This is the whole of Chapter 3; I figured you guys have had enough of me splitting chapters into several pieces (and that's partly my fault, since I write such long paragraphs). Some of you have been asking for more detailed fights, and this isn't much, but you just wait until later! I have also created a poll that I displayed on my profile, so if you would be so kind as to check it out, it is much appreciated.
The three knights stared each other down, hoping for the other to make the first move. Silence filled the room once again, but that silence was broken with a wild battle cry. Sword launched himself forward, the tip of his sword leading the charge. Meta Knight leapt gracefully to the side with Kirby's help as his former knave barreled right through. Blade quickly made up for his companion's miss with a quick lunge, which was swiftly blocked with Galaxia. The two made high-speed cuts and stabs with their swords, but were all easily deflected or dodged. Meta Knight had not yet made any move to attack, and it was making his opponents infuriated. "This is a duel! Why is he not attacking us?" Sword indignantly exclaimed. "If his plan is to make us mad, then it's definitely working!"
"That can't be his plan," Blade yelled back. "He's avoiding us for a reason!"
"Kirby, engage attack mode," Meta Knight whispered. He had heard Sword's remark and he was going to give them what they had asked for. The pink puff behind him quickly switched to a more aggressive attack stance, allowing the knight to unleash an unexpected flurry of slashes, stabs, and cuts upon his opponents. Immediately the three knights began trading blows, though most of them didn't land.
Minutes ticked by, and the duel still had no clear winner. Every slash glanced off armor or missed entirely, and no one dared use sword beams for fear of bringing the room crashing down over their heads. "I tire of this game," Sword announced. "Blade, deploy Plan B!" Both of them brought their swords in an uppercut slash and knocked Galaxia right out of Meta Knight's hands. The sacred sword landed behind the knight, sliding towards the couch.
"We've got you now," Blade challenged, "so come with us quietly while you still have a chance."
"Since when would I submit to the likes of you?" Meta Knight growled. "I'd sooner jump into the volcano outside."
"Have it your way, then!" Swords arced towards his mask, only to be clapped together with a piercing clang! The knight had stopped the swords with his gloved hands, pinning the blades together with such strength that the weapons wouldn't move in any direction. Meta Knight let his grip on the swords go and they clattered to the ground. Sword and Blade gradually picked up their weapons and transitioned into a perfect backward cut.
Meta Knight tried to jump away from the slashes when he realized his feet were frozen again. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't move them at all, and his arms had returned to their half-frozen, awkward state. Even worse, he could feel Kirby struggling to hold up his full weight as the blades came even closer. Then it came- one of the swords sliced a part of him that wasn't covered by his mask, drawing blood; the other dealt a powerful horizontal blow against his mask that threw him back against the sofa, close to his sword. Kirby couldn't hold on as Meta Knight was flung backwards, causing him to be uncovered. "Look at little helpless Kirby here, all by himself," Sword taunted. "Nothing here to give you an advantage, pinkie!"
"Poyoy… Sword, poyo?" Kirby was confused, since his mentor often gave a sword to ensure fair fight.
"No, I am not giving you a sword! And definitely don't try to inhale one of ours!" Kirby stood there, blinking, until he abruptly turned around and inhaled Galaxia. He flipped into the air and a small green hat formed on his head. He drew the sacred sword and landed neatly on the ground with it in his stubby paw. "Sword, why did you say that?! If you hadn't said that, Kirby wouldn't have inhaled Galaxia!" Blade shouted. "He's too strong for us now!"
"Arrgh! Blade, let's go!" Sword yelled. "Mark my words, we'll be back for our revenge! Meet us at Whispy one week from today, and there we will finish this once and for all!" With that, the two leapt into the secret corner and closed it up.
Kirby released his ability, leaving the sword to fall onto the rug, and ran over to Meta Knight. The pink puff leapt onto his mentor and began whimpering as he saw the bleeding gash to the side of the knight's mask. "Don't worry, Kirby; it isn't as bad as it looks," Meta Knight sighed, rubbing Kirby's head. "but what did you use to make me able to move temporarily?"
"Poyo bottle." Kirby got up, tears still shining in his eyes, and brought over a half-empty bottle of spicy ginger blend.
"Did… did you get this from the kitchen?"
"Yeah. But why, poyo poy?"
"Because this isn't for massaging, Kirby. This is for me to cook with." Kirby stared at the bottle for a while before sheepishly grinning and putting it on a shelf. Then he ran off into the hallway and came back with a small roll of bandages and a cup of water. Meta Knight winced as the water ran down the side of his face; though it felt good against his skin, it didn't help extinguish the fiery pain that blossomed from the cut. As the water dripped onto the rug, Kirby began to wrap the bandages around the knight's head, even if it was a little messy. The pink puff was just finishing up when someone knocked on the door, which Kirby gladly opened.
"Fumu! What are you doing here- it is almost midnight!" Meta Knight exclaimed, grabbing and sheathing his sword.
"The sound of sword fighting woke me," Fumu replied with a yawn. Then she noticed how injured the blue puffball was. "What happened to you?"
"Simply put, Sword and Blade came in while Kirby and I were relaxing. There left no choice but to take them both on."
'What made you think you could take on the both of them in your state? You can't attack properly without the right stance- I've learned that much- and you couldn't dodge anything if they attacked!"
"Kirby provided the stance. After you left for the party, he found one of my spicy cooking blends, which he massaged me with. The blend somehow made me able to move temporarily, and I could walk with Kirby's help."
"Then how did you get the wound on the side of your face?" Fumu reached out a hand to trace the edges of the cut.
"Fumu, don't touch that, please. I… froze again midway- right before some of their slashes were about to hit me. As I was unable to dodge, the swords were able to catch me. Kirby drove Sword and Blade off by inhaling my sword. They told us to meet them at Whispy in a week."
"A week? That's kind of a tight timeframe. I guess we're going to have to start tomorrow, so do you mind if I stay the night here?"
"Not at all, since it looks like Kirby is already." Sure enough, there was Kirby, fast asleep on the couch, clutching a small cushion. He tumbled off of the couch but somehow managed to hang on to the very edge, grinning as he pulled himself back up. "Are you sure you'll be alright out here?" Fumu asked, a concerned look on her face. "Don't you want to be in your bed?"
"I'm fine, thanks…" Meta Knight murmured, falling into blissful sleep. Fumu made no reply, instead waiting until she was sure the knight was asleep, before carrying him to the bed.
"You what?!" King Dedede was already in a foul mood from being woken up in the middle of the night, and the news of Sword and Blade's failure made him enraged. "I should throw you both in the dungeon for failing me for a third time!"
"Your Majesty, I found this setting inside the red gem on the sword you bought," Escargon noted, indicating where it opened and the dial inside. "It says 'soul bind', and it looks like we can connect their souls to one of the cannons."
"That's just devious! They'll become mindless robots that will perfectly follow my orders!" Dedede laughed, grabbing the sword from Escargon. "And just in time for that battle they planned at Whispy next week. We should try it out now!"
"But sire, there's no instruction manual. How will we know what to do? For all we know, it could bind us to the cannons!"
"It's easy, Escargon. Just turn this here dial to the cannon you want and touch them. Try the 'zap cannon' setting." The snail took the blade back, turned the dial, and lightly touched the edge to Sword's shoulder. The said cannon immediately teleported under Sword's hand and telekinetically forced him to touch it. Sword let out an anguished, pain-filled scream as wisps of light blue smoke drifted over to the cannon. The screams abruptly stopped and Sword handled the cannon, ready to fire at command.
"I-i don't think I want to do that," Blade stuttered. He whirled around and dashed for the door.
"Grr…" Dedede growled. "Hey! You there, uh, Sword! Fire!" A bolt of lightning shot out and hit Blade squarely in the back, causing him to cry out and topple to the floor. The electricity coursed through his armor, preventing him from moving without being shocked.
"Him next, Escargon. Do whatever you want."
Kirby woke up bright and early next morning. Stretching his stubby arms, he leapt down from the couch and began wandering around the apartment in hopes of finding some breakfast. Passing by the kitchen, he spotted a small fridge; hoping that it was full of food, Kirby opened it. There was a tub of chocolate ice cream, (he didn't know that Meta Knight liked ice cream, let alone chocolate-flavored), a big bowl of sliced watermelon, and a few bottles of water. Kirby took out the bowl of watermelon and closed the fridge. He then proceeded to inhale every last piece before dropping the bowl in the sink, sending the echo everywhere. "Meta Knight, I can't believe you're awake alread-" Fumu stopped short as she walked in the kitchen. "Kirby! Did you go through Meta Knight's fridge?"
"Just have breakfast. But there ice cweam inside- can't be Meta fridge," Kirby replied.
"That is where you are wrong, Kirby. As much as I despise admitting this, yes, the ice cream is mine." Fumu and Kirby spun around at the new voice. Meta Knight was leaning against the wall with pink eyes, cape wrapped around him as per usual.
"I didn't know you could walk already," Fumu remarked. "Last night, you couldn't stand, let alone walk."
"Sleeping in a bed helped," Meta Knight smirked, "though you can imagine my surprise blacking out on the floor and waking up under sheets. And walking is something I can only do if I'm holding onto or leaning on something, like a wall." As an example, he tried walking away from the wall, but ended up falling onto the floor. Kirby enthusiastically helped him stand and let the knight hold onto him. "You must be hungry," Fumu suggested. "Sit down and I'll make some soup."
"I didn't know you could cook," Meta Knight said, surprise evident in his voice.
"I can't. So… would you happen to have any cookbooks?"
"Hello there, Triple D. What can I get for you today, sire?" The screen in King Dedede's throne room fizzled to life as it smoothly swiveled out of its secret place in the wall.
"You know very well what I want! I want some of them cool new swords!" Dedede dropped the catalog and swung his hands around like he was using an invisible sword; the figure on the screen watched amusedly.
"We do have some new swords, sire, and they're top-of-the-notch! Best technology in the whole galaxy, because they're fused with elemental powers!"
"Then they're just like the cannons I got! I'll order two of the most powerful ones and I'll fork over the cash!"
"Glad to hear it, Your Majesty. We'll send them over right away." The floor opened up in front of the king and his demon transporter popped up with a few electronic noises. A ball of light formed, illuminating the delight on Dedede's face, and when the light faded away, two swords were left on the stage. "These are great!" King Dedede exclaimed, holding them up and swinging them around. "With these, Meta Knight and Kirby are as good as finished!"
"You're sure you'll be okay alone?" Kirby had just run off somewhere and Fumu was debating the idea of following him. "I'd stay here, but with Sword and Blade likely on the loose somewhere, I have to protect Kirby. The cut on your head is fine, right?"
"Go and watch Kirby. He'll need you to call the Warp Star if he's in danger, and if I'm in trouble, I'm sure you'll know." Meta Knight shrugged, slipping another spoonful of soup under his mask. "And yes, the cut feels fine. I'll take off the bandages later."
"Alright. I'll be back soon, and please try not to get in any trouble."
"I can't promise, but I'll stay in here if it helps you feel any better." Meta Knight lifted his mask and drank the rest of the soup; Fumu grinned at him before dashing out the door. As the knight relaxed in his chair, hands suddenly grabbed him from behind and crashed his head against something hard, causing him to lose consciousness.
The box had to be somewhere under his bed, Kirby knew it. Yet he couldn't find it amidst all the junk underneath his bed in his little dome house. "Kirby!" Fumu burst into his house, sighing with relief when she saw his pink stubby legs sticking out from underneath the bed. "I've been looking everywhere for you, Kirby. Don't you know how dangerous it is to be on your own?"
"Poyoo. Poyo poyo puyo puya!" Kirby indignantly poyoed, coming out from under the bed. "Poyo box, now go." Fumu was about to ask what was in the box until she felt something slightly off-setting in the air around her.
"Alright, Kirby, you found the box. Now let's get moving." Kirby darted after Fumu as soon as he had inhaled the present.
Meta Knight was not in the main room when Fumu and Kirby scurried inside. "He's still in the apartment," Fumu consoled herself. "He's probably in his bed reading a book with his mask off or sleeping, or…" But Kirby's repeated cries of "Mena Naito!" crushed her hopes that he was anywhere nearby.
"He couldn't have wandered," Fumu thought forlornly, plopping down on the armchair in the living room. "Meta Knight isn't the kind who likes wandering and I don't think he can walk anywhere yet without holding onto something, so the only reason he's gone is because…" She couldn't think of anything as she listened to Kirby searching for the knight, racking her mind for any possibilities. Remembering a movie she had once watched, Fumu suddenly gasped, a terrible idea bombarding her mind. The reason Meta Knight had disappeared was because someone had taken him.