Business
in Dreamland continued as normal, blissfully unaware of what the
future might bring.
The people of the village had
never paid much mind to Nightmare’s threat in the past, and
had no reason to now. Perhaps it was the comfort in knowing they
had those like Kirby to protect them. Or more likely, it was
just that the people didn’t want to bother worrying about it.
Ignorance is bliss.
It had taken time to completely
rebuild after Nightmare’s attack on the village a year before.
Apparently it was long enough for the memories to fade into
obscurity.
Sir Arthur mused all these
possibilities from his vantage point on the castle balcony. He
could see why Meta Knight had voiced his dislike with this place
in an earlier conversation they’d had. The people were too
simple, and the king who ruled them even more so.
It was peaceful. Too peaceful, in
fact. Though he and the other knights had decided to stay to
keep an eye on things, nothing remotely suspicious had occurred.
Not a single attack or demon seen.
It was for the best, but it was
still worrisome. This would mean that Nightmare’s forces knew
perfectly well that Kirby and Meta Knight were going to them,
and so they had no reason to attack Dreamland- for now.
When the attack came, the gold
armored knight knew that he and his comrades would be able to do
little against them. He’d contemplated trying to get the men
of the village to take up arms themselves, but that idea had
been dampened once he’d seen and spoken with a few of them.
They were more likely to stab themselves by accident.
It was disheartening, but he had
hope in Kirby and Meta Knight. It was all he could do now. The
Star Warriors had no army, no battleships- only that child and
an old veteran.
Arthur turned as he heard
footsteps on the stone floor behind him, relaxing as he saw the
Cabinet Minister’s wife.
“I’m sorry, did I startle
you?” Memu asked. “You’ve been up here all day; I was
seeing if everything was all right.”
“Everything is fine,” he gave
a slight nod. “Thank you for your concern, but I believe you
should be resting.” She looked exhausted, and hadn’t even
bothered with her make-up or putting up her hair, keeping it in
a loose ponytail instead.
She laughed. “Oh, my husband
keeps telling me that. I mainly came up here to get away from
him… He panics if I try to do anything.” She leaned sideways
against the balcony, looking out over the edge with her hand on
her stomach. “He was like this the other two times, but he
never learns.”
“His concern isn’t
unwarranted,” Arthur said. “If you’re worrying about your
children, let me assure you they’re in safe hands with Sir
Meta Knight.”
“Oh, I’ve been trying not to
worry so much… It’s not healthy you know.” She smiled
wearily. “It’s only times like this I realize I don’t
spend enough time with them… I don’t think I brushed
Fumu’s hair since she was five years old. I don’t think Bun
ever let me brush his…”
Arthur gave an understanding nod;
though he couldn’t relate to her at all, he didn’t want to
come off as rude. “…You’ll see them again soon enough.”
Trying to sound hopeful, and yet the words had an unpleasant
other meaning if one thought about it.
“I know,” she said, turning.
“I think I will try to get some rest… It was nice talking to
you, Arthur.”
“And you as well, m’lady.”
Then Arthur was alone on the balcony as she left.
The sun was setting. It had been
six days since they’d gone, and they didn’t even know for
certain they were still alive.
All they could do was hope.
Sword and Blade had insisted they
be allowed to take over running the ship again, and refused to
leave even when ordered. Meta Knight decided not to push the
issue. After all, they were the best at it. He found it boring
unless he was actually doing something, though.
He’d found a decent sized gun
for Fumu. There was no place on the ship to teach her any target
practice, but she knew how to fire at least. It would help in a
pinch.
Kirby had found the kitchen and
Meta Knight had asked Fumu to stop in and make sure he wasn’t
going to eat all of their supplies. Kirby couldn’t control his
appetite at times, though it was mostly normal for his age.
He paused in the hallway, having
forgotten what he had planned to do. “Wonderful…” he
muttered. “My mind’s going now, is it?”
Looking up, he saw Knuckle Joe at
the other end of the hallway, walking towards him. Joe’s
stride was rather hesitant once he saw him.
“Hey…”
“Hello… Do you need
something?” He wondered at the back of his mind about how odd
it was Joe was coming to him to talk as much as he had been.
“You seem restless.”
“That’s not the half of
it.” He sighed. “Can I ask you a really weird question?”
“I suppose…” He shrugged,
adjusting his cape over his arms.
Joe nodded. “Well, I have this
friend…”
“If it’s about you, you can
be honest with me.”
He scowled. “Damn it, you’re
not supposed to do that.”
“Right, my apologies. What
about this friend?”
“Well, you’re kind of
antisocial, but do ya know anything about… er, relationship
stuff?”
Meta Knight was silent, baffled.
Joe was asking him of all people about this? At a time
like this? Though he supposed Joe was at that age, and anyone
would have other things on their mind… Thankfully his
confusion over it didn’t show in his expression. “Well…
I’ve been around a while; I’ve picked up some things… And
I’m not ‘antisocial.’”
“Right, well… As long as
you’re happy with someone, then other things shouldn’t
matter, right?”
Meta Knight didn’t like where
this conversation was heading. “It depends what those other
‘things’ are…” Was he talking about Silica? Fumu,
perhaps? Then again…
“Like my friend… er the other
person’s an older guy, and...”
Well, scratch that then. Of all
responses though, Joe didn’t expect Meta Knight to laugh. Not
mockingly, but he was genuinely amused to hear that. His eyes
briefly glowed an almost pink color behind his mask.
“Huh? What’s so funny?”
Meta Knight shook his head.
“Oh, it’s just… an odd coincidence…”
“A coincidence?” Joe frowned.
“Ah, it’s not important. Go
on.”
“No, now you have to tell
me,” he insisted, folding his arms. “And while we’re at
it, finish telling me about my mom like you started last
time.”
The Star Warrior winced visibly.
“You… didn’t ask Jarle?”
“She doesn’t tell me a damn
thing and you know it.”
“I expected as much…” Meta
Knight sighed. He might as well tell him. “Your father…
Jecra was a rather popular man… With women especially. Back
then the Star Warriors were quite popular in general.
Celebrities, in a way.”
“My mom must have been a lucky
one then, eh?”
“…One of many.”
“Huh?”
Meta Knight considered making
something up, but he had a feeling Joe would see right through
it. “Jecra… didn’t actually know your mother personally.
She was just a girl he met one night and you… resulted from
it.” Bad choice of words he thought, but too late now. “She
dropped you off with him later and ran off. We never found out
who she was.” He said it quickly, avoiding looking at the boy.
It was quite a thing to say, and he said it so casually…
Joe’s voice was flat. “…My
mother was a hooker.”
He waved his hands quickly. “Oh
no, no! Jecra never paid for sex. He didn’t need to… It was
simply a case of… a nice girl who got in over her head, so to
speak…” He coughed. “I’m sure she loved you, but she…
thought you’d be better off with your father.”
There was still no reaction from
the boy. Meta Knight regretted saying anything.
“…Well… not the end of the
world then,” he finally said, though his tone was a bit more
bothered. “If she didn’t want me, then forget her, right?”
“Exactly.”
Silence.
“…So, about your other
problem,” Meta Knight said quickly, changing the subject.
“Yeah. You said it was a
coincidence because of my dad.”
Meta Knight paused for a moment,
hoping for some convenient interruption.
“It can’t be worse than what
you told me about my mom.”
“True…” he said. “Joe…
I can say that your father might not have seen a problem with
it, as he had… well, some unusual tastes with a few of the
people he had relationships with too. Your culture doesn’t
have much of a taboo about couples being the same gender.
Really, the only ones I’ve found that do are the more
primitive societies. They get caught up over such trivial
things.”
“What about age?”
Meta Knight wasn’t sure just
how old Joe was, maybe fifteen or so, and could see him
disliking other children his own age. He was impulsive, but
still quite mature for his age. It made sense he would look for
someone older- though the old Star Warrior didn’t have any
idea how much older in this case. “If you’re responsible
about it, I believe you at least could make decisions concerning
such a relationship.”
Joe was actually smiling for
once. Apparently, Meta Knight was saying the right things.
“Great. Okay then, thanks a lot.”
“I’m always glad to
help…” Meta Knight paused again. “Jarle did at least give
you that… ‘talk’ right? Because I’m not touching
that.”
“Don’t worry, she covered
that at least. Said she’d kill me if I ever did it.”
“Wonderful.”
Joe started to leave but stopped
suddenly. “Wait, one more thing.”
“Hm?”
The boy scratched his head for a
moment, confused. “You said my dad was popular and all, but
did he ever have any long term relationship? Or was it all one
night deals?”
Meta Knight smiled a little.
“Star Warriors normally didn’t... We traveled a lot and
faced a lot of danger, and most normal people didn’t want to
make the commitment.”
Joe looked disappointed at that.
“So he didn’t really have anyone?”
He shook his head. “There are
always exceptions. He said he was happy with who he found…”
The boy smiled again. “You’re
really lucky to have known him.”
“He was a good person...”
Meta Knight was glad to see
Joe’s mood had improved- and so had his own. With all the
stressful things, once again divergences were welcome.
“Well I’m gonna go get some
training in. Don’t wanna get rusty… See ya.” He ran off
down the hallway.
Meta Knight smiled to himself,
turning and going back in the direction he was going before. He
still couldn’t remember what he’d come back there to do. It
probably wasn’t important.
He idly wondered about whoever
the person Joe was talking about could be. Joe didn’t seem
like that type… but then he might take after his father more
than he thought.
He paused mid step. He couldn’t
be talking about…? No, no that couldn’t be it. He might ask,
just in case though.
Meta Knight walked on, bemused
but feeling the tiniest bit better.
Kirby rubbed his stomach
contentedly. He hadn’t eaten so much in a while. He knew he
shouldn’t have, but he really needed to fill his tummy for
once. He never really felt full though- hungry was just a normal
state for him. But sometimes he could eat enough to feel mostly
satisfied.
His eyes drifted closed. He was
always sleepy after he ate, but then he remembered he’d wanted
to go see Joe or Meta Knight again and his eyes popped open…
to see some place very different than the ship’s tiny kitchen.
He’d never seen the place
before. It was small and dimly lit, with machine walls a blue
tint in the gloom. He heard distant noises and there was an
unpleasant metallic tang in the air. He felt horribly scared and
angry- but he couldn’t move an inch.
There was a loud clang, a door
opening maybe? He could barely see. A shadowy figure appeared,
walking towards him. He still couldn’t move. The figure
laughed as it came closer. Kirby tried to cry out but no sound
came.
And suddenly he was surrounded by
all manner of horrible demons, claws and teeth slashing at him.
He wanted to wake up, but nothing happened. Was this real?
He couldn’t fight back, but now
he could scream.
“Kirby!” The voice came from
nowhere. “Kirby, wake up!”
The claws turned into soft hands,
shaking him gently.
“Wake up!” Fumu said loudly
as Kirby’s eyes blinked open. “You were crying out in your
sleep, are you okay?”
He clung to her suddenly, shaking
like any child would after a nightmare. He almost never had
dreams like this. And of course she comforted him like any
child, patting his head softly.
“Was it that bad?” she asked.
Kirby nodded mutely. “It’s just a dream; you don’t have to
be afraid.”
“It hurt…”
“Dreams don’t hurt, they’re
not real.”
“Poyo…” He didn’t feel
good anymore. His tummy hurt. Maybe he’d eaten something that
hadn’t agreed with him.
“Do you want to go read or
something to make you feel better?” she asked.
They both fell back suddenly as
the ship lurched, rocking to one side. It was calm for a moment
before it happened again. Silica suddenly ran by the door,
skidding to a halt when she saw them out of the corner of her
eye.
“Something’s wrong with the
ship!” she exclaimed. “Come on, I’m going to the
bridge.”
They quickly followed.
Sword, Blade, Meta Knight and Joe
were already there. The two young knights were checking the
radar and other systems frantically.
“No other ships detected,
it’s not an attack,” Sword said quickly.
“I can’t pinpoint what the
problem is. The ship’s suddenly become unstable…” Blade
said as he tried to keep it from veering off course again.
Meta Knight watched out the front
screen for a moment before turning to leave, walking past Kirby
and Fumu. “I’m going to go ask the ship’s original
captain. He might know what’s going on.”
The captain laughed as Meta
Knight approached his cell.
“Havin’ some trouble with my
ship there, are ya?” He grinned. “She’s an old one, you
know, needs special loving care to run right.”
“What’s wrong with it?”
He leaned back on the bench
against the wall. “I’m just a prisoner, what do I know?”
Meta Knight stepped forward
quickly and unsheathed Galaxia in the blink of an eye. A few
slashes to his right reduced a steel barrel into pieces. “You
don’t want to be uncooperative right now.”
Some of the bravado left the
man’s face. “Eh, fine… We were going to get the parts we
need before y’all hijacked us. We need some special ones, hard
to find. Black market stuff, ya see… Only one place around
here to get them.”
“Tell me.”
“What do I get out of it?”
“I can make sure you’re
rewarded once this is all over.”
The captain raised an eyebrow.
“Well ya haven’t killed me yet… I’ll tell ya what ya
need to know. The planet’s not far from here…”
“Another damn pit stop?” Joe
exclaimed, throwing his fists down. “We can’t keep doing
this!”
“We don’t have a choice. This
ship is barely going to make it to that planet, let alone
Nightmare’s base…” Blade said. “We’ll get it done
quickly, don’t worry.”
Joe mumbled something under his
breath before leaving the room. Silica approached Meta Knight in
the meantime.
“Is there any other way around
this?”
He shook his head. “Not that I
know of.”
“So you know, I have a bad
feeling about this whole thing.”
“You’re far from being alone
in that, Silica…” he said tersely. “We’ll have to make
it quick. Sword and Blade will be able to get the repairs done
in short time.”
“Of course!” Blade chimed in.
“I hope getting the parts won’t be a problem.”
“We’re having awfully bad
luck with ships, aren’t we,” Sword mused, hand to his chin.
“But, if that’s the worst that happens…”
“Let’s hope it is.”
This place was a stark contrast to the city Joe’s aunt lived in, for this place had all
ready faced the wrath of Nightmare’s armies. Even more than a
year after, cities were still in ruins and smoke still tinged
the sky a dull gray. People still clung to life, trying to
rebuild, but there was nothing left. This place had been a
desert before civilization reformed it and now the sands were
taking over again, covering much of what was left.
Fumu looked out the window
apprehensively before turning back to Meta Knight.
“You can stay in the ship if
you want.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll
feel safer if I go with you guys.” This time Joe had decided
to stay and guard it, with Sword and Blade going along to make
sure they got the right parts. It shouldn’t take long-
providing the old captain had been truthful.
“Very well.”
Sword and Blade had been the
first ones out, checking the ship’s exterior. Meta Knight saw
the two of them looking out across the wounded landscape and
went over to them, standing a ways behind them.
“Looks just like home,” Sword
said sullenly. “I can’t imagine still living in a place like
this. I don’t think we would have survived it.”
Blade was quiet, though he nodded
his agreement. He smiled a bit. “If we hadn’t tried robbing
Sir Meta Knight, I guess we would still be there.” He turned
to see him behind them. “Oh, sorry Sir, we were going to…”
“Don’t worry about it. Are
both of you ready? We’re going to make this quick.”
“Yes Sir.”
Fumu, Silica and Kirby came out
next, the door shutting behind them. Joe was sitting up on top
of the craft, staring off into the distance. Fumu held her gun
gingerly in front of her, hands shaking. Silica noticed, placing
her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder.
“Don’t show any fear in a
place like this. There’s going to be some dangerous types
around…” She held up her own weapon, set to its knife
setting. “Carry it like you’re willing to use it.”
Fumu nodded. She felt out of
place. Was she really this sheltered, she wondered? She
swallowed hard, steeling herself and holding the weapon at her
side.
Kirby walked next to Meta Knight,
most of the bounce in his steps gone. He was still bothered by
the nightmare earlier, and this place wasn’t helping his mood.
“Where we going?” he asked.
“The largest building still
standing,” Meta Knight said, pointing at a blackened structure
a short distance away. “We’ll get what we need and then
we’ll leave once the repairs are done… If the rest of you
could stay behind, it would help…”
“You know it never works when
you ask that,” Silica said. “We’re going; deal with it.”
“Poyo.” Kirby nodded.
Looking around they didn’t see
anyone at first, but then faces started peering out at them.
They were a little too conspicuous, Meta Knight thought. Sword
and Blade were back in their full armor, and even without
weapons they could make themselves appear intimidating. Even
though he didn’t want any trouble here, all of them stood out
far too much.
Fumu found herself walking as
close as she could to Silica. There were people watching them
and it made her skin crawl. “What happened here…?”
“Nightmare. His guys go in,
take what’s valuable and destroy everything else,” Silica
explained briefly. “Other planets try providing aid, but there
isn’t enough to go around. Usually they just don’t want to
get involved.”
“But… we defeated
Nightmare.”
“That doesn’t mean a thing.
Most of the places that fell to him aren’t ever going to
recover. And if he comes back again, it’s going to keep
getting worse.”
Fumu shivered at the thought of
this happening to Dreamland. It almost had.
Her attention was caught by
movement to her left- she looked to see one of the survivors
sitting against the rubble. It was a girl, her eyes wide as she
watched them go past. She couldn’t have been much older than
Fumu herself. She was holding something in her arms- an infant.
It wasn’t moving.
“Come on!” Silica said,
grabbing her arm. She’d stopped walking. “Don’t fall
behind.”
They arrived without further
incident, finding the building still in decent shape. Or at
least it didn’t look like it was going to fall any time soon.
Meta Knight approached a man
leaning against the doorway and spoke to him in a tongue Fumu
recognized Sword using from earlier. The man nodded and went
inside. Meta Knight beckoned the rest to follow him.
A tall man approached them,
wearing a mismatched set of armor. He was one of the native
peoples of this planet, with sand colored skin and bushy dark
hair. He also spoke the language Meta Knight had, looking down
at him.
“What’s he saying?” Fumu
asked. Sword glanced back at her.
“He’s asking what business we
have here. The people here don’t trust strangers.”
Meta Knight and the man conversed
for a few moments, Meta Knight’s tone insistent. Finally the
man nodded.
“He’s saying we’re here on
behalf of that captain and we need the parts,” Sword
continued.
The stranger left for a moment,
returning with a box. He paused for a moment, looking over the
group. Again he spoke to Meta Knight, who narrowed his eyes.
Sword sighed. “He says we’ll
need to give him something valuable in exchange.”
“I’m somehow not
surprised,” Silica remarked cynically.
The two spoke for another few
moments, the man looking over their group. His eyes noticeably
lingered on Fumu and Silica in the back. His next remark was met
with an angry retort from Meta Knight. The man scowled.
Meta Knight turned to them. “I
hate people like this. He’s just making it difficult on us
because he can.” As he turned, the man’s gaze fell on
Galaxia’s hilt. He pointed to it. Meta Knight immediately
replied with what Fumu assumed now was their way of saying ‘No
way.’
The man looked angrier now,
speaking in harsh tones and gesturing at them.
“Do we have anything else?”
Blade asked. “We can’t very well give him what he’s asking
for.”
Silica held up her weapon with
some hesitation. The man looked at it for a moment before
shaking his head… and then grinning at her. Silica glared,
making some gesture by raising her middle finger that Fumu
didn’t recognize.
Meta Knight debated with him for
several minutes, Sword translating if it was anything important.
Sword scoffed. “He’s offering
us a deal- he’ll even take only one of the girls.”
“Hmph, give me five minutes
alone with him,” Silica said, her tone dark.
Another few moments of arguing,
and then the man stomped his foot, shouting. Sword stifled a
gasp.
“What is it?” Fumu asked.
“He doesn’t believe us. He
says we must be thieves or pirates.” Sword’s hand went to
the hilt of his weapon as several more armored figures came in
from other exits. They were surrounded.
The man crossed his arms over his
chest as he spoke to Meta Knight. The old Star Warrior was
silent.
“He says we have to give him
what he’s asking for or they won’t let us leave here
alive.”
Sword and Blade started to
retrieve their swords, but Meta Knight raised his hand and they
paused.
“We’ll just have to give him
what he wants…” he said quietly.
Meta Knight hesitated before, to
everyone’s shock, he pulled Galaxia from its scabbard. The
men’s eyes went wide as it materialized, and Meta Knight set
it on the ground in front of himself, saying something.
“…He’s saying it’s a
deal.”
The man laughed, pushing the box
over to him and leaning down to pick up the sword. Meta Knight
said something quietly and the man laughed again.
Meta Knight didn’t say anything
else.
At first everyone thought that
Meta Knight must be insane, but as the man’s hand closed
around the hilt they all remembered.
His scream echoed off the walls
as the sword’s energy engulfed him, electricity dancing along
his limbs. The strength of it was enough to make everyone back
away somewhat. The sudden stench of burning hair and skin filled
the small room.
“That… That didn’t happen
when Silica tried picking it up,” Blade said, unable to take
his eyes off the spectacle.
Meta Knight shrugged. “Galaxia
can only be wielded by those powerful enough. …It might also
be able to tell what your intentions are. I warned him
though…”
The light and energy stopped as
soon as the man’s screaming did. He tumbled over backwards,
smoke rising from his body and Galaxia falling to the ground.
The other men didn’t move, staring at the group. Meta Knight
calmly picked up his sword and put it away.
“Sword, Blade, carry the parts.
Let’s get back.” He shot a glare at one of the men, who fell
back quickly. Meta Knight led the others out.
“He… Was he… dead?” Fumu
asked, eyes wide.
He stopped a moment. “Would you
have preferred the alternative?”
“N-No!”
“Then, there’s nothing to
complain about. Come on.”
“But, I thought Star
Warriors…”
“Were supposed to protect
people? I am. I’m protecting you all. I didn’t tell Galaxia
to kill that man- it just happened that way. Now hurry up
because all that noise is going to attract a lot of people.”
Indeed it did. Upon leaving the
building they found that a small crowd had gathered.
“Move aside,” Meta Knight
commanded, standing in front of the others. He repeated his
command in the other language.
“What just happened in there?
What do you want from us?” a voice called out, finally a
language they knew.
“We have no further business
here, we only want to leave in peace.”
Suddenly the men from before ran
out behind them, shouting in the other language. An angry murmur
rose in the group.
“…They killed him, they’re
demons here to destroy us.” Sword translated.
Meta Knight spoke quickly to them
in their language but the angry looks continued. People started
to shout and they saw several of them holding various crude
weapons.
“Poyo…” Kirby shrank back
between Sword and Blade. All these people were mad at them now.
What if they attacked? Was he supposed to hurt normal people
like this? “Meda Knight…” he tugged at his cape.
A few young men stepped forward,
wielding chains and lengths of iron bar. “You’re with those
demons, aren’t you?” one sneered.
“Or one of those rich planets
that couldn’t be bothered to give us their damned leftovers.
Just want to take whatever’s left, right? Kill off the rest of
us so we aren’t a nuisance?”
Clutching her gun tightly, Fumu
stepped forward, her usual ire rising within her. “You be
quiet! You have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Fumu!” Meta Knight snapped,
but she didn’t hear or if she did she was ignoring him.
“They’re Star Warriors trying
to stop Nightmare once and for all, you could show some
respect!”
The crowd stared, and Fumu got an
icy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
“Star Warriors? Star
Warriors?” one of the men from before exclaimed. “Great!
Now where the fuck were they two years ago? Everyone said
they’d come to help and no one ever did.”
“We were abandoned!”
“Lying scum!”
Other things were shouted in
other languages, but the tone was enough to tell what they
meant.
Meta Knight held up Galaxia
again, the crackling energy causing the crowd to hush for a
moment. “Let us leave here. We have no quarrel with you.”
The people advanced, shouting
angrily. Meta Knight scowled, but realized he had no choice.
Leaping into the air, his sword exploded with a sudden arc of
energy that cut right over the crowd and created a deep gouge in
the ground behind them.
“Everyone!” he shouted to his
group. “To the ship, now!”
In the dust and resulting
confusion they fled, Silica grabbing Fumu’s arm so she
wouldn’t fall behind again. They made a frantic run through
the dilapidated city, Meta Knight in the lead and trying to find
the shortest way back.
In the rush it was hard to tell
when one of the group fell behind.
Kirby looked around, distraught.
One second he’d been running behind Meta Knight, the next
he’d tripped and rolled and then he couldn’t see anyone.
Behind him he heard angry shouting though, and knew enough to
get away from that.
There were broken walls and
rubble around him, so the best way to go of course was up. He
inhaled deeply, his body expanding and growing lighter as he
flapped his arms to gain altitude. He couldn’t go very high or
for very long like this, but it could still be useful.
He landed on top of a low
building, running to the edge to see if he could see them or the
ship. “Poyo!” he exclaimed happily as he saw it in the
distance. He jumped quickly to the next building, deciding to
take the high road.
There was a shout below him, and
something whizzed past his head. He made the mistake of stopping
to look, and the next rock hit his side. He flinched and
starting to turn to run, but he was hit again and lost his
balance, tumbling off the wall and landing hard.
He could hear the crowd all
around him. He was terrified, and instinct took over. He turned
around and started to inhale.
The people cried out as the
sudden vortex pulled at them, scrambling to get away from the
downed Star Warrior. Several of their weapons went flying in the
commotion, and a curved blade was the first thing that went into
his mouth.
In a flash of light his ability
reacted to the item, a winged yellow hat with a silver blade
materializing on his head. He grabbed the cutter, holding it in
front of him to defend himself.
“It’s one of the demons!”
Kirby was breathing hard and
found it hard to speak. “Le’me’lone poyo. No wanna
hurt…”
He couldn’t fathom why they
were so angry, nor could he know what to say to placate them.
But, he didn’t want to fight them. They were just people, not
demons.
One man stepped forward. “It
killed my friend! Don’t let it get away!”
Kirby turned and ran as fast as
he could.
They were almost to the ship when
Meta Knight realized Kirby wasn’t behind him. He stopped,
skidding to a halt. “Where’s Kirby?”
Everyone else stopped, looking
around anxiously. Kirby was nowhere to be seen.
Meta Knight cursed under his
breath. “Sword, Blade, start the repairs. I’m going to go
find him.”
“But, Sir-“
“Do as I say!” he snapped,
and ran back into the city.
Sword and Blade watched
helplessly for a moment, but they couldn’t go against his
orders. “Let’s go!” They hurried to the ship.
“Meta Knight will be fine,”
Silica told Fumu. “He’ll find him, don’t worry.”
She nodded, tears in her eyes.
“This is my fault…”
“It’s not, so don’t angst
about it. Let’s get to the ship where it’s safe.”
Meta Knight tried to retrace
their steps, but he saw no sign of him. “Kirby!” he shouted,
his voice echoing off the remaining buildings. “Kirby!”
He leapt easily onto a half
crushed building, and then onto a taller one for a better view.
He scanned the streets, hoping Kirby’s color would stand out
enough to be seen.
Swearing under his breath he
leapt back down. Kirby was probably hiding now, not that he
could blame him. Kirby had never been in a situation like this.
“Kirby!” he shouted again. At
this point it didn’t matter if he called more attention to
himself. He had to find him.
By this time he wasn’t even
sure where he was, he’d made so many turns. There was no sign
of Kirby or the mob from before. Finally he heard shouting, and
then a pained cry. Pinpointing the direction he ran, jumping
over low obstacles in his way.
Really, running from angry mobs
wasn’t a new thing to Kirby. It had happened before when they
thought he was eating their watermelon crop or when they were
hypnotized or something. But this time the people really wanted
to hurt him. He hadn’t done anything wrong, though! Why was
this happening?
He’d lost his ability early on,
not that he had been willing to defend himself to begin with.
And the people decided to take out their aggression on him,
helpless as he was. Mob mentality has a habit of taking over and
destroying reason, and suddenly doing horrible things is normal.
Now everything hurt. Kirby had
taken worse hits before, but this wouldn’t end, he couldn’t
get away from them. He was supposed to be a strong warrior, and
all he could do now was curl up and hope they’d go away.
“Kirby!”
The sound came from above, and
the next thing he knew Meta Knight landed in front of him, cape
waving behind him. Kirby’s attackers fell back.
“Cowards!” Meta Knight
shouted. “You’d attack a child?!”
He found that right then he
wanted nothing more than to end all of their miserable lives.
But, he couldn’t very well do that, could he. Instead he
turned, grabbed Kirby and leapt back up on top of the building.
“You should have fought
back…” Meta Knight said quietly, holding Kirby wrapped in
his cape on his back. He was running back to the ship at a fast
pace, jumping across the crumbling rooftops.
“Poyo… Not demons… Can’t
hurt…”
“Those people were demons.
Anyone who would do that is a demon, don’t you understand?”
He sighed wearily. “…You’re too kind for your own
good…”
Kirby didn’t say anything,
clinging to the fabric.
“I’m sorry… I should have
gone myself. I can’t keep dragging the rest of you into
this.”
“Not Meda fault…”
They found everyone waiting for
them right outside the ship. Sword and Blade rushed inside upon
seeing them to start the ship’s engines.
“Let’s get out of here!”
Silica called, following them. Fumu ran over to the two.
“Are you all right?”
Meta Knight set Kirby down next
to him. “He’s fine. His injuries should be gone in a short
time.” Looking him over confirmed it, whatever bruises and
scrapes he’d sustained were quickly fading.
“You’re hurt too,” Fumu
pointed out, looking at a bleeding cut on his arm. He hadn’t
even noticed it.
“It’s nothing; I was just hit
with something when we escaped. Let’s get on the ship.”
Once out of the planet’s
atmosphere they resumed their course, and Silica went to finish
up the last of the repairs. Sword and Blade were at the
controls, while Joe had gone off by himself again. Kirby was
sleeping an exhausted sleep on one of the chairs, and Meta
Knight sat patiently while Fumu bandaged his arm.
“…It’s ridiculous, isn’t
it,” he said out of the blue.
“Huh? What is?”
“All of this.” A short,
humorless laugh. “We’re on this decrepit ship trying to go
destroy a creature that might not even be able to be destroyed.
We’re only alive because they haven’t decided to go out of
their way and kill us yet. Nightmare knows perfectly well
we’re coming. It’s only going to be a matter of time.”
She jumped back. “H-How can you
say things like that?!”
“I’m actually being
optimistic. Fumu… Taking this ship was a gamble, but they’re
going to know it’s us by now. I don’t know what they’re
going to try next…”
“But we still have to try,
right?” she asked. “What else can we do?”
He was silent for a moment, eyes
flashing green. “Yes… what else can we do…” He stood up,
checking the bandage. “Thank you. Why don’t you go get some
rest for now?”
“What about you?”
“I’m fine.” He turned away,
looking out the front of the bridge at the stars dashing by.
Fumu sighed and left. The bridge
was quiet for another few minutes until a warning sounded from
Blade’s console.
“Sir… Three ships have
appeared behind us. They’re following us.”
“Any communication from
them?”
Blade waited for a moment, hands
moving over the controls. “Surrender or they’ll open
fire.”
This is it, Meta Knight thought.
His mind raced, but he’d decided earlier what they could do in
this situation. “We have a chance…” He turned to face
them. “This ship is capable of warping, correct?”
“Yes, but not for very long
distances, she’d break apart.”
“It’s good enough.” He
walked over next to Sword, opening the map screen. He zoomed
out, and then pointed to what appeared to be a blank spot on it.
“There. We can lose them there.”
“Sir, that’s empty space and
some asteroid fields…”
“Trust me on this. We’ll be
safe there.”
“Yes, Sir.” The two nodded
and started the ship in that direction. A few moments later the
ship appeared to stretch from the outside and snap forward like
a rubber band, disappearing in a point of light.
“It was a nice effort I
suppose… But ultimately it won’t save them.” The dark
figure leaned back in his chair, watching the proceedings on the
screens in front of him.
A soldier behind him spoke.
“Our forces are pursuing them as we speak.”
“Don’t capture them right
away… You know what the plan is.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
He brought his hands up in front
of him, fingertips together. “I love when things fall into
place exactly as you want them to… Get a ship ready. I’ll be
going as well to… greet them.”
