“So your aunt raised you?”
Fumu asked. “She must be really nice to do that.”
Joe laughed, but in a way that
suggested he didn’t really find it funny. “Nice?! That’s
the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” He snorted. “She
only did because she had to…”
“Oh…” Fumu lowered her
eyes. They were still in the control room, though Kirby, her
brother and Silica had gone off elsewhere.
“You aunt loves you, Joe,”
Meta Knight said from behind them. “She’s harsh, but don’t
ever think otherwise.”
“Meh…” Joe rubbed his nose.
“Well I bet she’ll want to kick my ass for running away from
home…”
“You ran away?” Fumu turned
to him quickly. “Why?”
“You’re awfully nosy, you
know that?” Joe snapped, giving her a sideways glance before
looking out the front window.
Fumu shook her head indignantly.
“Fine… I’m going to see what Kirby and Bun are doing.”
The door hissed closed behind her. Sword and Blade exchanged
glances, not saying anything. Neither of them wanted to get
involved in any arguments.
Joe turned to Meta Knight. “Was
she nicer before my father died or something?”
Meta Knight almost smiled. “No,
she always had a rather… unpleasant disposition.”
“You can just say she’s a
bitch, you know.” He smirked.
“Ah, sir?” Blade spoke up.
“We’re approaching the planet’s atmosphere and beginning
landing procedures.”
Meta Knight nodded to the two of
them. “Very well.” He looked back at Joe. “You were
the one who suggested we come here…”
“Yeah yeah, I know… I guess
she isn’t too bad. She’ll probably let us stay with her for
a while at least… I hope so, anyway.”
They landed just outside one of
the smaller cities, at a small repair shop using Joe’s
directions. It wasn’t as well equipped as Sword and Blade
would have liked, but they’d managed with worse. The shop was
out of the way, so the group wouldn’t gain unwanted attention.
Sword, Blade and Silica decided to stay behind and work on
repairs, while the rest went along with Joe to find his aunt.
“Well, I think she’s still
living in the same place…” Joe said a few minutes later. “If
she’d moved I’d think she would have contacted me…” He
paused. “Then again I really didn’t give her any way to do
that…”
Fumu sighed. “How long until we
get there?”
“Not long; stop whining,” Joe
said. Kirby was dancing around in front of him, squeaking
happily. “What are you so cheerful about?”
“New place!” Kirby exclaimed.
“Never been new place…”
“Hey, that’s right,” Bun
said. “Kirby’s never been outside of Dreamland, has he?”
“…Neither have we, Bun…”
Fumu said with a frown. She’d been so distracted she hadn’t
even really thought about how they were suddenly on a whole
other planet. “…I wonder what kind of people and animals
this place has?”
“It’s mostly people like me…”
Joe said. “But, you won’t see many animals in the city.”
They’d arrived early in the morning so there were few people
walking about. Those that were about did look somewhat like him,
with pointed ears and varying skin colors from peach to purple.
Bun glanced at one of the
lavender skinned ones. “Hey Joe, that reminds me. How come
your skin and hair color changed from the first time we met you?
Didn’t you used to be purple?”
“That’s none of your
business.” His tone was more than enough to stop any more
questions on that subject.
Fumu looked up at the buildings
around them. It wasn’t a large city, but she felt dwarfed by
the place. She couldn’t imagine growing up in a place like
this.
“We’re here!” Knuckle Joe
said, stopping in front of a row of small, connected houses. The
part of town was decent at least, though Fumu was the first to
notice a lack of trees or grass around.
“Everything’s paved….”
she muttered.
“It’s a city. That’s how
cities are.” Joe shrugged. “Let’s see, should be number
six…” He walked over to the correct door and up onto the
small concrete porch. “Hey Meta Knight, think she’ll
recognize you?”
“I’m somewhat hoping she
doesn’t…” he said quietly, standing next to him. He
knocked twice and they waited.
There was no response for a few
moments. “Damnit if this is another salesman…” came an
easily audible female voice, before the door was suddenly flung
open. “What the hell do you want?” The woman standing there
looked very much like Joe, perhaps if he was thirty years older
and female. Her silver hair was loose but spiky, falling over
her face. Long pointed ears with multiple piercings were
sticking straight up in surprise. She stopped, mouth gaping. “Joe!”
But the moment her eyes fell on Meta Knight her expression
became a scowl… and she slammed the door in their faces.
Joe was speechless. Meta Knight
just sighed.
“…What was that about?”
Fumu asked.
“Well, I told you she didn’t
like me…” He scoffed. “I did kill her little brother,
after all.” Meta Knight turned around, stepping off the porch.
“She’ll let the rest of you in, just let her cool down a
bit. I’ll be back later.”
“Sir Meta Knight!” Fumu
called, but he didn’t turn around, disappearing around a
corner. “Oh…”
The door opened again. “…Oh
good. I could have sworn that bastard was with you.” Jarle
leaned up against the doorjamb, eyes on her nephew. “So, you’ve
come crawling back. You look well.”
Joe smirked. “You don’t. I’d
say you aren’t aging very good… Are those wrinkles?” He
ducked as she swung at him. “Ha!”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’ve
been training. You could never dodge me before… You haven’t
grown though, you’re still a shrimp.” Jarle glanced at the
others. “Friends of yours?”
“Yeah… we need a place to
stay, our ship is getting repaired.”
“Ship?” If she was surprised
she didn’t show it. “I think you have a lot to tell me kid…
Get in here. And don’t touch anything.”
Fumu was a little taken aback as
they entered the small apartment. It was so… sparse. No
pictures on the walls, which were a grungy white, old carpet,
old furniture… There were no flowers or plants or any
decorations. It was completely different from the feel of the
apartment her family lived in or the homes in the village.
“Something wrong, girl?”
Jarle asked. A cigarette was hanging from her mouth unlit. “Don’t
like it? You can stay somewhere else.”
“No, it’s not that…” she
stammered. “It’s… nice.”
Jarle laughed. She didn’t have
a very nice laugh. “It’s a mess. This is one of the cheapest
buildings in the city; it’s all I can do to keep everything
from falling apart… Why, where are you from?”
“Popstar… This place called
Dreamland.”
“Dreamland. Sounds like some
kind of damned fairy tale theme park or something.”
“No, it’s not like that…”
Bun was the one who laughed next.
“Don’t get my sister started on Dreamland; she’ll never
stop!”
“Bun!” she snapped.
“Where do you live then? Some
pristine little cottage in the forest with all your animal
friends?” Jarle rummaged in her pocket for a lighter. Fumu
fidgeted where she stood. The woman was… unnerving.
“No, I live in the castle with
my family… My father’s the Cabinet Minister.”
She knew that probably hadn’t
been the best thing to say as Jarle rolled her eyes. “Oh
fucking wonderful, Joe brought home royalty. Well I’m
really sorry the accommodations aren’t to your liking,
princess.” Jarle shook her head… and finally noticed Kirby,
who peeked out from behind Fumu. She paled. “Oh not this…
Joe. JOE!”
Joe ran back into the room. He’d
been checking to see if she’d bothered to keep his things.
(She hadn’t.) “What’s wrong?”
She pointed accusingly at Kirby.
“The pink beach ball. Oh please don’t tell me you’re a
weirdo like your father, please…”
“What?” Joe stared at her.
“Kirby’s a friend of mine.”
“Poyo!” he chirped. “…Beach
ball?” That was a new one.
Jarle shook her head, taking a
deep breath. “Good… I know I saw the other damned ball
earlier… He’s gone, right?”
“For now I guess…” Joe
replied. “So you don’t mind us staying here?”
“I do, but I’ll let you stay
anyway. Even after you ran off four years ago with barely a
word. Sure thing.” Her voice dripped sarcasm. “Damnit Joe…
So what’s going on here? Why are you suddenly back with all
these people, hm?”
“That’s… a long story…”
Meta Knight paused at an
intersection, trying to remember where to go. He hadn’t been
to this city in over a decade, but he still remembered the
streets fairly well. He didn’t know where he was going
exactly, but it didn’t really matter.
A few of the locals gave him odd
looks as he passed. It wasn’t surprising- seeing someone
walking around in full armor in a time of peace would be odd
anywhere. That and his being a completely different race. In
this place nearly everyone was Joe’s kind or a closely related
one. He stuck out like a sore thumb- not the best thing to do in
his situation.
He didn’t know why he’d run
away. No, he knew- it was to avoid any conflict with Jarle. But
he’d have to go back eventually.
Meta Knight stopped, sitting on a
bench for a little while. It was one of the only parks the city
had, with a few forlorn trees and a rusted playground. An old
man on the other end of the bench smiled at him, head balding
and most of his teeth gone. “Have we met?”
He shook his head. “Mm… No, I’m
just visiting….”
“Ah, I recall seeing you
around. I have a good memory you know.”
“The last time I was here was a
long time ago…”
The man studied him for a moment
through squinted eyes, adjusting his glasses. “Ah, you wouldn’t
happen to be one of them… Ah whatchamacallits… Galaxy
something…”
“Star Warrior?”
“Ah yeah, that’s it!”
Meta Knight nodded.
The old man laughed. “That’s
where I remember ya from! You and that one young man, you’d
come here with that little one to play in the park.”
Meta Knight looked up at him. The
old man really did have a good memory. “I remember now...”
He also remembered the park had been nicer then.
The man nodded solemnly. “Mm, I
heard the one nice fellow died in the war though, bless his soul…
It’s hard to lose friends.”
Meta Knight focused on the
shadows made by the leaves in front of him. “…Yes, it is…”
“Good thing that war’s over
though… I wanted to join in when I was young, but my wife
wouldn’t let me! Always nagging, she said she didn’t want me
going off getting killed…” He shook his head. “But wouldn’t
it be something to go out heroically in battle, not wasting your
life away on a park bench… I guess you’re in the same boat
as I am then? No more wars to fight.”
“I wish it were the case…”
Meta Knight said quietly. He jumped off the bench quickly. “It
was a pleasure speaking with you, but I must be going…
Farewell.”
“Eh? Oh, all right. You take
care!” The man smiled his toothless smile, and Meta Knight
hurried off, wondering if everyone was determined to bring up
bad memories today.
“…That’s… really
something else kid.” Jarle shook her head, leaning back on the
tattered couch. “Damn… And I always thought you were an
irresponsible punk. Well, I still do…”
Joe grinned. “Hey, trying to
save the universe is worth some praise at least!”
“Maybe if you actually do it!”
She was finally smiling. “So, the mini beach ball’s some
kind of legendary hero, eh? I guess I shouldn’t be too
surprised…” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “It’s
getting late; think beach ball senior will be back any time
soon?”
“You never know with him…”
Fumu said. “He’ll disappear for days at a time…. Why do
you want to talk to him?”
“I want to kick his ass, that’s
what I want to do…” She crushed the remains of her cigarette
in a half full ashtray. “Oh… Well, good thing I remembered…
Joe, a few weeks ago a man came here looking for you.”
Joe looked confused. “Eh?
Looking for me?”
“Yeah… Nice guy, bit odd
though. Definitely not from around here, he had some freaky
horns…” She checked her pockets. “Name was… Oh I
probably wrote it down somewhere. Probably in a drawer or in the
trash by now… But he said he’s been looking for you for a
while. He might still be in town, but I doubt it… Where’s my
damned lighter…” She started lifting up seat cushions.
Kirby watched Joe’s face as
Jarle spoke. He looked pale. “Joe okay?”
Joe didn’t respond at first.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine…”
Bun came up next to him, eating a
sandwich. “Any idea who it could be? I hope it’s not some
bad guy.”
Joe shook his head. “No… well…
no! I just didn’t think he’d…”
“Who?” Fumu insisted.
“It’s really not any of your
business,” he said, eyes narrowed.
“Fine.” She changed the
subject. “Shouldn’t we look for Meta Knight? In case
something happens…”
“Aw, he can take care of
himself. Besides, the bad guys would go after him first, right?”
Bun asked, leaning on the back of a chair. “Maybe he wants to
lead them away from the rest of us.”
“Maybe…” she said. But she
had a bad feeling she couldn’t shake.
The bar was crowded. No one would
bother him here.
Meta Knight went over to the
front table, jumping up onto a barstool. He wasn’t
particularly thirsty, nor was he interested in drowning his
sorrows in alcohol, but he vaguely remembered the old owner got
very upset with people coming in and not getting anything. “Mm,
just the house ale…” he said when the bartender looked at
him.
It was dark out, but he did plan
on going back soon. Then again if anyone was going to be
followed it would be him… He didn’t look up as someone sat
next to him.
“Here you go… It’ll be 10
credits,” the bartender said.
“Ah… right.” Meta Knight
reached into his cape… and found nothing. He’d left his card
on the ship. Wonderful.
“Oh, let me get that…” the
man next to him said. “Add it to my tab.”
The bartender nodded and handed
Meta Knight his drink. Meta Knight looked over at the man and
was somewhat surprised to see someone of a different race than
the others. Pale blue skin, darker blue hair… and horns.
“You’re a Durcasen.” He
said it a little too bluntly. He didn’t really mean to, but it
was a surprise to see another…
The man grinned warmly. “That I
am… You must be well traveled to know that.”
“You could say that… Ah,
thank you for…”
“Oh, don’t mention it. It’s
my good deed for the year…” He chuckled. “Mm, forgive my
rudeness. My name is Gardell… And who do I have the pleasure
of drinking with this evening?”
The stranger seemed friendly
enough. He kept up his guard anyway. “Meta Knight.”
Gardell’s face showed he
recognized the name. “Oh, a Star Warrior? Interesting… What
brings you to this city?”
“Just getting repairs on my
ship…” he said. “And you?”
Gardell grinned a little wider.
“Looking for an old friend. Fell out of touch years ago,
trying to track him down…”
“Good luck with that.”
“Same to you…” Gardell
paused for a moment, studying him. “…How exactly do you plan
on drinking that with the mask on…?”
“I manage…” he said, and
took a drink through the opening in the front. It wasn’t
terribly difficult. “I normally don’t drink, actually…”
“Low tolerance? Good, then I
won’t have to buy you as many drinks!” Gardell finished off
his and ordered another. “Ah, what’s bothering you then?”
Meta Knight thought for a moment.
“I can’t seem to escape the past.” Why was he talking to a
stranger about this? Well, it didn’t matter, did it? Even if
this was an enemy, it wasn’t as if he was giving any important
information. If it was an enemy, then it was too late
anyway.
Gardell nodded. “I know the
feeling… You always wish you’d done something differently,
but you can’t undo it… One of the reasons I’m looking for
my friend actually. I messed up and want to make it up to him…”
“You’re lucky he’s alive to
forgive you…” It came out more cross than he intended.
“My condolences…” Gardell
watched as Meta Knight finished his drink. “Going to have any
more?”
“Yes.” It was stupid to drink
now, he knew. But for some reason he didn’t give a damn. “I’ve
had… far too much put on my shoulders the last few days…”
“Then I’d say you deserve
some time to relax… Don’t worry, it’s all on me.”
“Thank you… I’ll repay you
somehow.”
Gardell smiled. “Don’t worry
too much about that.”
Some time later, Meta Knight
glanced around for a clock. “What time is it?”
“Almost midnight… Need to be
somewhere?”
Meta Knight shook his head. “Not
really.” His hand absently strayed to Galaxia’s hilt as if
to make sure it was still there. He gave a short laugh. “It
wouldn’t be very hard for someone to take this now, would it…”
He felt fine, but after that many drinks he still knew well
enough that wasn’t really the case. “This is stupid of me…
very stupid. If they came now I wouldn’t be able to do a
thing. You could be one of them and here I am letting you buy
drinks for me…” He felt better at least, though it was just
false elation brought on by the ale and a few stronger things he’d
tried.
Gardell looked confused. “Them…?
You aren’t going crazy on me, are you Mety?”
“It’s Meta Knight… And… I’m
fine, really.”
“If you say so… Oh, if I’m
going to keep buying these, could you do me a small favor?” He
reached into a pouch at his side and retrieved a folded piece of
paper. “I saw you earlier today with a group of people… I
wasn’t sure but… is the boy with the spiked hair is named
Joe by any chance?”
Meta Knight wasn’t sure how to
react at first. “…You know him?” Gardell nodded, handing
him the paper
“This is the information on
where I’m staying and where I’m going next… Please make
sure he gets it.”
He nodded, putting it away for
safekeeping. “You’ve been following me?”
“Oh no, I just happened to find
you in here. Funny how things work out… And if you do this for
me, I can help you.”
“Help me with what?” he
asked, voice low.
Gardell’s face was split by a
smug grin. “I have… connections. I’ve heard from some
rather unpleasant fellows that there’s something big going on
over by star system 443G… Something about an army?” He
nodded as Meta Knight’s expression twitched slightly. “That,
and some of these fellows are looking for a masked knight with a
golden sword… You’re the only masked knight I’ve seen
around.”
Meta Knight was silent. Was this
man an enemy? Was he trying to lure him into some trap?
Gardell laughed then, sensing his
sudden anxiety. “Relax, I just hear a lot. If I wanted to kill
you or turn you over to them, I would have all ready. I don’t
associate with that lot, but I like to keep tabs on them or
exploit them…” His grin was a bit more devilish, showing
teeth. “What do you say? All you have you do is give that note
to Joe, and I’ll get some information that’s bound to help
you…”
“I…” Meta Knight faltered.
“Listen, I’ve heard these
guys have connections to Nightmare. His armies destroyed my
home,” he said gravely. “I have no reason to side with them.”
Meta Knight knew of what had
happened to the Durcasen people’s home world. It had been
attacked at a time after the Star Warrior armies were decimated,
and no one had been able to save them. He finally nodded, taking
the note. “…Thank you.”
Gardell smiled again. “Well
then, I’ve enjoyed this but it’s late and I have much to do
tomorrow… Think you can find your way back to wherever you’re
staying?”
“Of course I can…” Meta
Knight waved his hand dismissively, despite remembering that
there were people trying to find him. He briefly considered
asking for Gardell’s help, but that just wasn’t like him.
“Right then, be careful… I
hope we meet again someday. And thanks for giving that to Joe.”
Gardell patted him on the back and headed for the exit. “I
need to be going… See you.”
Meta Knight finished off his last
drink (he hadn’t actually been counting, but he was sure it
hadn’t been that much), thinking what an odd person
that had been. Nice, but… odd. He knew enough about what was
going on to make him nervous… And he knew Joe… Even
stranger.
He hopped down off the barstool…
only to snag his cape on it and nearly fall. Wonderful. Of
course it was his cape getting caught that caused it, and not
the fact he was having trouble even walking in a straight line.
He was sure of the way back at least. Mostly sure. He’d find
it eventually.
“What do you mean he never came
back?” Blade exclaimed the next morning. After they had
finished repairing the ship the night before, Joe had shown up
to tell them where the apartment was. Silica had stayed behind
to watch over things. They hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep,
but now it was the furthest thing from their minds.
Fumu raised her hands helplessly.
“We have no idea where he could have gone.”
“He could be in trouble…”
Sword said quietly, as if voicing such a thing too loud would
cause it to come true.
Jarle walked into the room then,
still in her pajamas (or the pajamas she wore when guests were
over, at Joe’s insistence- an oversized t-shirt). “What the
hell is all the racket? It’s eight in the damn morning!” She
rubbed her eyes. “Who are the tin cans?”
“Oh… These guys are Sword and
Blade. They’re Meta Knight’s flunkies.” Joe explained. “Speaking
of him, he never came back.”
“Ask me why I should care.”
Joe shook his head. “Never
mind. We need to find him.”
“Do whatever you want. I’m
going back to bed.”
Fumu looked distressed. “I can’t
understand why he’d run off like that. It’s just not like
him.” Well, going off and vanishing was very much like him-
but not in a situation like this.
“Maybe Meda wanna be ‘lone.”
Kirby said. “Joe auntie not like him.”
“That’s true…” She
sighed. “Well, let’s go look. Maybe if we split up.”
Joe shook his head. “No, not a
good idea. You’d better stick with me; I wouldn’t want you
wandering into the wrong part of town.” He opened the front
door then, and stopped. Meta Knight was standing there. “You’ve
made our lives a heckuva lot easier.”
The first thing he did was reach
into his cape and retrieve the note. “Someone I met said to
give this to you.” While Joe was standing there stunned, Meta
Knight walked in past him. “Where’s Jarle?”
“Sleeping.”
“Good. Is there an extra bed
somewhere?”
“…Down the hall to the left…”
“Thank you. We’ll be leaving
later- I need some rest.” He walked slowly down the hall. His
head hurt. His head was basically his entire body, so he was not
in a good way at the moment.
No one was quite sure what to say
for a long, awkward moment. The silence was then unpleasantly
interrupted by an angry screech, followed by a clank, then a
thud as Meta Knight was kicked down the hallway and into the
wall hard enough to crack the plaster.
Joe glanced up from the note,
obviously distracted. “Sorry, I meant to the right.”
Meta Knight winced as he saw
Jarle stomp towards him, as he was upside down against the wall.
“You son of a bitch,” she
snarled, standing over him. “I told you to never come here
again. I don’t care what the reason is; you are not welcome
here.” She was absolutely livid. No one in the room said
anything for fear of her turning on them instead.
Meta Knight closed his eyes.
“…Jarle… Before you go on… would you please put some
clothes on? Or at least something on under the shirt.”
This was not the right thing to
say to Jarle.
He expected to get punched… and
was rather surprised when it didn’t happen. He gingerly opened
his eyes to see Kirby standing next to Jarle, tugging on her
shirt.
“Poyo! Stop it! Meda nice. Don’t
hit… Meda sorry. He not wanna make ‘u mad…” Kirby said
quietly.
She let her hand drop. She
started to say something but stopped and turned, walking stiffly
back to her room. The door slammed shut.
Kirby rolled Meta Knight onto his
feet. “Meda okay?”
“I’m fine… I’m just
tired.”
“What was that all about??”
Bun asked, mouth agape. “Joe, your aunt is scary!”
“Why does she still hold a
grudge about it?” Fumu said, walking up to Meta Knight. “Doesn’t
she know it wasn’t your fault?”
Meta Knight put his hand to his
head. He felt even worse. “I don’t know… I honestly don’t
care. I just want to rest a while.” Without another word he
walked back down the hallway- to the correct room this time.
Joe folded the note in his hands.
“I’m going out for a bit too… I’ll be back later.”
Fumu groaned. “Oh, not you too…
Can you at least tell us where you’re going?”
Joe bit his lip, looking
unusually distressed. “Fine, fine… Here.” He grabbed a
scrap of paper and a pen from a low table in the hallway,
jotting it down. “That’s the address. See ya.”
Fumu looked at the note. “Hey,
when are you going to be back- hey!” Joe was all ready gone,
slamming the door behind him. “What is it with everyone
lately?!”
Blade shrugged, though the
question hadn’t been aimed at anyone in particular. “It’s
a stressful time. Everyone’s going to be a bit crazy…”
“Think Jarle would mind if we
slept on the couch or something?” Sword wondered with a yawn.
“We were up all night…”
Kirby was looking worriedly down
the hallway. He didn’t like it when people were shouting and
fighting like this. There was too much tension.
“Come on Kirby, let’s leave
Meta Knight alone…” Fumu said, leading him away. “Want to
read some more books?”
“Poyo…”
He was holding the locket in his
hands. He could almost imagine the blood was still on it, but he’d
cleaned it off carefully. Now he needed to give it to him… to
his son. He tucked it carefully back into his cape before
knocking.
The door opened slowly. “What
are you doing here? Where’s my stupid brother?”
He had no idea what to say. He’d
planned before, over and over, what he was going to say to her.
It was his responsibility to tell her what had happened. But no
matter how he could say it…
His silence was enough, and her
face told him she understood. “…What happened?” She still
asked, voice hollow.
“I…” He swallowed hard. “He
was captured.” Could he just leave it at that? No, that was
almost worse, for her never to know what really happened. “I
was going to tell you, but… he came back.”
“He escaped.” Hope, for just
a fleeting moment.
“No… Nightmare… He couldn’t
fight it… He was under his control.” She didn’t say
anything, forcing him to finish. “I’m sorry. He attacked us…
There was nothing we could do.”
He couldn’t see her eyes behind
her hair. “What happened to him?”
He spoke automatically. “I’m
sorry. We… we were attacked- there was no time. It happened
quickly… He had no control over his actions, and I had to
defend myself.” It sounded like such a weak excuse.
“You killed him.”
“There was nothing we could do;
he’d all ready turned into a dem-“
She suddenly lunged forward,
tackling him to the ground, teeth gritted. “What do you mean
there was nothing you could do?! You didn’t even try to save
him! There had to have been something!! You didn’t even
fucking try!”
“There was nothing that could
be done!” He exclaimed, his voice faltering. He didn’t know
that. Maybe they could have, but he…? He wasn’t even sure.
Everything had gone horribly wrong.
She saw the uncertainty in his
eyes. “You killed him.” He could see her eyes now as well.
She was crying. She never cried. “You…” She stood up,
backing away from him. “Get away from here.”
“Please, I need to-“
“Get the fuck away from here.
If I ever see you come near me or Joe I will kill you.”
A tiny voice came from the open
door behind her.
“Auntie?”
“Get back inside,” she
snapped. Her eyes were burning on him. “Get. Away. Now.”
He got to his feet. “Please let
me see Joe, I have to-“
She made as if to strike him…
but stopped short. “Don’t ever come back here.” She turned
quickly, going inside and slamming the door.
He stood there for a long moment.
A little face appeared in the window, smiling and waving to him,
until he was pulled away and the curtains drawn.
He looked at the locket again. He’d
wait a few days, until she calmed down.
Meta Knight wasn’t sure if he’d
actually fallen asleep. He’d lain there for what seemed like
hours, just staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes wearily.
He had gone back, a few days
later- to find an empty house. She’d moved, and he’d never
been able to find her. At least he’d been able to get the
locket to Joe eventually.
He reluctantly got up and left
the room. It was quiet, a good sign that Jarle was still in her
room. He didn’t want to confront her again… He saw Sword and
Blade sleeping on the couch and walked over, nudging Sword.
“Mmmwha?” he mumbled.
“Are the repairs done?”
“Repairs… Oh!” he sat up
quickly, nearly knocking Blade off the couch. “Yeah… I mean,
yes sir, everything’s fine. Silica said she’d stay behind to
check things over and guard the ship.”
Blade was adjusting his helmet.
“Where did you go last night? Everyone was worried.”
Meta Knight smiled a little. “I
go off on my own all the time, why ask about it now?”
“Er… sorry sir, it’s just
that now… with all that’s happened…”
He nodded. “Yes, I understand…
I just… needed some time to think.”
“Oh…”
“Do you know where Kirby and
the others are?” Meta Knight inquired.
Blade thought for a moment. “Mm,
they’re around here somewhere. Joe left a while ago though, he’s
not back yet.”
“Ah…” Meta Knight suddenly
had some doubts about the fellow he’d met the night before.
But then again, Joe was perfectly capable of handling himself,
so he didn’t worry. “Well, once he gets back I suppose we’ll
go back to the ship.”
“Good idea,” Sword said,
stretching. “Long night… But everything’s in good shape
now, we should make it to the base with no problem.” He saw
Meta Knight’s expression change. “That is still the plan,
right?”
“…I’m really not sure what
the plan is.”
The two young knights exchanged
glances. “Not sure…?” Blade asked.
Meta Knight sat on the couch next
to them. “Honestly, no. I have some ideas, but nothing that
doesn’t have a huge chance of getting us all killed. I didn’t
want to say anything… Truly, the only ones who need to go are
Kirby and myself. I don’t even want to bring Kirby along, but
I have no choice…”
“We couldn’t let you go
alone!” Blade exclaimed. “It’s too dangerous!”
Meta Knight laughed quietly. “Anything
that was too dangerous for me would be too dangerous for you as
well, no offense… I know I can’t keep you from coming, but…
I don’t want anything happening to you because of me…”
“We’ll be fine; don’t worry
about us.” Sword assured him. “What about Fumu and Bun?”
“We’re going to be leaving
them here if we can. It’s far too dangerous to bring them
along.”
“Doesn’t Kirby need Fumu to
call the WarpStar?”
He shook his head. “I think if
the time calls for it, he could do it himself. He’s capable of
it now… Fumu cares for him like he was her child, but she
could be a liability…” He recalled how Nightmare had taken
her away to lure Kirby. He didn’t need that happening again.
“What about Joe?”
“He’s going to come with
whether we like it or not, I imagine. Same with Silica.” At
least they were both competent fighters.
The three were quiet for a moment
until Blade spoke. “Well, we can try helping you come up with
a plan.”
“Yeah,” Sword agreed. “Silica
would probably have some good ideas too.”
“Thank you… Perhaps later
though, once we’re back at the ship.” He glanced around for
a clock, seeing none. “What time is it? Joe needs to get back
soon…”
“Almost noon… Did you get any
sleep? You still look exhausted,” Blade said.
“I am… but I’ll be fine.”
He got up, stopping as he saw Jarle enter the room. She said
nothing, walking past the couch towards the small kitchen.
“Hm, she didn’t try killing
you.” Sword whispered with some surprise. “Maybe she didn’t
see you?”
“I heard that,” she snapped.
“We don’t have the ears for show. And maybe after I’ve had
lunch I’ll try it.”
“We’re going to go… see how
Kirby is or something…” Blade said hurriedly as he and Sword
made their exit. Meta Knight was baffled.
“…I thought you two wanted to
protect me…” he mumbled. But he couldn’t blame them for
not wanting to get involved.
Jarle looked at him for a moment
before rummaging around for something to make a sandwich with.
She scowled upon finding the bread had something green and fuzzy
growing on it.
Meta Knight stepped into the
kitchen, still keeping his distance. Jarle had cooled down
somewhat, and he was thankful for that.
“I notice you’re still here.
Why is that?” she asked, not looking at him.
“Jarle, please stop this. It’s
a foolish grudge and you know it.”
She tensed, but continued making
her lunch.
“Hating me won’t change what
happened.”
“It makes me feel better.”
“Fine… But, I have one
question for you.”
“Ask if you want, doesn’t
mean I’ll answer.”
He sighed. “…Why didn’t you
tell Joe what happened?”
Jarle didn’t reply right away,
rummaging through a cabinet.
“You never told him that I was
the one who killed Jecra… Or that he was a Star Warrior. Why
did you hide that from him?” It was risky to ask, but he had
to know.
She turned, leaning against the
counter. “I… I just told him a Star Warrior killed his
father…”
“What? Why?”
“I wanted Joe to hate them. I
didn’t want him to try to be one like his father…” She
frowned, setting a plate from the cabinet down on the counter.
“What, do you think I’m an idiot? If Joe knew his father was
one, he’d want to be one too, and he’d get killed just like
my stupid brother.”
There was some logic to it, he
thought… “…And why didn’t you say it was me?”
She was quiet again, looking away
with a kind of crooked smile. “Because I didn’t want Joe to
hate you… Jecra wouldn’t have liked that at all. He
cared about you…” She laughed. “Oh, I had to hide so many
of my photos from Joe, I was so worried about him finding out
and asking questions. All it did was piss him off and make him
leave like he did.”
“Why do you still hate me then?”
She shrugged. “I guess I just
can’t drop a grudge. It’s not like me. Jecra knew that…”
Despite her words, she seemed to have burnt out what anger she
still held. Few grudges could last over a decade.
“True… Thank you.”
“For what?” She gave him an
odd look.
“Telling me all this… and not
trying to kill me.”
“Don’t push your luck…”
She’d given up on lunch. “Don’t you have some kind of
universe saving thing to be worrying about? …Speaking of that,
where the hell is Joe?”
“I believe he went to see that
Gardell person.”
“Figures. Well at least he got
some kind of positive male role model…” She shrugged. “I
should have asked him to do some grocery shopping or something…
When are you all leaving anyway?”
“Soon… To stay longer might
put you in danger too.”
“Great.”
“I must ask for another favor
though… We need to leave Fumu and her brother here…”
“No.”
Meta Knight winced. “Please,
Jarle. It’s not safe to bring them with us. They have no way
to defend themselves. It shouldn’t be for long.”
“Ssh!” she suddenly hissed,
eyes on the living room. “Okay, who’s hiding over there?”
A little pink face peeked out
from behind the couch. “Poyo! Not spying…”
“Where’s Fumu?” Meta Knight
asked.
“Reading. Bun playing game.”
“You know we aren’t taking
them along?”
Kirby nodded. “Poyo… Not want
them hurt… it safer here.” He toddled over to the two of
them. “Not mad?” He looked up at Jarle.
“No, just hungry at the moment.”
She frowned. Kirby smiled up at her, and she couldn’t help the
corners of her mouth turning up the slightest bit. “You could
give people cavities, you know that?”
“Poyo!”
She finally grinned, but it was a
mean one. “Hard to believe this other beach ball here looks
just like that, eh?”
Meta Knight said nothing to
counter that. “You don’t seem to mind Kirby as much as me.”
“Of course not. Kirby’s
different. He talks less for one. He’s…I don’t know. I
kind of like him.”
Kirby looked quite happy to hear
this, spinning around in front of her.
“He gets along very well with
Joe too… You must remind him of your nephew.”
“I guess…” she said,
reaching down to pet the little pink creampuff. It was an odd
gesture from her, Meta Knight noted. She was never gentle with
anyone.
“Once Joe gets back we’ll be
leaving… I’m sorry for getting you involved in this.”
“It’s all right. Call this my
way of making up for me trying to kill you.”
He actually laughed. “Jarle,
you would need to do a lot more than this to make up for that…”
“You are really pushing your
luck. Damned beach ball…”
Kirby smiled, happy to see that
everyone was getting along.
It was late afternoon when the
front door opened slowly, the one holding the handle not wanting
to be heard. He was anyway, and Joe froze when he saw Meta
Knight at the end of the hallway.
“Finally… Get whatever you
need, we’re leaving. We’re not bringing Fumu and Bun so don’t
let them know.”
“Y-Yeah… Fine.” Joe said
hurriedly, rushing past him to his room and closing the door. He
had been carrying something. Meta Knight looked confused for a
moment, but waited several minutes until Joe came back out…
wearing a different outfit consisting of a blue shirt and black
shorts, rather than his normally loose outfit. Different shoes
as well he noted- steel toed.
“…It was a present…” he
mumbled. “Really durable material or something, easy to fight
in…”
“Well, that was nice of him…”
Joe said something inaudible.
“What?”
“Nothing! Oh, Gardell had some
things he needed me to tell you… about Nightmare’s new base?”
Meta Knight nodded. “Yes…
Good. He said he was an old friend of yours… I hope you had a
nice reunion.”
Joe was quiet again for a moment,
his face seeming to turn red- then again the lighting was dim in
the hallway and it was hard to tell. “Ah, yeah, of course…
We’re going then?”
“If you have everything you
need, then yes. Sword and Blade have already left with Kirby.”
“Let’s go then… The sooner
we get out of here, the better.”
“I think it was a bit cruel of
you to leave them with my aunt,” Joe commented as they headed
back to the ship, “since you know her almost as well as I do…”
“I probably know her better…
I told her I’d pay her back for everything. Money won’t be
an issue…” If you waited long enough, a little deposit
gained a lot of interest... And Meta Knight had more than one
nest egg- just in case.
“Well, even with that… I don’t
see those two lasting a day there. Fumu would kill herself
without any trees to go hug, and there’s no place around for
Bun to play.”
“I take it you didn’t have an
easy childhood…”
“Oh it was easy for me, but
then… I’m me. Those two grew up in a castle. They can’t
fend for themselves…”
“That’s precisely the reason
I’m not bringing them with us, Joe.”
“I know we can’t, but I don’t
want them to have to deal with my Aunt any more than I want to!”
Meta Knight laughed. “I think
it might be a good experience for them…”
“If you say so.”
Silica and Kirby met them at the
garage.
“Have fun?” Silica asked,
smirking. “Well while you all were off playing, I did a few
tune ups… And a modification or two to the weapons system.”
Kirby looked much more somber
than usual. He looked to Meta Knight.
“They’ll be safe here, trust
me,” he assured him. Parting with them wouldn’t be easy for
the young Star Warrior, but it was necessary.
“My aunt could handle anything
that might come, don’t worry pal!” Joe said, suddenly
cheerful. “We’ll be back to pick them up in no time.”
Kirby still didn’t look very
happy, but he smiled a little anyway. “Poyo… Okay.” They
knew better than he did. If Meta Knight said they’d be safer,
then that’s what he wanted too. He was just upset that he
couldn’t say goodbye.
A/N: Pics of Jarle in case you
wanted to know what she looks like...
