Author's note: I wrote this for Vulaan Kulaas. We both agreed on Sir Arthur being Meta Knight's adoptive father ;) Enjoy!
Sir Arthur gladly threw off his armor and hopped in bed. It was a hard day and he was totally exhausted. He was commissioned with saving a certain planet from Nightmare's invaders. Planet Popsicle to be exact. He was one of the youngest members in the Galaxy Soldier Army and to receive such a position was an honor for him. It was his first time in command and he soon found out how troublesome and tiring being in charge was.
Laying comfortably and pulling the covers over his head, he soon drifted off to sleep. Dreams were barely starting to fill his mind when he was jolted awake by loud crying. 'Oh, how could I forget!' the knight thought to himself as he painfully jumped out of his cozy bed. Arthur made his way to the opposite side of the tent where a little make-shift crib held a crying infant. The knight prepared a bottle for the little one and hummed a lullaby. He knew that all the men would be grumpy if they were disturbed at such a late hour by the baby in his care.
After feeding the infant, Arthur gently rocked him back to sleep. Snuggling back into his cozy bed, Arthur recalled all that had happened…
"Run! The monsters are coming!" screamed someone as the soldiers fell back. It was only a matter of time before the demons invaded the city.
"Hold fast! We can't let them in!" Arthur shouted with all of his might. But it was of no use. Enemies flooded over the walls and into the last stronghold. Frantic people ran as soldier after soldier fell dead or wounded. "This is the last straw!" Sir Arthur shouted as the monsters began to kill the civilians and burn the city. The golden leader rallied his last troops and went all out against his foes.
With all the remaining strength left in the brave knights and with a tremendous effort, the enemies were routed. Staggering, the soldiers retired but Sir Arthur stayed to count the casualties. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a baby crawling out of a burning building. Quickly Arthur picked up the child and looked for his parents. All the knight could find was smoking rubble and dead bodies. After asking around, he soon found out that the baby had nobody but his parents who were deceased.
Feeling sorry for the infant, Arthur took him to his tent. There he set up a bed for the babe and bathed him. In a matter of moments, the baby was sleeping comfortably.
"Poyo!" the baby squeaked.
Arthur lifted an eyebrow as he wondered what the baby was trying to say. "I though you were sleeping."
"Poyo! Papa!"
"Papa? I'm not your daddy!" Arthur said in shock.
"Papa! Papa!" The baby continued.
Arthur couldn't help but smile. In a way, he was the little one's father. After all, the baby had nobody left as far as he could tell. Arthur sat up as he wondered what would become of the little fellow. Maybe, just maybe he could adopt him and find someone to care of him while he was away on missions.
Absorbed in his thoughts, Arthur didn't notice the enemy creeping up. Just in time, the emergency bell rang. Quickly Arthur slew the beasts around his tent. "So they're at it again." he muttered as he slipped on his armor. In a flash he dialed headquarters and informed them about the crisis and shortage of soldiers. He would've done that sooner had he knew the enemy would be so bold as to strike again in the night.
Arthur felt like hitting himself. Was he really so inexperienced that he could not have guess this would happen? He desperately hoped relief would come soon. Gently picking up the baby, he ran to join his comrades. "Evacuate the citizens!" Arthur commanded. The baby in his arms started crying and screaming as monsters closed in. Arthur ran but before he could entrust the baby to a civilian, the monsters surrounded him. "Looks like they're after me…" Arthur breathed as he labored to fight while still holding the crying infant.
Arthur opened his feathery wings and took to the skies. Apparently the monsters were expecting this and with well aimed arrows shot holes through Arthur's wings. Panicking, Arthur reverted his wings back into a cape.
There was no where to run and it was only a matter of time before Arthur was disarmed. He turned and shielded the infant with his back, praying for aid. Tears of pain escaped his eyes as the monsters tore his cape-wings to shreds. The pain didn't hurt Arthur as much as the realization that he would never be able to fly again. The infant was alright, but for how long?
Arthur breathed sighs of relief as reinforcements arrived and pulled him out of his predicament. Had they arrived even moments later, there wouldn't be anything left of the knight nor the child. Arthur passed out after making sure everything was under control
The knight woke up in the hospital. Around him were the faces of the nurses and his general.
"You did well, Sir Arthur. Planet Popsicle is saved." the general informed him.
Noticing the wounded knight's worried expression, one of the nurses assured him that his adopted child was perfectly fine. Arthur's cape-wings hung in tatters and the knight sighed sadly, knowing that it would never heal.
Soon Arthur recovered enough to fight again but what should he do with the child? He didn't want to leave him but duty was calling. An idea hit the knight as he ran down to his best friend's dorm. "Hey, Iacrea. You know the baby I picked up on my last mission? Well, I have to go now and…"
"You want me to take care of him?"
"Yes, if it's not too much trouble."
"No trouble at all. He'll make a fine playmate for my Jecra. But what's his name?"
A name… Arthur hadn't even thought about that.
"His name is… Meta."