Everyone made their way back to Meta Knight's apartment. This time, Sirica took the lead and knocked on Meta Knight's door. The masked warrior was quick to answer.
"Sirica," he smiled at the white-skinned girl. Of course, his mask hid his face, but Sirica could tell from his blue eyes that he was happy to see her. "What brings you up here?"
"I want to find out what happened to my mother," Sirica answered. "I believe you've hidden the truth from me for way too long."
Meta Knight's eyes turned from blue to white with shock. "Well," the masked warrior sighed. "I'd tell you the story, but I'm not sure that you want to hear it."
"The whole thing, start to finish," Sirica replied.
"Are you sure? I'm going to tell you the cold hard truth, and this is your last chance to say no."
The white-skinned girl nodded confidently.
"As you wish," said Meta Knight. "Considering that you are all here, why don't you come in too?" he told the rest of the children.
Everyone got seated. Meta Knight let out a deep breath and reluctantly began to speak.
"Okay," Meta Knight sighed. "Have you kids ever wondered how I obtained my sword, Galaxia?" Everyone nodded. "It was guarded in a cave by a demon beast called Kirisakin. Sirica's mother, Garlude and I were sent to retrieve it by our leader, Sir Arthur." Kirby trembled in fear and began to hug Tiff. "It's okay, Kirby," she comforted the pink puffball.
"When we found the blade, the monster awoke from its slumber and attacked us. It was far too big and powerful for both of us to take down. And I'm not speaking out of modesty; we were two of the strongest and best-respected warriors in the Galaxy Soldier Army and we were no match for its sheer strength."
"So, what happened to my mother?"
"She told me that I was the only one worthy of wielding Galaxia and that I should get out while I still could. I protested, but she insisted that she'd stay behind to fight the Kirisakin to give me enough time to escape with the blade, and so I did exactly that."
"So, you left her for dead?" Sirica began to weep. "You coward! I might not have known my father, but I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't have done what you did!" she screamed at the top of her lungs in Meta Knight's face and stormed out with tears flooding her eyes.
"Sirica, wait!" Meta Knight yelled. The white-skinned girl ignored his plea. The masked warrior hung his head low, and his eyes turned gray with sadness.
"Well, she did ask," Joe sighed. "And you did warn her that the truth would be ugly, like the truth you told about my father."
"I'd rather not talk about your father," Meta Knight groaned. "He was a good friend, and I didn't want to do anything to him, but the curse Nightmare put on him, gave me no choice."
"Oh, it's getting late!" Tiff looked at the clock on the wall. "Our families will be wondering where we've been all day." She and Tuff began to leave Meta Knight's apartment.
"Come on, Kirby, let's go home," Tuff beckoned the pink puffball to come.
"Poyo," Kirby sighed as he followed the rest of the children out the door.
That evening, Sirica arrived at her aunt's house. She yanked the door open and slammed it behind her.
"Are you trying to bring the house down, slamming the door like that?" Astrid joked.
"Please, Aunt Astrid," Sirica murmured. "I'm not in the mood for a joke,"
"Why? What happened?" Astrid asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," replied Sirica.
"Well, I've just dished up dinner. We're having spaghetti and meatballs, one of your favorites."
As Sirica, her aunt and her cousin sat down to eat, Sirica slowly munched on her meatballs. Usually, she would chow down just like Kirby, but her mind was clouded with thoughts of her mother, and her fork slipped out of her hand onto the plate.
"What's the matter, Sirica? You've barely touched your food," Astrid commented. "Don't you like my cooking now?"
"I've lost my appetite," Sirica groaned. "If I were in a better mood, it would be gone by now."
"Fair enough. I'll put it in a storage container, and you can stick it in the microwave later."
Sirica then entered her room and sat on her bed.
"She promised me that she'd come back," she sniffed. "But that's not going to happen, all because of that honorless coward."
Sirica had a glance at the most recent gift from her mother; a silver necklace, with a beautiful sapphire pendant. "Who knows where mom could find something as nice as this?" Sirica carefully put it back on its mannequin. She then looked at an old pink teddy bear that she won at a carnival when she was a little girl. "Oh, the fun we had together," Sirica smiled as it brought back memories of her training sessions with her mother and, of course, that shooting game that won her that plush. Finally, she picked up a framed picture of Garlude sitting on a hospital bed with a newborn Sirica cradled in her arms. She couldn't hold her tears back any longer, and she buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.
Within a minute, Sirica heard a knock on her door and sat up in alarm.
"Sirica?" she heard a voice that was no other than Meta Knight's. "Can I come in?"
"Go away!" Sirica snarled, her eyes still wet with tears.
"Please, Sirica. I need you to hear me out, just for one minute." Meta Knight responded.
"Fine," the white-skinned girl groaned. "Come in."
The masked warrior entered Sirica's room and sat beside her on her bed.
"What do you want?" Sirica scoffed.
"I just want to talk to you about what happened to your mother."
"Is it after raising me like a daughter, you stabbed her in the back, and left her to die?"
"No, Sirica, Your mother means a lot to me. Even after she started dating your father, we stayed close friends; and of course, I helped raise you as my own; that was a promise I made to him before he died in my arms. That's why I hesitated to flee. But your mother was more than willing to return the favor by potentially sacrificing her life to fulfill our mission. Yes, I was the last person to see her alive, but Nova only knows what happened to her after I fled the cave with Galaxia. Who knows? Maybe she outsmarted the beast, like what she did plenty of times before against many of Nightmare's monsters. Let's pray to Nova that it's true."
"Now I feel like an idiot; I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier. I lost my temper, and I was too quick to judge you."
"I accept your apology, and I know you're worried about your mother; I am too, but don't you ever use that as an excuse to put yourself down. I've seen what you're capable of, and as far as I'm concerned, you'll make a fine star warrior yet."
"Thanks, Meta Knight," Sirica responded with a smile as Meta Knight got up to leave.
That was when Astrid and Svala entered the room.
"I know you're worried about your mom," Astrid comforted her niece. "But as Meta Knight said, Keep praying to Nova that she'll return. Your mom is one of the bravest and strongest warriors I know, and I can't ask for a better sister than her."
"Thanks, Aunt Astrid," Sirica smiled before hugging her aunt.
"No problem," replied Astrid before she left the room and closed the door.
"Where are you, mom?" Sirica sighed as she took one last glance at the framed picture before she lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.