A/N: Hi again! I'm back! I don't like to do author's notes at the beginning of a chapter, but I'll make an exception because I feel I need to address a few things before this chapter.

I believe firmly that no fanfic in the Super Smash Bros. archive should contain Magolor, but... Yeah, I couldn't help myself. It was sort of necessary to explain the interdimensional travel. If you don't know who Magolor is, he's some kind of floating alien that debuted in Kirby's Return to Dreamland, where he crashed into Kirby's planet in his ship, the Lor Starcutter. The Lor is a huge flying ship which can literally open rifts in time and space to travel to other dimensions. Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Waddle Dee helped Magolor repair it in the game, but I won't spoil any further details of the plot, even though it came out in 2011. Just in case.

Also, Mother Brain is the leader of the Space Pirates (including Ridley) in the Metroid series. To be honest, I'm not a huge Metroid fan, but I did a bit of research, so I hope I got everything right. And I know she's supposed to be dead, but videogames are full of inconsistencies and she's an Assist Trophy, so... I guess she's alive in the Smashverse. By extension, that must mean Zebes is still a planet.

Anyways, that's all you need to know for this chapter. Sorry for the long author's note and enjoy!

The journey to Zebes was way shorter than Meta Knight had expected. He had prepared himself for a whole day, or maybe two, of travelling, but he reached the small, orange planet a little after midnight. It was probably because he had hitched a ride in the Lor Starcutter, but it still was an achievement.

"You sure you want me to drop you off here, Meta Knight?" Magolor asked, pushing buttons on his control screen until the ship came to a stop. "This planet is plagued with dangerous monsters lurking around every corner."

Magolor turned around and looked up at Meta Knight. Due to the effects of the sizing pill that Meta Knight had taken before going to bed that night, to him, everything seemed four times smaller. In fact, the first half-an-hour of the trip had consisted of him giving a lengthy explanation about sizing pills, how they work, and why were they used in the Smash Mansion. Magolor still seemed extremely uncomfortable about Meta Knight's current size, even though he was confident and he was never one to get nervous because of others' presence.

"Yes. This is the place." Meta Knight said. "Thanks for the ride, Magolor."

"Sure!" Magolor closed his eyes with an expression that could only be described as a smile. Meta Knight wasn't sure whether he had done him this favor out of kindness or because he still felt guilty about what had happened seven years ago. "I'll come pick you up in an hour? It would be literally impossible to return on your own. Unless you find a hole in spacetime to another dimension, that is."

"Make that fifteen minutes. This won't take long." Meta Knight said.

Magolor happily agreed, saying that fifteen minutes would be long enough for him to explore planets nearby, before making some joke about the Master Crown. Without paying much attention to what he was saying, Meta Knight stepped out of the Lor Starcutter and scanned his surroundings.

Magolor was right. Zebes was a hostile planet. It was full of strange creatures that Meta Knight couldn't recognize, which tried to attack him both left and right with every step he took. However, he held them off, as he rushed past them, since he didn't want to spend more time there than necessary. While fending off monsters, he scolded himself for not being patient and simply waiting for Ridley back in the Mansion.

After a long, exhausting trip through threatening landscapes, impossible platforms, creatures, robots, and pools of lava, Meta Knight arrived to a room made out of metal. The floor was almost completely covered with lava, but it was nothing he couldn't fly over. Somehow, it seemed like this was a room where Ridley would be.

"Who are you?" A hoarse, female voice demanded. "... What are you?"

Meta Knight looked up to see what, at first glance, seemed like an orange brain with spikes on top, a single eyeball, and wires connected to its bottom. It was trapped inside a glass container.

He flew over to the platform that was closest to the thing. "I'm Meta Knight. I come from Planet Popstar."

"Planet Popstar?" The brain croaked, not to Meta Knight but to itself. "The name rings a bell. Is it something we've tried to invade…?"

Meta Knight immediately regretted mentioning his home planet. "I'm here to see Ridley." He said. "Can you tell me where he is?"

"You want to see Ridley?" The brain snarled. "Did... 'she' send you here?!"

"You mean Samus?" Meta Knight said, frowning at how the brain had raised its tone of voice. "No. I'm here of my own account. Can you tell me where he is or can you not?"

"I want to know what your purposes are. Do you want to fight us?! It's not like I let blue balls of snot stroll right in and leave with their lives everyday!"

Meta Knight breathed in sharply, taking out Galaxia instinctively. "WHAT? What did you just call me?!"

A familiar roar interrupted Meta Knight and he turned around to see Ridley. He put Galaxia back into the sheath to signal that he came in peace.

"Finally, you're here!" The brain puffed. "Get rid of it."

If Ridley had been big that day in the Smash Mansion, now he was tremendously big; as big as he had been in the Subspace Emissary. Although Meta Knight had felt gigantic before in front of Magolor, his size now paled in comparison to Ridley. It was clear that he hadn't taken his sizing pills. Of course, inside the Smash Mansion, taking his sizing pills was required by Master Hand, but outside of it, it was not necessary.

Meta Knight stepped back, afraid of how Ridley might react. "Can we talk outside?" He said.

Much to the brain's chagrin, Meta Knight and Ridley were soon outside for some privacy. Ridley crossed his arms once they were in another room. He raised his brow at Meta Knight with skepticism, as if expecting a sarcastic or a snide comment.

"Look, I came here all the way from the Smash Mansion in the middle of the night, so stop giving me that look. Jeez, give me a break! You should be grateful!" Meta Knight blurted out, gesturing wildly. Then he stopped in his tracks.

Pausing carefully, he closed his eyes. He could hear Ridley growling under his breath. Reconsidering what he had said, he breathed in and out, reminding himself of what he had come here for. "That's not how you apologize." He muttered to himself.

Meta Knight looked at the floor, not daring to look at Ridley in the eye. "T-that's not what I mean. And that's definitely not what I came here for." He sighed. "W-what I mean is… I'm not good at apologizing."

These words made Ridley perk up, his skeptical expression changing into an interested one. He looked at Meta Knight with curiosity, tilting his head slightly.

"What I mean is, I shouldn't have judged you for your size. Maybe for other things, yes, but not for your size. I've been thinking and I've come to the conclusion that… if I was given an opportunity to be in Smash despite my underwhelmingly small size, then why shouldn't you be given one too? In fact, I… I was jealous of you. And frightened! I felt threatened. I automatically switched on to defensive mode. I began trying to prove my value to you and to myself and to the other Smashers. In truth, it's because I've… always felt bad about my own size! And I'm sorry to vent all of this irrelevant stuff to you, but what I mean is… can we start over?" Meta Knight held his right hand up in a mock oath. "I'll try to be a good roommate this time around."

Ridley stared at Meta Knight, as if considering the proposal. Yet, he seemed to be smiling?

The two of them seemed to be getting somewhere and Ridley was about to answer, but they were interrupted when a swarm of Metroids buzzed into the room. "ACK!" Meta Knight shrieked, as the Metroids began targeting him. He stepped back and reached for Galaxia. "Get off!"

Meta Knight began attacking the Metroids, but Ridley got in the way and pushed Meta Knight aside, throwing him to the floor, and he started defending the Metroids.

"Ridley?!" Meta Knight said. "Whose side are you in?"

Ridley looked at Meta Knight desperately and then at the Metroids, torn apart by his conflicting interests. He then turned towards Meta Knight with a stern, but worried look that could only mean one thing: "Leave."

Meta Knight got the message perfectly and nodded. He stood up, as Ridley distracted the Metroids without hurting them, and took off to the skies, flying out of the building to the atmosphere of the planet, scouring the skies for signs of the Lor Starcutter. He wasn't sure whether Ridley had spared him out of solidarity or because he would certainly be expelled out of the Smash Mansion if he killed him, but, apparently, he would soon get his answer.

A/N: I know this chapter is a bit rushed and has a lot of filler, but it's the resolution. Sorry. I hope you liked it despite all the rambling. Besides, last chapter is on the works! Once again, thanks for reading!

Answer to Street Ruffian (Guest): Thanks a lot! I know my characterizations aren't very traditional or even canon, so I'm glad you're enjoying them!