can't get it from the waterfalls; my power won't work there…" He tiptoed around the edge of the –extremely- icy platform, looking to see how far it needed to be. Ironically enough, his original position in the center of the platform was the only one that would work. Kirby glared up at it.

"Hmph, well if it wants me to stand underneath it and do it, fine! Have it your way!"

The others stepped back as Kirby got into position to throw his boomerang. None of them noticed what would happen when the rope released. None of them saw anything wrong with the fact that Kirby usually waited for the platform to fall before proceeding.

Then something smacked the ever-analytic Meta Knight in the head. When that platform falls, it'll land…holy NOVA!

Too late. Kirby had already thrown his boomerang.

"Kirby, look out!" The blue knight threw himself at Kirby as the platform started to fall. Kirby's confusion quickly turned to terror as he saw the shadow descending on them. The two puffballs skidded across the icy ground…

…but not very far. Meta Knight was renowned for his skill at battle, not his physical strength. Most of the blow's force had worn off by the time he reached Kirby, which landed them a few inches under the nearest edge. Dedede and Bandana Dee gasped in horror at the scene unfolding. The light around the puffballs was rapidly becoming shadowed. Seconds felt like minutes, but even with time at an apparent standstill, the two puffballs could not make it out before the platform crashed into the ground with a loud clang. In its aftermath, the only sound heard was the water running in the icy cavern.

"NO!" Bandana Dee immediately dashed over to the place where he had last seen his friends, his anger evaporating, replaced by overwhelming sadness and worry. The Dee tried to lift the corner of the platform, struggling, losing his grip, grabbing it again, repeating, but he didn't have the strength to do anything to it. "Kirby! Meta Knight! Please get up!" He continued pushing at it desperately, despite the tears streaming down his face.

Dedede, who had been standing on the sidelines, simply bowed his head, tears springing to his closed eyes. He didn't want to think about what had happened to the puffballs. He didn't want to think about what life would be like if they weren't around. He didn't even want to risk lifting the edge of the platform; that would only confirm his fears. Normally he would express his fears; express his feelings; SAY something…why couldn't he now?

You fool of a king. You consider a handful of people your friends and now you let some of them die thinking that you hated them.

He couldn't let this get to him. He looked up to see Bandana Dee was still beating against the platform. Dedede walked over as quietly as he could to the young Dee and placed his hand on his head.

"Listen," he stated in a quiet, almost choked voice that was uncharacteristic of him. "I don't know if we can do anything, kid. I think we should—"

"We have to try! Don't you care about them?! And you had the nerve to call Meta Knight heartless, you jerk!" He promptly started sobbing and throwing himself against the platform, which did not even budge from its position. Dedede sighed and lowered his head. If such a thing was the only way to prove he cared…no. He wasn't afraid to see the results of his actions—

He was, but he would never let that get to him. Bracing himself, he took out his large hammer and put it out on the ground next to the platform. Bandana Dee gave him a look of confusion. "What's…that fo—"

Dedede grabbed the corner of the platform and, much to his surprise, actually managed to shift the iron platform towards him some. However, he winced at this action—he didn't want to hurt the puffballs anymore; the corner would simply drag across their bodies if he pulled it toward him. The king slowly shifted his hands closer and closer to the center of the platform, straining against its weight. Bandana Dee watched him with awe. When he felt he'd reached the center, he turned to Bandana Dee. "Get ready. Shove it under there quick."

Bandana Dee blinked before looking at the king's hammer on the ground. He grabbed it and nodded. "Ready, Great King."

Dedede nodded back and then, with all the strength he possessed, heaved the platform up to his shoulder level. Bandana Dee gasped upon seeing the bodies of his two friends, but a shout from Dedede snapped him back into reality long enough for him to shove the hammer underneath. Dedede tried to lower the platform as slowly as he could onto the hammer, hoping it would be strong enough to withstand the weight. For the moment, it was, and Dedede finally fell onto his bottom, gasping for breath as he lay stomach down on the floor for a few seconds. When he was done, he turned back to Bandana Dee, who was staring at the puffballs uncertainly.

The two seemed flattened, almost, which wasn't surprising considering their anatomy. However, most of their injuries seemed to be inflicted before the platform crushed them. Kirby's cutter blade had just barely missed killing him and had instead inflicted a long scrape across his right side. He was somehow still powered-up, despite having taken a critical—not fatal, the king hoped—hit. Meta Knight didn't look any better, but the king hadn't expected that much considering all his metal armor, which had shattered under pressure. Dedede avoided looking at his wings; it sent chills through him. The splintered ice had dug into both of their bodies in various places (he desperately hoped that that wasn't because of him, but he got the sinking feeling that it was…), with the surrounding ice absorbing a red tint from the quickly-freezing liquid. Neither puffball showed any signs of life.

No…

Would it really end like this? Could the puffballs really have met their ends in such a cold, desolate wasteland where the only creatures that cared about their death were their two friends and the hungry eels below the surface?

Bandana Dee started quaking again, and Dedede wiped a few tears from his own eyes. "Kid."

The Dee looked up at him, tears already running down his face, too. He gave no response except for a devastated stare.

You're fooling yourself, kingie. They're dead.

"Let's pull them out, kid. Just to see what we can do for them." The king whispered. "Don't give up hope yet. We can cry afterwards. We don't know how long my hammer will hold up."

The king and servant slowly moved the two puffballs. Since they had no place to lay them, Dedede took off his decorative belt and spread it evenly on the ground (considering that, if they had to carry the two, they wouldn't want something big and bulky like his robe). Extracting them from under the platform was a delicate task, but it was possible, and a few minutes later, the two puffballs had been laid on the king's best belt. When that task had been done, Dedede used the last of strength to yank his hammer out from underneath the platform, covering the scene of the unfortunate accident until the ice ever melted.

Bandana Dee was staring uncomfortably at the puffballs, and Dedede soon joined him. There was nothing but awkward silence for a few seconds.

"A-are they…should we…see if they're alive?" Bandana Dee asked cautiously.

Dedede took off one of his gloves (a rare occasion) and, after a bit of hesitation, placed his hand on Kirby's foot. He shuddered at the feel of his cold, torn skin, but felt around delicately, trying to see if he could feel a pulse. After closing his eyes and pausing for a while, he sighed. Whether it was of relief, disappointment, or some other emotional mix was unknown to Bandana Dee.

"Kirby's okay. And if he's okay, Meta Knight better be okay or I'll sue him." Dedede hesitated, as if wondering whether or not to try taking the blue puff's pulse anyway.

"I wouldn't try it, Great King. Considering the state they're in, and considering that fact that they're…y'know…bleeding, you wouldn't want to give them some sort of infection. We should probably just get out of here. We can always come back through to check for energy spheres…"

We should probably just get out of here…

After briefly rinsing their paws (and hammer) off in the ice-cold water, the king and his servant were ready to move on. As Dedede put the hammer back in his robe, he wondered what would happen next. The cavern appeared to be ending soon…or at least, he hoped. They needed to find somewhere to rest, and somewhere that could fix the puffballs up as well. The cavern certainly wasn't a place like that…so leaving was the only logical thing to do.

"Bandana Dee, fight your way through so I can carry the puffballs. I'm gonna try to go slowly and heroically…whatever that means." He sighed as he picked the belt up, though it likely wasn't because of the weight. "This hero business is tougher than I thought, having to do things like this…" And having to deal with the impacts of things like this…

The king and the Dee stared at their comrades for a bit, both wishing that they could fix the ice and metal embedded into their bodies. Then Dedede set his gaze straight ahead. "We can't do anything ourselves. Better to leave them like that until we find someone who can help them."

With that, he turned toward the path in front of them. "Come on. Let's…go…"

Look at those revisions/extensions. :) So much better...

...Oh, yeah, I know only the people who have no family or friends to celebrate with will probably read this on the exact day it's relevant, but happy 4th of July anyway. Don't feel bad; you're not the only one stuck at home doing nothing…I am too.