Rummmble. . . Creak. . . CRASH!
Meta Knight bursts free from his frozen prison and thrusts open the gate to the Hall.
Dododo stands over the table with Marx at his side, wiping the fresh ink from the tip of his fountain pen. The black ink bleeds through his handkerchief and colors his hands. He looks up and smiles at Meta Knight. "Good news, general. The war is over."
Marx grins sinisterly.
Meta Knight glares angrily at both of them. "Fool! You have sold us to the Nightmares!"
Dododo looks at him puzzlingly. "I have done no such thing." He folds the blackened handkerchief and places it on the table. "In fact, it is the Nightmares who have declared their surrender to us." He places the pen in its case. "And in return, we will spare their lives."
"So you would let them run free?"
The king shakes his head. "No, not 'free.' Lord eNeMeE has guaranteed that the remaining monsters will be contained; they are no longer a threat. We have achieved peace."
Meta Knight is turning to the door when Marx speaks up.
"Yes, sir knight, we are at peace. Now it is your duty to inform your troops. We cannot have them remain under the misguided apprehension that there is still a fight to be fought."
"Well put, jester," Dododo commends. Marx bows to him.
Meta Knight forces the door open and storms away.
The Present.A tremendous explosion throws Meta Knight from his meditation. What is that fool Vul up to? He flicks the intercom back on.
"Looks like the explosion from Heavy Lobster took out the right wing!" Mace Knight exclaims.
Lobster! He sent the Lobster rampaging through my ship! Meta Knight checks a systems readout display. Hmm. At least the explosion also destroyed all of the other Lobsters. That should stop Vul from doing anything crazy. . .
"Hm. Hmm. Having both wings destroyed may be just what we needed…" Vul speaks softly.
Meta Knight presses the button to speak, but finds himself at a loss for words and releases it. Why did I allow him to captain my Halberd?
"Kirby is climbing around the outside of the ship, heading for the helm," Axe Knight observes.
He's coming for me… Meta Knight thinks. Well, that merely ensures that we will duel.
Suddenly, Mace Knight comes over the intercom. "Ack! Kirby's disappeared from the radar!"
"You lost him! Find him!" Vul shouts. "Do it now!"
Fools. Use your heads. Meta Knight pushes the intercom button. "He's hiding in the clouds, it seems. . . He'll come out soon. . ." With that, he flicks the intercom off. I need solitude.
Drawing his sword, Meta Knight begins to practice. He steps forward and thrusts, then hops back and follows with a horizontal slice. He parries, backflips, then leaps into the air and thrusts his sword down, slamming into the ground.
Kirby has seen all these moves… he reminds himself. I must practice those new ones. Meta Knight continues his practice, ignoring the commotion beneath him.
The tornado spin, the whirlwind slice. . .
The group below sound as if they are in a panic.
And then, the lunging strike. . .
A powerful explosion rocks the ship and Meta Knight turns the intercom on.
"The reactor has been destroyed!" Axe Knight reports.
What! The reactor! Meta Knight is speechless. Kirby is smarter than I took him for. He struck out the heart before the brain. . .
"All of our Wheelie power sources are escaping!" Mace Knight adds.
"Ahhh! What are you idiots doing!" Vul shouts.
Is there any option left?
"All systems failing!" Axe Knight reads. "No. 3 and No. 5 engines are gone!"
"We're junked!" Mace Knight exclaims. "Nothing left to do but crash!"
Meta Knight shakes his head in disbelief. We've failed. . . but there's nothing we can do. He presses the intercom. "Attention to all crew! Evacuate ship immediately!"
"Ahhh! The ship is done for!" Vul wails. "I gotta get out of here!"
As Kirby continues moving toward the helm, Vul runs to an escape pod. "I'm escaping now!" he announces. "Don't think badly of me!"
Whoosh! His pod is gone.
Meta Knight addresses his warriors. "So. . . Now it's time for the rest of you to escape as well."
"I will stay until the bitter end," Axe Knight replies tearfully.
"We should finish off Kirby then all escape together!" Mace Knight suggests.
Meta Knight is slow to reply. ". . .You are all about to perish. Do as you please." . . .I'm sorry. he adds silently.
When Kirby reaches the helm, Axe Knight's voice commands, "Wait, Kirby!"
"I cannot let you go any farther!" Mace Knight challenges.
A quick thrashing follows and Axe Knight weakly addresses his master. "Lord Meta Knight, please take care!"
"We'll go on ahead then!" Mace Knight adds optimistically.
Shutting off the intercom for the last time, Meta Knight reaches into a locker and takes a sword, then plants it in the ground, hilt up. He draws his cape about himself and shuts off the lights, listening to Kirby's elevator ascend. The doors open to darkness and the pink hero cautiously steps in.
"This is the end!" Meta Knight declares. "Kirby! Come meet your doom!" He snaps the lights on.
Kirby picks up the sword and Meta Knight throws back his cape, leaps high into the air, and plunges down upon him. The last time we fought was simply a test. Now you will face the full power of Meta Knight!
Meta Knight unleashes a flurry of quick strikes, all of which Kirby blocks or dodges. I can see your fear. You're sweating. Drawing strength from this, the knight follows up with a string of horizontal and vertical slashes, but hits Kirby only once. When he hops back, the puff moves forward and strikes him.
Meta Knight skids back and is struck again. Kirby goes for a third attack but the knight blocks, then leaps into the air and plunges downward with his sword. Kirby dodges and slashes at Meta Knight before he can recover.
Jumping to the far side of the room, Meta Knight raises his sword and charges up energy, ignoring the attacks from Kirby. Plunging his sword into the ground he unleashes a mighty whirlwind, raising Kirby into the air and hurling him back to the ground. With a little effort, the puff gets back up and continues his assault.
Impossible! That blow should have crushed him!
Meta Knight raises his sword to block but Kirby leaps behind him and strikes, cutting the strap to his mask. With a clang! the steel plate crashes to the floor; Meta Knight stares at it, dumbstruck. He drops his sword and looks at Kirby, who is now standing curiously in front of him.
"Byo?" Kirby asks in his simple language.
A mixture of embarrassment and anger wash over the knight at having been so exposed, and he quickly draws his cape around himself, his mask, and his sword, and runs from the room. As he leaves he smashes his fist against a button, causing the helm below to detonate. The force of the explosion demolishes the observation deck and hurls Kirby out the window.
Meta Knight ties a knot in his mask's strap and puts it back on, then goes outside to survey the damage. The Halberd's wings have been reduced to charred skeletons, the plating over every vital section has been stripped, and the destruction of the reactor has caused the engines to spew black smoke. Down below, Meta Knight notices that Kirby has found one of the escaped wheelies and is trying to ride it to freedom. Spreading his wings, he soars to stop him.
"I won't let you escape!" he shouts, brandishing his sword once more. He tires to fly in closer but nearly collides with debris and draws back. He fires several sword beams but Kirby swerves to avoid them, pressing forward toward the ramped edge of the ship.
No! You destroyed my ship! You ruined my chance to defeat the Nightmares! I won't let you get away with this! Meta Knight swoops toward Kirby, preparing to sacrifice himself to stop him, but then sees that he is too late.
The wheelie hits the ramp and Kirby flies from the ship and through the air, landing safely on a rocky cliff. Meta Knight flaps his wings and lifts higher, watching as his Halberd slowly sinks into the orange sea below.
Holstering his sword, the lone knight soars into the sunset, seeking a place to collect his thoughts.
