I'm sorry this came so late today. Had a long day and didn't get much time in front of the computer. But, here it is none the less. Enjoy!


Rising Darkness

By: JadeDragonKnight

Chapter 3: Wind

The wind rushed by in a constant hum. The land was so far below that it was impossible to see movement from any animal on the ground. It's been a while since Meta Knight flown this high, but whatever was calling him pulled him there. It wasn't long before he saw a large mass of dark clouds in the distance. The land underneath it was hazy from the downpour. The strange feeling was getting stronger. He was certain now. He was being pulled into the center of a massive storm. If he went in then he might not make it out. Going back to the castle seemed like an excellent idea at the moment. Perhaps if the feeling didn't go away then he would take his ship into the storm to investigate.

When he felt he made his decision to go back, something suddenly pulsated in his forehead. His vision blurred a bit as he placed his hand on his skull. His mind went blank before he could think of what caused the sensation. Another wave hit him. A purple haze began to cloud his yellow eyes and tunnel his vision. Soon he couldn't see at all or think to react. Then the haze cleared and revealed a new haze, that of storm clouds. They parted into what looked like a pocket in the storm. A whirlwind branched out from the middle, seemingly powering the storm. Suddenly, lightning struck him but he didn't feel it. The lightning shot out and hit the center of the whirlwind. Then his vision clouded to black.


Muffled thunderclaps shook the rocky platform. The young angel steadied himself as he made his way to the edge of the outcrop. He looked down at the world below. He couldn't see much from the dark cloud cover.

"Wow, that's a big storm," he said to himself.

Pit could see lightning streaks inside the dense clouds. He looked to the front of the storm for a safe path of travel. Then, he saw movement. He squinted and shielded his eyes. It was very far away, but he could make out the large bat wings and the bluish ball they carried.

"Wait, is that Meta Knight?"

The reason he was there escaped the angel, but where he was going worried him. Pit could see that the knight was heading straight for the storm and he didn't seem to notice.

"What are you doing? Get out of there!"

Pit knew he couldn't hear his plea, but he was hoping he would turn around himself. To his dismay, the knight continued forward past the point of no return. He cursed to himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened them into a determined glare. Pit leaped of the edge and soared towards the storm.


Meta Knight was in darkness longer than he felt was comfortable. Then, just as suddenly as the spell came about, the darkness cleared. He gasped when he saw that he was surrounded by dark gray storm clouds. He was getting drenched by pounding rain and pushed back by a powerful gale. He searched frantically for sunlight, an opening in the cloud cover, anything that could mean a way out. His fear was escalated when he was greeted by a close by lightning bolt. The thunder clap it created in its wake was deafening, and he would have shielded his ears from the blast of sound if he wasn't using them to help him stay in the air. His ears began ringing and the sound of the rain and wind faded out. He told himself to calm down and think, but his mind was currently locked between fight or flight mode.

Then he thought he heard his name. Meta Knight searched for the source. A gust of wind tore at his wings, causing him to spin out of control. Just then, someone caught him and went into the spin with him. He focused on the face of a young angel.

"Pit?" Meta Knight said, but the wind whipped the words out of his mouth.

"Spread your arms and wings!" Pit shouted at the top of his lungs.

The knight could just hear the command. He did as he said and soon righted himself. Pit let go of him and flew next to him.

"What were you thinking?! You'll be killed!" Pit yelled.

"I don't know! I blacked out!" Meta Knight called.

"You blacked out?! Come on, we have to get out of here!"

Pit's presence cleared the blue knight's mind long enough to feel the strong tugging. They were close to the source.

"No! I have to do something!"

"Are you crazy?!" Pit argued, fear rising in him.

Just then, they broke through into a pocket in the clouds. They both gazed in awe at the large tornadoes branching out into the storm. They were all connected at a point in the middle of the pocket. Pit and Meta Knight flew around the pocket, careful to avoid the whirlwinds.

'This…this is my vision. But how is that possible?'

"This isn't a normal storm!" Pit shouted. "We have to go, now!"

"Not yet!"

He scanned the center of the vortex. Something was glowing inside. The sight of it made his forehead pulsate.

'That's it, it has to be. Do I have to get it somehow?'

A distance lightning bolt lit up the clouds and created a deafening roar. The knight then remembered more of his vision. He swallowed hard at the reminder, but if it was true so far then it was going to end that way too. He flew harder against the storm and tried to get closer to the center.

"What are you doing?!" Pit cried, trying to follow him.

"Stay back!"

Pit fell back and watched as Meta Knight made his way toward the center. His heart was racing and every fiber of his being told him this was a horrible idea, but the strange tugging seemed to reassure him that he'll somehow survive. He got within close range of the glowing center and waited. Then a chill went up his spine. He looked up and saw a flash of light above him. Then, it hit him. He cried out as the electricity coursed through his whole body. He was blinded by the light and deafened by the thunder. He struggled to hold his arm straight out towards where he thought the center of the vortex was. Then the bolt changed course and surged out of his arm. Then, the electricity stopped flowing and the world went black.


Pit watched in horror as the bolt of lightning consumed Meta Knight. He could hear his cries of agony and was sure they were his last. Suddenly, the light changed direction and pierced the center of the storm. The tornadoes broke apart and dissipated. The wind lost its ferocious power and the rain quelled to a steady fall. The lightning bolt disappeared in one final flash. Pit gasped at the sight of Meta Knight. He fell lifelessly into the dense clouds. The angel dove straight after him.


Everything was numb. His heartbeat seemed nonexistent. He couldn't even tell if he was still breathing. He probably wasn't. The pain was gone and everything else with it. This must be what death feels like. Strange…it felt nice, like the most peaceful sleep. He never thought his life would be cut short by a lightning bolt. He pictured dying on the battlefield, fighting for what he believed was right. Or better yet in his sleep at an old age when his life was lived to the fullest. Perhaps thinking about what could've been isn't the best thing for him right now.

He never given much thought to what the other side might look like. Maybe he could see for himself now. He slowly opened his eyes. The world around him was hazy, but soft, and had a white glow to it. He was in a cloud; not really what he was expecting. As he studied it more, he could see that the cloud was moving away from him as if it was going higher. Was he falling? That's probably not a good sign. Well, perhaps that's what he deserves.

He watched the clouds fly by. Slight feelings returned to him in the form of a gentle breeze on his skin. He was defiantly falling, but to where only God knew. Then, he saw a flash above him. He looked towards the source. A little ball of light was falling gradually towards him. It seemed that it was trying to reach him. He could barely feel his arm, but he still tried to reach out to the little orb. He didn't bridge much of the gap, but the ball of light still found its way into his out stretched hand. He gently curled his fingers around it like it was a fragile bird. This connection gave him a sense of closure and calm. He grinned slightly and closed his eyes.

He didn't notice that he broke out of the cloud cover. He began to hear a faint rushing of wind and fabric flapping wildly. Then, he heard a voice calling his name. It was no more than a whisper, but it stirred his senses enough to make him open his eyes. The world flowed in all at once. He saw a bright blue sky dotted with clouds. A vast land stretched where the sky ended, and it seemed very close. Sounds grew louder than before and he felt like he was upside down.

"Meta Knight!"

The knight looked towards the voice above him. He saw Pit diving towards him with his arm out stretched. He reached out to him. In the next moment, Pit caught his hand and pulled him up to grab his back. Then he cried out as he threw his wings against the harsh wind and curved out his dive. They immediately slowed down. Suddenly, they slammed into a tree. Pit dropped Meta Knight from the force of the impact. They both tumbled down through the branches. The knight hit the ground on his face. He groaned in pain and struggled to prop himself up with one arm. It was shaking uncontrollably and felt like a twig. Small tree branches and leaves floated down around him. The moss covered ground was wet and squishy. His arm couldn't hold and he collapsed. His skin stung from falling through the trees. He noticed one of his hands was balled. He took it out from underneath of himself and looked at it. He uncurled his fingers to reveal what looked like a swirling ball of glowing wind. The wind seemed to come alive and started to strengthen. He closed his hand to quell it.

"Meta Knight? Are you still alive?" Pit called from the other side of the tree.

He didn't answer. He looked forward and saw a wide bodied, green, glass bottle. He reached as far as he could to grab it. He heard limbs snapping and someone hitting the ground behind him. Pit made a loud moan of discomfort. Meta Knight pulled at the cork in the bottle. His arm was incredibly weak, but he had just enough strength left to pry the cork loose. He then pushed the little ball of wind into the bottle and sealed it in. The whirlwind swirled around inside and took up the container. It didn't gather anymore power, so the knight concluded that it was now stable. He heard footsteps approaching. He quickly hid the bottle from view. Shaking hands carefully turned him over. He looked up into Pit's frightened face.

"Oh thank God," he sighed in relief, "I thought you were dead."

"I thought I was too," the knight replied weakly.

"Can you stand?"

He shook his head and sighed, "I don't think so."

The angel nodded and added, "Come on."

Pit bent over and wrapped his arms around him. He in turn grabbed hold and helped Pit to hoist him onto his back. The angel stood and held his arms underneath the knight to keep him from sliding off his back. Meta Knight kept his arms around his neck.

Pit looked up through the trees and said, "I don't think I can fly us out of here."

With one hand, he took out his communicator and looked at the map on the screen. He nodded, put it away, and began walking.

"Pit, you don't have to do this," the knight said.

"I can't just leave you here. You almost died back there. Actually, I was pretty sure you were a goner when you got struck by that thunderbolt."

Meta Knight sighed to himself and looked up through the trees. The sky was clear blue.

"The storm's gone," he muttered in surprise.

Pit looked up again and said, "Huh, your right. That's weird."

Just then, a wave of weakness hit the knight. He struggled to keep his eyes open. His arms went numb and began to slide of Pit's shoulders.

The young angel bumped him back up and asked, "Hey, you alright back there?"

Before the knight could respond, his vision blurred and blacked out.


That's it until next Saturday. Review please!