The following night – if you could you call it that in space – Meta Knight lied awake in his bed. To be honest, he didn't need sleep at all. It wouldn't hurt him to stay awake forever, although he could fall asleep on command; it was rather suspicious if a soldier didn't sleep at all.
However, in this particular night, Meta Knight didn't manage to slip into this state of subconscious. Thoughts raced through his mind as he shifted from side to side uncomfortably. Where did Galacta Knight come from? If he – or at least a part of him – was a demon, then why wasn't he serving Nightmare? Had the Meta Knight's master thrown the pink warrior away? But if a demon didn't work the way it should, N.M.E. killed it; everyone knew that.
Meta sighed. 'So many questions... And no answers,' he thought with another sigh.
A grunt came from the other side of the room: "I'm trying to sleep, so be quiet!" Meta Knight muttered an apology, but got no answer. He sighed a third time as the questions returned and tumbled through his head again. A groan was heard and in the bed to his left appeared a head that was surrounded by a cloud of tousled, pale silver hair.
"I told you to be quiet!," the head growled.
"I'm sorry, Kimu," Meta Knight said, sitting up. The GSA-recruit rubbed his eyes: "You're either quiet now, or you leave." With out another word, Kimu buried himself in his blankets again, pulling them over his head. Meta Knight watched the knoll in the bed that Kimu's body formed now; it rose and fell slightly with the youngster's breath. Careful not to disturb the silver-haired boy again, Meta Knight turned around and faced the wall.
For a second he thought about leaving the room as Kimu had suggested, but then decided against it. Suppressing the fourth sigh, he finally managed to push back his troubled thoughts and shift into an uneasy sleep.
The next day brought a pleasant surprise: Their journey was coming to an end. Planet Galora was only a few light-years away and with Warp Speed they soon reached it. When they finally began their descend over said planet, all soldiers that weren't busy gathered behind the huge windows of the training room and looked down on the planet.
It looked beautiful, prospering with life like the war in the rest of the universe didn't exist. Meta Knight had joined them and let his gaze travel over Galora's beautiful landscape. His eyes flashed in several colors, showing the mix of emotions that passed him. Galora was resisting Nightmare's troops successfully; if he, Meta Knight, found a way behind its defenses, wouldn't N.M.E. reward him? This was a chance he wouldn't get again.
His eyes flashed red with menace for barely a split second. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around.
Sir Jecra stood there: "Are you okay?"
'Did he notice?,' Meta Knight asked himself and chose his next words carefully. "I just wondered how a single planet can defend itself so well against Nightmare...," he muttered and let his voice fade away.
Jecra gave a low chuckle: "You will see." He went away, probably to join Sir Arthur in the control room.
The GSA-ship gently landed on the town square of Galora's capital city. The ship's gate opened slowly. The Galorians had gathered on the place, forming a great circle around the GSA's ship. All soldiers had lined up behind the gate, Sir Arthur standing in front of them.
With slow steps, the golden-armored puffball exited the ship and went across the town square. His metal shoes made clicking noises on the cobblestone pavement. The Galorians parted and a figure emerged from their rows. It was a puffball, white with gray feet and a sky-blue cape. His armor and mask had gems embedded into them.
Meta Knight noticed how clean and unscratched they looked, like the one wearing them had never used them in a fight. The white puffball approached Sir Arthur quickly and stopped a few meters away from him.
"Sir Arthur," he said.
"Your majesty," Sir Arthur replied. Silence. Then, suddenly, a chuckle came from Arthur.
"You didn't change at all," the white puffball said, chuckling as well.
"Neither did you, Blizzard," Arthur stated and closed the distance between them, "You're still the same big brother."
Blizzard laughed, his white eyes glittering mischievously. "I don't change, you know," his voice was bright with joy. Then, his eyes traveled over to the open gate of the ship; the soldiers hadn't moved at all. Blizzard went over to them.
With his arms outstretched, he addressed them solemnly: "As the High Prince of Galora, I welcome you all on this planet." He looked at them expectantly, but none of them spoke up.
Meta Knight stood among them, eying Blizzard closely. 'A bit stuck-up, that prince...'
A mere heartbeat after he thought this, Blizzard shrugged: "All these formalities... Why don't you just get out of that ship and join me for lunch?" Several of the older warriors chuckled at this and finally, the soldiers moved out of the ship.
Meta Knight stood on top of the battlement of Blizzard's palace, face toward the huge building. He stood on the outer defense wall, to be precise. Night had fallen and the stars glittered far above his head, only excelled by the full moon. Its pale light bathed the palace-garden in silver, making plants and paths look like they were made out of starlight.
Meta Knight's gaze rested on the windows of the palace. The other soldiers were in there, either sleeping in one of the guestrooms or chatting with the Galorians in the refectory. Meta Knight had left as soon as he got the chance. He didn't like that High Prince much; the flawless armor, the closeness with Sir Arthur, his whole existence was annoying to the blue warrior. If this guy really was the only thing that kept Nightmare from taking over Galora, it shouldn't be too hard for Meta to get rid of him.
A sudden rustle startled him. His eyes scanned the plants of the garden, but he only found dark silence. 'I'm getting paranoid,' he thought, shook his head slightly and froze when a second rustle became audible.
"Who's there?," he asked, his hand laying on the hilt of his sword, "Show yourself!" No answer.
There was brief silence, and then a pale flash flew at him. Meta Knight dodged and unsheathed his sword, prepared for a battle. A blade cut through the nocturnal air, aiming for the unprotected area between Meta Knight's golden eyes. Instinctively, Meta Knight dipped his head and the weapon collided with the metal of his mask. The impact sent a wave of pain through his body, making him gasp.
Just in time, he managed to dodge a second blow. The sword hit the battlement behind him. Meta saw his chance and spun around, creating a sword beam. To his surprise, his attacker easily blocked the beam. His amazement for this almost cost him another hit. Just in time, he brought his sword up to block the blow. Sparks flew as the blades collided. His attacker showed impossible power and pushed him backwards.
Meta felt his feet slip and a second later, he fell off the battlement. He landed on soft grass and instantly rolled away. A heartbeat later, his opponent's blade dug into the lawn where he had landed. Meta Knight knew it would take his attacker some time to pull it out again and dove forward. He was about to create a sword beam, but a foot kicking him on the unprotected spot beside his mask threw him backwards.
He jerked his sword up and the blades clashed a second time. Sweat burned on his forehead as he tried to hold out against the pressure his opponent put on their swords. Suddenly, Meta Knight's attacker moved his weapon with incredible speed. The blue Star Warrior lost his grip and his sword landed somewhere in the bushes. His opponent came closer, sword aimed at the spot between Meta's eyes.
The GSA-soldier walked backwards slowly. He stumbled when his left heel hit a rock and fell down. The cool touch of metal on his forehead kept him from moving. His opponent towered him, looking triumphant.
"Not bad."
Meta Knight couldn't believe his ears. Had his attacker just said that? His confusion grew when the figure sheathed its sword and offered him a hand. Ignoring this, Meta got up on his own.
"Who are you?," he growled, itching to have his sword.
"So you don't recognize me?," came the amused answer and a second later, a candle was lit. Meta Knight shut his eyes from the sudden brightness and when he opened them again, he practically gaped.
"Bliz- pardon, you majesty?," he asked, stunned.
Blizzard put the candle in a lantern beside him and chuckled: "No need to call me that. I'm Blizzard; Sir Blizzard Knight if you want to be that precise."
"A Star Warrior?"
Blizzard only nodded.
'That would explain why N.M.E. has problems to capture Galora...'
The High Prince picked up something from the grass. The blade of Meta Knight's sword flashed in the light. Blizzard inspected it with an experienced look.
"It's not a usual sword...," Blizzard muttered and looked up sharply, "Where did you get it?"
"I found it," Meta lied calmly. Truth was, Nightmare himself had given the sword to him, but Blizzard mustn't find that out. "A dead demon had it before," he added. Blizzard gave the sword a last look, then flipped it around and carefully held it by the tip of the blade, offering Meta the hilt.
"Thank you, Sir," the blue Star Warrior said and put it back into its scabbard.
The white puffball looked at him thoughtfully: "I see what Arthur meant... You have great talent, indeed... But you lack training, as our little fight showed."
"Pardon?"
Blizzard sat down on the soft grass and signaled Meta to do the same. When they both sat on the green stalks, the High Prince explained: "You have great instincts. You know how to react in an unexpected situation." He stopped for a moment and watched a small beetle crawl over some leaves.
"Aren't you going to thank me for this compliment?," he asked, a small smile on his white lips.
But Meta Knight had assessed Blizzard's character by now: "You aren't finished yet."
Galora's Prince nodded, looking satisfied: "Indeed. You learn fast. You still make a few mistakes... Such as forgetting that one can defend oneself even when you disarmed him or her." Meta nodded, remembering how Blizzard had kicked him. The spot still pounded painfully. Blizzard went on with telling him what mistakes he had made, but Meta Knight didn't listen.
'If not even I can defeat that guy, then the other demons have no chance... But if I manage to lure him into a trap...'
The flash of a blade aimed at him jerked him away from his thoughts. He dodged and the sword missed him about an inch.
"You better pay attention when I talk to you," Blizzard said. His tone was kind, but there was an edge in his voice that told Meta not to object.
"I'm sorry," he said, "My thoughts sort of... drifted off."
Blizzard nodded: "Well, you better keep you mind focused tomorrow. I'll expect you and Galacta Knight after lunch for some extra Star Warrior training. Here in the palace garden; you're better there on time." Without waiting for a reply, the white puffball got to his feet, gave Meta a curt nod and walked back to the palace.
I don't own Meta Knight, Sir Arthur or the GSA, they belong to their respective owners.
Blizzard and planet Galora belong to Flamefox2.
Kimu is mine, though :)
Reviews would be great... I didn't even get one for the last three chapters, although my traffic stats show how many people are actually reading this. It's not that hard to press the button below and give me some feedback, is it? ;)