Chapter 3-Don't Let Me Fall

~Luigi's POV~

"Uh, actually, I don't think we'll be needing your assistance, Jay."

"Come on, I insist!" Falcon replied from his helmet, not about to give up without a fight. "I'll get you there in no time, no problem!"

No time, no problem. Read that as You'll be slammed by G-force deep into your seat as I go 300 miles per hour, and as an added bonus you'll be so damn sick to your stomach the very sight of a convenience store burrito will have you barfing all over the counter. But, hey, that's just what I gathered from past experience.

"Hey, Weeg, chill." Snake tells me. "Jay'll get us there faster than any train could hope to."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about." I say, deadpan and oozing monotone.

"Isn't time supposed to be of the essence here, Luigi?" Snake asks, a bit tersely. "Considering that your brother is in possession of a force worse than your worst nightmare?"

Falcon awkwardly scooted away from the two of us. I swear to God, he was whistling, too.

I know I'm really being deadpan about this situation, but who the hell in their right mind ever whistles to get people to think that they're not paying attention? I think around the 700th time that was in a movie or TV show we got the clue.

"Fine," I growl at Snake. And at Falcon "Just try not to kill any wildlife on the way, alright?"

"Oh, come on!" he rolls his eyes. "That deer ran right in front of my car!"

I don't bother arguing. Seeing as it'd be easier to argue with a rock about the sky being green instead of blue.

Or arguing with Samus about men being decent people.

I swear to god, I do not exaggerate when I say it took us 2 hours to get to Kanto City. Which is 500 miles away. As I unsteadily walk out the door of the car with my bag in hand, I feel as if I could swear off food like it's Lent.

"Hey, thank you, Jay." Snake says as he, seemingly unaffected by the insane ride, hops out of the car with his bag of imminent death. Probably the reason he didn't want to go on the train, considering security would take a collective crap in their pants upon seeing it.

I mutter something a lot coarser and similar-sounding to Snake's statement under my breath, but manage to nod to Jay as he good-naturedly grins and gets back in his car. "Good luck!" he calls as he zooms away.

I look over the empty field of ferns and wheat that lays before us on the outskirts of Kanto, and across the field to another one with a giant flying battleship in the middle of it.

"Well, here we are." I say.

"Really?"

"...shut up."

The Halberd. It commanded respect. And I imagine if that cannon was pointed at you, you'd damn well give it. I always wondered why such a small person would need a large. jaw-dropping battleship. But best not to ask.

I walk up to the edge, and, not knowing what to do, knocked on the cannon. A minute passed, and then slowly, a door opened on the side and a ramp extended out of the door, lowering mechanically to us. And then out walked Meta Knight. In all his caped, mysterious glory. I'm serious, the guy has a definite revered intimidation factor. He looked at us, with his yellow eyes, and I had no clue what he was thinking, as those were the only things on his face that I could see.

"Visitors." he said in a smooth, deep voice. "Unexpected. What brings you here?"

"We're, uh, here on a very important cause." I say.

Meta did nothing but stare at me some more. But then he said, his voice betraying no emotion "Follow me." And he disappeared into the ship.

Snake entered the ship, unnerved since he had probably been in ships like this before. I gulped, my nerves getting to me, and ran up the ramp into the ship.

I was a little surprised to see that the immediate inside of the ship was nicely decorated, or at least as nicely decorated as you could expect from Meta Knight. Everything was black, except for the fireplace that probably operated on fuel. Black couch, black chair, black coffee table, black bookshelves with books that ironically consisted of black books except for a few. He motioned to the couch as he took a seat in the large chair. "Have a seat." he said, halfway between an offer and a command.

I gladly took a seat on the couch, settling in. Snake set his bag down and followed.

"So what brings two of my former competitors to my humble ship?" Meta asks.

Humble? I think. "Humble?" I chuckle.

"In some ways, I suppose." he replies simply.

Snake spoke up, apparently more mission-focused than I am. "We've got a big situation in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario's been kidnapped, and so has Bowser."

Meta chuckles. "I'm not surprised. The two could barely fight. Pathetic."

This raises my hackles. "Hey, don't you dare talk about Mario about that. He may not have been up to par with tournament fighting but he's been holding our kingdom together back when you were just a blue Cocoa Puff. He's defeated monsters and horrid creatures of every sort while you bide your time deciding whether to fight or friend a gumball. If Mario's being kidnapped, you can sure as hell count on your fruity little world being fucked up next."

As soon as I say those words, I find myself stifling a gasp. I can't believe I just chewed out Meta Knight like that. Nor can I believe I just used the F word for... the 7th time in my life? Secretly, though, I felt a bit proud that I could stick up to him.

To my relief, Meta Knight chuckled again. "I never would have guessed that you would have such a spark in you, Luigi Segali." he speaks. "Bravery like yours is needed if this journey that I am sure will take place is to succeed."

I grin ever so slightly.

"However," Meta finishes sternly, "I will thank you to not address me in this manner again." I had a feeling that when said that He would thank me, he meant that The Galaxia would thank me.

Snake got back on topic with a laser-quick glare at me. "The point is, we have a feeling that there's an evil worse than Bowser threatening the Mushroom Kingdom, and having gotten both the hero and the villain out of the way, there's no stopping him."

"How do we know this entity is evil and not good?" Meta asked us.

"Would a hero also kidnap the greatest hero in the land? That's not anywhere near good-intentioned."

"Touche." Meta sighs, obviously annoyed at being outsmarted. "And I suppose you want me involved because-"

"You have a ship and you've won the tournament by a landslide?" Snake interrupted.

Meta growled, quietly but all the more menacing because of it. "I will request that you do not interrupt me again."

Snake shut the hell up, fast.

"What I meant to say is that you need someone to help you before this spreads to other parts of our world, such as Pop Star's colony, Mute City, Kanto itself, Hyrule Kingdom, and Lylat's colony here. Just to name a few. And if it does spread, you need someone to fight it that will most likely not be kidnapped. Since I neither fit the role of hero or villain."

Uhm... wow. 5 minutes in and he's got a more cohesive plan than we had, by far. "Uh, we'll go with that." I reply lamely.

I hear him mutter "Fools" under his breath.

I try small talk. "What brought you to settle down here by Kanto City anyways, Meta?"

For a sliver of a second, I saw his eyes widen, with what I can determine as surprise. Then he composes himself and says "I never had a set goal in mind. I noticed the miles of empty field around this area, and I must say its beauty stunned me. It was so desolate, but so composed. This was a place I knew I wanted to make my home." He looked over his shoulder out the window where a faint amount of light came in and says "I suppose my giant metal ship sticks out like a corporate office in the forest depths, but I think I've managed to keep the beauty of this area alive respectably."

He looks around his ship and with a bit of pride, says "Besides, I must say in its own way, the Halberd is quite stunning."

I nodded in agreement, although my definition of stunning in this case was probably different than his.

"Going by the age-old philosophy that time is of the essence, I suppose we should make haste to leave now? Or as soon as time allows?" Meta asks.

I nod. "I suppose. We should map out a route, though."

"Do we have the slightest clue of where this entity resides?" is his immediate response.

"From what the kingdom's sources say, we should look near the Hazy Maze Caves, which is about 100 miles into Bowser's side of the kingdom." I reply. "Nothing definite, but a good start at the very least."

"Then that is where we will head." Meta Knight says. "I will head up to the head of the ship. I will kindly request that you stay here and I will alert my crew to take off."

"Your crew?" I ask, for some reason not expecting this. "You have a crew?"

For the first time I remember, Meta Knight laughs. Not menacing chuckles, but a hearty laugh. "You confound me, Luigi. Do you honestly believe I run this ship myself? No, I have a large crew of Waddle Dees who work with me to keep this ship running. They also live here with me in their own quarters." He sighs. "Not that you'd ever know it. We live separate lives and I usually request my own peaceful isolation. When we aren't running, we usually fend for ourselves. I did use to have a crew of knights on board instead... that was awhile back though, back when I was actually fighting."

He immediately starts a new conversation, speaking after himself with "Anyway, I figure I should have a course set post-haste, although from memory I can say we will be flying over the rest of the Pokemon province and most likely the whole of Hyrule's Kingdom before we reach the Mushroom Kingdom. If memory serves me correct, the Caves are towards the north side of the kingdom, where Bowser currently rules. The flight should take about 9 hours. I trust, or more likely, can tell that you've packed a lot of weapons, Snake, and trust someone as competent" this word was said with a small hint of spite "as Luigi will have at least, say, a Fire Flower on them?"

Wha-shu-bu-ka-mu-do-whaaaa? My brain was on haywire. Meta Knight's competence level was light years above the both of us combined... with Lucario and Zelda. Everything he said, intended or not, made you feel like a first grader.

I just nodded.

"Then all is well. I have my sword, cape, and if needed, a Waddle Dee army. We should be well armed, although we cannot expect perfection." he says. "Now I must go, but do make yourselves comfortable. I do not mind if you read my books, and I do have spare quarters nearby down the hall on your way out of the living quarters. Please don't exit the quarters unless absolutely necessary."

He nodded towards us as he started walking out. Snake, looking around the room disappointed, asked Meta "Do you have a TV somewhere in here?"

Meta Knight looked at Snake for a few seconds shook his head with an incredulous sigh and exited the door of the living quarters.

"...guess not."

Liftoff was amazing. I've been in the Mushroom Kingdom's airships before, whether as a passenger or intruder, and they were nice in themselves, so the idea of flying through the sky isn't news to me. But this was like being in a rocket ship, only flying horizontally. The ship's engines started in unparalleled power and we gradually picked up speed through the sky, only it was smooth and I felt no G-Force, despite the fact that we were probably going faster than Captain Falcon could dream of flying and than Sonic could dream of running.

Around 5 hours later, I was still deep into my book, and was turning pages every so often with absolutely no thought of the outside world. It's an odd feeling; you're in a whole new world, but only as a passerby. Your own life is put on temporary hold as you watch others live their exciting lives. I find it so interesting how one of our favorite past times is watching other people live, whether on TV, movies or in books. But I'm not complaining.

Me being so deep into my book, it came as a massive jolt to hear Meta Knight's voice over the intercom system.

"Gentlemen, may I have your attention?"

"About time." Snake looked up in anticipation.

"Whoa God we have intercom?" was my response.

"I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that we've just passed the border between Hyrule and the Mushroom Kingdom. Our Estimated Time to Arrival is about 3 hours. I'm glad to say that we are going faster than usual, so we're making good time as hoped." was the announcement.

I smiled. Good news, I suppose. Nerve wracking to be so close already though.

"I would suggest that you take some time for some mental preparation," he continues. "Since we do not know the caliber of this battle, I myself would take some time out to get my thoughts and energy together. I am, however flying the ship but I think I shall do fine. I wish you gentlemen the best of luck." Then the intercom buzzed off.

"Sounds like a plan," Snake nodded. "I haven't meditated in ages. Now's as good a time to start as ever."

I nodded in agreement and went to one of the personal quarters and shut the door. I set my bag on the floor, laid on my bed and started to pray. I pray regularly, I just don't know who I am praying to. I guess I'm praying to the hopes that something will happen.

Right when I start, I hear a sudden shaking within the ship. I jolt up onto my feet and start looking around in worry. After a couple seconds of shaking, it stops and we're flying smoothly. I sigh with relief.

Until it shakes again, this time tilting on its side by a 45 degree angle. And this time it doesn't stop for a full minute. Then it unsteadily straightens out.

I look out the small window to see if everything is cool, and it sure as hell isn't. Smoke is coming out rapidly from just above a wing. I start to get really worried, but the pilot is Meta Knight. He should have this under control.

Then the ship shakes again. A Waddle Dee runs through the door and tells us with a strong overtone of urgency "The ship might crash! It isn't looking good, not at all." He hands me a backpack. "Take these parachutes. If needed we'll open the side door, and you'll have to jump."

I took the backpack and nervously put it on, and I grab my bag as well. I run out to the living room and I take a seat in the couch; at the moment, what else can I do? I see Snake has a parachute as well. He looks a bit worried, but he's probably pretty used to this.

Suddenly, the ship starts to spin. No longer content with tilting, we're doing barrel rolls like we're in a Landmaster. I grab my bag with a deathgrip; if we do crash, I don't want to be caught without my other clothes, book and fire flowers. Not if we're going to be at least 300 miles away from the Caves, and traveling primarily on foot. I tumble through the ship as it spins, bouncing off the walls, into flying books, and narrowly dodging large furniture.

That's when I hear the intercom. For a split second I wonder how on earth he got it to work. I deduce that he used his wings, not easily seen, to float through the mess and then I deduce that it's not important.

"Everyone on the ship!" he yells, his voice steady but with a trace of fear. "I urge you to try to open the door and jump out with the parachutes! This ship will not land well, and you shall not go down with it! Don't worry about me, I will find a way to escape, and if I do not, then at least you will have!"

The intercom stops, and I try to make my way over to the door. It's not going to be an easy feat, but I try to bounce over there, throwing my body off the walls in order to make my way over there. Snake follows in an effort to help and make an easy escape. I spot a line of Waddle Dees lining up to follow us at the first opportunity.

Finally, I grabbed the latch, and forced it open. The ship started to roll sideways, forcing us out. We were about 500 feet above ground so out of nerves I open my parachute immediately. Snake follows suit, as expected.

I look above me, hoping the Waddle Dees are to follow. To my relief, I see one of them nearing the door.

But before he can, to my everlasting horror, the ship crashes so hard into the sand below, it leaves a crater in the soft surface. I know that no one in the ship was braced for impact. The ship starts to burn with fire, sealing their fate.

I just witnessed the death of a large crew of hundreds of innocent Waddle Dees. And probably Meta Knight as well. I fell to my knees in horror. How did this happen? I look up and I see the horrendous sandstorm above us, obscuring my vision, the wind unbearably harsh. That explains that.

I look around the wreckage, and all I can wonder is "What the hell do we do now?" I turn to my right, and that's when I see him.

Well, really, all I can see is a cape. A cape that seems to completely cover him like a blanket would. I run through the sand, the wind trying to restrain me but I fight it off. Again, Snake follows me.

Snake taps him on the shoulder and asks "My god, are you okay?"

Meta Knight responds by getting up to his feet. I breathe a sigh of relief.

All Meta can do is walk from the wreckage, and when he's a suitable distance away, he stands there. Looking at his burning ship as the sandstorm dies down. He says nothing, but I know what his thought is. How did this happen? His home was destroyed, his beloved ship, and every one of his loyal crew; no Waddle Dees survived.

I imagine their dead bodies, unprepared for a crash, burning up in the ship, never to be recovered or buried.

The image is heart wrenching. I try desperately to think of fluffy kittens.

After 5 minutes of watching Meta Knight's unusual way of coping with grief, he turns to us and says "I will admit this tragedy has hit me hard. However, more people and creatures may die if we don't stop this menace."

He lifts up Galaxia again and says "Luigi, would you mind telling me where we are?"

It's night out, and I'm bone-cold. The sandstorm is over but has left me covered in the mineral. I unzip my bag and pull out my jacket. Teal, large and hooded. I put it on, observe my surroundings and come to my conclusion.

"We're in the Dry, Dry Desert."

Author's Corner

I pat myself on the back for my characterization of Meta Knight. I think I'm going to enjoy writing him, probably because he's a character style I usually don't write. I think somewhere down the line we'll get a POV from him.

Also, Snake I'm going to make sure to put a little more effort into him. He's cool, but I don't think I utilized him this chapter as much as I should have. But I still think I did good.

Also, if that F-Bomb was unexpected and a bit annoying since it was so, I would like to let you know that I will be very sparing with language. Weaker words like Hell or Damn might be a little more common, but F-Bombs should be extremely rare.

Chapter 4 should be released next week at the latest. I'm expecting a chapter every Wednesday-Thursday (I almost finished yesterday) but I may get eager and breeze through it sooner.

Eagerly expect Chapter 4!

MoD

P.S. Thanks, everyone for your amazing reviews on both my stories! They make me so giddy sometimes. XD Especially rereading them after finishing Mockingjay (and trying not to cry. -_-)