It was a bright, sunny day; a common occurrence in the area of Dream Land Kirby lived in. The pink puffball exited his igloo-shaped house that was based just on the far edge of Whispy Woods. He had moved locations from the outskirts of town to the outskirts of population once people were reasonably sure he could live on his own without getting into too much trouble, and even then he lived close enough to several of his friends to call for help if need be. Coo and Rick lived in these woods and visited with him every three days or so, and Kirby went to Whispy's glade weekly to help with tending to the flowers that grew around the sentient tree. Kine and Meta Knight visited Kirby as well, though their visits were often impromptu and rarely planned.
Today was one of those rare days that Kirby and Meta Knight had planned to meet, exchanging news and the like before training. Kirby had improved in leaps and bounds since his infancy, both physically and mentally. Kirby was able to speak as clearly as Meta Knight if he so chose, though he tended to be on the quiet side around people he wasn't intimately familiar with. The sound 'poyo' was still scattered through his sentences as well, but it usually only showed up in people's names or if he was more focused on doing something else. He was also a fairly decent mechanic, able to use common sense and a bit of know-how he had received from various sources to repair several mechanical objects he owned. Many presents he had received for various reasons had been related to the craft, ranging from books on the subject to pieces parts found in various areas that he could try to put together.
His training with Meta Knight had increased his fighting capability as well. After the defeat of Nightmare and NME, all the demon beasts seemed to have disappeared completely. Kirby and his friends enjoyed the victory for a time, but eventually the festivities died out. This is when Meta Knight had approached Kirby, explaining that he wished to continue Kirby's training during the peace. It wouldn't be nearly as life-and-death as it was before the fall, but Meta Knight said "a sword does not deliver any blows if it is rusted. Skills trained in battle are the same way."
Kirby had agreed. Meta was distant, but Kirby had seen his wisdom. The elder puffball was certainly older than Kirby (and, apparently, many people on Dreamland), but he was still not exactly among the 'elders' of their species. Thus the two would spar together, Meta Knight sticking with his cape and sword while Kirby used Copy Abilities. After the first tournament hosted by Master Hand, Kirby suggested training under that style as well. After explaining the rules to Meta Knight (a process that took a few days as Kirby was still struggling with speech a little bit and was trying to describe the magic that Master Hand used in order for the matches to happen), the two sparred with a modified form of those rules. This eventually lead to both Meta Knight (and, somehow, Dedede) being invited to join the in the third tournament.
But that was neither here nor there, and the important thing is that Meta Knight was coming to visit, so Kirby picked some ingredients from outside and poked around in his cupboards in order to bake a cake. For some people, it might have seemed strange to make food in preparation for Meta Knight's arrival, but for Kirby it was a regular thing. He couldn't exactly say that Meta Knight was completely comfortable in taking the mask off around him, but he could say that the blue puffball was at least comfortable enough to remove it to eat in front of Kirby.
The young pink puffball had awoken early that day, so the cake was completely done, frosting and all, by the time Meta Knight arrived. His bat wings folded back into his cape as he landed in a small clearing nearby Kirby's house that served as a garden. Meta Knight noted with some amusement the large number of tomato planters around that had green vines swirling up them. It was too early in the season for the red fruit, but Meta had seen the plants laden with the red produce the season before. He wrapped his cape around himself to prevent it from dragging too much as he walked towards Kirby's home.
The blue puffball had flown from the Halberd, which was still flying in its patrol over Dreamland. The ship did have a course it tended to follow, but Meta Knight and his knaves tended to avoid storms and mountains in order to prevent excessive damage to the battle ship, leaving it difficult to predict with any certainty when they'd pass over an area again. This explained why his visits were often impromptu – much of Popstar was uncharted due to it being mostly peaceful, relaxed folks who had little ambition to go on an adventure. Thus the crew of the Halberd often times ended up being cartographers, mapping the area as they traveled toward familiar skies. All of these factors made it very difficult to predict visits indeed. In an attempt to work around this, Kirby had made and given Meta Knight a cell phone. While it went mostly unused due to lack of signal, the gesture was appreciated. This visits was one of those rare times Meta Knight had sent a (very formal) text message, informing Kirby he would be able to arrive that day. Having nothing planned and excited to see his mentor again, Kirby happily agreed. This led to where we are now: Meta Knight knocking on Kirby's door and waiting for the younger to answer.
The living portion of the house was actually very small and Kirby was waiting, so it didn't take long. The two puffballs silently made their way into the kitchen where two pieces of cake were already plated and served to the two empty chairs that matched the table.
Meta Knight noticed that they were from Patchland and inquired about their presence.
Kirby swallowed his bite of strawberry-chocolate cake and replied. "I dunno. Apparently the magic socks have some form of magic on them that transform items from land to land, explaining why I became yarn without Yin-Yarn's spells. I can only take five with me per trip, though frankly I just left most of the ones I found with Dom Woole. He's thinking about building a new apartment complex for those who lost their homes to Yin-Yarn and his minions."
At that mention, Meta Knight's eyes flashed a brownish-red color that Kirby was pretty sure meant shame or self-disappointment. He had only seen the color a few times, and he was pretty sure he was the only one who had seen it (barring several of Meta Knight's friends from the Star Warriors).
"Don't start," Kirby said, collecting his plate and Meta Knight's before putting them into the sink that held some clean water in preparation for the aforementioned dishes. "He ambushed you. Not even you can do everything perfectly Meta Knight, and in case you recall, most of Dreamland's inhabitants also were caught unaware, Dedede and myself included. He might not have been one of the most… prepared of villains, but he was certainly one of the best improvisational ones." With the splash, Kirby had turned around to look at his mentor. While he was doing his task, Meta Knight had replaced his mask that disguised the similarities between him and Kirby. (After seeing his teacher's face for the first time, Kirby had suspected that Meta Knight had similar abilities to him, or at least had them at one point in time. It could explain why he knew so much about Kirby's various abilities but never actually seemed to use one himself.)
Mask or no, Kirby had gotten to know Meta Knight well as the years went by. The elder was still thinking about the events leading him to fighting Kirby and Fluff in Space Land, brooding over how he could have prevented it and mentally punishing himself. Kirby's little pep talk would do very little, if anything, but there's always one thing that gets the knight feeling better, so…
"Shall we spar?"
"Tournament rules or regular?" At this point, the exchange had become so familiar that Meta Knight skipped over pleasantries and got straight to the heart of the matter.
"You pick." Kirby gestured to his cupboard, where all the items that would grant him various abilities were kept, along with a medallion that Master Hand had granted them that allowed them to practice tournament style even without there being a tournament happening. (This came with limitations, however – in Kirby's regular adventures, he wouldn't be able to use it since the rules between the two dimensions were drastically different. He could use it if Meta Knight or Dedede agreed to a match, but other than that, they would have to settle things the way they usually did before the fiasco that was the third Smash tournament. All the Smashers had been granted these after that mess, allowing them to practice combat while they were limited to their move sets. If one used the medallion solo, they essentially had a simulation against various generic enemies, though an AI of another Smasher would crash the party occasionally.)
"Traditional it is." Again, this was familiar. Meta Knight tended to start with the traditional duel between them- Sword Kirby versus Meta Knight. Then it went to freestyle, where Kirby could pick several power-ups (or none, if he chose) that he could switch between, and then there was an occasional tournament match between them. Meta Knight tended to be too busy to stay much longer than a few hours, or both puffballs too tired to even consider a third match. Even rarer than that, they would be interrupted and out of politeness would cease battling so that way Kirby could welcome whoever came.
The duel started with each puffball in a shallow valley a small distance from Kirby's house. Neither puff wished to incur the wrath of the woods' guardian by damaging the surrounding trees, even if it was an accident. Kirby also did not want a repeat of the last time they had sparred in his garden. (Fruit and vegetable pulp everywhere. It took Kirby a month to clean everything up, and that was just because a good storm came in and washed away the worst of it.)
So shallow valley it was. The two started 50 paces apart on opposite sides and turned to face each other, waiting for the other to give a hint as to what they were about to do.
Meta Knight struck out first with a simple dash and slash to Kirby's side, a move that was parried before being countered, and thus the fight began.
Meta Knight's eyes were a bright lilac color, indicating his happiness and pride as the two fought on. It was intense. Both puffballs were about equal in stamina, thanks to training on both sides. And while Meta Knight had more experience, Kirby made up for it with inventiveness, making up moves and utilizing old tricks and techniques as the two went on.
It was down to the last blow – they had each taken five hits from the other and, to prevent massive injury, had agreed six was the limit – and Meta Knight spotted an opening. If he did the series he had thought of correctly, he'd win this round. He was charging in to do so when
"You shan't harm Kaabii!"
A long piece of blue material ending in several circles wrapped around both Meta Knight's hand and Galaxia in a way that prevented him from dropping the weapon. He was also pulled roughly to the side (so that way Kirby wasn't in his path, he absently noticed).
Kirby saw who interfered and reacted quickly. Stomping on the material, he shouted "Stop, Fluff-poyo! Okay, poyo!" His actions had the unintentional (and later, comical) effect of Meta Knight being pulled face-down on the ground, a fact which he quickly covered up as he felt the material loosen around his glove. A quick brush of his mask reveal that he had luckily avoided gaining any grime on the metal.
He sheathed his sword, sensing the (somewhat disappointing) end of the match. He wrapped his cape around himself as Kirby dismissed and then stored the Sword ability in his copy palette.
Prince Fluff watched in a slight amount of awe. He had heard of the copy ability from the Dreamlanders during their journey to topple Yin-Yarn, but he had yet to visit the dimension that utilized it. As Kirby had suggested earlier, the magic of the socks had changed Prince Fluff to a more Dreamlander-like appearance. He looked a lot like Kirby and Meta Knight while they were in Dreamland. The only thing that indicated he was from Patchland was his crown, which appeared to be made out of stiff felt.
"You look weird," Kirby blurted.
Prince Fluff raised his eyebrows at Kirby's statement, giving the distinct feel of sass. Kirby rubbed the side of his head in mild embarrassment as Meta Knight stepped forward cautiously.
"I wasn't expecting you to come. What brings you to Dreamland?" Kirby asked.
"I've been wanting to visit for a long time," Fluff shrugged, "This was the first day I was able to." He glanced over at Meta Knight. "I thought all of Yin-Yarn's magic left when he was unraveled?"
Both Dreamland puffballs stared at Fluff in confusion, not comprehending his point.
"Your eyes were purple again," Fluff explained.
Once given all the pieces of the puzzle, it didn't take Meta Knight or Kirby long to put them all together. Kirby was the first to react.
"It did, as far as we know. That color was natural for him," he explained. He didn't say anything further; Meta Knight was a private person and could speak for himself. If the blue puffball wanted to share more he would.
"So why were you fighting?"
"Sparring," Kirby corrected, "And we've done this for years. Yin-Yarn wasn't the first person to threaten Dreamland, and he certainly won't be the last."
Prince Fluff started, surprised. "Really? This place just oozes peacefulness."
"Don't be too hasty to judge a book by its cover, Your Highness. Dreamland is mostly peaceful, yes, but many threats have tried to take over this land because of perceiving it as easy takings," Meta Knight enlightened, entering into the exchange for the first time.
"Or have somehow come here for whatever reason."
Prince Fluff just stared. "You speak almost as if it were the weather you were talking about."
Kirby snorted. "I mean, sometimes. But nah, it's just that I'm usually the one to get everything straightened out." Kirby gestured for Fluff to follow him back toward his house. "Well, come on then. If you're visiting we're doing this proper."
Both Meta Knight and Prince Fluff seemed amused at Kirby's antics, following him on the short but well – hidden path to his house. Anyone who needed to find Kirby knew how to get to him, and so the lack of clear pathways to the house was never much of an issue. (Even still, Kirby had tied a few pink ribbons with stars on them around the branches of several trees leading to his house, with Whispy's permission. It helped to be cautious.)
Prince Fluff seemed a little surprised at the rather plain décor of Kirby's house.
"People in Patchland tend to be vivacious in their designs. Simple, but vivacious," he explained.
Kirby's house was very plain, especially in comparison. The most elaborate things he owned were his bed, his oven, and his workshop. There were drawings and schematics alike decorating the walls with pastel or neutral colors peeking out behind them. Other than that, however, the pink puffball's house was remarkably relaxing.
"I have enough 'vivaciousness' with the things that come to Dreamland to take over for whatever reason. My home does not need to be one of those things." Kirby had gotten out a third plate and fork and had finished cleaning the other two while Prince Fluff admired the house. As Prince Fluff made his way into the kitchen, Kirby pulled out a spare chair out of a stash he kept in case more than one of his friends visited at one time.
"Cake?" he asked Fluff as he entered. Meta Knight had a water bottle in front of him as well as another slice of cake.
"Sure," Fluff replied, taking the spare seat. Kirby nodded and served the food, sitting after his task was complete.
Fluff had eaten a few bites of his (extremely good) cake when he noticed Meta Knight had not so much as touched his water bottle. Seeing Fluff's confusion, Meta Knight spoke up.
"I am simply uncomfortable with eating in front of most people," he explained. The fabric prince thought there was more to it than that, but saw Kirby acting normally so let it drop, continuing to eat his cake.
When the two were finished, Kirby spoke up once more. "… I'll be honest, I've no idea what to do next. Dreamland's a little bit… err... Lackadaisical? Most of our recreation involves food."
"Something I bet you're happy about," Fluff teased his friend. Kirby rubbed his cheeks in embarrassment, trying to make them less red.
"Hey," he retorted with no real heat.
"I still remember that duel in Treat Land. How did you even manage to eat that cherry and still continue with me?"
"Because he's a black hole," Meta Knight responded for Kirby, resulting in an embarrassed slap on the arm. Meta Knight's eyes went pink for a split second before fading into their natural coloration.
"Is this what you wanted to visit for? Just time to tease me? Wasn't my fault I woke up early," Kirby grumbled.
Fluff was confused, but neither of the other puffballs seemed inclined to share further. Silence took over as Kirby finished his own slice before gathering up the two dish sets. As he went to put those away, Meta Knight inquired Fluff.
"Why did you call him Kaabii?" It was a gentle question, something that most people didn't know Meta Knight was capable of being.
"That's his name in the ancient language of Patchland. It's also part of his title, which I had to introduce him as to everyone in Patchland to avoid questions, even if the population was sparse in the areas we explored," the prince explained.
Meta Knight continued to stare at him, unnerving Fluff a bit. "What do you mean, 'to avoid questions'?"
"Sir Knight, Patchland had just been attacked and, quite literally, ripped apart at the seams. Many lost their homes, though thankfully no lives were lost. If the fact that Kirby was from 'another world' without that world being mentioned as Dreamland, some of the refugees would've attacked him and lost faith in me and mine, something that couldn't happen. Many had their hopes pinned on Kirby and I, and many are loyal to my family, and these tensions could've resulted in a devastating war. So I granted Kirby lordship, something we only do with people we trust deeply."
"Which reminds me, Fluffpoyo, why did you trust me immediately? I've saved Dedede before and he still sends things to attack me," Kirby asked as he came in with a tea pot and three mugs balanced on a tray over his head. He set the tea set down and served everyone, himself last, before retaking his seat. Meta Knight simply wrapped his cape around himself, settling in for a longer chat than he had been expecting.
Fluff settled down as well, taking the mug in hand and taking a sip before speaking again. "Thank you. To answer your question, I did so immediately because I could tell you were a good person. Metamatoes are sparse in Patchland, only a few growing per season since they require lots of magic in order to survive. Yin-Yarn had stolen the last one, and many don't eat the metamatoes since they taste very odd. They usually give them to the royal family since we use them to help Patchland by taking the powers to protect Patchland or using them to grow more food. That's why no one in Patchland could help us; none of them have transformations, as far as I know, and if they did they were too unfamiliar with the powers to use them. But you took the metamato from Yin-Yarn, Kaabii. Not only that, but the first thing you did was use those unfamiliar powers and save me. I could hardly even tell you were new to yarn powers! After we took back Patch Castle, I knew I could trust you. I also knew I would need help, and so I gave you lordship to show that trust and ensure that the people of Patchland would trust you as well." This whole speech was periodically interrupted by sips of tea and slight shifting from Meta Knight. Fluff turned to the slightly larger puffball and shared more information.
"The people of Patchland have also come to understand yours and Dedede's situation, Sir Knight. Some of them were briefly possessed by Yin-Yarn as well before he took Patch Castle and the magic sock and have shared their tale, and stating that it was no one's fault other than Yin-Yarn's. You, Dedede, and Kirby all have the title 'Hero of Patchland' by my father's decree after hearing how you both assisted in the final battle, what with Dedede making the Metamortex and you delivering it. That also helped them, and you are welcome to come visit Patchland at any time with little to nothing to worry about. This invitation also extends to Dedede."
Kirby nodded. "I'll be sure to pass that on; I'll probably see him before dark and broody over here does."
Meta Knight's eyes turned a reddish orange out of slight offense. He'd never admit it, but Kirby knew that he was pouting under the mask. "I'm not that bad," Meta protested.
"Not anymore," Kirby rebounded teasingly, "Anyway, Fluffpoyo, I have some games you might be interested in playing? How long are you staying?"
"Only til sunset, I'm afraid," Fluff said, glancing out the window to get an idea of what time it was, "Mother and Father want me back at that point."
"Ah. Well, I'll make sure to pick some shorter games then." Kirby guided Fluff back to the 'living room' portion of his house, which was admittedly the smallest room other than the fabric storage closet he kept. It was divided off from the kitchen with a simple swinging door, so Meta Knight was soon able to hear one of Kirby's favorite short games start up; an odd gift from the angel Pit after the third tournament. It was very strange, but Kirby had been curious as to where Pit had come from, so the angel had cheerfully given him the disc. Kirby had been able to edit it so that way a second player could join and adventure with the eight bit angel. It was peculiar to Meta Knight that the angel would be so casual about his existence being based off of a game, but with Pit it just seemed to be a thing that happened.
As he pondered, Meta Knight removed his mask and ate the cake Kirby had served him a while ago. He was grateful that the younger one did not question why he did not wish to take off the mask but gave him food even if Meta wouldn't eat it until he was sure that Fluff wasn't going to come back until he had finished it all. Meta Knight replaced his mask and took the dirty dishes, including the tea set, and cleaned all of them, putting them in Kirby's drying rack. He then proceeded to put the water bottle in the recycling bin Kirby had before once again wrapping his cape around him and proceeding into the living room, where Kirby and Fluff had been able to advance to the third portion of the first area.
"This game is difficult. You said your friend actually did this?" Fluff questioned as he pushed buttons on his controller.
"I don't know for sure, but although he's a little weird I know he's not a liar."
"My respects, then. It's hard enough in video game form; I can't imagine living it."
Kirby shrugged as Fluff muttered angrily. The latter puffball was apparently controlling Pit and had jumped off-screen, resulting in a lost life. Meta Knight knew it was relatively inconsequential to the game, but it was still annoying as it sent you back to the beginning. He had played the game a few times with Kirby when the other didn't feel up to sparring for whatever reason. (Usually, it was when he was sick. It wasn't a common occurrence, but it was still more frequent than Meta Knight could recall for their species. The two chalked it up to Kirby's early awakening. The knight had many fond memories of a very silly Kirby playing simple but relaxing games with him as the pink puffball recovered.)
This continued until Fluff finally got sick of the game's difficulty and requested a switch. Kirby poked around in his collection, pulling out Cooking Mama for the Wii. Fluff found a lot more enjoyment, and Kirby even managed to get Meta Knight to play. None of the puffballs were particularly bad at the game until Kirby picked the "popcorn" recipe. Then only Meta Knight could somehow manage to get a gold medal.
"I don't get how you do it," Kirby sighed when he saw the scores. Meta Knight shrugged. Fluff and Kirby faced off, the former managing to get a silver. Kirby still sat at the bronze ranking.
Eventually they tired of that game and Fluff picked out the last choice of the day before he had to go back. Kirby had laid out the selection for him so that way he wouldn't pick a game that would take days to complete, since Kirby had many of those.
Meta Knight wanted to groan when he saw what Fluff had picked.
Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party Edition.
It wasn't that he was bad at the game, it was just that… well. If there's one thing Kirby could do well, it was dance.
He proved this by trouncing both Fluff and, after some prompting, Meta Knight, in every single match.
All too soon, it was time for Fluff to leave.
"Bye Kaabii! Bye Sir Knight! I'll come back soon, and maybe we can find a game I'm actually good at!" the fabric prince laughed as he took Kirby's magic sock back to Patchland.
"Bye Fluffpoyo!" Kirby waved as his friend left. Meta Knight only nodded.
"It was nice he came to visit," Kirby said absently as he cleaned up his game system.
"Hmm," Meta Knight said noncommittally. He started a bit as his phone beeped – a message from the Halberd saying that a headwind had sprung up and his students would be arriving later than planned. They had everything under control, they said, and the headwind was strong enough that they worried about him flying in it. (Of course, this was Javelin Knight or Trident Knight sending this, so it wasn't quite written like that, but the sentiment was the same.) He should find shelter for the night. (They knew he was at Kirby's and were basically telling him 'spend more time with him!', probably Knuckle Joe's idea since the fighter knew about Meta Knight and Kirby's relationship better than anyone else on board.)
"Staying the night?" Kirby asked from behind him, having obviously read the message over his shoulder.
"If it's alright." Meta Knight didn't bother reprimanding Kirby- he was one of the two people who actually messaged him, the other being the Halberd.
"Of course!" Kirby left to go get a pillow and blanket. The first time this had happened, they had nearly gotten into an argument about sleeping arrangements: Kirby, out of politeness, would sleep on the couch. Meta stated that he would take the couch since it was an unexpected turn of events and that it was Kirby's house. This had gone back and forth for a while before Meta Knight had simply closed his eyes while sitting on the aforementioned couch, armor and all.
When he awoke, his pauldrons and cape were removed (though within arm's reach) and a pillow and blanket set were in their appropriate places. Neither puffball ever mentioned the scenario, other than Meta Knight thanking Kirby quietly that morning.
Kirby returned with a pillow with a navy pillowcase and a purple blanket with silver stars stitched into it and found Meta Knight deep enough in thought that the knight did not hear his approach. He quietly set the items down on the end table and left, knowing Meta would put himself to bed when he felt like it. A few moments later, Meta took the items and used them.
Both puffballs slept well that night, resting easy in the fact that they both got a chance to see their friends once again, and looking forward to the next time they'd be able to.
A/N: I follow the rule of "write drunk, edit sober", but seeing as how I don't drink alcohol, I tend to write while tired or high off sugar. As such, much of my editing is usually just adding words or changing them around a bit. That might also explain this story and its time sense. I'm just gonna say Fluff's interruption happened at about 1 pm, the conversation/meal took until about 2, 2:30, and Fluff left around 6:30, 7:00. Kirby woke up around 6 am, and Meta Knight arrived at about 11 am. There. Sorted.
This is meant to be dedicated to fleshing out Fluff a little bit more. Epic Yarn was, originally, his game, but he was pushed to the player 2 spot out of fear of marketing issues. He's my favorite Kirby character and I kind of wish he'd come back at some point. I feel like this ended up being more of a Meta Knight homage, though. Oops. Ah well. They're both interesting characters.
Explanation time! This is very short, just a few things I think people might question.
First: Meta Knight is uncomfortable talking on the phone due to his quiet nature. He's very formal in texting, using correct spelling and punctuation, often sounding like a letter but without the heading or closing.
Second: Kirby's Patchland title is "Hoshi no Kaabii", meaning "Kirby of the Stars". This is the name of the Japanese version of the anime. To the people of Patchland, this shows he is a Lord, thus addressing why Dom Woole would call Kirby "Lord Kirby" after introducing him. Also, yes, Fluff can speak Japanese in my head cannons.
The cake flavor was inspired by multiple things: the first being SilverWarriorWolf's idea that Meta Knight really loves chocolate. If you want to read more of their ideas, especially about Meta Knight, check out their story "Kirby! Dreamland Chronicles". It's currently 69 chapters (being updated very soon to 70) and still in progress, but I've been following it for about a year and I always enjoy the chapters.
Following this, my mom's birthday was a few days ago and we made the same cake we always do: Darn Good Chocolate Cake. If you want the recipe, Google "Better Than Sex Chocolate Cake" or PM me – but trust me when I say Googling it is faster.
That dragged on a bit. Sorry. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed!