Chapter One
Trouble In Training
"Master, have you recovered fully from our enemy's attack? Recently they let their guard down, which creates the perfect chance to strike! They will never see our attack coming!" A rhino-like demonbeast advised a figure lurking in shadows that were darker than midnight on a moonless night.
"I will soon be ready... Prepare the battleships..." The figure hissed. Those fools... Thinking they won... Ha! He could never truly be defeated as long as they was hatred and darkness in the universe. And there was plenty of those. So much in fact, that he had been revived less than a day after they had beaten him. Ever since he had been lurking in his cambers in his old fortress, gathering his strength.
"Yes sir! Right away!" The rhino demonbeast bowed and left the room. As it did, it heard it's master say, "They will pay for their insolence! They will learn to never cross the great Nightmare!"
"Please Meta Knight-kyo? Can't Kirby stay and play? Nightmare is gone. Does he really still need to train?" Bun whined. He had been trying to help Kirby become better at soccer, but Meta Knight had interrupted their practice game with a request that Kirby come with him to train.
"Of course he still needs to train. Nightmare might be gone, but many demonbeasts survived. And there are still many beings out there who wanted to take Nightmare's place. Now they have an opportunity to do so. With the help of the demonbeasts that survived, they will be a formidable force. We must still be on our guard." Meta Knight replied. Bun sighed and pouted but said, "Fine. Go train." Meta Knight nodded slightly and turned to Kirby.
"Come Kirby. We'll train at the field over there." Meta Knight gestured to a field behind him and started walking in that direction. Kirby smiled and ran up to Meta Knight.
"Poyo!" Kirby exclaimed.
"Meta Knight-kyo, can I ask a question?" Meta Knight turned at the voice. It was Fumu, the smartest person in Pupu Village. She had been reading in the shade of a large tree. Meta Knight's eyes turned pink as he said "You just did." Fumu and Bun stared at him in surprise.
"Did you just make a joke?!" Bun asked, looking flabbergasted. Meta Knight ignored him and looked at Fumu.
"Well? What is your question?" He asked her expectantly.
"Oh, um... What are skill are you teaching Kirby today?"
"I am going to teach him how to fight without a copy ability." Meta Knight responded in his normal, flat tone.
"That seems pointless. Why does Kirby need to learn how to do that?" Bun asked while leaning back against the tree that Fumu had been reading under just a minute before.
"Sometimes, an enemy will be attacking too fast for Kirby to have time to inhale. Therefore, he won't be able to get a copy ability. If this happens Kirby will be left defenseless." Meta Knight stated as he turned and walked over to where Kirby was waiting and handed him a sword. "Now, try and hit me!" Kirby responded with a resolute "Poyo!" and swung the sword, but Meta Knight easily parried it. The two seemed evenly matched, shown by how neither one was getting a hit in. But after a few minutes, Meta Knight slipped past Kirby's guard and got a few hits in that knocked Kirby off his feet. Meta Knight stepped back to give the puffball a chance to recover from the hard blows he had dealt him. To Meta Knight's surprise, Kirby recovered instantly and got a few hits on him that to Kirby, Fumu, and Bun's shock, sent him flying away a few feet. Kirby dropped his sword and rushed to the knight's side while Fumu and Bun watched, dumbfounded. How could he have gone flying like that? Kirby certainly hadn't hit Meta Knight than he had a few moments ago, and yet he had gone flying. And furthermore, he hadn't gotten up. Surely he couldn't be unconscious?
"P-Poyo?" Kirby said, sounding uncertain. Running up to Meta Knight with Fumu close at his heels, Bun asked, sounding scared, "Meta Knight-kyo, are you okay?!" Very slowly, Meta Knight got back into his feet with a quiet grunt of pain.
"I-I'm fine." Fumu walked a little closer with a concerned expression.
"You don't look fine..." She said nervously. As she finished her sentence, Meta Knight suddenly dropped to one knee and his eyes started flickering between red and yellow. All of his muscles had gone rigid and his breathing was quick and short. After a few seconds he groaned and passed out.
"Sir Meta Knight?!"
