Mega016: I know what you mean. Zero's not my favorite Kirby villain, either, and I do think he's a bit too played up in fanfic. However, I will not deny that he is a dangerous, formidable villain, and I do have a role for him. Don't worry, though; Nightmare's staying the big villain.
Zorua Illusion: I know about the YouTube subs, but never watched them. My issue with that is a pretty big one: Copyright. There are two shows I want to watch that are only on YouTube (Hoshi no Kaabii and Gadget and the Gadgetinis, a Europe and Canada only spin off of Inspector Gadget), but I've heard you can be slapped with a fine up to $750 for watching pirated material on YouTube! Why are those two restricted to only Japan and Europe? Why?! TnT
Yeah, being a parent is never easy (especially to your own clone), but Meta Knight's doing his best.
Dedede can be dim sometimes. Or should I say, there is the extremely rare moment when he's not dim. I'm glad you got a laugh out of his shock. (The Puffalings got a pet, so they're happy.)
I'm not quite as sure about the Smash Bros. Dark core stuff. I personally haven't played it, though Wolf has.
Oh, yeah, poor Meta will never catch a break. He's got a lot on his plate. But what exactly do they have planned? We'll just have to read to find out.
I know Thanksgiving was last week, so happy belated Thanksgiving. I hope you had a good time
Kirbywarriorsfan122: I'm glad you like Lynette. Honestly, she was originally two characters: a character named Lyssa who was MK's love interest and a woman named Annette, who was Kirby's nanny. I then realized that this would work better as one character (MK's wife and Kirby's mother) and fused their names. It was only after I did no that I realized that Lynette is a real name. Happy accident!
As for their species, yes their the same species, but not the same race. Lynette is a Star Jumper Puffal, while Kirby and MK are Inhaler Puffals. Star Jumpers do not have the inhale or copy abilities, and they are physically weaker than most inhalers, but they are very clever and good with technology. We'll get into them more in the future.
Kirby: Yay! Kaabii wike waffahs! Kaabii have waffahs, pwease?
Piplup: Well, just read on. We'll find out in time.
Kirby: 1. Uh, t'is much! (Stretches his paws out wide.)
2. Wots! Dedededededede Kaabii's fwiend!
Dedede: Extremely. Despite what he says, we are not friends!
Tiff: Which twins? There's Ado and Adeleine, Lololo and Lalala, and Marty and Mikey. Well, I am friends with all three groups.
Meta Knight: I do not believe this would be appropriate for me to-
Kirby: A gazillion and one!
Nightmare: You're puny attempts at humor are pitiful, but you earn my approval for trying to amuse me. I will not smite you today.
Sliver: I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! Enjoy the chapter!
meow: Well, considering this chapter's title, I don't think its a spoiler to tell you that it's not DDD. Sorry.
And yes, Mrs. Mufflerkins did find a Mr. Mufflerkins. No, she doesn't get out, but Dedede goes out on rides and often doesn't remember her for hours at a time.
We'll find out more about the Star Warriors eventually.
CallieSizemore601: Yes. Doom is at hand.
MoodyPoro: What I can say is that I do have that part written out, and we'll be finding out in the next couple of chapters. Also, your welcome. There will be more to come in that area as well.
Luna-Moon-Knight: Thanks! I'm glad you like my interpretation of everyone's favorite blue Puffal.
Nightmare: Your mortal mind cannot comprehend my birth! I will not lower myself to explaining my origin to such a pathetic being.
Sliver: Don't worry. I'll tell you in a couple of chapters.
Hope you all enjoy the new plot!
Copyright belongs to the names on the games and anime. Do you see SilverWarriorWolf on there? Didn't think so.
Episode Forty Eight: The Meta-Knightmare, Part One
"Meta? Meta, can you hear me? Oh, please say you can hear me!"
The woman's voice came to the warrior out of a darkness. Meta Knight struggled against the oppressive feeling of blackness and focused in on that voice. He had no idea where he was or what was going on, but the voice was comforting and familiar, so he worked to try to get to her.
With some struggle, he forced his eyes open and found himself lying in a brightly lit room. He was resting on a bed, and had bandages tied around his head, which throbbed with a dull pain. Turning over onto his side, he looked around, searching for the person who had called him from the blackness. However, when he saw her, he could only stutter out a single word. "Lynette!"
The ivory Puffal woman smiled brightly and hugged him once he spoke. "Oh, Meta! You're alright! I'm so relieved."
"Wait, what is going on?" he asked.
"What's going on," another familiar voice put in, "is that you took a pretty bad hit to the head. You scared us."
Meta spun in shock, as this newcomer was someone else he had not expected. "Papa! How are you alive?"
Heavy Knight looked surprised for a moment before shrugging. "That's right. Dr. Yabui mentioned that strange dreams sometimes accompany these sorts of injuries, and that the injured might not be able to separate dream from reality."
"Injury? Dream?" The Star Warrior was more confused than ever. "What do you mean? And how do you know Dr. Yabui? You died before I settled in Dreamland."
Lynette frowned. "That bump did more damage than we supposed."
Meta was going to ask again, but Heavy Knight began explaining first. "You were out with Kirby and some of the other recruits in Whispy Woods when some brigands attacked. You fought valiantly, but the fight had done some damage to the surrounding trees, and a particularly large branch was cut off and struck you hard. The kids got you back here, which was a relief in and of itself, but we started to get worried when you began speaking in your sleep."
"Funny," the blue Puffal murmured, going through his memories. "I can't remember anything like that. I can recall many other things, though. Things that would contradict what I am being told."
"That's the injury again," Lynette said, gently taking her husband's paw. "Sometime, when there is an intense injury, false memories can come up, and even force the true memories to leave."
"That would explain why you thought that I was dead," the Boxin added.
"I'm afraid that I'm still lost," Meta responded apologetically. "How did you survive your encounter with Nightmare?"
This got the response that shocked the Puffal even more. "Nightmare? Who's Nightmare?"
"What do you mean, 'who's Nightmare'? He's the very foe we've been facing for centuries! The bane of the universe! We've been facing him since I was younger than Kirby." The confused look on his companions' faces were fare from comforting. "Haven't we?"
Sensing her husband's distress, Lynette gently squeezed his paw. "It was all just a dream," she said quietly. "A horrible dream, from the sound of it, but only a dream. You're safe, at the Star Warrior base located in Dreamland, and there's nothing here that you have to fear."
Hearing this, Meta slumped back into his pillow. His head was swirling now, which did not improve with the steady throb. "I'm afraid I still haven't any idea what's going on."
Heavy Knight nodded. "You're still recovering from that bump on the head. Don't worry, once you've had a little rest, you'll be feeling right as rain. If you still don't understand what is going on once you wake up, we'll give you a bit of a reminder to see if we can't jog your memory."
"We'll let you get back to sleep." Lynette kissed his cheek before turning to go. "When I come back, I'll bring the children. They'll be relieved to hear that their daddy is alright."
"Your mother and sisters will want to know, too," Heavy Knight laughed. "Just be prepared to wake up to a veritable crowd."
Once they had left, Meta Knight relaxed, trying to focus on his past. He could vaguely remember being out with Kirby and some of the other children when a black shape hit him. Maybe it was a branch, and everything he remembered was just trauma. He didn't particularly like that idea, but if that was what had happened, he could accept that.
A he drifted off to sleep, a single word said to him before came back, and another weird premonition filled him. "Daddy?
(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)
"Hurry! Hurry! C'mon! He's in here!" Tiff and Tuff rushed through the palace halls, a very confused Dr. Yabui in tow. Behind them, several others, mostly the local kids, who heard the commotion also followed, curious as to what was causing all the dismay.
"Who's in here?" the doctor asked before they came up to the room. "What's going on?"
"It's Sir Meta Knight," Tiff said quickly. "We were out in the fields, and he was training Kirby, when this weird black thing came out of nowhere and attacked him. He fought it off as best he could, but after a few minutes, it seemed to go into him, and then he started thrashing around. C'mon, you gotta come see him!"
Sure enough, as they entered the room, they could see the state Meta Knight was in. He had been strapped down to the bed because of his thrashing, and his skin had an unhealthy tone. It sure looked as if he was in a bad state.
Kirby sat nearby, tears welling in his eyes. He was clutching his master's cape, though the mask had remained in place, and sheer terror could be felt. "Medikni gonna be 'kay?" he asked anxiously.
"Oh, my," the doctor said, surprised. "I've never seen anything like this before. You kids had better stay out of here. I'll need to examine him closely. Nothing like this before has ever happened in Dreamland."
The children reluctantly allowed themselves to be shuffled out of the room. They then gathered together to discuss what had happened, except for Ribbon, who flew to the crack in the door to try to watch. She had turned deathly pale, and seemed intent on figuring out just what was going on.
"Do you have any idea what that black thing was?" Adeleine asked as the group settled down. "Maybe if we can figure out what attacked him, we can figure out how to save him."
Tuff shook his head. "No idea. Tiff didn't really get a good look at it, but I did. It was huge and black, and had a giant eye peering out of it. It charged at me an' Kirby first, but Meta Knight jumped in front to protect us. The thing didn't seem to like Galaxia, but it was able to get around. The weird thing is, once it had an opening, the thing seemed to go into Meta Knight. That's when he started acting funny, and Galaxia and his mask were fused to him."
Kirby whimpered and clutched the Dimensional Cape. He wished he could have done something more, instead of standing uselessly nearby.
Before anyone else could say another word, Ribbon flew over. She was horribly pale and looked terrified. "It had an eye, you say?" she asked quickly. "Did the eye take up most of its body, and was it yellow in color, with a red rim around the outside?"
"Yeah, I think so," Tuff responded. "Do you know what that is?"
"Yes, I do, though I've never seen it for myself." The fairy slumped down against the wall. "It is a monster known as Dark Matter. It's a huge ball of slime that is capable of possessing its victims, so as to get a high on their emotions, like a drug. While they are possessed the victims are mutated, and eventually the possession will end with the victim being used up, and left behind as a shriveled husk."
"That's horrible!" Lalala declared. "How in the universe did you discover this monster?"
"Because this creature has attacked before." A change overcame Ribbon, and it became clear that she didn't like the topic, though she continued. "Eons ago, the Dark Matter attacked Ripple Star, causing much pain and destruction. It was commanded by a creature called Zero the Conqueror. He had many slaves, but usually attack with his Dark Matter. Using these, he almost overran the whole planet, and would have too, if it wasn't for Queen Stellara.
"She was the fairy queen who took the throne during the time of Zero's attack. Even when she was young, the invader seemed to have an intense hatred of her, and he tried to destroy her repeatedly. However, he was unsuccessful, and one day she figured out how to defeat the terror."
The question was nearly unanimous among the listeners. "How!?"
She gave an awkward shrug before sighing. "I'm afraid I don't know. It's been so long since the time of Stellara that the story is rarely spoken of, except as a legend. We never expected that Dark Matter to return, and if Zero has returned as well, too, then we are in extreme danger." The others looked downcast, but then a thought struck Ribbon. "Or maybe there's something that I can do."
"Wibbon 'amember somet'ing?" Kirby asked hopefully.
"Well, not exactly," she responded. "But I do think that there is a place I might be able to figure out how to help. As I said, Stellara was the fairy queen at the time. The histories of the past fairy queens are vitally important in the education of the future fairy queens. I'll bet Queen Soleena will know how Stellara defeated Zero."
"That's great and all," Lololo said questioningly, "but how will you get to Ripple Star and back in time to help Sir Meta Knight?"
"Through the Fountain of Dreams, of course," Ribbon responded, taking to flight. "The Fountain here is connected to all the other fountains, including the one in the Palace courtyard on Ripple Star. All we have to do is travel down the Stream, and we can hurry right back, and hopefully with a cure. Kirby, will you come with me?"
Kirby looked down nervously. Frankly, he wanted to stay by Meta Knight's side and make sure he came out of things okay, but if the queen of Ripple Star might know a way to help the warrior, then it was probably best that he go with her. He nodded. "Kaabii go," he said firmly, strapping the Dimensional Cape on himself.
"Good," the fairy responded, picking him up. "We must go now, but we'll hurry back as fast as we can."
The others wished them luck and watched as they flew off to the fountain. They were so preoccupied by the sendoff that they didn't notices the subtle snap from the other room.
(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)
Having woken up again, Meta Knight had found himself alone this time, and had decided to leave his bed and wander around the hallways a bit. He could barely believe everything he was seeing.
It appeared that everything he had been told was true. He was on a Star Warrior base that had been built out into the center of Whispy Woods. It had been there for some time, apparently, and he and his family had been living there for quite some time.
Now, this much would have been normal, had they been a secret from the people of that world, as they had been in the days of his childhood. However, that didn't seem to be the case.
Indeed, they were still located near the Cappy Town village, and were not only tolerated by the people, but eagerly welcomed. He had discovered this through a long list of well-wishers, who had come and gone as he slept.
This was all well and good, but he still got the feeling there was something wrong about this all. Only bits and pieces seemed to match up with his memory.
Furthermore, it had taken him a while to realize it, but he could now see without his mask! He hadn't noticed at first, because of his grogginess and confusion, but now could tell in full. As good as that seemed, he was wary. He remembered the last time that happened, and it had meant no good.
He was so deep in these thoughts that he almost didn't notice when several other people came up to him.
"Hey, Meta! You're up already?" the first voice, a male voice, called out.
"It's good to see you up and about again," a second voice, this time female, chimed in.
"I do hope you have sufficiently recovered from your arboreal assault," another male voice put in.
Not registering the voices totally at first, Meta waved them off. "My head is better, thank you, but I'm afraid I'm still rather in a daze." Once he had said this, however, he recognized who the speakers were.
"It's you!" he exclaimed, spinning around in surprise.
"Of course it's us," Jecra laughed. "You wouldn't think that your own teammates wouldn't want to check up on you."
Sure enough, standing in front of him, as impossible as it seemed, was Jecra, Garlude, and Daroach. The former two seemed largely unchanged from how he remembered them, if a bit older, but the latter was wearing his red cape and hat.
"No-I mean-it's just that," he stammered out in surprise and joy. "I thought you were dead!"
"Dead?" Garlude laughed. "Why would we be dead?"
"It's a very long and unpleasant story, I'm afraid," the Puffal answered. "However, it appears to be one that was a dream, and nothing more."
He then explained everything he thought he had remembered. Everything about Nightmare, the centuries-long war, the many battles, the betrayal of the Forces by Yamikage, his own imprisonment, the birth of Kirby as a clone, and the ultimate Downfall all poured out, as if some sort of cork stopper had come undone. Much to his delight, he had a concerned and patient audience, who listened wordlessly to what he had to say. When he had finished, he sighed. "I know this probably all sounds like madness to you, but I can promise, this is how I experienced everything."
"We aren't accusing you of madness," Daroach responded, putting a paw on his friend's shoulder. "We are aware these kinds of dreams can come from trauma such as the like that you have endured. I do have to say, though, I haven't heard such an intricate dream before. It seemed to get some details correct and others very wrong."
"Well, it's over now, and you've come back to us," Garlude said, grinning brightly. "Old dreams needn't trouble you."
"Now, since you can't seem to work dream from reality," Jecra commented, "then you probably have a ton of questions to ask. Go ahead, ask away."
"First things," Meta said, touching a paw to his cheek, "There are several things in my life that I have been told of that I can't seem to work out. For one thing, Lynette mentioned that we have children. How can this be? I cannot remember any eggs."
"For one thing, only Kirby was your egg," Garlude explained. "One thing the dream did get right was that he is of your blood, though it is weird that detail was translated into clone instead of son. As for you other little ones, they were orphaned eggs. You and Lynette were sent to return them to Popopo, but they hatched before you got anywhere near the planet. It seemed wrong to separate the little ones from the parents they imprinted on, so it was decided that they would stay here with you two."
And so it went on for this for a while. Meta would ask a question about his life or the goings on of everyone he knew. He was answered promptly, and thus learned about everything that had happened that he could no longer remember. Some of this still seemed suspicious, but he was so relieved to just see that his friends were still alive, so he decided to just relax and enjoy what had happened.
This had gone on for about an hour or two when a doctor emerged from nearby hallway. "Sir Meta Knight," he called out. "Your family is wondering where you are. You had best return to your room."
The warrior nodded and said farewell to his partners, who assured they would see he later. As he moved on, Meta supposed that he could like this world.
(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)
"I hope they'll make it alright," Lalala said as they turned away from the window. "And I hope they have something that can help Sir Meta Knight on Ripple Star."
"Hey, Ribbon said they'll be able to help," Tuff replyed confidently. "Everything's going to turn out alright. You'll see!"
"I sure hope so," she responded.
Before anything else could be said, a sudden cry interrupted everything. It was a shout, followed by some odd, animalistic grunting.
"What on Pop Star was that?" Tiff asked in surprise, before bolting back to the resting room, followed closely by the others. When they arrived, however, they could not believe what they saw.
Standing in the room, having broken free from the strap that had been holding him down, was Meta Knight. However, it only barely appeared to be him. He had certainly grown since last time, and his normal blue color had darkened to black. The only vestiges of him that remained were his mask and the sword Galaxia, but both had apparently fused on to him. The sword in particular seemed to have melded into his arm, and was sparking madly in a futile attempt to separate the evil being from its master. The other arm have mutated into a claw shape. He also stood much taller, and he seemed to fill up the room like never before. Worst of all, however, were the four eyestalks that had sprouted, apparently out of the mask itself. Each one was topped with an eye that was a smaller copy of the one that had been present in the figure of the Dark Matter, and was waving around wildly, as if looking for something.
"Wha-what is that thing?" Adeliene asked in horror.
"I think that is- or at least used to be- Sir Meta Knight," Tiff responded, her own fear very poorly masked.
At this, the creature that used to be Meta Knight turned, as if noticing them for the first time. It once again let out the guttural cry that it had previously uttered before charging toward the gathered youngsters. Without any other option, they scattered, quickly moving away from one another, hoping that the erratic running pattern might keep the beast off.
It worked somewhat, as the beast was forced to choose a party to chase after, allowing the others to flee. This choice did not take long, however, and the beast took off after the larger group, who had run off in the direction of the middle of the palace.
Lololo and Lalala had been forced deeper into the room by the charge of the beast. They took refuge behind the bed, which had been flipped over onto its side when the mutation had started. Once there, they caught sight of Dr. Yabui, who was similarly hiding behind a nearby dresser.
When the dust settled a bit, they went over to question the doctor over the occurrences. "What's going on?" Lololo called. "What happened in here?"
"I'm still not entirely sure myself," the doctor said honestly. "I was examining the patient to try to see if I could find a way to calm his spasms when he suddenly began to grow. He soon became too big for the restraints and broke free, before turning into that…creature. I'm afraid have no idea what triggered the transformation."
"I think we do," Lalala said sadly. She and her twin quickly explained everything that Ribbon had told them; about Dark Matter, it's history of terrorizing Ripple Star, it's horrible commander, Zero, and how there might be hope for the Star Warrior on Ripple Star.
"That's where we were when this all happened," Lololo finished off. "Ribbon and Kirby headed out to Ripple Star to go ask Queen Soleena is if there is anything that can be done."
The doctor nodded. "Hopefully there will be something that can be done. If not, I don't want to think what that creature will do in Dreamland.
(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)
The trip through the Fountain of Dreams was rather disorienting, and afterwards, the passenger would not be able to describe it, but it always like that. No one really knew what connected the fountains of the universe, or allowed passage through their waters, but it was well known that if a fountain had a power source, then it could be opened and utilized.
It was in this fashion that Kirby and Ribbon arrived on Ripple Star, the home of the fairies of the universe. It was a bright and beautiful world, not unalike Pop Star. At the moment, the courtyard of the palace of the Fairy Queen was rather empty. There were only a few young fairies who were flying about, enjoying the bright morning air.
One of them, a brown haired fairy girl wearing a yellow dress, was the first to notice the arrival of the newcomers. "Hey, Ribbon!" she called out, waving. "Hi! What are you doing back from Pop Star? Is it time for you to report back to Queen Soleena already? Is that Kirby?"
"I don't really have a lot of time right now, Flossie," Ribbon said quickly. She knew the brunette fairy from before, and while she was nice enough, once she started talking, it was unlikely that she would stop anytime soon. "Yes, this is Kirby, but we're in a bit of trouble. We need to talk to the queen right now."
"Oh, Queen Soleena is in her library right now," Flossie responded. "If you would like, I could take a message-"
"We don't have time for a message," Ribbon said quickly. "Dark Matter is back!"
At the name of the dark creature, the fairy turned pale. "Th-this is horrible!" she exclaimed. "Terrible! A calamity! Oh, Ripple Star is doomed! What are we to do? What are we to-"
"We need to tell Queen Soleena immediately," Ribbon said quickly, snapping the other fairy out of it.
"Oh, quite right." Flossie straightened her dress before turning. "Follow me. I'm sure her highness will want to hear about this right away."
As they hurried through the palace, Kirby ran to keep up with the two fairies. He was at a bit of a disadvantage, since he couldn't fly nearly as fast as a fairy. He clutched the clasp of the cape to keep it from flying off.
Inwardly, his stomach turned. If this fairy was having a reaction like this to just hearing of Dark Matter, then what sort of horrible fate awaited his master id there was nothing that they could do? He didn't want to think about the answer.
Thankfully, it didn't take too long for the trio to reach the Fairy Queen's library. The current queen, Queen Soleena, was currently seated by a table set up in the center of the room as she went over one of the books.
Upon reaching the room, Flossie went forwards and curtsied. "Your majesty, the Lady Ribbon has returned from Pop Star with urgent news."
Kirby looked a little surprised over at Ribbon, and gave a questioning, "Poyo?" He had not been aware that Ribbon had a title.
Seeing them enter, the queen smiled at them. She was just what the little Star Warrior imagined a queen should look like. Soleena was slightly taller than most other fairies, and had long dark hair that was often tied in a pair of braids.
"Ribbon, you are early," she said simply as she arose to meet them. "I wasn't expecting your report for several months now. Welcome, and welcome, Squire Kirby. Thank you, Flossie. I can take things from here." The servant fairy curtsied and turned to leave.
Ribbon curtsied, and Kirby gave a gallant bow. Or, at least he tried to, but his clumsiness and orb shape made it turn more into a somersault.
Soleena chuckled and helped the little Puffal back to his feet. "You are learning much from Sir Meta Knight, aren't you?"
"I'm afraid I have bad news," Ribbon said, "and it involves Sir Meta Knight."
Turning grave, the queen turned to her. "I know you would have not come here so quickly if it wasn't urgent. What is wrong?"
"My queen," the pink fairy began, "I'm afraid that Dark Matter has returned, and some of it is currently possessing the Star Warrior."
Hearing this, Soleena's face darkened. "Are you quite certain? It has been millennia since the time of Queen Stellara."
"Completely." Ribbon explained what had happened, and what Tiff and Tuff had described about the attack.
As she listened, Soleena's expression was severe, but never betrayed any fear. When Ribbon had finished, she nodded. "You did well to come and tell me, both of you. There is something that can be done, but there is a part of the story that you don't know. Come with me. I will explain everything, and we will return to help out ailing friend." With that, she turned and walked into the hallway.
Ribbon immediately took off after her and Kirby trailed behind. Both of them were not quite sure what to expect, but were eager to help in some way.
(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)(0u0)
"Run!" Tiff yelled out as she ran. Close behind her, Tuff and the artist twins ran as hard as they could to keep up. As the four barreled through, the various creatures who they passed by, mostly Waddle Dees but also the occasional Cappy jumped back, confused as to what was going on.
They were glad they did so, though, since close behind the children came a huge brute the likes of which they had never seen. Before. Several Waddle Dees fainted, and one Cappy commented that he didn't know what the kingdom was coming to, but none of them had any eagerness to discover just what the creature was.
Soon, all the palace was in an uproar. At that time, Dedede had decided to attempt to take his second midafternoon nap when he heard all the yelling that was coming from the hallways in the lower levels of the palace. Annoyed by all the commotion, the Pengu himself went down to the main lobby to see was all the fuss was about.
"What is going on down here, a race?" he called out in irritation when he saw the fleeing children. "I was trying to-what the heck is that!?"
It was at that moment that the hulking form of the Dark Matter possessed Meta Knight plunged in. Unfortunately for Dedede, his outburst caused the creature to turn its attention from its former prey to him. It let out a muffled cry before lunging off at the Pengu.
Smack! Dedede responded quickly, landing a hard blow on the creature with his hammer, sending it flying backwards. The monster crashed into a pillar and lay still.
Realizing they were no longer being chased, the kids crept forwards to see what had happened. "Sir Meta Knight," Adeleine called out, hoping to get a response, "can you still hear us?"
"Sir Meta Knight?" Dedede asked in confusion, leaning against his hammer. "Why the heck did she just call that thing Sir Meta Knight?"
"Because that is him," Tuff responded. "This really weird monster thing called Dark Matter came out of nowhere and took over his body."
"Please, Sir Meta Knight," Tiff said, still not wanting to get hurt but wanting to make sure the Puffal was alright. "Please say something."
The Creature stirred, and a dark chuckle emerged. It got up, and there were several details that could now be seen. For one thing, the blow Dedede had dealt had smashed the mask. It was still fused to the creature, but now was broken into two pieces. Furthermore, they could now see the Puffal's true eyes.
They were closed.
"Sir Meta Knight?" the creature said, in a voice that was both Meta Knight's and someone else's. "Meta Knight's not here right now. I am the Meta-Knightmare!"
To be continued…
Author's Note: Oh, dear...-SiverWarriorWolf.
