Remembrance of the Dead

by Azuranaito

Death can bear a heavy weight on anyone. Death can affect someone down to their very soul, to the point of no return. To lose everyone you love... it's an unthinkable thought to hold. And that is the case for Meta Knight. (Rated T for cursing and trigger warnings, such as suicide.)

Remembrance of the Dead

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the OCs, and the OC Rosaline belongs to EspeonSulliedGrace. All rights belong to Nintendo!

A/N: This is just a one-shot story involving Meta Knight. It kinda touches on his past; my theory for it anyway. It's more animecentric than what I normally do, but I still have my additions here and there. If my stories took place during the anime, then this would be before Nightmare's death, and before Skyla arrives to Dreamland during the events of Light and Dark. In fact, since this is a more animecentric AU, King Dedede is a bad guy in this story (honestly, I don't like how I'm gonna interpret him later on, so…) I hope y'all enjoy the read! Apologies for the long A/N.

Special thanks to jewelsio for drawing the cover of this story! Please read her story "The Babysitter", it is so good!

Bleary silver eyes opened to a dimly lit room. Meta Knight blinked tiredly, staring at the roof of his room. It was something he did as of late, staring at nothing and thinking about many things, the events that happened in his 1000 years of existence. The knight sighed, grunting as he sat up in his bed. Stretching, easing the exhaustion from his small, spherical body, Meta Knight stepped off his bed.

A sigh escaped Meta Knight when he looked at the time. It was ten in the morning; about the time he usually finished training with Sword and Blade. He checked the date and his eyes widened slightly. The date was 8/17/16. It was the nine hundred and ninety-second anniversary of his father's death, thanks to a monster created by Nightmare.

Meta Knight sighed again. He was only eight years old when he witnessed his father's death. It was already hard for him to grow up without his mother, but to lose your father within six years, two months and four days of her death was very hard on him, since he was literally taking care of himself at this point. It was a saddening weight on the knight's shoulders, but a weight he had to carry for more than eight hundred years. Death was never unfamiliar to him because of this.

He dressed up in his usual attire- the navy blue cape, the silver shoulder pads, his armored shoes, and his beloved mask. Meta Knight exited his room, and after just a few seconds, bumped into Sword and Blade in the halls.

"Good morning, Meta Knight. We did our training by ourselves today, since you overslept. Do we need to do anything today?" Sword asked. Meta Knight raised his hand and shook his head. "Just do normal patrol. After that, you have the rest of the day off." Meta Knight replied. He walked away, leaving his confused knaves behind. To those who didn't know him very well, it would have appeared totally normal. But to Sword and Blade, they knew their lord had something on his mind. They could hear a faint tone of sorrow in his voice when he gave them their orders. But, knowing Meta Knight's nature, Sword and Blade knew for the better that it was best to leave the man be.

They knew that. Many people knew that about Meta. His past itself was the biggest secret the knight had. Meta Knight told nobody about his past, not even Sword, Blade, or Kirby. It was just something he'd rather forget. There were just too many painful memories.

Meta Knight walked through the throne room while King Dedede was contacting NME, not even bothering to look at the foolish penguin king. Dedede appeared to zone out when he saw the knight walk through the room, cape wrapped around himself like normal.

What the hell is he doing? He was already late to do his duties this morning, now he's just stepping through my throne room like it's a damn living room?! Not on my watch! Dedede thought to himself. He didn't realize that his eyes were narrowed and the fading blue dot, ignoring Escargoon's chatter to pay attention to Customer Service, who wasn't even speaking anymore, but staring at the penguin with a confused scowl on his face.

"Sire! Stop zoning out! Didn't you need something earlier?" The king glanced at his advisor, sapphire eyes darkening into a glare staring into gray. "You didn't see Meta Knight walk through here? And I thought you were the smart one, Escargoon." Dedede stated, turning his head toward the TV screen once more. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"He missed his briefing time! Meta Knight has a damn job here, and he has to do it!" Yelled the disgruntled penguin. A laugh was heard from the TV screen. "Looks like your captain of the guard isn't as loyal as you thought! Though, shouldn't that "kicking you both down a cliff" thing remind you that Meta Knight isn't loyal to you, and doesn't care whether or not you live to see another day, Sire?" Customer Service asked. The demon's smug smile gave the impression that he was baiting the king into doing some ploy. The memory of Meta Knight kicking the battle car that King Dedede and Escargoon rode in the day that they ordered the knight to duel Kirby irritated the penguin.

"Don't remind me of that. What makes you say that anyway, other than the fact that he didn't do what he was told that day?" King Dedede asked. "Well, shouldn't all secrets be shared to the king?" When the demon asked that, Dedede and Escargoon exchanged glances for a second. "Go on."

"Secrets are null and void to a king; especially if the subject is the captain of the guard. What if Meta Knight has a plan to kill you? Then what would you do?" The demon pushed his sunglasses back to their proper position. "You'd be better finding out that Puffal's secrets, and hell, he's the most secretive being in your damn castle! So what does that say about him?"

King Dedede had to process the question for a while. The penguin didn't really act like he knew a thing about loyalty, but he knew enough about it that keeping certain secrets breaks that chain of loyalty. That in itself was enough to make the penguin mad. For King Dedede, the thought of Meta Knight being disloyal to him was unthinkable, but for Customer Service, it was just another hook, line, and sinker.

"Do ya got something that'll help me capture him saying something?" He asked. "Just a camera phone. You'll be able to upload any video to this screen, and the secrets that Meta Knight says will be displayed. Of course there is a small fee." The demon chuckled at the sardonic exaggeration. "Just charge it to my account! A phone ain't nearly as much as those expensive wastes of monsters!"

With a nod of affirmation, Customer Service sent over a small box through the delivery machine. It had the NME insignia on it. Dedede tore open the box, revealing a smartphone. It was basically a modified iPhone, honestly. It already had its case, which was red and had the symbol on the back of Dedede's coat. The penguin king laughed at this.

"Whenever I find him, there won't be nothing left in that mental vault of his!" Dedede continued laughing. "Key word is find in this case, Sire. We don't even know where he went." That caused the king to stop laughing. He ended the transmission to NME and glared at Escargoon. "If we don't know where he is, then we have to find him. Key word: FIND!" He bashed the snail over the head with his fist. The penguin hopped off the throne and walked outside.

Meanwhile, Meta Knight was in the castle gardens. There were no stores that sold flowers, or the particular kind of flower that he wanted. He was looking for white roses, but he knew that there are some somewhere in the garden. It was nice walking in the garden. It gave him some solace in his mind. Glancing at some nearby rose bushes, Meta Knight saw the white roses he wanted. Bypassing the thorns in the bushes and on the stems of the flowers, Meta Knight picked three white roses. Their scent was very faint, but aromatic. It made him smile behind his mask.

Meta Knight walked out of the garden, unaware that he was being followed. King Dedede had his modified phone in hand, videotaping Meta Knight. "Why's he picking them roses?! That's part of my garden!" Dedede exclaimed. Escargoon shrugged in response. The king grumbled in annoyance, noticing that the knight was walking too far from his sightline, and started to run, in efforts to catch up to him. They followed him through the village; which was odd for Meta Knight, considering that he really didn't care too much to be seen by the Cappies.

Meta Knight glanced at the roses in his gloved paws. A sigh escaped him as he kept walking to his destination, which was a graveyard on the outskirts of the village.

Headstones lined everywhere in the land. The graveyard was meticulously taken care of. Some of the headstones were new, having been planted there in recent years. Others, especially the graves closest to the center of the land, have been there for centuries. His parents' graves were the first two to be buried in the Cappytown Graveyard, so they were in the centermost area of the graveyard.

That was where he walked to: the centermost area of this land of the dead. Two weathered stones stood side by side one another. The marks were barely legible now, due to years of weathering storms, but Meta Knight could still read the text. He placed two of the white roses on his mother's grave, which was to the right. He placed the last rose on his father's grave. Meta Knight unclasped his mask and set it in between the headstones, propped against his father's headstone.

"It has been a while since I've seen you… I'm sorry I haven't been visiting you. It's been chaos around the village lately." A brief silence fell for a moment. "1000 years… I've lived for a millennia, and both of you didn't even live through my childhood. Even if I knew you both for a short time, there were still some good times. Mother; do you remember when you used to read some of your old writings to me as a child? I recall Skyla making one of them into a song." He hummed a small tune to himself.

"It made a good lullaby. Sometimes I still hum it. Another reminder of how I wish I got to know you better." Meta looked at his father's gravestone. "I knew Father a little better than I knew you, Mother. I recall Sir Arthur saying that I'm the spitting image of him a few times on occasion. I guess I am, when I think about it. We look alike. We even sound alike. I've kept your cape and mask all these years…" Meta Knight chuckled at an old memory he remembered. He was picturing his child self wearing the cape and mask he wore now, except they were both far too big. Meta Knight was a bit smaller than Kirby when he himself was two years old.

"I remember defeating my first demonbeast… it was a Batafire. I used your sword to destroy it too. I'm glad that I was near a lake when it happened. Hmm… I also remember finding a Wolfwrath pup. Remember Solarwolf, Mother, Father? After Father died, we took care of each other. Ironic how I met my knaves by saving them from that same monster," Meta Knight sighed. "I loved Solarwolf… he understood me. It was like I could confide to him what I couldn't to anyone else. He only spoke with me. But the Queen of the Vampires killed him. Pushed him off a damn cliff into a rock quarry, and that caused him to be impaled to death."

Another sigh escaped him, and silence answered the knight. Of course, he knew it was a little ridiculous to talk to the headstones, but Meta Knight never truly knew his parents. This was the only way he could get rid of some of the heavy weight of losing the ones he loved.

"You probably saw how much I sobbed that day… I loved that Wolfwrath… but, at least someone gave me comfort that day. A little girl named Rosaline. She was only six; I was sixteen. At least she made the grieving process easier. She was such a sweet child."

Meta Knight pulled out a wooden sword after he said that. It was shaped more like a stake at this point, and the wood was splintery, but it was still in pretty good condition. Teeth marks were on the hilt.

"She had a child hundreds of years later too… the child destined to destroy Nightmare, Kirby. But… she died within a week of his birth," His voice cracked with emotion at that. "A monster killed her… I managed to save her son, but at what cost? Rosaline died. Kirby never knew his real mother. I have a hand in raising him, only to push him away… I never wanted to grow too attached to the boy. Everyone I've loved and cared about died in the end. I never want that to befall Kirby, especially at his young age."

Meta Knight ran a gloved paw on the teeth marks on the hilt of the wooden sword. "He hasn't even began his teething… I know that was Hell in itself. I hate seeing him in pain. I know it will be painful for him, but I'll do what I can to make it easy for him." Another sigh escaped the knight. "He is a blessed child. He hasn't lost those he holds dear in the carnage of these damned demon battles. I remember a time I felt that way… it was during the war. I had friends back then…"

He put the wooden sword back into his cape. Meta Knight zoned out for a moment, a small smile gracing his visage. "After Rosaline, there was Jecra and Garlude. In a way, they were like brother and sister to me. Jecra always made me laugh when I was in a foul mood, and Garlude was always a good confidant of secrets. But they were both killed, thanks to Nightmare. Garlude was electrocuted to death while retrieving Galaxia from Kirasakin's cave, and I had to kill Jecra… because he was possessed by Nightmare." Tears were welling up in Meta's eyes at this point. But he dare not let them fall. Even now, after the hell he's been through, Meta Knight still held his emotions inside.

"Did you both meet during your time in the war? Or was it during another time? I married during my time in the war. You would have liked her. Her name was Mira." Meta Knight took off his right glove. There was a strange black marking on it. It was a circle with an unfamiliar sort of zodiac on it. A heart with a swirl inside it rested in the center of it.

"She was a PSI Puffal. Her family has traditions that have been set in stone for many centuries. This mark on my hand is called the Marking of Matrimonium. We each received these after our wedding. Sir Arthur was our justice of the peace." Meta Knight sighed heavily.

"I loved her dearly. She loved me for who I was. It didn't matter to her that I was vampiric, it didn't matter to her that I was uncertain about the outcome of the war. She loved me for who I was, faults and all. I've done a lot of things with her in our 200 years of marriage." A faint blush crept on his face. "I wish she were still alive. We would have a family by now…" Tears started welling in his eyes again.

"Nightmare took Mira away from me too. A demoness named Khione killed her. She was stabbed in the stomach and died in my arms… NOVA above have mercy on her soul…" The tears finally fell at that point. Meta Knight cried over the gravestones, soaking his gloves in his tears.

"Everyone I've loved always died in the end…! I feel guilty being alive while my friends and family are with NOVA, looking down and watching me stay in this shroud of darkness. Everyone died… except for me. I'm not even sure if Skyla is still alive anymore. NOVA help me… I've been in this darkness for too long… when will it end?" He continued crying over the graves. Tears fell freely down his face, glazing his silver eyes and making them puffy and red, and staining his face with the sorrows of the weight of the dead he held over the many years of his life.

"I want to see you all again. I've had this lack of closure in my heart that has gotten worse and worse over the many years. I've thought about just ending my life. Committing suicide. A coward's move on my part, but… this darkness… this goddamn hell… I can't take it anymore. The weight of all the deaths I've witnessed… Mother, Father… Rosaline, Jecra, Garlude… Mira. I just can't take it anymore. I don't want to see anymore innocent lives dying. Especially the deaths of those I love. At least you passed peacefully, Mother." He started crying again. The tears could be rung out from his gloves; he was crying so much at this point.

Meta Knight sighed and wiped the still falling tears from his face. He steeled his expression, though that appeared to be a bit difficult considering that his silver eyes were still red from crying his eyes out.

"I'm sorry that I made this about me. But… it's nice to confide into something… even if you have nothing but silence answering you. Mother and Father. You two were the ones who inspired me to be a soldier. To end the senseless deaths of more innocent lives. It's getting harder as this weight grows heavier, however. I cannot show emotion around anyone else. My mask… wait… your mask, Father, has been the face that I have shown since I've been on Popstar. Nobody else knows me behind the mask, not even Kirby. Everyone thinks that I have no emotion. That I am just cold and unfeeling…" Meta Knight scowled at that notion. Of course he wasn't emotionless; he was just sitting at his parents' graves pouring his soul out in the form of his words and tears.

"A man without emotion is a sociopath. And I am not a sociopath, I've never killed in cold blood. Though it seems like it sometimes. I killed Jecra, even though he was possessed by Nightmare, he still had some control of himself. But Nightmare just would not let him go. So I killed my friend. And I cried that night too. Nobody knows any of these things about me. I wish to tell someone. Just someone. But who could I trust? There is nobody in this village that knows how to keep their damn mouth shut! The lot of them there are idiots sometimes! The Cappies are the most naive, moronic, simpletons I've ever came across in all my life! Adults are about as naive as children in this village!"

Meta Knight composed himself for a moment, taking in deep breaths and sighing. He calmed himself down. "I apologize for ranting. They may be naive, but they are very welcoming too. I crash landed here a little more than a decade ago, and they accepted me with open arms. I like that about them sometimes… but that is also their downfall. They're so genial natured that they would be torn apart if monsters were to come right now. Torn limb from limb. Just like you, Father, only you put up a fight against that lizard monster. The Cappies wouldn't stand a chance. No way in Hell would they survive monster attacks without Kirby, myself, or any of my other trainees. It almost sickens me."

Meta Knight picked up his mask, which was setting against Midnight's gravestone. He could see his reflection within it in the bright sunlight and its polished, steel surface. He saw his face for the first time in a long time. It seemed he always averted his gaze from the childlike face in the mirrors in his room whenever his mask was off. Whenever he looked at mirrors, it always seemed that Meta Knight wore his mask whenever looking into them. His eyes narrowed slightly at his reflection.

"I guess I really am the spitting image of you, Father." Meta Knight's eyes filled with tears again. "I guess that's another reason I wear the mask… because I do not want to be reminded of that horrible sight… seeing you being torn apart." He ran a gloved paw on his father's headstone. Meta Knight sighed. "I'll be taking my leave. It's been good seeing you both again." After saying that, Meta Knight strapped his mask back on, and walked out of the graveyard.

He was totally unaware that there was someone watching him. Well, two people, actually. King Dedede recorded that whole one-sided conversation with a wicked smile on his face.

"Hehehehe! If he thinks his secrets are safe now, he'll have to wait soon enough!" Dedede laughed again. "Sire… maybe you shouldn't do anything but delete that video." That statement earned Escargoon another bash on his head. "Why do ya want me to do that for?! We have his secrets! Why would ya want to give them up?!" Dedede angrily asked.

"Because I know what you'll do with them," Escargoon stated coldly and matter-of-factly. "You'll upload the video to the TV, gather all the townsfolk to the castle where you'll show everyone, even Meta Knight, that you violated his privacy. I say this because he poured his heart and soul into that one-sided conversation. For crying out loud, Dedede, Meta Knight said that he thought of committing suicide! Suicide, Sire! What if showing that video pushes him from borderline suicidal to completely suicidal?! What the hell would happen then?!"

"I don't care! Why would I care about an old man's sob story?!" Dedede asked angrily. "He's supposed to be loyal to me! I don't give a damn if he's all alone in the world! He's my head knight! Think of this as payback for aiding Kirby and pushing us down that goddamn hill, Escargoon!"

"Oh does it fucking MATTER?! IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU, ISN'T IT?! ALL ABOUT SETTLING A GODDAMN SCORE WITH A CHILD! A GODDAMN CHILD! ALL OUT OF FUCKING JEALOUSY, BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT HE'LL STEAL YOUR IMAGINARY THRONE! Do with the damn video what you will, Dedede, but know this: when you're cussed out and beaten half to death, you'll know that you dug your own grave." Escargoon slithered back to the castle.

"Fine! Forget you! I'm gonna expose that bastard's secrets with or without you!" Silence answered the king. He started walking back to the castle and when he got to the throne room, he uploaded the video to the TV. It took King Dedede a few minutes to do so without Escargoon helping him. And by "a few minutes", it really took a half hour before he finally called for help from Customer Service. Even with help from the demon, uploading the video took an additional five minutes, since the video itself was about an hour long. Dedede smirked wickedly when the video finished uploading.

Your secrets are safe with nobody, Meta Knight. Not even yourself.

(0.0) (0.0) (^u^) (^u^) (0u0) (0u0)

The next day, it was business as usual. Meta Knight woke up at his normal time, which was 7:45 in the morning. He got his mask and other articles of armor and walked to the throne room. He was surprised to see everyone in Cappytown gathered in the room. The residents from the castle and Kirby were up at the front.

"What is going on here?" Meta Knight asked. "Dedede's showing some video. Judging by that death glare on Escargoon's face, it's probably something so bad that even he is against it." Callie replied. "This whole thing is shady to me. A "free movie"? That's very unlikely." Tiff added.

Meta Knight honestly could care less about a video King Dedede was showing. The deaths of his friends and family still weighed heavily on his mind and heart. It was hard to focus on anything because of that reason. His eyes started glowing gray, personifying his sorrow. Tiff was about to ask something when Dedede started talking.

"How are all of y'all? Doing fine? That's funny; one moment, it might be peaceful. The next, you might get attacked by a demonbeast. Do you know if you have someone you can trust to save you?" He asked. This was a rhetorical question, of course, but a young Cappy responded anyway.

"We have a lot of people we can trust! We have Kirby, Callie, Sword, Blade, and Meta Knight!" Stated the Cappy. King Dedede blinked in response. He really didn't expect anyone to respond to his rhetorical question, but it did give him fuel for his flame.

"Well, are you sure about that? What if your so-called "hero" is hiding something? Secrets, per se. Well, what I'm about to show you are secrets about one of our heroes. I'm sure y'all can guess who I'm talking about." Dedede smirked broadly, laughing cruelly. His eyes were focused directly on Meta Knight, but the Puffal was looking at the floor, eyes still gray with sadness. Escargoon focused his glare at King Dedede again.

"You're going to regret this." He hissed. Dedede rolled his eyes and started the video. Meta Knight looked up, and his eyes widened in surprise and anger. The Cappies watched the film with intrigue. They weren't wondering why he was talking to the headstones, but they were surprised that Meta Knight's parents were the first beings buried in their graveyard, not to mention he looked exactly like Kirby. They listened to the one-sided conversation, being surprised and a little angry that Meta Knight had a Wolfwrath as a pet, shocked that Meta had a sister, and even moreso surprised that he had a wife.

At the parts where Meta Knight started crying, a few Cappies murmured to themselves. Some were saying how they thought he had no emotions. Others, mainly the women, were showing their sympathies. Cries of outrage were heard when they heard the Meta Knight in the video say what he thought about the Cappies. But no words were said whenever he spoke of suicide. Not much later after that, the video ended. Meta Knight was trembling.

"Hahahahaha! How does it feel to be exposed now, Meta Knight? Did those "friends and family" even exist? Maybe you were lying about that? Why would you care so much about people who are dead? They're dead, man. Nothing you can do about that now."

Meta Knight's eyes were tearing up. But he dare not shed anymore tears in Dedede's presence. In a hushed but furious voice, the knight said this:

"Is it wrong to give remembrance for the dead? My friends… they died honorably during the war. My family… Father was torn apart by a monster demonbeast right before my young eyes. I was only eight years old when he died," Then Meta Knight focused his gaze on a still smirking Dedede. His eyes changed from gray to red.

"Never slander the names of the dead. Nightmare claimed THOUSANDS of lives during the war. Names that should always be remembered, never slandered. Those people died because they believed in hope that Nightmare will be gone forevermore. My parents did. My friends did. My wife did. Your ignorance and selfishness will be the death of you." And Meta Knight walked off after that. Nobody didn't even notice the hurt in his voice when he said those words to King Dedede.

Callie, who was glaring furiously at Dedede after the video, hopped out of her chair to give the king a piece of her mind. And give she did.

"What the fuck is WRONG with you?!" She snarled. Dedede didn't answer her. "WHAT IN NOVA'S NAME IS FUCKING WRONG WITH YOU, YOU INCONSIDERATE BASTARD?! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! WELL?! ANSWER ME!" She yelled. Dedede froze up, unable to answer. Callie's temperament can be even scarier than a monster sometimes. The words she spoke left a knot in his throat.

"Oh, alright. I'll answer for you. What you've done was show a video that you shouldn't have even made of a man whose demons are threatening to kill him ALL BECAUSE Meta Knight has some "secrets" that you wanna get your fucking hands on. Well, what you showed everyone weren't secrets! That was Meta Knight trying to show respect for the dead; not to mention that he misses his family. All of those people in that video that he talked about, you disrespected their names, you disrespected the fact that they DIED before your ass was born- hell, before your parents and grandparents were born just to save the lives of BILLIONS of people all around the Gamble Galaxy, people that were killed by NIGHTMARE, the very person whose company you order monsters from, just to kill a little boy! Kirby is only a toddler, Dedede, and you've been trying to send monsters to kill him, just because you're jealous of the fact that a little boy gets more attention and respect than you do. It's just all about Dedede, isn't it?!"

A brief moment of silence fell over the castle. Tiff, Victoria, and Kirby were especially the ones staring in disbelief. They knew Callie wasn't the most fond of the self proclaimed king. They knew that she had a venomous tongue and a temperament of fire, and they knew she cared immensely for Meta Knight, since she never wants to see him hurt in any way, be it physical, or be it emotional, like this case. But this time, they knew Dedede stooped to a very new low. Even Tiff didn't know that he could stoop that low.

"You aren't a king to me. Who's the stupid dumbass that told you that secrets are null and void to a king? No they ain't either! Secrets can be anything that a man or woman doesn't want to be said. I have secrets. I ain't saying 'em, but I have secrets too. EVERYONE STANDING IN THIS GODDAMN CASTLE HAS SOME SECRET! BUT DOES THE SANCTITY OF EVERYONE' MATTER TO YOU?! HELL FUCKING NO, IT DOESN'T!"

"Could you tone down on the cursing? We don't want our children picking that up." Said a Cappy woman that foolishly interrupted Callie's rant. "Oh, shut the fuck up and listen; you morons might learn something! Meta Knight was right about you Cappies being the most moronic and naive beings he's ever met! I know I agree with him! You guys are so genial natured and spineless that you can't fight to even save your life! We all know that every day that passes brings us closer to the final battle, but are y'all gonna be prepared for it?! Hell fucking no, you're NOT! YOU MORONS BELIEVE THE BULLSHIT THAT DRIBBLES FROM THIS IDIOT'S MOUTH ON A DAILY BASIS! WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT SAY ABOUT YOU?!"

Nobody said anything after that. Callie looked at the corner of her eyes at Tiff, Kirby, and Victoria. She waved her hand, seemingly telling the three to go see Meta Knight. They nodded in compliance and left the throne room, leaving Callie to continue her rant.

(0.0) (0.0) (^u^) (^u^) (0u0) (0u0)

Meta Knight sat down in his room, alone in the dark. His eyes were in tears, and those tears were falling freely now. They felt warm as they fell. Meta Knight was furious, but hurt. Even Dedede could hit him where it hurts most if the king could think about it long enough. Meta Knight was still shaking from when the video started. He almost lost his composure when he said his piece before effectively leaving; Dedede saying that stuff about the deaths of those he cared about most being a lie was like a stab through the heart. Though that latter would actually give him closure now.

Meta Knight glanced at the hilt of Galaxia. Maybe killing himself with his own sword might actually be easier. When he drew the sword, he could hear her voice in his thoughts.

You shouldn't do it. She said to him. Why not? Why should I even stay alive anymore? There's no one willing to stand by me. He responded back. You are wrong, Meta Knight. You aren't alone. You never were alone. You have people that still care. If you stayed in the throne room a little longer, you would have seen that.

Really, Galaxia? Who? Who cares about me?! I've been stuck in this goddamn darkness for too long! My family, my friends, they're waiting up there with NOVA! I'm tired of waiting for death to take my soul away! I want to end this now!

Taking your own life, Meta… what makes you think NOVA would even let you join them? Taking your own life is like damning yourself to stay with the Devil. NOVA would know if it were a suicide, whether you were to stab yourself in the heart or let yourself get torn apart by a demon. She is the Goddess of us all. There are people who still care, Meta. If you just turn around, you can see.

Meta Knight smirked sardonically. Ha, maybe I shall humor you, Galaxia. He thought bitterly. When he thought that action, Meta turned around and saw Tiff, Victoria, and Kirby. His eyes were still wet and cloudy, and Galaxia was held close to where the Puffal's chest would be.

"Meta Knight?" Tiff spoke, breaking the silence. He said nothing, and lowered Galaxia from his chest. "Why did you come in here?" He asked.

"We're worried about you, Meta Knight." Victoria answered. "Why? Is it because you care for me, or is it because you care for your wellbeing? Everyone sees me as an emotionless robot that appears only when Kirby fights a powerful monster. Well I'm not emotionless!" He threw a random object that laid on the floor out the window, shattering the glass into a myriad of pieces. The outburst scared the three children in the room.

"Callie's in there yelling at Dedede and the Cappies. Tuff is still in there. He wouldn't understand much about this anyway." Tiff stated. "Meta Knight… we care about you. We already knew you weren't emotionless. That mask doesn't hide everything about you. You're a powerful soldier who's very compassionate, not to mention passionate about everything and everyone he loves."

Tears started falling from the knight again. "Everyone I loved always died in the end! Nightmare killed EVERYONE I LOVED. All I want to do is join them… I miss them all… I just want to see them just one more time…"

"But, Meta Knight, suicide isn't a solution for anything. You have people that care about you down here. I care. Callie cares, Victoria and Kirby care too. Don't forget Sword and Blade and Tuff either. We all care about you, Meta Knight." Tiff said, placing a consoling hand on the knight's back.

"A lot of people would miss you if you were gone. You aren't alone, Meta Knight. There's always someone who cares." Victoria said. Kirby walked out from behind her and sat down right in front of Meta Knight. Sapphire eyes stared into silver. Silence fell over the room for a moment.

"Kaabi wou'd miss Meda if he died. Kaabi wove Meda. Kaabi cawe abaaht Meda because Kaabi wove Meda. Meda wike Kaabi's daddy. Meda is Kaabi's hewo. You hewo to many, Meda, especiawwy Kaabi." Kirby hugged Meta Knight. Hearing the boy say that about him made Meta feel something he hadn't felt in many years: love.

In the few years Kirby had been in Dreamland, Meta Knight tried to push him away. The wall surrounding his heart and the darkness coupled with the weight of the deaths of those he loved crumbled away. A radiant light pierced through the darkness of the knight's heart. Tears still fell from his closed silver eyes, but this was from the weight of the dead being eased off his back. The metaphorical darkness, the weight of the dead… that whole cross seemed to have been eased off the Puffal's back.

All these years… I pushed anyone away who made an effort to know about me. The mask I wore on my face was what they knew about me. I didn't want to love. Everyone I loved, died in the end. But that was before Kirby. That was before Sword and Blade, Tiff and Tuff, Callie and Victoria. They are all my friends. No… wait.

They are all family. And it took me this long to realize I am not alone. Even so, that doesn't mean I won't ever stop loving those that have left me. I will join them again someday, as will my other loved ones. We could finally be together again.

But until then, I shall always have my remembrance of the dead.

(0.0) (0.0) (^u^) (^u^) (0u0) (0u0)

(0.0) (0.0) (^u^) (^u^) (0u0) (0u0)

(0.0) (0.0) (^u^) (^u^) (0u0) (0u0)

A/N: OK, lot of things in this story. One, this would be a story that took place more in the anime than in my storyline. Why it took place in 2016 than whereas my usual style of taking place in the current time, well, this is before Skyla arrives during Light and Dark. Meta Knight doesn't know that one of his family members is still alive. This was all in for the purpose for showing some angst.

If you thought Meta Knight was a little overdramatic and OOC in this, I'm sorry, but again, this is for the purpose of angst. I did try to keep him in character, but at the same time noting that he isn't emotionless, and that the weight of the deaths of those he cares about was about to drive him to suicide, since he missed them so much. I hope you enjoyed the story; read and review!