Zorua Illusion: Thanks! The one on one training that Meta Knight is using is typical for Star Warriors when training their apprentices. This allows for them to figure out what each individual needs to learn and specifically designing a lesson planning that matches those needs.

Yes. The butterflies of doom! (Duh, duh, duh!)

Boys will be boys, and not even the passage of time will change that. I like the idea that, even though they are fierce and respected warriors, the guys could get pretty goofy in their off time. As for Garlude, she loves her team mates dearly, but they also drive her crazy sometimes.

As for the name Crescendo, I'm glad you caught the musical meaning. The arc after this one is going to be pretty important, so this arc is building up to it. Since crescendo means a building up, I thought it was rather appropriate.

kirbyBoss: Don't worry about it. Sometimes tech is both a blessing and a curse, and there are times it feels more like the latter than the former...

Huh, I never thought of Kirby as being like a cat. I wonder how he'd react to the comparison.

Kirbyproduction112: Yeah, everyone's been down the nightmare lane before. It's no fun. :(

As for your questions:

1. In this case, its neither. Kirby and MK's species doesn't have a canon name. I've seen people call them Puffballs and Kirbies, but I don't want to use either of those. Kirby is an individual, so calling them Kirbies is out (though Dedede does use that term.) As for the term puffball, I always felt it was too generic. While some people will refer to them as puffballs, that's not their race's name. I thought Puffal matched up well, as it has a cute, puffy feel to it, without being just a description of how they look. (Fun fact, it was originally going to be spelt Puffle, until I found out that Club Penguin already has creatures by that name.)

2. Don't worry, the Puffalings will make future appearances. The last time they appeared was in "A Walk on the Wild Side," so they are due for a feature. I have several appearances planned, but I can't tell you any more without spoiling.

Thanks for the comments and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

A handful of OC's and original settings belongs to SilverWarriorWolf.

Everything else belongs to Nintendo, Hal Laboratory, 4Kids, and Warpstar Inc.

Episode Thirty Five: Coming Crescendo, Part Two

"I say fry 'em!" the Batafire declared as she fluttered around the cave. "Nice 'n' crispy! Always much tastier that way."

"No! I say boiling's the way to go," the Mopoo responded. "We make 'em into stew and eat 'em all up!"

"No, no!" the Moundo said. "We squash 'em flat first, and then eat 'em up when they stop wriggling! Always harder to eat when wriggling."

The Four Forces each lay in a small cage, only able to hold still and listen to the morbid conversation as their captors discussed the multiple ways the Star Warriors could meet their end. They had been on a mission, scouting out the forests of Neo Star to make sure that everything was alright. However, they eventually had to rest, and because this was a planet that was typically friendly they had neglected to set up a guard. As a result, while they were sleeping, they had been ambushed and captured by three of Nightmare's monsters.

"It's not looking good," Daroach said as he fiddled with the lock on his cage. "These monsters might be half-wits, but whoever came up with these locks knew his business well. Without the tools I keep in my cape, there's no way I can pick this."

"And of course they had to take everything," Garlude groaned. She looked longingly at where her sabre had been flung across the cave. "Our bags, weapons, everything but out masks and the cloths on our backs were snatched away."

Jecra leaned as far out of his cage as the bars would allow him. He had a long stick he had procured and was attempting to hook some of their belongings on the end of it. After a while, he succeeded in catching the strap of one of the bags. "Good news, guys!" he called out, though he was careful to keep his voice down. "I got one of the bags. We'll be home free in no time." He started pulling his catch in, only to have it slide off and fall in a way that made it even farther away than before. "Oops. Looks like I don't have it. How're you doing, Meta?"

"Not too well," the Puffal responded. "The bars are too tight for me to squeeze through. I can't get my feet out any way I try." He slumped back at the edge of his cage. "Unless one of you has something up your sleeves, it looks like the end of the line.

Daroach thought for a moment before snapping his fingers. "That's it! Meta, do you still have your mask?"

"Yes, I do," the Puffal responded. "Why?"

"Because that's going to be out ticket out of here," was the mouse's response. "You see-"

"Hey, what dinner talking 'bout?" The warriors quickly became silent when they realized that the arguing had stopped. The three monsters were now staring intently at their captives. "Dinner should be quiet," Mopoo said ominously.

"Eehee!" Batafire laughed. "I say we all have one now, and split the last. I want fatty ball!"

"Hey, Moundo want fatty ball," the rock monster growled. "Fatty ball look tasty. You have purple blondie."

"No, Mopoo have fatty ball!" the final monster declared. "Make bigabig good stew!"

This gave Daroach an idea. "Hey, Meta, I've got a plan," he called out while the monsters were still arguing, "but you're going to have to agree to it." He then whispered the details over to Meta.

The blue Puffal look up in shock for a moment, but his expression changed to one of resignation. "Fine. Just please hurry. I'd rather not do that for longer than I need to."

"You got it!" Daroach responded, giving a thumb up.

Now that the plan had been formulated, it was time to put it into practice. The mouse looked up at the three monsters before calling out. "Hey, you there!"

The monsters froze and turned to look at him. Batafire leaned into the cage. "Floaty mouse got bigabig mouth," she sneered. "What floaty mouse want?"

Daroach bowed deeply, looking up imploringly at their captors. "We know you want to eat us, and that's all well and good. A fellow's got to eat, after all. But please, if you are going to eat us, just grant us one last request."

"What a 'request'?" Mopoo asked, confused by the question.

"Well, you see, I'm my good friend over there, the Puffal." Daroach said, motioning over to Meta. "You see, if it is at all possible, we would like it if anyone but Moundo had him."

"What!" Moundo declared angrily. "Why Moundo no have fatty ball!?"

"It's just that being squashed would be such an awful way to go," the mouse said, his voice full of pleading. "So won't you please be merciful and attempt to dispatch him in any other manner?"

"Moundo not merciful!" the monster declared. "Moundo big and tough and Moundo kill fatty ball now!" Before Batafire and Mopoo could protest, the hulking rock monster snatched Meta out of his cage. As soon as he was out, Meta tossed his mask over to Daroach, just in time for the huge rock creature to begin jumping on him.

As soon as Moundo began his assault, Batafire and Mopoo flocked over to watch his progress. However, much to all three of their dismay, nothing seemed to kill the Puffal. "Moundo hit hard 'n' hard!" the monster growled angrily. "Why fatty ball no die?"

He prepared to leap at Meta again, only to be knocked back by the blow of a sword beam. All of the monsters spun around to see that Daroach, Jecra, and Garlude had escaped and claimed their weaponry.

Without a moment's hesitation, the monsters sprang at the warriors, but the fight was a short one. While they had been able to capture the fighters by ambush before, now that they were prepared, the Forces were in no danger at all. Before long, Mopoo had been dispatched by a blow from Garlude's sabre, a freeze blast from the Triple Star had taken out Batafire, and Jecra's claymore had smashed Moundo.

"I was born and bred in the briar patch, Br'er Monsters," Daroach smirked once they were done.

Now that they were in the clear, the three quickly set to putting Meta to rights. Once he was up, the Puffal gripped his head and groaned. "Oh, you guys owe me one," he said darkly.

"Of course we do," Daroach said, clapping him on the back. "Thanks for being a good sport about those lock picks I hid in your mask."

"Well, they got us out of trouble this time," Meta responded as he put back on his cape. "I'd just like to know how you did so without me knowing."

The mouse gave a sly grin. "Now, I can't give all my tricks away, now can I?"

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"Now, Kirby, for this next exercise, we are going to try something different." Meta Knight pulled a small cloth out of his bag and handed it to Kirby. "Put this blindfold on. We are going to practice moving around without depending on sight."

Kirby took the cloth from his mentor and looked curiously at it. "Why?"

The question was easily answered. "Because you can never truly expect what it to come in life," the older warrior responded. He took off his own mask to demonstrate. "Before I lost my eyesight, I was incredibly dependent on my vison to be able to understand a lot about my environment. What area I had an advantage in, any flaws my enemies revealed, and other such information was taken majorly in by sight. Once I lost that ability, I was left crippled for a good long while."

He sat down and even though he continued to talk, he adjusted to focusing his senses on the area around him. "I was able to adapt however, which is the only reason I am still alive today. Over time I learned that everything represents something, even if it cannot be seen. Every sound, smell, or touch conveys a message and one that can be used to you strategic advantage if you know how to find it. Now, why don't you try? Using the blindfold, describe what is around you using descriptors from your other senses."

Kirby nodded, hanging on to his teacher's words, a sort of fascination filling him. He quickly put the blindfold on and sat down. As soon as he did so, he focused hard on everything around him. However, it soon became clear that the younger Puffal was struggling in his task. "Uh, t'ere wind, an' there birds, an', an' grass." The pink Puffal fell silent for a few moments, trying and failing to find anything worth describing that fell outside of the obvious or the vague. However, he was determined not to let his teacher down, so he continued to struggle for anything that might be of use.

Sensing his pupil's frustration, Meta Knight intervened. "This is a rather difficult task, and you have done very well for a first attempt. How about you listen as I show you what to look for this time?"

"'Kay," the squire responded. He was glad to just listen and allow the master to take over.

"Building off of what you have already described," the blue Puffal said, his sightless white eyes pointing up into the sky, "there is wind, birds, and grass. The wind is coming at a brisk pace, not as fast as to precede a storm, but fast enough that it keeps the area cooled down. Furthermore, there is a scent of salt in it, so it is probably coming off of the ocean, probably the Orange Ocean from the direction. There are a scattering of songbirds, and they all seem to be staying in the same place, which would suggest that there is a nest and a family somewhere. We must be careful so as not to disturb them when we move. The grass is clearly wild, as it is untrimmed. However, it is of a short stemmed breed, probably Cappy Grass, by the feel of it. Unsurprising, considering there are many of the species that it takes its name from around. They are fond of its soft texture and make sure to have a steady supply of it wherever they go."

Kirby lifted his blindfold and looked with amazement at his teacher. "Wow!" he said in amazement. "Medikni weally sma't! How you know all t'at?"

Meta Knight chuckled at his young student's response. "With practice, Kirby, with practice. It takes a lot of training to be able to learn what details to focus on and what details to block out, so you need to put your full attention in when you are learning such skills. Trust me; it would be much easier for you to learn in a peaceful area over a long amount of time before you need this skill than to have to learn it rapidly in the field."

Eager to become just like his mentor, the little Star Warrior quickly replaced the mask and began focusing hard on what details he could notice without his eyes. However, as he worked hard, one final question came to his mind. "Medikni?"

"Yes, Kirby?"

"How did Medikni lose eye-sigh? Is Kaabii gonna lose eye-sigh?"

Meta Knight grimaced at the question, relieved that Kirby couldn't see it. "Not if I can help it. Hopefully, you will keep your eyesight for a long time to come. As for how I lost mine, well, that is a story for when you are older."

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The dark of the desert cave made it hard for the Four Forces to see as they moved through the tunnel system. They were coming on a simple rescue mission, which was much more relaxed than some of their previous misadventures had been. A Star Warrior ship, the Skyrunner, had been trapped on this planet when it sunk into a sinkhole. No one was hurt, but none of the crew could get out, so the Forces had been sent out to retrieve them. Thus, the relaxed nature of the mission and slow moving through the dark passages allowed for some talk among the friends as they moved.

"So, Meta," Garlude called back, "I heard about you and Lynette. Congratulations! Have you guys set a date yet?"

Meta blushed, his eyes turning lavender at the thought of his fiancée. "Well, I just proposed, so it will be a little while still. We haven't really discussed a time, as we need to figure out when it will be opportune for her family to come up from Aqua Star."

"I remember when we were setting up our wedding date," Jecra laughed, taking his wife's hand as he spoke. "Nothing seemed to work out well, did it? Garlude's father had to be off in Beta Epsilon to head off the invasion force, and my brothers were leading that charge to uproot the bases Nightmare already had in Wilen Star."

"Yes, but thankfully both of those missions were finished off rather quickly," Garlude chimed in. "The wedding turned out lovely, just like yours will."

"Just be careful not to get cold feet there," Daroach laughed, throwing an arm around Meta's shoulders. "Heaven knows whether you'll find another girl like that if you leave her."

"And how about you?" Meta asked quickly, eager to turn the conversation off of his love life. "Are you still going out with Juliana girl?"

"Jeiliana," the mouse corrected, "and yes, we are still going strong. She's a fine girl; one of the few I've dated who can actually keep up on the Parkour course."

"That's because she's one of the few girls you've ever dated that's also a Star Warrior." Meta chucked. "You'd think that-"

Jecra quickly raised his hand, motioning for silence from his friends. "Shh!" he called out. "I don't think we're alone in here."

Heeding his warning, the other three became dead silent. All weapons were drawn in an instant, and the warriors prepared for anything to spring out at them in an instant. Each began scanning to find what might be sneaking up on them, and soon, Meta Knight was rewarded with the sight of one of the largest monsters he knew of.

"It's Coily Rattler!" he shouted in warning. "Quick, move out of its way!"

As soon as the large armored snake realized that it had been seen, it dashed forwards, attempting to grab one of the warriors in its mouth. However, they were too fast for it and were able to dash out of its way. The snake, once it had missed its targets, coiled up on the floor, towering over the Star Warriors and prepared to attack.

The Four moved around their enemy, weapons drawn and prepared to attack. Coily Rattler made the first move, selecting a target and charging straight at them. Jecra moved quickly to one side and struck the monster with his claymore on the side of its body. However, the body was hard as steel; thus, the blow did not do any damage.

Meta and Daroach then moved in. The mouse high ground and prepared to let off a freezing beam, which would hold the monster in place while Meta struck with his longsword. However, the serpent saw what was coming and unleashed a volley of fireballs in response.

The fire blasts effortlessly tore through the ice beam and Daroach was forced to jump behind a nearby rock formation for cover. Meta, meanwhile, had been left completely exposed and unprepared. Seeing this, Coily Rattler struck out with his tail, hitting the Star Warrior with the end and sending him crashing into the wall behind him. His longsword, which had been knocked loose by the snake's attack, was the grabbed and easily shattered.

Jecra struck again, leaping from a high height while aiming for the enemy's more unprotected head. However, the monster responded to this by dodging aside and twisting itself in a way so that it caught the Star Warrior in its mouth. It bit down hard several times before flinging him aside. He crumpled against the cavern wall, injured and bleeding, but alive.

It prepared to strike him again when Garlude intercepted. As its head came down, she dodged into its path and held up her sabre so that the monstrous snake caught the weapon in its mouth.

That finally did the trick. While the huge creature was not killed by this attack, it did finally inflict a wound. Garlude was quick to realize the damage she had done. "Its head is its weak point!" she called out as she fought to pull her sword out. "Aim for the head!"

However, while she was calling this out, Coily Rattler recovered from the blow and knocked her aside. Stunned by shock of the hit, Garlude could hardly move, and could only lie still as the monster came in to make the kill.

However, before it could make the killing blow, Daroach leaped up, springing on to the serpent's back and drawing the Triple Star across its neck.

Meta came too here and saw the state they were in. Jecra and Garlude had come to, but both of them were injured. Daroach had a hand on the monster, but goodness knew how long that would last before the snake would be able to shake him. And there was Meta, who was now completely unarmed.

Moving back, the Puffal scanned the floor of the cave in search of a weapon, any weapon. It was clear he had been tossed into Coily Rattler's den, as there were bones of past hunts scattered across the floor. Maybe, there would be something that could help.

That's when he saw it. A sword with its point buried in a stone so that it was standing upright. Meta didn't know how it had come to be here, but right now, he didn't care. He grabbed the weapon by the hilt and rushed ahead to rejoin the battle.

He did so just in time, too. As he ran into the fray, the monster serpent finally succeeded at throwing Daroach from its back. It reared up to its full height, hatred clear in its eyes. It then sprang at the mouse, prepared to kill.

That was when Meta attacked. Using all his strength, he swung the sword, hoping upon hope that the sword beam would be enough to knock the snake back. It did much more, though, as the attack cut right through the monster. Coily Rattler then froze, as if trying to comprehend its own death, before finally falling to pieces.

The battle now won, the Four Forces regrouped. From the look of things, they weren't in too bad of a shape, all things considered. Jecra was hurt the worst, with long cuts in his torso that would need tending. That could all be done at the Skyrunner once they made it there. The other three seemed to just have minimal bruising.

"Is everyone alright?" Meta asked, just to make sure he wasn't missing anything. He waited for a response, but none was forthcoming. The others just looked at him in shock.

"What?" he asked self-consciously after a few moments. "I'm not missing anything, am I?"

"It's not what you've lost," Daroach said, shock wearing off. He gave a bright grin as he continued. "It's what you've found. Take a look at that blade."

Meta turned to look at the weapon in his hand and nearly dropped it out of shock. He had not taken a look at it during the battle, but now that he did he couldn't believe it. In his hand was a six pronged blade of golden color. Its hilt was also gold and had a ruby embedded in the center. Indeed, no Star Warrior worth their weight would not recognize what blade he had found.

It was the sword Galaxia, the famed weapon of the founder Sir Metian.

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Now that the sense training was finished for the moment, Meta Knight had decided that it was time to pause for a few moments for some lunch. As he received no arguments from Kirby, he donned his mask once more and turned back to their supply bag.

As they set the supplies out, the younger Puffal turned and looked intently at his teacher. After a few moments of thinking, he decided to voice his question. "Medikni," he said, after figuring out how he wanted to ask this, "if Kaabii no' gonna lose eye-sigh, is Kaabii gonna have mas'?"

"Yes," the elder Star Warrior responded, not even bothering to look up as the answered the question. "It is tradition that on the day of their knighting that a newly fledged Star Warrior will receive their mask. The mask is designed by that warrior's mentor, and there is usually some tie in the mask to the history and legends of the Star Warriors. It is usually only for special occasions, but I wear mine most of the time because it was easier to put the corrective lenses for my eyes in the mask than for just about any other design."

"Oh," Kirby said, listening closely to his teacher's words. "Wha' Medikni's mas' say?"

"Excuse me?"

"Wha' sto'y is it 'bout?" the little one answered, pointing to the knight's mask.

"Oh, that." Meta Knight chuckled a bit, his eyes tinging green with nostalgia. "My father designed this mask in imitation of the legendary battleship, the Halberd."

"Wha' da Halber'?"

"The Halberd was the last ship to be designed by our founders before their deaths. While the building started in their lifetime, it was so large and grand that it took several generations to be finally finished."

"Ohhh! Wha' happen t'en?"

"Nobody quite knows for sure." Meta Knight seated himself and took one of the sandwiches and handing another to Kirby. "By the time it was finished, the majority of the Star Warriors decided to leave their old base, the Fortress Stormholt. Legend says that the vessel was left to those who remained, and is still there to this day."

Kirby swallowed his food before going back for seconds. "Why no' go back ta Sto'mhol' now?"

The elder warrior shook his head. "You are feeling very inquisitive today, aren't you? Well, no one quite knows where Stormholt is now, or even what planet it is on. Once upon a time, there was a radio feed traveling between the fortress and the lead ship, but it was lost generations ago and no one knows why it was lost." He settled back before reaching in for thirds. "It's probably for the best. The fortress was full of all sorts of weapons that would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. At least if it is lost than no one bad has it."

The young one nodded intently as he listened and ate. He was aware that the Star Warriors had a rich history, and he wanted to know everything he could about it. As such, he continued to ask questions through lunch, which Meta Knight patiently answered.

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"I don't see what you are all quite frustrated about," Daroach commented as he exited the office building. He was currently dressed completely in black, with a black mask and black bandana over his head. There was also a pizza flavored all day sucker stuck to his ear. "All in all, that mission went quite well."

"Easy for you to say," Meta Knight retorted as he followed his friend out. He too was wearing a costume, but one that was a bit less dignified. He was wearing a black top hat and white glasses-like mask. "You did not have to use one of the most humiliating costumes ever, along with having to use one of the most useless abilities ever because the building has a no weapons policy."

He turned around and pulled some balloon strings out the door. These strings were followed by three huge balloons that spelled out HAL. There were several of Nightmare's goons tied to them and all of the goons were wearing matching pork pie hats. There was also a Broomhatter on the crook of the L, but no one could give an account for how it had gotten there.

"Well, I suppose it did making things more difficult," Daroach commented as he pulled the sucker off. "However, you did use the circus ability most masterfully, and that clown was gracious to allow you to inhale his juggling balls. By the way, what does 'hal' mean?"

"The heck if I know," Meta replied. "I don't like using that ability because I can never tell just what I'm going to do or use. Sometimes I get balloons and other times I just jump around like a mad creature. That's why I try to avoid using it when I can."

"At least you weren't right in the path of a falling Squishy tank," Garlude commented as she emerged from the building. She was wearing a white wedding dress with pink frills. Or at least, it used to be white and pink. Now it, as well as her hair, was soaking wet and black, for the most part, because the Squishy that was currently gripping hard to her head had inked. "I'm never going to get myself clean," she groaned as she looked down at herself.

"Well, it could be worse," Daroach commented.

"Yeah, how?"

"It could have been a Saw Gill tank."

"Hey guys? Can I have a little help?" Before anything else could be said, Jecra came out. He was also in odd clothing, a bright yellow chicken suit that opened at the mouth so that his face could be seen. The suit came with a bright purple tee shirt declaring "I'm a Big Boy!" in bright yellow lettering. He also had a rope gripped in his hands. "This big guy's not exactly being cooperative."

Right on cue, a furious, cross-eyed Grizzo in a tutu charged out. It rampaged on, doing its best to shake Jecra, who was clinging on to the rope for dear life.

Garlude and Daroach ran forward to help him, getting ahold of the rest of the rope and tugging hard to get the charging animal to stop. It took a little while, but they were finally able to calm the creature down somewhat and prepare it for transport.

As they headed back to the Solarian, all four stood, looking each other over. None of them wanted to say a word about the ordeal they had just gone through.

Finally, unable to take the silence any longer, Meta spoke. "Once we report to the council, I say we never speak of this incident ever again."

"Agreed," Daroach said.

"You'll get no arguments from me," Garlude commented as she wrung out her hair.

"I won't say a word if you won't," Jecra assured.

And they never did.

To be continued…

Author's Note: And more misadventures of the Merry Four Forces! Another little challenge to those who want to take it. Both Meta and Daroach's outfits in the final segment of this chapter comes from somewhere else. One came from a Kirby game, and the other a very famous movie. Bonus points to whoever can guess, though I'll tell you what it was if you ask.

Now where will our heroes lives take them? Tune in next Monday to find out! Have a nice week, and I hope to hear from you all!-SilverWarriorWolf.