OFF: Here is the next chapter! This chapter is a bit short but rather important. I hope it will prove to be worth the wait.

HONOR THE PAST

CHAPTER 8:
The Seeker

Arthur.

He lived. He had survived. The shock had been terrible, the conversation painful. As he stared at his own image in the mirror, Mety could not help but wonder what could have possibly possessed him back there. His father figure, the one that had raised him, taught him everything... why had he become so sad, so ashamed over it? Why had Arthur spoken so harshly? Shouldn't he have been surprised, pleasantly so, to meet another Star Warrior? How did he know of what had happened? He had to talk to him. He had to apologize, he had to take a grip.

He stared at the broken piece of his mask in his hand. He had destroyed it back home when he had sworn to overcome his past, to finally become the Star Warrior he was meant to be. He had thought that his former mentor would have been overjoyed that he'd finally take his destiny seriously and yet, this had happened. All of this over a mask. It seemed so absurd.

"Sir."

The voice of his knaves, Blade's voice more exactly. He turned to look to the older of the two brothers...

"Before you ask, I was under shock. I did not mean to make a scene." he sighed, looking down for a moment. "I did not think. I thought he had died back there. I thought..."

He did not finish his sentence, he did not need to. The two knaves approached their lord, the younger one putting a hand on the shoulder of the puffball.

"We understand. No one expected him to show up."

Feeling a smile creep up on his face as he was reminded of his friends and allies, the young Star Warrior nodded to himself, his gaze steeling itself. He walked away from the mirror and stared at the exit of the room, discarding the piece of his mask.

"What happened while I was... inconvenienced?"

"Sir." the two knaves straightened themselves. "Arthur has taken command of the galactic alliance. As the senior surviving Star Warrior, he has dictated that all remaining forces should retreat to their homeworlds. All plans for a counter-offensive have been cancelled. We're sorry."

This was a foolish course of action. This was a new enemy, he was convinced of it! Marx... he had never spoken of Nightmare, never shown even a sign of having being tainted by his power. None of the monsters he had faced had shown any signs of being Demon Beasts and Kabu had confirmed that this was a new threat. How it rose and why, he has no idea. But he greatly doubted that this was Nightmare's power. If it was him, then where was Yamikage, his puppet?

Demon Beasts, those loyal to Nightmare, have no hearts. They think only of pleasing their master, of serving his purposes. Those that did not were most of the time completely mindless or insane. All of this? This was not the style of the NME at all.

He had his doubts, of course. Arthur had struck him emotionally, shaking his conviction. His argument about fate... could it be truly how he survived?

No. This is foolish and childish. Arthur is a mighty warrior be even he couldn't have survived on his strength alone. The onslaught was way too bad on that dark day. Something was not right here.

"I must speak with my former mentor. There is no other way."

"My lord, are you sure? In your current state-!"

He interrupted his knave by raising a hand, indicated that he wished to be heard. Then, he spoke once more. "I must do this myself. I had thought I had finally come to terms with who I am, with my past. I did not expect to be shaken like this. I must do this, I must speak with him. There is something wrong. Now, I have a task for you."

The two brothers waited patiently for the blue puffball to speak up.

"I want you to see Silica and Knuckle Joe. I want the ship ready. I do not know if I can convince Arthur to change his mind but even if I cannot, we must act. The Dark Matter Collective will not sit still and wait for the prophecy to come true, if it apply to them at all. I want everyone to be ready to leave as soon as possible."

The two knaves saluted and then ran out of the room. Mety felt pride swell inside him as he looked at his friends as well as a feeling of calm happiness, knowing he had people on whom he could depend. Nodding to himself and gathering his courage, he decided to head toward the halls of the station. It was time to find his mentor.

It was funny how quickly his attention span could wane at times. At first, he had headed to search for his mentor and although he had not forgotten his goal, his eyes had quickly lost their serious look as childish glee filled his heart. It was crazy now that he thought about it. This station was so amazing, so massive, so awe-inspiring and he had never noticed it before.

His white eyes darted from hall to hall, noticing the various people go around doing their things. There were so many species! He had supposedly met most if not all of those species before but they had been covered in masks, in armor. They had all looked alike except for general size and frame. But now, they all looked so strange, so unique! He had never known that some of them had fur, or that others had scales. And each individual was different too!

He had never imagined that the universe could be inhabited by so many species. It was so crazy. But of course, it also reminded him of why he had chosen to fight.

To say the truth, it was a good thing his attention was so easily diverted because he was absolutely terrified, deep down. He had destroyed his mask, torn his cape in two, trashed his armor. His mentor will surely be furious again. The part of him that wished to be mature was telling him that the Star Warrior would have to act reasonably... but Arthur was the closest thing to a father and he really, really didn't feel like being yelled at. The sheer idea of having to stand straight, to repress tears as he'd be screamed at...

... no, he probably wouldn't discipline him. Besides, he is a Star Warrior, a real one. He had saved Pop Star from Marx, he is here to perform his duty. And well, he did get a new alliance on its feet...

Things will go alright, they must.

It was a good thing that the return of Arthur had caused such a buzz among the various members of the alliance. Finding out in which room Arthur remained was easy. Now, all he had to do was... well... gather all of his courage and walk through the door.

His feet felt like lead as he stepped before the door and he felt a rather nicely sized knot in his throat. Swallowing it, he then forced his trembling feet forward.

It was the end of his short trip. The blue Star Warrior was not surprised to see his mentor's room so spartan. He had most probably insisted for a quiet room, away from where he may be bothered. He had always been so focused, so wise... well, that's what he remember.

The golden warrior was hunched over a table, staring down at screens displaying what was probably tactical data. He heard the double door slide open and glanced briefly. He took note of the young puffball that had stepped in and then turned back to look at his map.

He couldn't help but sigh. Out of uniform, goofy smile, a stance that was nowhere near straight... that was an annoyance alright.

"I told you about your uniform, Meta Knight."

This time, he did not bolt, he did not grovel, he did not cry. He just stared at the one who made so many feelings surface and blend together in his young mind. Now that he thought about it, he almost wondered if this could possibly be a copy of the Arthur he had known. Had he always been as harsh as in that conversation?

No, he should stand straight. He should not beg or cry, no matter how young he may be in truth. He should stand strong for his friends, both those who are there and those who aren't. So he steeled his nerves and suppressed the nervosity and fear that made him tremble.

"Sir Arthur." he said, as seriously as he could. It felt ridiculous, hearing such a young voice try to be so serious... he hoped it wouldn't come off the wrong way.

This time, he turned around. He stared at him for a long time, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the blue puffball. But instead of snarling, he let out a sigh.

"You stand before me, trying to convince me of your dicipline and yet you would not even wear your armor, the symbol of the guardians and protectors of the universe."

Uneasy silence. Despite his nerves, Mety remained straight and silent. He would not lose his cool again before his mentor. The golden Star Warrior noticed this as the seconds passed and became minutes. The blue puffball did not collapse into apologies or into groveling, he did not look away or walk away. Despite the anger that he felt at the blue Star Warrior daring to expose his foul nature for all to see, he could not help but notice that the reactions he had expected had not come to pass. It was... strange to say the least.

"You obviously stand before me, aknowledging my authority. I can tell from your pose that you await for me to give you permission to speak. Speak, Meta Knight."

"I request to speak with you, sir. There are many things to discuss."

It was crazy how funny this sounded with the voice of a child. Still, it was worded correctly and Arthur nodded. "Close the doors. We have much to speak of, indeed."

Mety stepped deeper inside the room, the doors closing behind him. With the two of them alone, the golden warrior nodded to himself and then carried on. "At ease."

Tension vanished all over his frame, the blue infant having not realized until now how utterly stressed he had been. Still, he was glad he had not been yelled at again...

"First, let us dispense with the details. Why did you not listen to my order? It is basic discipline, Meta Knight. You must wear your armor at all time. It is especially important in your case given your... nature."

Well, that was going to be awkward. Alright... Mety told himself to just repeat the speech as he had praticed in front of the mirror before coming here... "The mask and armor became the symbol of my act of cowardice back at the battle which caused us to be separated. When I chose to honor my destiny as a Star Warrior, I felt that I had to destroy the mask which acted as a mark of shame to me."

"What of the symbol of the mask and of your nature? There are practical reasons why I gave you this mask." said Arthur without missing a beat.

Thankfully, this was still what Mety had expected and as such, he went on with his planned explanation. "It did not make a difference. To everyone, I was the Star Warrior regardless of if I had armor or not. Furthermore, due to my involvements in Nightmare's defeat, the news of my nature troubled no one. It was little more than a detail to them."

"Meta Knight..." the golden Star Warrior sighed in exhasperation. "Of course they would not notice or care right away. But you cannot deny your destiny. It is only through your destiny as a Star Warrior that you can overcome your evil nature. Destroying the mask weakens your resolve. It is why I instructed you personally in the way of the sword and forbid you from ever using the Copy Ability. You must suppress your demonic nature at all times or else, Nightmre may possess you."

"I am aware of the risks..." and before he could go on, the older Star Warrior carried on.

"No, you still don't. If you did, you would have not removed your mask, even less destroyed it because of a past failure. You have put your charges under risk uselessly. You have failed in your duty and acted recklessly and irresponsably."

Mety suddenly found his feet to be especially fascinating now. But most importantly, he found his heart screaming that this was not right. It was more than just that. And if Arthur could not listen...

"I did not have a choice!"

That... came louder and far less neutral than intended. This caught the Star Warrior's attention and Mety saw his gaze behind the visor of his armor focusing upon him. His explanation had better be good...

"New foes came, foes that my sword could not defeat. I had to use the Copy Ability to destroy them, to protect my home."

"You used your Copy Ability?!" shock, fear, anger in equal amounts echoed in the elder's voice. He stepped forward, the puffball stepping back, intimidated for a moment. But before he found himself losing his nerve, he tried to explain himself.

"I-I had no choice. If I had not, it would have killed everyone, it would have killed me! I know about the risks! But Nightmare is dead and besides, Kirby used the Copy Ability all the time and it never was any cause for concern..."

The gold armored Star Warrior stepped back, as if dazed. His eyes looked all over the room and then settled upon his table. He put his hands on it, supporting himself as he sunk his gaze into the files he had been reading...

"I reckon... that we need to start from the beginning. I got ahead of myself. I need to know what has happened..."

A moment of respite and at that moment, for a moment, the puffball looked at his mentor carefully. Slumped over, looking as if he had all of the weight over the world on his shoulders, he looked as if his heart had been pierced. The infant's entire frame cringed and tensed as he knew he was the source of this. He had always disappointed his mentor, always. A dirty monster, incapable of doing much, undeserving of the sacred blade and yet chosen by it. A beast who had been incapable of following simple orders...

"Many perished in that dreadful battle, most of us. For days, we fought as we lost ground until we were forced to retreat underground. But we had faith. We knew most of us were destined to die but I knew I was destined to live. Eventually, the NME became satisfied with the destruction it had caused, with the devastation of the once proud Galactic Star Soldier alliance. And so I waited until the day of destiny came. I waited until only a few of us remained of the small quantity that had survived to that point. But I had faith. Then, someday, a great vessel crashed on the surface of the planet and we knew the time had come. Of course, we had little way of knowing that much had changed since we last fought the war."

Mety found his feet calling to him as Arthur stared at him but managed to keep his gaze focused straight forward.

"We salvaged the crashed ship and headed into space to find Galactic Star Soldier stations... only, they were not as they should be. They were filled with Demon Hunters, mere thugs who lack the blessings of destiny, and various militaries from worlds who should have remained at home. They spoke of the last Star Warriors, who united them and who led the assault that ended the war and destroyed the NME headquarters, killing Nightmare. And this brings us to us, here. Tell me, Meta Knight, what you have done after abandonning your duties."

The wording of the question pierced his heart but Mety steeled his resolve and spoke as clearly and calmly as he could...

He spoke of his arrival on Pop Star, of his time spent serving King Dedede, of the Halberd project... and of course, of his friends, of Kirby, of Fumu, Bun, and the various characters they met through many adventures. Ultimately, he spoke of the meeting with those who came from other worlds, of the Demon Hunters, of the formation of the new galactic alliance. Then came the tale of the assault on the NME base and of Kirby's victory against the NME.

Then came peace, quiet, hope, contentment... and tragedy. Marx's attack, his hesitation, his resolve, the destruction of the mask, harnessing the Copy Ability, destroying Nightmare's source at the strange fountain, and finally his battle with Marx.

He became so absorbed, so engrossed in his tale that he never noticed that his tone had long ceased to be formal. He spoke of those he met as friends, laughed and smiled as he spoke of the games Fumu and Bun came up with, tears flowed when he spoke of Kirby's death, and resolve burned in his eyes as he spoke of Marx and his battles with him.

Arthur was silent the entire time, simply listening. It is only when Mety finished his tale, suddenly feeling kind of tired, that he reacted. The blue puffball found himself just wanting to sit down and to doze off but the sight of his mentor sent a jolt through his frame and made him suppress his desires. He also tried to suppress the nervosity, not knowing how his father figure would react. He didn't seem angry at least...

"Meta Knight... that... was incredibly reckless, utterly irresponsible of you. You should have not done any of this."

And instantly, his heart sunk anew. He found himself stuttering, trying to come up with something to say but what was there to say?

"You do realize that all of this is your fault, right? You caused this disaster to befall the galaxy."

What? Mety had expected to be blamed but this was a bit ridiculous. He found himself blinking as he stopped sulking and instead focused on the incomprehension that filled his mind.

"What? But how could it be my fault? All I did was try to protect Pop Star."

"Then what do you call this?" Arthur's tone raised in volume as he spreaded his arms, indicating the entire room... and by extension, the infant guessed, the entire station. "A bunch of mundane soldiers and a few thugs thinking they can hijack destiny! A disgrace!"

"What was I supposed to do?" he protested. "I and Kirby couldn't take on the entire NME army by ourselves! We needed allies! We needed to continue the war, to-"

"You were not meant to!" barked the golden Star Warrior, interrupting Mety. "You were not meant to fight Nightmare!"

"Well we did! And we beat him!" Mety felt really offended all of a sudden. The blame just felt so... ridiculous all of a sudden, so disproportionate. He had made mistakes but fighting Nightmare was one? What was the purpose of a Star Warrior if not fight Nightmare?

"Oh that sure worked out!" the volume rose further. "Kirby dead, the worlds under siege by a brand new Demon Beast army, your so-called alliance in jeopardy! Were you so arrogant, so foolish as to believe you could control fate? That you could accomplish what was not yours to do? If Nightmare is dead and the NME defeated, why is the galaxy overrun?"

"They're... they're not Demon Beasts..." he found himself feeling suddenly very, very tiny as Arthur was now yelling at him. His tiny protests failed to dent the tidal wave that was his mentor's rage.

"You have tapped into Nightmare's power so much that you cannot even recognize his influence anymore! You are a shame to all Star Warriors, bringing ruin to our galaxy with your arrogance!"

"I am NOT influenced! Nightmare is dead, he can't influence me! And even if he wasn't, Kirby used his Copy Ability much more than I did and he wasn't possessed either!"

"You were a fool!"

Mety became silent and made himself very, very small as his mentor roared at him. His nerves gave away and he simply trembled as his father figure gave him an evil glare.

"If you had been responsible, you would have instructed Kirby in the way of the sword, giving him the skills he needed to protect Pop Star."

"He... he was only a child..." the infant tried to say.

"He was a Star Warrior!"

"We had no choice... he could have been killed... enemies that cannot be defeated with a sword..."

"Then he should have died."

Silence.

Mety was not sure what to say. He just stared at his mentor, eyes widened, trying to process what he had said. Arthur didn't even let him speak up.

"His fate was to protect Pop Star. If he was to die in the execution of his functions, then it is just as destiny called. It was not your place to derail fate and to try and make him into something he wasn't. All you did was expose his heart to Nightmare's corruption because you were too selfish, too imbued with your feelings to let him perform his destined duty, cruel as it might have been. He was meant to protect Pop Star, not to try and assault Nightmare himself! Only the chosen one may defeat Nightmare, Meta Knight. All other attempts only cause him to return immediately, stronger than ever, as you saw."

And at that moment, the dam broke. He brought himself to his feet... "So... that's it? We just wait for that chosen one, whatever it may be, to rise? We never even try to win or actually protect anyone? We just die like that?"

"Your nature as a Demon Beast betray you, Meta Knight!" shot back Arthur. "Listen to yourself, speaking of controlling fate! You have went completely made from the pressure of your duties. Each Star Warrior is meant to fight and die protecting the universe, staving off Nightmare and his darkness one more day to buy time until the time comes for the Galactic Knight, Galacta, to awaken so that he may smite Nightmare and banish the darkness. You gave the universe false hope and in doing so, might have doomed us all."

No. No. No. No no no no no no. That couldn't be true. That just couldn't be true. Joe's father, all of his friends, and Kirby... they couldn't... it just...

"Are you saying... we're just there to buy time for that Galacta person to wake up? That all of us... everyone of us... the entire Galactic Star Soldier army... is just cannon fodder?"

"We must do what we must, Meta Knight. You once understood this. You once understood what it meant to protect."

"That... that isn't what it means to protect! Protecting means stopping bad guys from hurting your friends, it means fighting monsters so that Joe may still have a father, it means protecting the homes of people so children can have a place where they can be happy, it means... it means... it doesn't mean..."

"Yes but it is not this simple, Meta Knight. Nightmare is everywhere, he is a fundamental force of nature. By giving in to your base nature, you save your friends today but you doom an entire world, and your soul, to be consumed by Nightmare. Do you think people did not try to fight Nightmare without the power of the Galactic Knight? Mere mortals cannot defeat him." Arthur stared at his pupil. "... even mortals chosen by the sacred blade."

Mety did not feel afraid anymore. Angry, angry beyond words yes but not afraid. Suddenly, all of his worries about his mentor were gone. If this was truly what he thought, if this was truly why he had been told to die on that rock, why Knuckle Joe had to lose his father, why Kirby had to die... then there was nothing more he wanted with this golden armored jerk. This was not what a Star Warrior meant. He refused to believe it to be this way. It couldn't be and it wouldn't be. He was wrong. There was a meaning to the battle other than just buying time for that Galactic Knight jerk to wake up, whoever he may be.

"We must reinforce all of our positions and wait. Because of your foolish actions, things will be going much worse. We may not survive the years it will take before the destined time comes and he is released. But if we do things correctly, we may survive to see the dawn of a new cycle. Meta K-"

Arthur stopped mid-sentence as he heard the door slide open. Mety stood in the doorway, back to him, standing as tall as his tiny feet could allow. He had stopped shivering and yet, for some reason, the older Star Warrior felt as if something had gone seriously wrong with his pupil.

"Where is the Galactic Knight, Arthur?"

He had not even used the proper etiquette. This was worrying, very much so. "Look, Meta Knight. I know I have been harsh..."

"My name is Mety." he cut.

"... but you must understand that it's for your own good. It's a fool's errand. If you continue going against destiny, terrible things will happen, things you will regret dearly."

"If you are truly right, then I won't be able to wake him up and there will be no harm in me checking, right?" The puffball was not even listening... "I must see it for myself. I need to know."

Arthur sighed deeeply... "The Galactic Knight sleeps in-between the world of light and the eternal darkness. Even with the sacred blade, you may not be able to call upon him. And even if you do, he cannot be awakened until the time of destiny. It is pointless Meta Knight."

He did not listen. He ignored the golden armored Star Warrior and just walked away. He had to find the Galactic Knight, to find out for himself about that whole fate thing.

Nightmare is dead, he know for sure. Fumu has confirmed, through the counseling of Kabu, that this threat is a new enemy, the Dark Matters, not the NME. Even if the prophecy is true, even if it is as Arthur speaks, it cannot help anyone anymore. He will find the Galactic Knight, he will prove that the true purpose of a Star Warrior is to protect, not to be fodder. And maybe, if that Galactic Knight is truly some kind of chosen one, he will find the help he needs to drive back the Dark Matters before the galaxy is swallowed.

King Dedede's eyes were fixated upon the screen, his focus intense. This was a mind ruled by emotion with little in the way of coherent, intelligent thought being spawned within. As such, the body proved to be laughably easy to subdue despite its hidden potential. It was truly an ironic thing. The so-called king had almost destroyed his potential through the sheer magnitude of his laziness and stupidity. Still, now that it was under better management, this body's potential had begun to be salvaged.

Right now, coordination and reflexes had to be built up. The senses had to be sharp and as a body that had relied upon what everyone told it instead of making its own observations, there was much to do to improve the situation. Still, as the attention of the mind within was devoted to using the two eyes to survey fifty-seven displays on the same screen, all different, one such point was currently being corrected.

It was then that pleasant news came to the king in the form of a mental link. His eyes became glassy and unfocused as the gentle touch of the hive mind brushed against the intelligence within. Indeed, one of the Dark Limbas far away, hidden in the air ducts of one of the limited ones' stations, had confirmed that the fool had acted just as predicted and that the wild element was now on his way.

It is so lovely when plans come together so seemlessly.

In a way, it was a bit disappointing that this prove to be so easy. Even Marx's little scheme had done little if anything to hinder the master's plans. Of course, now that the foolish individual had been stripped of his free will, he is ready to perform the master's will once more.

The NME remnants are still reeling from the true, actual death of their laughable master. The shockwave was absolutely delicious, a void that swept through the minds of all Demon Beasts as the rug was pulled from underneath them. Many had tasted the sheer strength of their confusion and despair, some more directly than others as a few Hyper Zones had been dispatched in that sorry sector that fool Yamikage called his home.

To think that this universe fears those things...

The minds of the units on the station swarmed him for answers. Must the fool be stripped of his free will or terminated now that the wild element has been successfully directed? It would be so easy ; the limited ones still think of the liquid in the air ducts as nothing more but condensation. None knows that the station is compromised and that the moment it is no longer useful, its life support systems shall 'mysteriously' fail.

However, there is no need for either the fool's termination or the station's. The fool's stupidity will derail operations through the galaxy and may be used again to control the wild element. Likewise, as many of the limited species' control nodes should be gathered before the trap is sprung.

Besides, it may actually cause people to ask questions and so far, the limited people's ignorance has done more to help the master's plans that any units' actual actions. The masquerade can play for a bit longer...

King Dedede's eyes refocused anew and with a swift, precise movement of the hand, the screen changed in shape. Now, it is time to focus upon his own personal touch to the master's plan...

TO BE CONTINUED...