Chapter 9

                                    

                                          
Bandanna Dee | バンダナディー
                          
"Wh-what's there?" the She-Dee stammers. "Is that you, Meta Knight? Is this a test?" She gulps and grips her sword tighter. Nervous now, not having meant to make her angry or afraid, I take a few steps farther back into the bushes, swallow anxiously, and tighten my right paw's grip on my spear. I don't want to make her angry. She's a friend from my pre-Outcast days, not a foe.
                          
While she continues to look around in fear, looking for what made the source of the rustling sounds around her, something jumps, cackling, out of a tree. "Is that you, Meta Knight?" it repeats snidely, then starts cackling again, now so hard it can barely breathe. Geez. Bronto Burt. What a jerk. Maybe I should step in?...
                          
"What are you?" she asks the still-unseen voice anxiously.
                          
The little red bird hops out of a shadow, its head cocked at her mockingly and a smirk on its stupid face. "Ooooh, is the weird little Waddle scared?"
                          
She relaxes instantly, making it so I can't help but 'smile' to myself. Since I'd heard she'd changed recently, I was worried she'd be really different. Nope; she's still the same old She-Dee, just as Waddle Dee as the rest of us. Um, mostly. 
                          
Scoffing a bit, trying to hide the fact that she was ever scared, she huffs, "Oh. You're just a Bronto Burt."
                          
Okay, She-Dee. That might have been just a bit too overconfident, there. "Just a Bronto Burt? I oughta have my friends come after you, Waddle Weird," it sneers, then begins flying toward her, poised to attack. She holds her sword up, ready to defend herself, but I have a feeling the Burt isn't going to take her threat seriously. And so, with a flash of blue and red orange, I take a deep breath and jump out of the bushes, spear brandished. All it takes is a sharp glare and a few swings of my spear toward it, and the Bronto Burt goes flying off, muttering the whole way about how obnoxious and rude us Waddle Dees are.
                          
Not sure what else to do to introduce myself, I turn to the She-Dee and give an awkward little bow.
                          
"Oh, Bandanna Dee," she greets me with the accompanying standard Waddle Dee blank stare, which I return. "Thanks. I could've taken care of myself, but thanks." I tilt my head and close my eyes in answer, offering her a friendly Waddle Dee 'smile.' Giving me one in return, she questions, "What are you doing out here? Patrolling?" 
                          
Shaking my head, I beckon her to follow me. Her reaction is to offer me a blank glance in reply. "What? Where do you want me to go?"
                          
Slightly impatient, I roll my eyes, but then realize that there's no way for her to know what I'm here for. Guess I should probably explain myself. With an internal sigh, I waddle over and touch my forehead to hers. She's a bit taller than me, so I practically have to go up on tiptoe.
                          
"What are you doing?" she questions aloud in slightly-freaked-out confusion.
                          
"Can you hear me?" I think at her, just like Waddle Dees normally would. Then again, normally Waddle Dees don't have to touch heads to share thoughts, but at least I'm not left as a total mute in my Outcastness, especially not now that I actually have someone (hopefully) willing to talk to me.
                          
She frowns and thinks back, "Yeah, but how are we doing this?"
                          
Slightly impatient (we have places to go, dudes), I explain, "Simple. We're both Outcasts, so the only way we can be part of the One Mind is if our minds are close together. We can both do this with any Waddle Dee. Just... I wouldn't suggest trying it. They aren't exactly the best listeners to our kind."
                          
For some reason, I kinda get the feeling she didn't actually hear anything beyond the first four words, just going by her resulting panic. "You're an Outcast? I'm an Outcast?! No, I can't be an outcast!"