I Will Not Let This End So Easily
"So who's coming?" Zelda asks Fox. Fox usually knows all that's happening in the mansion. Today, he has been talking about the new brawlers.
"I heard from Pikachu that Master Hand sent Pac-man an invite." Fox states, not necessarily happy.
Link laughs. "Pac-man? Isn't eating people Kirby's job?"
"I think Pac-man won't be so bad. We thought Sonic would be bad, but he's actually really cool," Zelda explains. "By the way, has anyone heard from Kirby?"
Fox says, "I hear he is still a little frightened to leave his room."
Link rolls his eyes. "You hear everything, Fox."
Zelda walks off to go check on the mentioned puffball.
Meanwhile…
Meta Knight sits in the garden. The tulips have started to wilt. Jigglypuff's side of the garden looks sad, which is depressing.
Meta Knight isn't alone in the garden for long. Olimar walks out to pluck pikmin, but he notices the Star Warrior. Cautiously, he walks up to Meta Knight. One fact about Olimar is that he is skilled on being unnoticed. He, Mr. Game & Watch, and R.O.B are so good at blending in, that they practically disappear. One time, Mario explained that he thought Olimar was the sneakiest character in the mansion, and that infuriated Snake. Anyway, so Olimar walks up behind Meta Knight unnoticed.
"Hey." Olimar's kind greeting startles Meta Knight, and therefore startling Olimar back.
Meta Knight sighs. "It's just you. I may seem young, but I'm old enough for a heart attack."
"By the looks of things, you take better care of your body than I do." Olimar smiles.
Meta Knight smiles under his mask. "Thank you."
Olimar sits down and asks, "Now what are you doing out in the garden so alone?"
"If you haven't noticed," Meta Knight says. "I'm alone most of the time. I prefer to spectate."
Olimar says, "Then you fooled me. You always seemed to enjoy battling."
"Spectate life, Olimar. I prefer to watch my fellow smashers do day-to-day activities than preform them myself. I'd prefer to fight than watch a fight, but only because I know I'll come out alive."
"You are not very different from the rest of us. I was worried I'd die if I came and fought here, but after learning I wouldn't die, I let Louie push me out the door." Olimar explains. He prefers to see his fellow smashers happy, so he doesn't mind being the person to lighten the mood.
Meta Knight tries to contain his laughter, but it comes out in a giggle. The Hocotatian is great at making others smile. Nobody expected the Hocotatian astronaut to show up at the beginning of the Brawl tourney, but he did. To everyone's surprise, he was a worthy opponent. He also turned out to be a great friend for most. Bowser still hates Olimar, but only because he rearranged the letters in Olimar's name and got 'Mario' with an extra L. And L stands for LUIGI!
Slowly, the mood becomes sorrowful again. Olimar says, "I know this will sound strange, but my wife states that explaining your feelings to someone can help. It seems to work with my daughter."
Meta Knight shrugs. "Even if I did explain my sorrow, there is nothing you, or I, or anybody can do about it."
Olimar thinks back. He remembers seeing Jigglypuff and Meta Knight battling in a forested place. It was gorgeous, and the two smashers were alone… until he came. Then it hits him. "This is about Jigglypuff." He immediately regrets saying that aloud.
Meta Knight hops onto his feet almost menacingly. "Do not speak her name." He barely refrains from taking out his sword. He can already see that he has startled Olimar; he doesn't want to make it worse.
"S-sorry. I don't know why I said that aloud. But… I have to ask… is this about her?" Olimar slowly stands up, hoping Meta Knight doesn't attack.
The world seems to stop for a moment in the silence. There is a lot of heavy things that can't squash the Star Warrior. However, the weight of his broken heart is too much. He refuses to cry, but he finally allows himself to speak about it. "Yes… Olimar. This is about Jigglypuff. She's mad at me. I feel like I've lost her."
To that, Olimar flinches. Did he hear that right? Was that literal, or figurative? Could it be that he just witnessed the great Meta Knight confessing that he… loves Jigglypuff? …Maybe Mario hit him too hard that last battle he had. He is at a loss for words. "Lost her like… literally? She's probably in her room." The last thing Olimar wants to do is assume something and then get pummeled for it.
"Olimar, what do you say to a girl when you make them mad? How can I make it up to her?"
Olimar has had experience with this, but he has never given advice about it. "Well, when I make my wife mad unintentionally, I go buy her flowers or chocolates or something. That happens on rare occasion, though. The last time I made her mad, I was mad, too, and crash-landed on a foreign planet. When we dated, all I had to do was apologize sincerely. If I were you, I'd ask her how to make it up to her. Be prepared to do something really stupid or humiliating, though. Women seem to get enjoyment out of our misery and humiliation."
Meta Knight's spirits lift. He knows what to do. "Thank you Olimar. I know what I must do." He runs towards the mansion. He stops and looks back. "Nobody is to hear of this, ok?"
Olimar nods with a satisfied smile. He watches as Meta Knight happily runs inside to do something very important.
In the mansion…
Meta Knight runs up to Jigglypuff's room. He knocks three times. Jigglypuff is polite and always opens up or asks "who is it". Meta Knight is hoping she opens the door instead of asking "who is it". However, there is no answer.
"There you are!" The voice startles Meta Knight, but it is only Samus. "I suppose you know something about this."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. Is Jigglypuff in her room?" Meta Knight asks.
"If you've tried knocking, she won't open up." Samus explains. She seems mad.
Meta Knight yells, "I'm coming in!" He tries to open the door, but it is locked. He was hoping he wouldn't have to do this, but it looks like he'll have no choice. He kicks down the door in one kick. To his surprise, Jigglypuff isn't there. He looks at Samus. "Why would her room be locked if she isn't in there?"
Samus hands Meta Knight a piece of paper. Meta Knight suddenly gets worried. Please don't be a resignation note… or worse… He is relieve to see that it isn't what he thought. However, the note is maddening. "I didn't write this."
"That's what I thought, but it didn't hurt to check," Samus explains. "Someone as smart as you doesn't write a capture note and leaves their name."
"The handwriting is very poor. I'm offended that you all thought it was me." Meta Knight studies the note.
Samus smirks and says, "The reason I thought it was you is because we all know you as very neat, and you know that. By writing really sloppy, you thought it would trick us. Once again, I am one step ahead of you."
Meta Knight asks, "But why would I kidnap Jigglypuff? Going further, where would I keep her? Lucario and Snake know every inch of the Halberd, and Pikachu is more than capable of fitting into tight spaces here in the mansion."
Samus nods. "Good point. I need that note back as evidence. You are still a suspect."
Meta Knight hands the note back. "Are you suddenly a detective now?"
"There are few bounty hunters like me who love a good mystery to track down prey."
"That's not discomforting at all." Sarcasm rolls off his tongue.
Samus laughs and walks off. There is something about sarcasm in a Spanish accent that is just amusing, especially from Meta Knight.
Fear starts setting in. No wonder Jigglypuff wasn't answering the door and wasn't in her room; she's been captured! Just when things couldn't get any worse, they got worse! Just like the time when King Dedede decided to make dinner for everybody at the mansion. If that wasn't bad enough, he decided to make Peach's infamous meatloaf. Ike almost died that day.
Meta Knight decides to go to the roof to think things through…
A little later
Lucario meditates in the quietest spot in the mansion; the roof. Not but three minutes ago, his good friend Meta Knight joined him. Meta Knight seems to be meditating in a different way. He seems to be thinking deeply about something troubling him. If Olimar hasn't already told him that talking about it helps, then that would explain why Meta Knight hasn't said a word- not even when he said "hello" did Meta Knight respond back with words; he just nodded as if to say hello back.
"I must ask; what is bothering you, my friend?" Lucario finally asks.
Meta Knight sighs and says, "You must have been spared the news."
"News of what?"
Meta Knight hesitates before answering. "They have found a note, stating that Jigglypuff was captured."
Lucario thinks of something witty to say, but to be polite, he doesn't say it. He can feel Meta Knight's aura, and Meta Knight is upset about this. Lucario, instead of being witty, asks, "Why does this trouble you?"
There is silence.
"I cannot help you if you do not tell me what your trouble is. I want to help you." Lucario drops his meditating and sits beside his friend.
Meta Knight almost buries himself in his cape, but he doesn't knowing that he may seem weak for doing so.
Lucario tries to understand using his aura-sensing abilities. "You want to tell, but you fear it would make you seem weak. I'll be honest, I am offended that you can't tell me your deepest confessions."
With that, Meta Knight realizes that if he can't trust anybody else in the mansion, that he can trust Lucario. … But then again, Lucario keeps secrets, too. He's seen it. "Lucario," Meta Knight explains. "I must know if you are willing to humiliate yourself as I would if I told you what I'm feeling." Feeling weak isn't fun, but it is better if your friend is willing to be weak with you.
Lucario smiles. "And so you are right. I understand where you are going with this." He stands and walks away. Meta Knight almost thinks he is leaving. However, Lucario stops, standing in the place he was meditating.
"Do you remember that day at the store?"
"Which one?" Oh wait! "I mean yes! That day, yes. When we all went." That was too close.
Lucario dismisses the strange moment and says, "Ok. So, I know you left before everyone started confessing things, which, in a sense, was noble."
Then it hits Meta Knight. Lucario told him he said something embarrassing, but he didn't say what it was. Maybe this is what Lucario was going to tell him.
"My big secret that I stated I accidently confessed…" Lucario confirms Meta Knight's suspicion. "I was young at the time. I was unevolved, and therefore not as strong as I am today."
During the pause, Meta Knight says, "I would try to guess, but that might offend you."
Lucario chuckles a little. "You may guess, but you'll never guess it right. Do you want to guess, or may I continue?"
"You lost a big battle and never showed again because of it!"
Lucario shakes his head. "The regret is much worse." He looks away and continues. "Searching for food, I came across a girl. The girl was my age, and very pretty. She was a Buneary, destined to one day evolve and be a Lopunny. Instead of learning about her, I ran from my feelings. I ran from her. That was a big mistake on my part."
Meta Knight doesn't get it. "So you didn't want to fall in love. What's so embarrassing about that?"
Lucario looks back at his friend. Tears are at the verge of falling from his eyes. "Because it was the greatest mistake I ever made. I wish I would have stayed to love her. Maybe I would be happier today if I did. I regret running from and not chasing after the one I loved at first sight." Lucario looks away, at where the sun sets in the evenings.
As if the gates have opened, Meta Knight is enlightened. He hops onto his feet. "I know what I must do." He runs in front of Lucario and looks up at Lucario's face. Lucario looks down at Meta Knight as Meta Knight says, "Lucario, that is what I must do! I cannot just sit here and morn as Jigglypuff suffers being kidnapped! I must go save her like a hero should! I cannot let her get away from me! Thank you my friend! You have been most helpful!" With that, Meta Knight runs to the edge of the roof and jumps without fear. Like always, his trusty cape turns into bat-like wings and lets him soar through the air at great speed.
Meta Knight heads for the only possible kidnapper- Crazy Hand. I will not let this end so easily.