Like many amazing climaxes, this chapter (THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER) includes a flashback, a long speech given by the enemy, and a death…or two…or three. In the flashback, the lizard and dragon are two bosses from Kirby Super Star Ultra. And I hope I got around to explaining everything in the long speech. Ask if you have any questions and…

PLEASE REVIEW! My life as well as the life of the last chapter depends on it! Oh and Lazlo gets a Meta Cookie for being the 100th reviewer! But the rest of you can have Kirby Cookies for being awesome. Now read!

"Red alert! Red alert! Star Warrior scout approaching—I repeat, Star Warrior scout approaching!" A wide-eyed demon beast that resembled a large lizard was racing through the metallic halls of Nightmare's fortress, his face filled with terror.

A great dragon standing in the halls galloped after him, ignoring the demon beasts that cried out in shock. "What is going on?" The dragon demanded.

"A Warp Star has been spotted on the horizon! It may be a scout. This could mean an incoming invasion!" The lizard's eyes rolled back into its head with fear. "We have to report this to the master right away!"

As if on cue, Nightmare materialized from the shadows in between the large dragon and lizard. "A Star Warrior you say?" Nightmare growled, "Show me!" As fast as they could, the trio burst outside and entered the dead wasteland outside of the stronghold. Other demon beasts followed, looking agitated.

"There!" The lizard yelped, pointing his long tail at a white speck in the distance.

The dragon lashed its tail thoughtfully. "Maybe it's just me, but is that Warp Star coming closer?"

Nightmare narrowed his eyes. "That is certainly strange…" He murmured.

And it was true.

The white Warp Star was approaching the group at a fast speed. Better yet, it didn't seem to have any backup coming with it. Then Nightmare gave an unexpected chuckle. The demon beasts looked at their master in awe and wonder. He looked down at them, smirking.

"I do believe we have a newborn visitor."

A moment of silence followed his words. Then the demon beasts began to hoot, howl, and shriek with laughter. They jeered as the white Warp Star flew in close, coming in to land practically on their doorstep. "Shoot it down!" Nightmare commanded. The dragon took a deep breath and aimed a fireball at the hovercraft.

The Warp Star burst into flames and came hurtling out of the sky, landing right in front of Nightmare himself. A small blue ball tumbled out of the cockpit and landed facedown on the hard earth. The dragon flapped his wings, putting out the flames, then turned to watch his master deal with the baby Star Warrior. The demon beasts were practically jumping with joy now that there was no threat.

Everyone stood back, waiting for the little blue ball to do something. It appeared to be dead…but then its stubby little arms gave a small jerk and everyone backed away slightly except for Nightmare. He moved forward and bent over the little puffball, which was still lying facedown.

"Hello Star Warrior." Nightmare hissed almost inaudibly.

At the sound of his voice, the blue puffball very slowly raised his head and gazed back into the dreadful face above him. The baby's face was completely serious with round yellow eyes too intelligent for his current age. The demon beasts gasped.

"What interesting eyes!" The lizard babbled, "And an adorable face at that! Don't you think so, master?"

"Yes…" Nightmare snarled, grabbing the puffball suddenly in one clawed hand. The puffball gave a startled yelp. "Absolutely…ADORABLE!"

With a sudden force, he tightened his grip on the puffball, squeezing it so hard that dark energy crackled off of it in the form of electricity. It shrieked soundlessly as dark energy flowed from Nightmare's hand into its body. Two black bat wings burst from the poor puffball's back, spurting blood as they appeared. Nightmare dug his nails into the Star Warrior gritting his teeth as the child continued its noiseless cry of pain, its yellow eyes squeezed tightly shut.

After what seemed like hours, he finally let go of the puffball, letting it fall to the ground. It lay there in its tangle of newly made wings, blood running down its back and forming a pool under its still body.

Nightmare, his fury spent, turned and began to glide away. "Repair the Warp Star for need of future use. I'll be in my quarters." He said curtly, without looking back.

"Sir!" The dragon called after him, "What of the Star Warrior?"

Nightmare paused and turned his head, his eyes gleaming evilly. "Leave it there to die." He responded, and then disappeared in a swirl of shadows.



"How could you do that…?" Meta Knight's voice was choked with emotion. "I was a mere child…you left me there to suffer. You wouldn't even finish it. You just left me there to die…"

"Yes, and that was my mistake." Nightmare growled, "I underestimated your strength. Do you remember what happened after that? You laid there for three days in your own pool of blood, hanging onto life with strength unbeknownst to everyone. We were all waiting for the moment you would die. I forbade the demon beasts to touch you. I wanted to watch you draw your very last breath.

"Once again, that was my mistake. As I watched you lay there as some horrible mutation of a demon beast and a Star Warrior, you began to grow on me. I watched you fight off death for three long, hard days, admiring your power. It wasn't until the end of the third day that I made my decision to keep you as my own. Do you know what changed my mind?

"I could see the potential you had on that third night. You had been in the same position for the longest time, head buried into your little paws…but when I spoke to a fellow demon beast about what I should do with you, you suddenly raised your head. You actually glared at me through the mask of blood on your face. The blood that had stained your yellow eyes almost a pure scarlet. It was then that I knew I had to complete your transformation. I had to make you mine once and for all.

"I took you in, healed you, and started to train you. I made sure you had no memory of ever being born as a Star Warrior. Instead, I shaped the illusion that I had created you with my very own hands. My plan worked perfectly…until a point.

"The Star Warriors held an invasion hundreds of years after your birth, right outside of this very fortress. By then you were a fully-fledged demon beast…I had complete faith in you. You fought in the battle. Many demon beasts died bravely that day, but we were able to drive the Star Warriors away. When you came back, something had changed about you. I was foolish and thought nothing of it.

"Then you began to go missing every so often. You stopped coming to train in the arena. No one had any idea that you had discovered the white Warp Star that was hidden away in the darkest of the dungeons. Thinking it must have been another Star Warrior's you stole it and left to join them, escaping in your very own cradle, even if you didn't know it at the time.

"After you left, I could not stop thinking about what I had done wrong. You had been the perfect demon beast, so I just had to wonder, why did you leave? Then I realized that I had done nothing to your soul, merely tainted it with evil. But after seeing so many warriors die on that battlefield, that soul was once again lit inside of you. It drove away the evil I had cast upon you and you began to go back to your Star Warrior ways. Finally, you left, headed for the Galaxy Soldier Army where you belonged. I thought I had lost you…

"That day when I saw you standing in King Dedede's throne room on the TV screen, everything changed. I knew that to kill my newfound enemy, Kirby of the Stars, I would need you. So I got you back…and in the events that followed, I thought I would be able to keep you forever, but I was wrong."

Nightmare's eyes suddenly sparkled dangerously. "Now, after all these years, I'm starting to have second thoughts. Maybe you weren't worth the trouble. Maybe I should just kill you both right here and right now."

"You can try." Kirby hissed, ferocity etched in every part of his face.

"Only a true Star Warrior can kill me!" Nightmare roared, shaking the room around them, "Kirby, you are too weak and you have no Star Rod! Meta Knight—you are barely a Star Warrior! You are more demon beast than anything else! But most of all, you are a complete failure. You are a monster—nothing more! There's nowhere you belong, nowhere you can go. You will be relieved to die once I kill you!"

Every part of Meta Knight's body was quivering with rage, yet he refused to let his eyes turn red. Brandishing his sword and stepping up to face Nightmare, he declared in a strong voice,

"Yes, that is what I once believed when I had not a single strand of hope. That is what I once believed when I thought I was a demon beast, created by the evil Nightmare, alive to only perform evil. Yet now I realize that I have been lied to my whole life. Although I may have shadow wings, I know for certain that this does not mean I am a demon beast, for what is on the outside does not matter. It is what is on the inside that determines who you are. I never knew this until now. I was always living in fear, living in a shadow, a shadow cast by my wings. But now I know better. I know exactly who and what I am.

"I am a true Star Warrior!"

He raised Galaxia high above his head and the sword suddenly shone white, glowing with a never before seen power…the power of a Star Warrior. Two black wings burst from his back and he flew into the air, his sword aimed at Nightmare's chest.

There was no time to react.

The sword sliced right into his cloak, and it ripped apart. Nightmare shrieked as his real body was revealed, a swirling mass of stars, planets and galaxies that he had taken over for himself. A harsh wind blew out from them, making his cloak flap wildly. Dark energy swirled through the air, cracking the mirrors around them. Dedede broke through his and ran to Kirby to shield him from the evil energy.

But Meta Knight did not let go. He stuck his sword further into the strange body, and a light began to flood into it. Nightmare screamed in agony as his face and body began to dissolve. Then, over the harsh wind, a loud screech filled the room.

"If I can't have you…no one can!"

Then, from within the starry body, a beam of darkness shot through and hit Meta Knight directly on. His mask splintered and his eyes flashed white with shock. For a moment, the Star Warrior stayed suspended in the air, his shining sword still gouged deeply inside of his previous master.

With a final groan, Nightmare gave into the light. It covered him and he slowly disappeared into the air…finally gone for good. As the light of Galaxia washed the last of the shadows away, Meta Knight shuddered and his wings gave out. He slumped to the floor, his eyes flickering weakly.

"Meda!" Kirby cried out, running to his side and trying to hoist him to his feet, but the knight was too weak to stand. His mask was cracked in several places and his wings were bent at odd angles. Kirby could see the scars that ran along his back, the scars that had changed his life.

Suddenly, the ground under them started shaking. The cracked mirrors began to shatter. They could feel the walls coming down around them…then it dawned on them.

"The fortress is collapsing now that Nightmare is dead!" King Dedede gasped, "Quick, we have to get to the transporter! It's not too far from here!" He scooped Kirby and Meta Knight into his arms and crashed through the glass, sprinting down the dark stairway. With each step they passed, it crumbled away and fell into nothingness.

Dedede was screaming in fear as he tried to stay ahead of the collapsing stairs and walls. Kirby, huddled against Dedede's chest, was trying to wake Meta Knight up with desperate cries, but the knight seemed to be losing consciousness. Finally they reached the room with the transporter.

"There-!" Dedede started to shout, but a chunk of ceiling suddenly caved in between them and the transporter. A dark shape came hurtling through the hole it left and a fierce roaring filled the room. There was Wolfwrath, standing among the wreckage, looking so fierce and beaten he was barely recognizable. The jewel on his forehead was split; his mane was ragged and crusted with blood. Even the spikes on his back were fractured beyond repair. His eyes gleamed with intense anger, nearly on the brink of insanity.

Without hesitation, the wolf charged forward, swiping his claws through the air and snarling viciously. Dedede tried to dodge, but one claw caught Meta Knight's wing and he flew from the king's grasp.

"Poyo!" Kirby cried out, leaping away from Dedede to rush to his mentor. Wolfwrath, hissing with excitement, bolted towards the still form of Meta Knight on the ground. Kirby leaped into the air, landed on Wolfwrath's head, and grabbed his shredded ears. Then he pulled back hard. Wolfwrath shrieked and bucked, struggling to throw Kirby off. However, the little puffball couldn't hold on for long and was thrown off, luckily in the direction of Meta Knight.

Wolfwrath blasted a large fireball at them, missed, and the room burst into flames. Dedede stayed in the transporter, shouting for the other two to hurry and join him, for the room was collapsing all around them.

Despite the flames that licked at him, Kirby grabbed Meta Knight and hauled him as fast as he could to the transporter. With a roar of anger, the demon beast raced forward to finish them, but a loud rumbling filled the room and a rain of rocks and ceiling poured down from above. Kirby dived into the transporter just in time as a rock landed on the controls. The dust cleared and Wolfwrath was struggling on the floor, his hind leg caught underneath the debris.

Then he looked up at the transporter.

It was empty.

Howling with fury, he scrabbled frantically at the ground, trying to free himself and pursue the Star Warrior that had ruined his life. Another rumbling sound caught his attention and he looked up, blue eyes widening with fear. He writhed on the ground desperately, but it wasn't enough to save him from the falling rock that came down and ended his life for good.


"Meda wake up, we back, we safe." Kirby murmured, lying on the floor of the throne room, his burnt paws wrapped around Meta Knight. "We okay now. Pwease wake up." His eyes were shining with tears, but Meta Knight did not respond.

Dedede was looking away from the sorrowful scene in front of him. "I'll go get Escargon..." He mumbled, keeping his eyes down, "We need to treat those burns..." Then he hurried from the room, closing the doors shut behind him. Silence filled the room.

With a sob, Kirby pressed his face into Meta Knight's mask, trying to stifle his tears. Underneath, he could hear the faint beat of Meta Knight's heart. His eyes flickered every so often, dimmer than ever. Galaxia, still shining white in his hand, was beginning to fade. The weak beat of his heart was slowing.

"Don't die, Meda." Kirby whispered, but it was too late.

The light of Galaxia died out. Meta Knight's heartbeat stuttered twice…then with one last dull thump, his heart faltered and went silent.