The little Waddle Dee was so upset that he didn't even realise that King Dedede had found him. That is, until he stopped crying, and realised he had been brought back into the castle, and was laying in King Dedede's bed, just like yesterday. Then he looked up to see King Dedede standing next to the bed. "King?" The Waddle Dee said with a sniffle. "You stay there. I'll be back in a minute." King Dedede said, and he headed towards the kitchen. "And then I wanna know why you're all beat up again!" He yelled back towards his room so the little Waddle Dee would hear him. When King Dedede got to the kitchen, his Waddle Dees immediately knew he was present. And they all stopped what they were doing and turned to face their king. "What is it sir?" The head chef asked, saluting to the king. "Change of plans, everyone! That undersized Waddle Dee is hurt again! Put my meal on hold and fix him some soup posthaste!" The Waddle Dees gasped. Did King Dedede really just say to prepare someone else's meal, before his?! It was so unlike him to say something like that! "Why you all lookin' at me like that?!" King Dedede asked. "That guy's really beat up bad! He needs his soup first! My crummy meal can wait!" "Y-Yes sir..." The Waddle Dees saluted, though they were still a bit shocked at the king's humility, especially over food. Captain Waddle Doo was also in the room, and he looked just as surprised as the Waddle Dees. Then King Dedede approached him. "Captain Waddle Doo, I've gotta stay here and make sure these Waddle Dees make a nice big batch of soup, and fast! You go check on our guest!" He commanded. "As you wish, your highness." Captain Waddle Doo replied with a nod. And he went into King Dedede's room to check on the injured Waddle Dee. "Good afternoon, sir. I hear you were injured again... Are you doing okay?" Captain Waddle Doo asked the little one.

"No..." The little Waddle Dee replied with a sniffle, wiping the last of his tears away. "Care to tell me what happened?" Captain Waddle Doo asked. "I can't." The little Dee replied. "I can't tell anyone! Besides, if I tell you, you might tell King Dedede!" "Why don't you want King Dedede to know?" Captain Waddle Doo inquired. "Because..." The Waddle Dee replied. "He might call me pathetic..." "He most certainly won't!" Captain Waddle Doo exclaimed. "But- B-But..." The little one stuttered. "Listen, while it's true that the King can be a little... Brash at times, he'd never call a Waddle Dee pathetic over something they couldn't control." Captain Waddle Doo told him. "Really?" The little Dee asked. "Really." Captain Waddle Doo replied. "So as long as you tell King Dedede the truth about what happened today, everything will be just fine." He reassured the Waddle Dee. Just then, they both heard footsteps approaching the bedroom. "Ah, that must be King Dedede on his way! Remember what I told you." Captain Waddle Doo said. "Right. I'll tell him the truth!" The little Dee replied. "Good." Captain Waddle Doo said with a smile. Just then, King Dedede came in with a bowl of Maxim Tomato soup for the little one that looked and smelled even better than the one he had the day before. "All right! Your soup is here, piping hot and fresh from the stove!" King Dedede said, handing the Waddle Dee his soup. "Normally I'm not the one who delivers food to guests, but I wanted to have a word with you. In private." He added, looking Captain Waddle Doo's way. "As you wish, your majesty. I'll leave you two to chat." Captain Waddle Doo saluted, and he left the room and closed the door behind him. And King Dedede pushed a chair that was in his room closer to the bed, and then he sat down in it.

"Now what happened to ya? Did a monster hurt ya? Did ya trip and fall? Did the Fire Lion think you were tryin' to hurt somebody again? What happened?" King Dedede asked. The little Waddle Dee took a deep breath, and prepared to tell the king exactly what had happened that day. "Well... It's kinda silly... But... I got hurt by some other Waddle Dees who live in the forest near the butterfly fields..." He started. "Waddle Dees?! Why on Planet Popstar would Waddle Dees wanna hurt their own kind?!" King Dedede asked confusedly. "It's because... They think that I'm too big of a puny, weak, pathetic, loserface to ever make my biggest dream come true!" The Dee replied, tears welling up in his eyes. "Pathetic? Aw, come on now! That ain't true! You're not pathetic at all!" King Dedede reassured the little one. "What's your biggest dream? Go on! Tell me!" The little Waddle Dee took another deep breath. Then, he told King Dedede his biggest dream; "Well... My biggest dream... Is to work for you." "Really now? YOU want to work for me?" King Dedede asked, a bit surprised. "Well then, I've got two words for you!" "'No way'?" The Waddle Dee asked. King Dedede smiled and shook his head no. "'You're hired'!" He corrected. "Really?" The little Waddle Dee asked, his eyes growing wide with excitement. "Really! I've been looking for some extra help around the castle, and if you're willing to provide it, then I've pretty much got no choice but to hire you!" The King replied with a smile. "Oh thank you SOOOOOO much!" The little Dee exclaimed, jumping up and down... Or trying to. He was so excited, that he sort of forgot how injured he still was. "Don't mention it!" King Dedede replied. "But... Save the excitement for later, you've gotta rest now!" The little Waddle Dee was so happy that King Dedede had given him a job, that he squealed in excitement. "By the way... I don't think I ever got your name! What is it?" King Dedede asked. "I... Don't have a name..." The little Dee replied sadly. "No name, huh? Well then, we'll just have to give ya one!" The King said understandingly. This wasn't an unfamiliar situation to him, since when Waddle Dees first arrived in Dream Land, none of them had names, so he had to name all of the ones that worked for him. King Dedede took a good look at the little one. Then he thought of a good name. "You're smaller than average. We'll call you Half-Pint!" He said.

Half-Pint giggled in delight. Not only was his wildest dream coming true, but now he had a name! It was all too good to be true! King Dedede smiled. "You get some rest now. If you're up to it, your first day on the job'll be tommorow!" He said, and he left the room so Half-Pint could finish his soup and rest. Half-Pint gulped down his soup, and then he tried to get some sleep. But he was too excited, and thoughts filled his head about the days to come. "I can't believe I'm gonna be working for King Dedede! It's a dream come true!" Half-Pint thought to himself.

(Author's note: In my headcanon, Bandana Waddle Dee was known as "Half-Pint" before receiving his bandana. He'll go by that name for a couple of chapters. :3)