The main window had shown a small
group of various armored demon beasts waiting around the ship,
weapons pointed at the main doors. They shuffled nervously- they
had strength in numbers but they still didn’t want to be there
facing some of the strongest enemies their army had.
With a clank, the main door fell
open, revealing blackness within. The captain of this particular
group stepped forward. “All right, all of you have your hands
raised when you come out, or we’ll fire.” He waited. No one
came out. Maybe they didn’t hear him? He went closer. “Get
out here or we’ll come in after-“
His sentence degenerated into
inarticulate screaming as a searing burst of flame came from the
shadows, enveloping him. The other demons fell back momentarily,
their hesitation allowing Joe to run out and launch a quick
volley of attacks at the ones closest while Silica changed her
weapon to it’s machine gun setting and opened fire.
“You two get going!” Meta
Knight shouted, “We can handle them!”
“You sure? You all only have
short range attacks!” Silica pointed out, firing a missile
into the center of the group.
“Yes, now go!”
As they hurried towards the right
exit, Meta Knight, Sword and Blade met with the remaining demon
soldiers to hold them back. Galaxia cut through any armor
easily, though he couldn’t use his Sword Beam here for risk of
cutting through the ship’s hull.
Fumu stood back near the ship,
the gun raised. Her hands were shaking. She’d never used
something like this before. What if she hit a friend instead?
“Fumu…” Kirby looked at
her, concerned.
“…Kirby, you probably have
better aim than I do!” It was obvious enough, she thought. She
tossed the gun to him. “Catch!”
And he did- in his mouth.
Some of the soldiers looked over
at the sudden flash of light and headed for the seemingly
unprotected girl, only to stop as Kirby was revealed wearing a
strange blue-gray visor.
“Laser!” he shouted, pulling
the visor down over his face. The red lens glowed, and a thin
pink beam shot forward and hit the nearest soldier in the chest.
He fell. In a split second three more beams shot out and the
next were taken down with deadly accuracy. The others started to
fall back.
Meta Knight grinned. Now if Joe
and Silica could make it to their destination…
He paused for an instant then-
something wasn’t right. No reinforcements? Unless they were
all busy with the other two now. Nonetheless…
“Sword, Blade! Keep your guards
up!” he commanded, moving over towards Fumu and Kirby. Kirby
had the visor down still, looking for another target.
Meta Knight looked over as Sword
and Blade cried out. There were quick clanging sounds as their
weapons were knocked from their hands by small black shuriken.
Meta Knight saw a movement out of the corner of his eye and
turned, barely blocking another with his sword. Something small
and round fell next, exploding and releasing blinding smoke.
Meta Knight swore under his
breath, hurrying to where he’d seen Kirby and Fumu. “Kirby!”
Then he saw red eyes shining in
the smoke ahead of him, and a flash of steel. “I thought I’d
see what you’d try to do… A commendable effort, but useless
in the end.”
Yamikage dashed forward in a
blur, almost invisible in the dark smoke. Meta Knight blocked
the first attack, but Yamikage dropped down and kicked out,
sweeping his feet out from under him.
Meta Knight rolled to one side,
righting himself quickly and trying to see where his opponent
was- but he was gone.
Movement behind him. He whirled
around as more daggers came, hitting his cape and pinning it to
the floor. He pulled- the fabric was meant to tear easily- but
it gave Yamikage more than enough time.
In the next instant Yamikage was
in front of him. Meta Knight again brought up Galaxia to deflect
Yamikage’s katana, not seeing the dagger he held in his other
hand. He turned, barely deflecting it with his mask.
Yamikage slashed at him quickly.
The smoke was clearing, and then Meta Knight saw a blast of red.
Yamikage ducked as a thin laser shot over him. Meta Knight could
just make out Kirby’s outline.
“Kirby! Don’t!”
The next shot Yamikage didn’t
dodge- instead he blocked with his katana. And the beam
reflected back at Kirby, shocking him and sending him tumbling
back against a wall.
Meta Knight ran over to stop
Yamikage from attacking him, Galaxia leaving a gouge in the
metal floor as the dark ninja easily dodged.
“You’re too slow to hit me,”
he sneered. “I was hoping for a more impressive battle than
this…” He vanished. Whether he’d teleported or was simply
moving too fast to see, Meta Knight didn’t know.
He couldn’t possibly dodge a
strong hit to his side that sent him crashing to the ground,
momentarily stunned. He heard a sound as several daggers were
thrown and rolled to avoid them, not fast enough as two of them
grazed his arm and foot.
He stood finally, facing
Yamikage- who had vanished once again. Behind him? He turned-
no, above!
The katana impacted hard with his
mask. He had no time at all to react as he was kicked hard in
the side. He finally had a moment to swing Galaxia, but Yamikage
jumped back out of the way.
Yamikage brought his hands in
front of him. “Fuujin no jutsu!” He shouted an attack
in an unfamiliar language. As he threw his hands out a sudden
intense blast of wind came from nowhere, taking Meta Knight off
guard and launching him backwards. This time he hit the side of
the ship- hard. Stunned, he slumped down to the ground.
Yamikage was in front of him
instantly. “This isn’t even any fun. Have your skills
deteriorated this much?” He stood in a relaxed position,
katana over his shoulder. “We caught the little boy and girl
you sent out, by the way. Having children do your work, Meta
Knight?”
Meta Knight looked around at the
others and his heart fell. Two armored demon beasts held Sword
and Blade, while Fumu stood over an unconscious Kirby, knowing
she couldn’t defend him against the soldiers that had
surrounded them.
“We won’t kill them just yet,
so don’t worry about that.”
Meta Knight looked up at him,
breathing hard. “What about me? I’m at your mercy.” He
held up Galaxia. “This is what you want. Why not kill me and
take it?”
Yamikage’s eyes narrowed… and
his hand shot out, touching the sword’s hilt briefly. There
was a brilliant light, the ninja stepping back as the sword’s
energy arced out toward him.
He shook his hand, the guard
covering it scorched. “Unfortunately, it isn’t so simple. We
hadn’t realized at first, but wouldn’t you know it? There
isn’t anyone of us that can wield it. So… we need you alive.”
The look that came to his eyes then was chilling. “Why else
would we let you get here so easily?”
Meta Knight was silent, his mind
racing. Just as he’d thought, but he’d expected for them all
to be killed upon their arrival. He tried to stand, but he found
he could barely move. Had he been injured that much?
“It really was a nice effort.
You actually had us thrown off with your little ship switch for
a while, but it wasn’t enough.” He returned his katana to
the sheath on his back before turning to some of the other demon
soldiers. “When we arrive at the base, take the children to
the first cell block. Be sure to secure the boy well, as he’s
the same one that defeated our two strongest demons... As for
the Star Warriors… Take them into the maximum security block.”
He glanced at Meta Knight. “Don’t try anything. Not that you
could… I tip my daggers in poison. Nothing deadly, but you
should feel considerably weakened.”
Meta Knight managed a humorless
laugh. “You never were one to fight fair, were you?”
“Fair? Only idiots fight fair.”
Yamikage gestured to him and one of the big warriors grabbed the
fallen knight ungraciously by his cape, lifting him into the
air. “Humiliating, isn’t it? But don’t worry, things can
always get worse…”
Silica was immediately struck by
the lack of… anything as they ran down the wide hallway. No
guards had come to stop them and there was no sound except for
Joe running in front of her.
“Joe, stop!” she exclaimed,
skidding to a halt. He did, looking back at her with some
confusion.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It shouldn’t be this quiet.”
He paused for a moment,
listening. “…Yeah. I don’t even hear anything behind us.”
Silica grimaced. “You don’t
think…”
Whatever thought it was, it was
given no chance to be expressed to as the lights suddenly went
off, plunging them into total darkness.
“Silica!” Joe exclaimed.
Silica swore under her breath.
Useful as her weapon was it didn’t have everything-
specifically a flashlight! “Joe, I’m over he-“ She was cut
off as something big hit her side, slamming her hard against the
wall.
Joe heard it and also heard the
breathing and footsteps of the enemies that had gathered. He
didn’t know how they could see them but it didn’t matter. He
knew where they were.
“Vulcan Jab!” He was rewarded
with a howl of pain, and the energy from his attacks briefly lit
up the area. He heard movement behind him, turning in mid-air.
“Spin Kick!” Another down.
He heard one slash at him, the
sound of it cutting through the air. He ducked, rolling to the
side. He heard more of them- too many.
“Silica! Damnit where are you?!”
He heard a muffled groan to his left and ran over.
He hit something on the ground
and stumbled. He recovered quickly, but it gave something in the
darkness the chance to grab him. Something cold and scaly
wrapped around his upper body, squeezing. He cursed, hitting it
with his free arm but it didn’t let go.
Whatever it was suddenly flung
him back, and then forward, terribly hard against the steel
floor. He couldn’t right himself in time and landed wrong.
There was a nauseating snap, and blinding agony shot up through
his leg. And deep laughter nearby was all he remembered before
he fell unconscious.
This wasn’t right.
Fumu sat in the corner of the
small cell, feet up against her chest and arms around herself.
After all that, they were
captured anyway. The possibility had always been there, in the
back of her mind, but things never happened this way. Kirby
always won, somehow. This wasn’t how things were supposed to
go at all.
They’d taken Meta Knight and
Kirby away somewhere and she worried that might be the last she’d
ever see of them.
Sword and Blade shared a cell
with her. The demons that had captured them had taken their
weapons and armor, so there was little they could do now- or so
their captors believed.
There were two guards stationed
outside their cell. Naturally they weren’t the brightest
types, but they were big and had big weapons that they knew how
to use. They weren’t going to get out that way.
The place seemed old. It was far
from being the high-tech fortress Nightmare once had. This
looked more than an abandoned base his remaining army had taken
over.
Sword and Blade were on the other
side of the cell, speaking in hushed tones.
“Well, they didn’t take
everything…” Sword said, reaching into a pocket at his side
and pulling out a folded leather case. A variety of small tools
were inside.
“Yeah, I have mine too… Doesn’t
look like there’s anyplace in here we can use them.” Blade
leaned back, scanning the small room again. His gaze fell on a
small grate on the ceiling. He frowned. “They’d probably
expect it…”
“It’s worth a shot…”
Fumu noticed they were both
looking at her. “…What is it?” She stood up, going over to
the two. “Did you find something?”
Blade gestured to the ceiling.
“Big places like this need ventilation. That grate leads
somewhere.”
“You want to escape through
there?”
He nodded. “Probably only one
of us. But, if we can get to a computer terminal, maybe find a
map of the place… or get information any other way, we can
find where the others are being held.”
“And then what?”
“We can only plan so far ahead!”
Sword exclaimed quietly. “But, we can’t just sit here. We
don’t know how long we have until they decide to kill all of
us and be done with it.”
She nodded, swallowing hard. “Won’t
they expect this?”
Sword grinned. “Not from us,
apparently. ‘Level zero threats’ they said…”
“I don’t know… So far we
haven’t had very good luck with this sort of thing…” She
folded her arms over her chest, brow furrowed.
“It’s our best chance right
now,” Sword insisted. “Nightmare’s going to be busy with
Meta Knight and Kirby now; no one’s going to care about us.”
Blade brought his hand to his
chin. “Maybe we could get disguises or something?”
There was a sudden clang at the
door. “Hey! What are you guys talking about in there?!”
“Oh, just discussing what we
want our last meals to be,” Sword quickly lied.
The guard laughed. “Ha! We don’t
give last meals. And keep it down! I’m trying to sleep…”
Joe awoke slowly, his vision
spinning. He was lying on his back, looking up at a ceiling he
didn’t recognize. He tried to move his hands, but couldn’t.
He tried to move his legs-
PAIN.
He bit back a cry, eyes squeezed
shut. He waited a moment, breathing hard, and managed to sit up
slightly.
His hands were in shackles that
covered them completely. He pulled hard at the chains connecting
them to the cot he was on, but he knew he wasn’t going to be
able to get out easily.
His legs they hadn’t bothered
restraining- and he saw why, his stomach flipping as he saw the
unnatural angle his left foot was turned. It looked like the
bone had been fractured a few inches below his knee.
Joe scanned the room quickly. It
was a small holding cell with two beds- he was on one, and on
the other…
“Silica! Hey, Silica! Wake up!”
Her head lifted somewhat. “Mmwha?”
She brought her hand up to her forehead. “Damnit…” She
could feel a lovely bump right above her hairline. She sat up
quickly as she remembered where they were. “Joe!” She jumped
off the cot, running over. “Are you- oh.” She saw his leg.
“It doesn’t hurt very much,”
he lied. He tugged at the shackles around his hands. “I guess
they didn’t want to take any chances…”
“And they took my weapon of
course… Funny, I stole it from them in the first place,” she
grinned, but then it fell. “I can’t do much without it…
But, I know we need to do something about your leg.”
“…Something like what?”
“I could set it at least. Maybe
find something to make a splint…”
The color drained from his face.
“…I’ll be fine.”
“Don’t be stupid! If we have
to escape you aren’t even going to be able to move.”
Joe stared at the wall in front
of him for a moment. “Do you think everyone else is all right?”
“…I really have no idea. I’ll
assume that if we’re okay, they wouldn’t have done anything
to them either…” She sat on the edge of the cot. “Why the
hell are we still alive? Wouldn’t it be easier for them to
just kill us?”
“That’s what I’m worried
about…” Joe said pensively.
Silica looked back at his leg.
“It looks like a pretty clean break. It’ll hurt, but if I
can set it…”
“Just get it over with!” he
exclaimed, looking away.
Silica shook her head slightly,
and then untied the bandana around her forehead. She folded it
over a few times and held it in front of him. “Bite down on
this.”
He looked like he was going to
complain, but decided against it and did as told.
Silica felt the break carefully
and Joe winced. “Never had a break like this, I take it? Me
neither… Well, I don’t have legs like you do, so I guess I
couldn’t…” Joe made a sort of growling sound. “Right,
right… Okay, I’m going to count to five.”
Joe nodded.
“One… two…”
He probably should have expected
that she wasn’t going to wait until five.
The guard outside their cell
jumped and looked in through the small window as he heard a
muffled scream. “Hey, what’s going on in there?”
“He’s hurt, you buffoon,”
Silica snapped. Joe was lying back again, and she wondered if
maybe he’d passed out. “…Damnit.” She didn’t have
anything to make a splint, she realized. She hurried over to the
door. “Hey you.”
“What?” She saw a pair of red
eyes through the window.
It was worth a try, she thought.
“I need something long and stiff that I can-“
He interrupted her, laughing. “Oh
really? I got something right here, li’l lady…”
She kicked the door hard with a
resounded clang. She scowled, turning around to see if she could
find anything… She noticed finally on the bottom of her cot,
one of the smaller metal supports had fallen off. It was just
the right size.
She took it, using her bandana
and Joe’s to tie it securely to his leg above the knee and to
his foot. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do.
“You okay?”
“…Honestly… No.”
“You’ll live.” She went
back over to sit on her cot. “I guess we have to wait now.”
“For what?”
She frowned. “For someone to
rescue us. Unless you think you could do something in your
condition.”
He grumbled something.
“I’m glad we agree.” Silica
lay back on her cot. They were both quiet for a few minutes.
“…Hard to believe, isn’t it?” She turned to look at him.
“What is? That we screwed up
this badly?” He was staring up at the ceiling.
“That’s a harsh way of
putting it.”
“It’s true. We played right
into their traps and now we’re basically sitting here waiting
until they feel like killing us.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Aren’t
you optimistic.”
His head snapped over, his eyes
burning on her. “I can’t walk. I would be an easy target
even if we do manage to get out somehow. I’d be dead weight.”
“Your arms aren’t broken are
they? Hell, I would carry you if I had to. Unless you’re too
good for that.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You aren’t
that strong.”
“I can surprise you.”
Joe shook his head. “Who would
rescue us anyway? Meta Knight and Kirby are probably under the
best guard they have… I don’t know about the rest.”
“I’d place my bets on Fumu.
Naïve as she is, she has a good head on her shoulders…”
He winced. “I’m not sure I
want to put all my hopes on her.”
“Well, I don’t know what to
say…”
The two sat there in silence for
a long moment, letting the situation sink in.
“…Now what?” Joe asked
quietly.
“We wait. And we hope that
someone gets us out of here.”
Meta Knight tested his bonds
again, knowing they were never going to give, but it made him
feel better to try rather than to keep hanging there.
He wasn’t in a cell like the
others, but rather a somewhat larger and dimly lit room with no
notable features to speak of, except for the small pedestal near
him that held Galaxia, still in its scabbard.
His arms and feet were shackled
securely, tight enough to be uncomfortable. He wasn’t nearly
as flexible as Kirby was, so try as he might he couldn’t pull
free. Making it worse, several curved, almost claw-like spikes
curved over the rest of his body, digging in painfully when he
moved too much. He couldn’t simply hang by his arms or get
into anything resembling a comfortable position without being
jabbed by one of them.
And his mask was gone. He felt
distinctly vulnerable without that piece of armor, and Yamikage
knew it.
He didn’t know where Yamikage
had gone, but it was leaving him plenty of time to contemplate
his fate. Escape was a distant speck now, hardly even worth
noticing. He wondered if they planned on using the others to get
Meta Knight to use Galaxia to do… whatever it was specifically
that they needed it for.
The door opened with a slight
hiss, and he could see Yamikage silhouetted against the light
outside. It closed and he approached his prisoner slowly, taking
his time.
“You probably have many
questions, don’t you?” he stated. “Or maybe you’ve
figured it out by now.” His red eyes were filled with what
looked like delight. “How long has it been since we had a nice
long chat? Nearly ten years at least.”
Meta Knight didn’t say a word,
eyes narrowed.
Yamikage chuckled. “Oh, I can
understand why you’d wear that piece of metal over your face
all the time. Trying to look angry and stoic I see, but you just
look like a pouting child. Cute.” He laughed again. Meta
Knight didn’t show any reaction.
“Well, then… I might as well
let you know why you’re still alive.” Yamikage went to
Galaxia’s pedestal. “A truly amazing creation… More than
just a blade with a soul. It possesses power beyond what any of
us could ever hope to utilize. It could destroy even you to try
it.
“That kind of power could bring
my master back to nearly his full strength in a fraction of the
time it would normally take.”
Meta Knight’s eyes went wide.
“…And where is he?”
“Hm?”
“Nightmare. Where is he now?”
He had appeared as a massive, invincible specter at their last
battle. What had he been reduced to?
Yamikage didn’t answer. Instead
a deep, twisted voice emanated from seemingly nowhere, almost
directly into his mind.
“Star Warrior, Meta Knight. I’ve
always had a kind of respect for you,” Nightmare’s voice
said coldly. “You’ve survived longer than most any other of
your kind. You’ve come far.”
Meta Knight looked around
quickly, but there was nothing. Yamikage chuckled.
“My lord is too weak to have a
material form at all times… He’s residing in a host now
until he regains his strength.”
Meta Knight stared as Yamikage
brought one hand up, palm upwards. A small speck of light
appeared, growing and spinning, turning a dark shimmering shade
of purple with an odd star-shaped pattern.
“Allow me to present my master,
the Emperor of Darkness- Lord Nightmare.”
“He’s… in you?” Meta
Knight asked, incredulous. He watched as the dark orb spun,
floating off to one side of the ninja.
“Indeed. It is truly a rare
honor… And for the time, I have many of his powers. They’re
really quite fun…” He laughed, low and cruel. “Would you
like to see?”
Meta Knight didn’t bother to
answer. “So, you want me to help Nightmare return to power.”
“More or less. Nightmare needs
Galaxia’s power, but he has to absorb it somehow… I can’t
touch it.” His eyes glinted. “And you can.”
“…Are you going to force me?”
“Unless you feel like making
this easier on yourself and going along willingly,” he said
sardonically.
The orb hovering near him spoke.
“He’s too strong still, Yamikage, I can sense it. I wouldn’t
be able to make any progress…”
“I figured as much…”
Yamikage said. He grinned at Meta Knight’s shocked expression
as it dawned on him what they were planning. “Unfortunately-
unless he has a willing host- my master can only forcibly
control those who are simple minded or severely weakened, even
in the best of times. You’re hardly the former, if you don’t
mind a compliment… And far too stubborn.” He turned to the
orb. “What can we do about this?”
Nightmare laughed cruelly. “Do
what you wish. His pain will strengthen me further.” The orb
spun and disappeared, the power reabsorbed into Yamikage.
Meta Knight couldn’t help a
slight shudder. He’d almost been denying the gravity of the
situation, and it suddenly had become all too horrifyingly
clear.
Blade had lost the coin toss.
And he hated closed in spaces.
They couldn’t have made Fumu go
out on her own. Even assuming she could defend herself, she
wouldn’t know what to look for.
Sword had stayed behind with her,
arranging the blankets on one of the cots to make it look like
someone was there with the plan to tell any guards peering in
that their friend wasn’t feeling well. So far the guards had
been completely ignoring them, so they didn’t expect to have
any trouble.
“What if I don’t come back?”
Blade asked him shortly before he’d left.
Sword stared back at him. “Don’t
talk like that. I’d go with you if I could…”
He shook his head. “No… it’s
better if only one of us goes; one person can sneak around
better than two.”
Blade looked down at a small
scrap of paper with the light from another grate, marking down
the last turn he’d made. He needed to be able to find his way
back.
The first priority was finding
transportation. Even if they did manage to break out, if they
were stuck wherever this was it didn’t do them any good.
After that, he needed to find out
what the layout of this place was, and where Joe, Silica, Meta
Knight and Kirby were being held. Once he knew this, they could
proceed with their plan.
It was all much, much easier said
than done.
Blade tried sitting up a little,
hissing in pain as he smacked his head against the top. He
waited, not even breathing; worried that someone could have
heard that small sound… He heard nothing. He’d seen only a
few demons and armored soldiers walking through the hallways.
Looking through the grates in the
vent as he passed them, he finally came upon something useful. A
computer terminal.
The room was dark, the only light
coming from a selection of screens at the right. No one was
there. After removing the grating and making a quick scan for
any cameras, he lowered himself down and hurried over to the
nearest console.
At this point, his luck decided
to give out, and he heard the door open.
In the second before the lights
turned on, he ducked under one of the consoles, backing up and
making himself as small as possible. He could only see the feet
of the three soldiers who entered.
“Who left these systems on?”
one grumbled, approaching the station Blade was under.
“Probably whoever was in here
last… Don’t ask me, I don’t know who!” another replied.
The first did something with the
computer for a few minutes while Blade waited, unmoving. Several
long, long minutes passed and the soldier finished with whatever
he was doing and turned towards the exit.
“Lock the door on the way out,”
he told the others. Moments later Blade heard the door close,
and a click. He came out from his impromptu hiding place.
The computer was still on, but
now to his disappointment a large ‘Insert Password’ screen
was displayed prominently.
“Can’t be anything obvious…”
he mumbled. Nothing like ‘Nightmare’ backwards. And even
somewhat less obvious things like ‘Star Warrior’ backwards
probably wouldn’t work. With his luck it was a random string
of numbers and letters.
This obviously wasn’t going to
work. Shaking his head, he made his way back into the vents.
