It's been quite a while since I thought about A Meta Love Story, but I was recently reminded when my younger brother and I got in a heated debate about Meta Knight's marital status in Hoshi no Kaabii. I thought he was married canonically. I was wrong. (Does anyone know what his relationship with Garlude actually was? Like, were they friends? Partners? Rivals? And who is Silica's dad? So many questions.)

I realized that the world I had imagined in A Meta Love Story didn't come across in the same detail I was trying to convey, and I have since decided that I am going to re-write it to fix grammar and just… Everything. I was like twelve when I wrote it, jeez. I'm so embarrassed about its existence, honestly.

Thank you all to everyone who read the original AMLS and AMLS2, if you so choose to read this too, I promise it will be worth your while. I'm actually in a college creative writing program now, so I guess that means something. (Even though I'm not even an English major. Lol.)

Have fun reading, be kind to others, and watch me cringe as I go back through the relics of my writing past.

Chapter One - A Kitty Comes to Cappy Town!

The trees whipped past the cracked glass of the starship's viewport as the silver lump of malfunctioning metal careened through the forest. The young Star Warrior piloting the ship screeched in alarm as she saw the ground growing closer and closer, but the crash wasn't what she was dreading. Dead ahead sat a peaceful looking town, she couldn't tell if she was going to hit it.

Finally, the glass shattered under the stress of the repeated collisions, and the sudden rush of air knocked the pilot backwards into a pile of junk. A large box, already precariously perched upon its ledge, dropped onto her, and she saw stars. Then, nothing…

Meta Knight sensed something was going to happen that day, he just didn't know what. Everyone could tell that something was on his mind, which worried them. Whenever Meta Knight had something to worry about, everyone had something to worry about. Fumu was the most persistent in her pestering of the old warrior. Meta Knight, ever the gentleman, was doing his best not to snap at the young girl for all her irritating questions.

After the realization hit him that he couldn't get any peace and quiet in Cappy Town, Meta Knight grabbed a book from his room in Castle Dedede and took off into the forest. The summer heat was overwhelming, but it was better than entertaining Fumu's imagination about what went on in his mind. Generally, it wasn't much of anything. He just had this brooding look to him.

He sat in peace for barely a minute before his premonition came to be. A spark in the sky, along with the howling of angrily failing engines, alerted Meta Knight to the situation in the air. With a deep groan of disappointment in the interruption of his book, he stood up again to watch where the ship fell.

He was going to have to run through Cappy Town to get to it, as it crashed close on the other side. He was fairly certain that he could count on the people to be cowering or running away, so he could confront the problem himself. Kirby might investigate, but he had a large dinner the night before, and a large breakfast, so he was probably napping. Meta Knight had until Bun and Fumu woke him up to see what he was dealing with.

Fortunately, when he got to the ship, it didn't bear any ill symbols. However, he'd had encounters with unmarked ships in the past that didn't go well, so he wasn't about to let his guard down.

The ship itself was starting to calm down and cool, but the pilot was nowhere in sight.

Meta Knight wondered if they had abandoned ship before they even got close to Cappy Town. That would have made his life simple, since a monster would seek Kirby out anyway, and someone with no particular intentions would just wander. He wouldn't have to see anything through.

Just when he was about to start poking around, he heard muffled groaning coming from inside. The pilot had crashed with the ship.

He dug through the rubble, using his highly trained hearing to listen for the brief, tiny sounds coming from deeper within the ship. The air was thick with smoke, and Meta Knight was thankful for his mask. He could only hope the pilot of the ship was as lucky as he was.

He approached a single hallway that hadn't fully collapsed, but it was small to begin with and exposed wires dangled from the ceiling. Boxes that had been piled up against the walls now sat broken, with their contents strewn around on the floor.

"Don't turn around, put your hands up, and tell me where I am," came a stern voice from behind him, hoarse from breathing in smoke.

Meta Knight weighed his options, he could try to fight, but he didn't know if he wanted to bring a battle to Cappy Town. If he complied, he could be killed anyway, and he wouldn't be able to guide Kirby anymore.

He whipped around, drawing Galaxia in a sweeping motion, to find himself face-to-face with a bloodied fighter pilot. She appeared in no state to fight. She had been bluffing.

Meta Knight sheathed his sword again and sighed in exasperation. He didn't say anything, but he offered a hand to the teal puffball. She frowned and took a step back.

"You are in no position to refuse my help," Meta Knight said flatly.

The pilot took another step away from him. Her trust clearly would not be won so easily. She reached for the pistol she had strapped to her back, a threatening gesture, at best. With her wounds and blood dripping from her hair into her eyes, there was no way she could make a clean shot.

"I am not your enemy," he insisted.

She was not swayed in the slightest, and he was running out of options before he would have to indulge her violent streak. That wouldn't be a bad ending for him, but he wasn't ready to carry her life on his conscience before he knew her intentions.

"I will not be… Moved… By… Holy Nightmare…" her voice came out raspy and weak, and Meta Knight could see her swaying with the soft shifts of the wind.

Curiosity lit up Meta Knight's yellow eyes, giving them the softest hint of inquisitive pink. Holy Nightmare? She knew about Holy Nightmare?

Before Meta Knight could ask her about this, she tried to take another step away from him, only to trip backwards on the uneven ground and fall over. She groaned in pain and tried to stand again, but her left foot was twisted at an awkward angle. With her situation, getting up wouldn't be in her near future unassisted.

"Stay back, monster!" she howled.

Meta Knight now noticed the bow adorning the top of her head, and more importantly, the pale yellow star clipped to it. The Academy.

"Peace, friend, I am no monster," he assured.

She pushed herself backwards with great difficulty, trying to put even a little more distance between herself and the man in front of her.

"Sounds like something a monster would say," she spat back.

He chuckled. She did not find it as funny.

"If I were a monster, you'd have been dead before we had this chat," he said.

She considered this for a moment, her face softening into a more neutral expression. She still did not plan to take Meta's hand.

"Then tell me your name, masked one," she replied.

He took a second or two to reply. "Meta Knight."

The recognition on her face was instant. Perhaps there was hope after all. She struggled to try to stand, but achieved nothing. Meta Knight offered a hand. This time, she took it.

When she was on her feet she stood up straight, military-like in her precision and swiftness. Meta Knight was ready to catch her when she inevitably fell over from overexerting herself.

"Kitty Knight, sir. Pilot and gunman of the Nebula," she said.

"No need for formality now, I haven't served the Star Warriors in hundreds of years. It appears that I was wrong in assuming I was the last," he replied, mystified.

"We presumed you dead," she said.

"As I thought I was to be…"

"Please, you must return to-"

In her excitement, the pilot, as Meta Knight predicted, used too much energy. She fell over again, but Meta caught her this time. He unfurled his wings and dragged her out of the rubble. When he reached the edge of Cappy Town, he landed so that nobody would see him flying, and walked the rest of the way into the square.

All right, so, I started writing this before I regained access to my FanFiction account, so I kinda forgot how the story actually started. Even if I did remember, I wouldn't have allowed myself to write another opening that cringe-worthy.

So, if the rest of the story is as bad as that first chapter, the story is going to completely deviate from the original. Ooops.

I'm definitely not going to rush any relationships in this one. Sorry? I guess?

I'm also not going to write big long Author's Notes like this as the story goes on, because boy howdy I do not have time for that. Just content warnings, if applicable, and other important things.

Thank you for reading.

-HoshiNoSenshiKitty