Tournament of the World
By: JadeDragonKnight
Chapter VII
Meta Knight was beginning to get really exhausted. He never had to fight this long or hard in his life. However, he still stood ready for the next fight. Dedede and Escargon on the other hand could barely stand at all. Even Reginald and King Solomon were getting tired. The referee's voice seemed to be going out as well.
The next opponent entered the field. As it exited the gate, it towered over the knight. It looked like a giant, metal centipede. It had large pincers and two long antennas. Evil red eyes glared down at the warrior.
Meta Knight sighed and muttered, "You got to be kidding me."
King Dedede was snoring in his chair. He shot up for a second to wake himself up. He rubbed his eyes then they grew wide. He saw the monster towering above his fighter. Without taking his enlarged eyes off the beast, he shook Escargon awake. The attendant reacted the same way the king did. Dedede's moment of shock paused for a second when he noticed strangely shaped dark spots on the robot's back plates.
The judge weakly put his hand in the air.
"Ready, set, ah you know," he said tiredly as his hand waved down.
The centipede swayed from side to side. Meta Knight's eyes followed it. Suddenly, it came down on the knight with a surprising speed. When it hit the ground, a huge dust cloud formed and blanketed the entire battle field. Its head rose from the cloud, realizing that it missed its target. The monster's eyes shown lasers that scanned the dust cloud. The haze turned red as the lasers moved slowly over the ground. Meta Knight held his cape in front of his face to keep from coughing. He was standing underneath the giant metal bug. He was slightly nervous about the huge, sharp spikes that served as the opponent's feet. They raked at the earth as it changed direction.
King Dedede watched carefully as the centipede turned around. Its back was now facing him. The dark spots on its back were still in random positions. Then, the monster stretched its back and the plates got closer together. The dark spots aligned and revealed a hidden symbol. Dedede gasped at the sight of it.
He elbowed Escargon and informed, "Do you see that symbol on its back?"
Escargon looked closer and gasped, "That's Nightmare's insignia!"
Dedede jumped up to the edge of the balcony and shouted, "Meta Knight, that thing is a demon beast! Kill it before it gets to you!"
Meta Knight was stunned. The dust cleared as the monster finished scanning the area. It concluded that the knight must be underneath it. It screeched at the sky then drilled its head into the ground. Meta Knight ran out from beneath the beast as it disappeared into the ground. He could feel the earth rumble as it dug through it. Suddenly, it erupted from the soil and attacked the knight. He dodged the pincers and grabbed on to one of its antennas. The demon threw its head up and thrashed it around, trying to throw him off. Meta Knight slid down the antenna onto the monster's head. He wedged his sword in a crack on its metal skull. He held his sword as he was thrashed around. He felt that breathtaking, stomach turning feeling you get on a roller coaster. He pushed against the metal plate and peeled it off the centipede's skull. He was almost blinded by the red light radiating out from an enormous clear dome. The light came from crimson plasma that sparked furiously inside. Any of Nightmare's demon models that had this dome were instantly slain if the dome was destroyed. Meta Knight held his golden blade over his head, ready to pierce the beast's brain. Suddenly, the monster swung its head so fast and hard that it flung the knight off. He spread his wings and flew down to the ground to soften the landing. The demon glared at him. Then, its antennas moved in circles as it screeched at the sky. The antennas seemed to amplify the high pitched sound. Meta Knight clutched his head in pain from the ear piercing sound. Everyone else at the coliseum did the same thing. The demon seized its cry, but the sound still rang through the air. Meta Knight looked up at the beast as its whole body was about to collapse on him. It crashed to the ground and threw up a cloud of dirt. The sound stopped.
King Dedede let go of his head and looked down at the arena. The beast didn't move from its position. He searched for the knight, but even when the dust cleared he couldn't find him. Escargon looked too, but sighed.
"It must have got him," the attendant informed sadly.
Despair seemed to grab hold of the coliseum. Dedede clutched the railing and looked down. Then, the demon shuttered and made a low groaning noise. The king looked at it puzzled. Its red eyes were flashing to black. Suddenly, something burst through its dome. Hope filled Dedede's eyes when he saw Meta Knight spiraling out of the beast's skull. Meta Knight looped backwards as his sword glowed white. He flew straight at the hole and pierced it with his sword. He sliced it through the edge of the opening and began to fly the length of the monster's body. The demon seemed to cry out in agony. The glowing sword shown rays of light as it cut through the metal armor like it was butter. Meta Knight did a battle cry as he flew forward, dragging the sword behind. He reached the end of the tail and flew to the ground. He kept his back to the beast. Light emitted from the gash. Then, the whole demon exploded in a shock wave. Everyone on the balcony almost got swept off with the blast. When the explosion ended, all that was left of the beast was billowing black smoke. Meta Knight finally straightened, but fell on one hand to the ground. He dropped his sword. Everyone gasped.
"It seems that Meta Knight is unable to go on," Reginald stated.
"What? That's ridiculous!" Dedede argued. He went to the railing and shouted, "Meta Knight, give us a signal; wave your hand, or something! Let us know that you're good to go!"
Meta Knight continued to pant, but raised his hand and let it drop again.
"See? He's fine," Dedede pointed out.
King Solomon thought for a moment then stood up.
"Sir Meta Knight," he called out, "you have bravely fought through 50 rounds. No one has gotten as far as you did. With the day ending, we must draw this tournament to a close, for now. You will have all day tomorrow to rest, so use it wisely."
Everyone gazed at the king is surprise, even Meta Knight.
"Your majesty," Reginald questioned, "I thought you wouldn't allow breaks in this tournament."
He turned to his advisor and replied, "I normally wouldn't, but none of the other challengers made it this far."
The wise king turned and headed out of the balcony. He stopped and turned to the stunned group.
"I believe we could all use the rest. Feel free to order any food or services from the castle," he informed.
With that note, he disappeared into the darkness. Reginald followed him. Dedede and Escargon glanced at each other then looked down at the battle field. Meta Knight was lying on his back, completely exhausted.
