Chapter 13: Chlorophyll

After the so-called "Lor Incident", Dreamland remained peaceful and quiet for a while. However, there was one minor event that happened a year after that. During this incident, Magolor had returned to Popstar, but for completely different reasons this time. He had come directly to Meta Knight saying that he felt guilty for his previous actions and wanted to make up for it by building Kirby an amusement park. Why the mage directly came to him, the knight had no idea, but he had made one thing clear: "If I ever find you attempting to pull what you've previously done again, I will personally make sure that you rot in prison for the rest of your miserable life". The threat seemed to work, as Kirby loved the amusement park and he had not heard of a single incident caused by Magolor since. Another year and seven months passed after that without a single problem.

Well, without a single problem for Dreamland.

"Lord Meta Knight, stop moving the thermometer underneath your tongue. I can't get a proper reading otherwise." Bio Gale uttered in annoyance.

The knight only gave a slight glare at her.

This morning, Meta Knight woke up feeling completely awful. He was exhausted, his body ached, his throat hurt, and he had been coughing and sneezing all morning. Bio Gale, being the diligent head nurse that she usually was, immediately told him to quarantine in his room as she investigated what was causing his sudden illness.

The nurse quickly took the thermometer out of his mouth and he looked away to cough.

"38 Celsius. Definitely a fever."

She took out a notebook and wrote this down.

"This will sound strange but... my notes seem to indicate that your illness is a hybrid between the flu and common cold."

She then closed it.

"Sailor should be almost done with washing your armor by now. I told him to also make some soup for you. I'd like you to eat some of it. You'll need the energy if you wish to get better. I'll also cancel your training session with Kirby tomorrow, there's a chance you'll still be unwell, and I don't need you spreading whatever is infecting you. For now, just focus on getting some rest and drink plenty of water. If you need anything, you know to call."

With all those orders given, the head nurse vanished.

Meta Knight wanted to complain about how overbearing the nurse was, but he honestly didn't have the energy to. The worst part of all this was that he had a vague idea of how he got this illness in the first place. Yesterday, he had just returned from assisting his mentor on a dangerous mission to an unknown laboratory. He didn't know what the laboratory was for exactly, honestly. All he could assume was that he was infected during the mission or someone on the GranEssex was infected and didn't tell him. Thanks to that, he was now stuck in bed, feeling absolutely miserable.

"That... damn hag..." he uttered with a cough. "Next time I meet her I'll... AH-CHOO!"

Meta Knight hated being sick. It was something that rarely happened to be honest. He could count the number of times he'd gotten sick on one hand, including this time. As a result, whenever it did happen, it showed no mercy. All he could do is rest and hope for the best. Not really a situation he cared for too much. However, it was then that a thought crossed his mind. Knowing his luck, he wouldn't be surprised if something happened in Dreamland while he was unavailable. However, he had faith in Kirby if something did happen though, so he could rest easy knowing his student would be able to handle it. Now, if only he could settle down and get some sleep...

Meanwhile, a meeting was called on the bridge of the Halberd. The other members of the Meta-Knights were chattering until Captain Vul cleared his throat.

"I'm pretty sure all of you know by now, whether it be from simple conversation or because you overheard our head nurse's incoherent mumblings, but yes, Lord Meta Knight is currently ill."

Slightly concerned prattling.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. However, the head nurse has reported that he will need to rest and quarantine for a few days to prevent the spread."

He then took out his pipe and lit it.

"As per standard protocol, I will be commanding you scallywags. Is that clear?"

"Understood, sir!" The response was unanimous.

"Alright, now that's settled, everyone go do your assigned jobs for the day. I'll be here if you need anyth-" Vul's speech was cut off as the ground began to shake and something huge began to grow out of the ground. "Change of plans. Prepare to take to the skies men!"

"Yes, sir!" The entire crew began to scramble and begin takeoff procedures.

"What in the hell is going on!? It's way too early in the morning for this kind of thing!" The captain thought to himself.

The Halberd took off to get a better look at the source of the rumbling. It appeared to be a massive stem growing quickly out of the ground below. It branched its roots and limbs further and further out, taking many of Dreamland's buildings into the sky as well.

"Is that... a giant stalk...?" The second in command uttered in complete shock, noting that the stalk itself towered high into the sky above.

"Captain Vul, what should we do about that giant stalk?" Sailor Dee asked, turning from one of the monitors.

If he was being honest, Vul wasn't sure what to do. While he would like to fight against whatever is causing this thing, the safety of his leader was ultimately more important. That's when he noticed a certain pink acquaintance running up the stalk from one of the Halberd's cameras.

"Let's keep analyzing the situation. Javelin, Trident, go do some on-site recon and report back with what you find."

"Understood, sir!" With a salute, the two knights headed out of the bridge.

"Sword, Blade, remain on combat ready in case they need assistance, or the ship gets invaded."

"Yes, sir!"

"Sailor, contact Kurabe. She might know what that thing is."

"Right away, sir! Beginning to open a communication line to the GranEssex now!"

"What about us, Captain?" Axe and Mace Knight suddenly asked.

"You two have the most important job. Help Gale keep Lord Meta Knight in his room."

The two knights seemed to give a look of confusion. "How exactly is that important?"

"I think you both know very well why it is." Vul breathed out a cloud of smoke. "There's no doubt that if our lord catches wind of this, he's going to attempt to fight whatever's causing it despite his condition. Because of that..."

"We have to make sure he gets his rest." Mace Knight cut him off.

"Exactly."

"Understood. We will make sure our lord rests." Both of them said with a salute.

"Very good. Now get going."

It was then that they left the bridge. Vul turned back to the windows looking out.

"Hopefully, that pink marshmallow student of yours can handle this, Lord Meta Knight..." he uttered.

Upon arriving at their superior's room, Axe Knight and Mace Knight explained the situation to Bio Gale, who agreed to the orders.

"Your assistance would be most appreciated. But before you two enter, put on these masks and stay as far away from him as possible." She explained.

After nodding in affirmation, the two knights walked in after her. The furthest the duo could stand was in front of the bookcase on the opposite side of the room. Quickly, they got into position as Gale placed a wet cloth on their superior's head.

"Pardon the intrusion, Lord Meta Knight. How are you doing?" Mace Knight asked.

If he could move his body, Meta Knight would be giving him an "Are you serious?" look. However, the glare he gave from under the covers said that enough.

"Sorry, dumb question."

"Why did the Halberd take flight?" Meta Knight asked, coughing slightly.

The two partners looked at each other with dumb expressions.

"I knew we should've thought of an excuse before we entered..." Axe Knight whispered.

"Shut up and follow my lead." Mace shot back before turning back to their superior.

"Well, you see, there was an earthquake and Captain Vul figured that it would be better for you if we got away from it." Mace Knight said, trying his best to sound confident.

"Yeah. Since the rumbling would make it harder for you to rest." Axe Knight added, trying equally as hard to sound confident.

"If that's all, why are you two here?" Their superior added with another slight cough.

"To keep you company, sir." They both said.

Meta Knight sighed, as if to accept that response.

"Suit yourselves."

Meanwhile with the recon team, Trident and Javelin have been finding more questions than answers. From what they have discovered, it wasn't just entire buildings, but also entire chunks of Popstar that were carried up by this mysterious stalk. Other than that, they've discovered nothing. Any other life forms they came across either attacked them upright or were just as confused as the knights themselves.

"Trident, should we head back to base? If we go up even further, we might lose our way back." Javelin said, looking at the mess of vines above them.

"Yeah, that's probably not a bad-" Trident quickly blocked a thrown spear. "-idea... show yourself!"

Suddenly a small creature dashed at Trident, who dashed forwards as well. The two connected with each other, weapons clashing. That's when Trident noticed who exactly he was fighting.

"Halt! Aren't you Bandana Dee?" he asked.

"Y-you're one of the Meta-Knights! Oh I-I'm so sorry! I thought you were an enemy!" The Waddle Dee stuttered with a bow.

"It's fine. So, Bandana, you wouldn't happen to know what the deal with this stalk is would you?" Trident asked, hoping to finally get some information.

Quickly, the Dee raised his head.

"Not entirely, but I do know who caused it."

Now they were getting somewhere.

"Could you explain what happened?"

Bandana gave a nod and began to tell his story.

"Everything was perfectly fine in Dreamland until we woke up this morning. Outside there was this giant stalk thing! Then, some magic user guy came to our castle and attacked us! He managed to take down all our soldiers with his magic! Then he fought the captains of our Parasol and Spear Waddle Dee units, Shinonome and Amaguchi. Like they put up a pretty hard fight, but they were taken out as well!"

The Meta-Knights had done a few sparring sessions with those two captains and can indeed confirm that they are highly skilled in combat. So, this mage must be quite powerful.

"Then, when I attempted to fight him, Dedede literally threw me out the window! I managed to get enough of a look to see this purple magic paralyze and surround him! Then he took him away!"

"Did he say anything?" Trident asked.

"Oh, the stranger said something about looking for the hero Kirby! So, he somehow must've confused Dedede with Kirby!"

"But don't those two look completely different?"

"Yeah, but I imagine this person had no idea what either of them look like, so that's why he assumed his highness was Kirby."

Honestly, that made a lot of sense.

"So, what are you doing out here?" Javelin then asked.

"What else? I'm looking for where that mage guy took the king! Though, it's a bit hard since the fall out of the castle window twisted my ankle..." he mumbled a bit.

Come to think about it, both of the knights did notice that Bandana was limping a bit and trying to use his left foot as little as he possibly could.

"And about this mage person? What did he look like?"

"Um...he had white hair, six hands, a green outfit, he also floated... um... and his magic was a lot like a spider web."

This made both the knights think for a moment.

"Well, since you're partially injured, we'll join you. Just let us report to the Halberd first." Trident replied.

"Ah, yeah! That would be really helpful! Thank you so much!" The Dee said with a smile.

Back on the Halberd, Sailor Dee and Vul waited anxiously for a connection.

"Captain, I think we're finally getting through to the GranEssex!" Sailor Dee called out.

"Finally. Hopefully, she can tell us what that thing is." He uttered.

In a few moments, Kurabe appeared on screen, currently sitting at a desk.

"Ah... you would be... Captain Vul and Sailor Dee, correct?" She said, raising her visor enough to fully uncover her eyes upon seeing who it was.

"You're correct. Good to see you appear to be doing well."

"Ah, yes, I am. So, what are you contacting me about?"

"We'd like to ask if you know what this thing is." Vul pulled up a picture of the mysterious stalk that appeared in Dreamland.

Kurabe gave a slight hum as she thought for a moment before speaking back up again.

"How unusual..."

"Do you know what it is?"

"This is a Dreamstalk. While I've seen them on other planets, I believe they are native to the Floralia Kingdom. I believe you might have heard of that nation, since they're a series of islands above Dreamland."

The captain paused to think for a moment. "Hm... yes, I think that does ring a few bells."

"But there seems to be something...off about this one." She continued, gaining further attention from Vul and Sailor.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh...how do I put this...?" Kurabe took a minute to think of how to respond. "It feels...not quite right. Like the growth of it is out of control, you could say..."

She appeared to have a genuinely hard time explaining it.

"So, this thing is just a massive out of control weed?" Vul asked.

"No, the Dreamstalk isn't exactly a weed. It has magical powers. Though... the reason why it's growing like this is beyond me."

Admittedly, this was the first time Vul had heard her sound so confused about something.

She then gave a shrug and continued to speak. "By the way, I happened to notice that Meta isn't here with you."

"Um...Lord Meta Knight is-"

Sailor began to talk, only to be cut off by Captain Vul.

"He's currently investigating that Dreamstalk thing on foot. You know how he is."

"I see...that does indeed sound like Meta." She uttered with a slight sigh.

"So, is there any way to get rid of it besides chopping it down?"

Kurabe seemed to be deep in thought.

"If my hunch is correct, someone with impressive magic might have planted it. If you could find the one that did it..."

"We can ask them about it right?"

"That's correct. I apologize for not being able to be of more assistance." Kurabe said, looking a bit down.

"Ah, don't worry about it. We at least know what we're dealing with now. I'm sure Lord Meta Knight will be grateful to hear about this."

This seemed to cheer her up, as she gave a small smile.

"That's good to hear. Tell Meta I said hello then."

"Will do."

"Goodbye." With that said, Kurabe hung up.

Then, Sailor Dee turned to the captain.

"Captain Vul, are you sure lying was the right thing to do?"

The avian only breathed out a plume of smoke.

"Do you want to deal with the carnage that follows her, Sailor? I certainly don't."

Immediately after that statement, another call showed up, this time from Trident Knight.

"Hello?"

"Did you guys find anything?"

"Well, we found out nothing about the stalk itself other than there's a bunch of enemies on it. Though we did find someone."

Vul raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yes, we found Bandana Dee. While we don't know where this thing came from, we do know one thing: King Dedede was kidnapped by a mage that confused him with Kirby."

This made the captain think for a moment. "Huh. So that must be the one behind the Dreamstalk."

Both knights fell quiet in slight confusion. "...the Dream-whatnow?"

Vul breathed out more smoke. "The Dreamstalk. Kurabe didn't have much information for us, but she did give us a basic rundown. This thing is called a Dreamstalk and it's apparently native to a series of islands above Dreamland known as Floralia."

"Ah. I see." Trident said with a nod. "So, are you two going to return to the ship?"

"Not right now. We're going to investigate further and help Bandana find King Dedede. He twisted his ankle and he'll need some assistance to find the mage that kidnapped him."

That was when Vul remembered what Kurabe said. "Yes, do that. We can probably ask more about the Dreamstalk if we capture the mage responsible."

"Understood." Trident Knight gave a salute.

Just then, Javelin spoke up. "If I may ask, has Lord Meta Knight gotten any better?"

Time had passed and Meta Knight was currently asleep after much struggling on his end due to the aches from his illness. Bio Gale had left the room to retrieve more water for the cloth she had been using to try and lower his fever. While Axe was perfectly content with this, Mace Knight had another idea as he pulled out a camera.

"Uh... Mace, what do you think you're doing?" Axe Knight whispered in slight panic.

"Taking a picture of the boss..." He whispered back.

"Are you stupid? Wait, no. Don't answer that. I already know the answer."

"Oh, come on, he's fast asleep. What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Try it and it'll be janitorial duties including maintenance work for a month..." Meta Knight uttered while snoring.

It was monotonous, like he was talking in his sleep, but it was so specific that it spooked the two subordinates.

"C-can he hear us in his sleep!?" Mace Knight stammered, quickly putting away the camera in a panic.

"I told you it was a stupid idea! Now get back over here!"

Shortly after this, Bio Gale returned, and she immediately noticed the surprised looks on the two knights' faces.

"Did something happen? Did his condition get worse while I was gone!?" She quickly rushed over and placed a hand on him to check his temperature.

"No, no, it's nothing like that, Nurse Gale. He just talked in his sleep and it startled us because we didn't expect it, that's all." Axe Knight said, giving a look at Mace to keep quiet about the camera.

She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "I see. For the time being, could you two guard from outside the room? It's important he gets his rest. The sooner his fever breaks the better."

She then took the cloth, wet it, and placed it on his forehead.

"Yes, ma'am." Mace quickly replied, looking slightly at Axe Knight.

Based on the way they looked at each other, they seemed to have the same vague feeling that the head nurse somehow knew exactly what happened and that was why they were being sent out of the room.

Several hours passed without much incident. Well, at least on the Halberd. Kirby was discovered to be chasing after the mage who kidnapped Dedede, just like Bandana had been doing. Throughout this whole journey, Captain Vul kept an eye on the pink puff's progress. Soon, he called a meeting. Mace, Axe, Sword, Blade and Sailor quickly arrived on the bridge while Trident and Javelin, who were still with Bandana Dee, joined the meeting through Trident's phone. Bio Gale remained in Meta Knight's room to keep an eye on him.

"Alright, you scallywags, listen up." Vul said, immediately getting everyone's attention.

"I'll just cut to the chase; we aren't going to attack the Dreamstalk as of right now."

Several confused looks.

"Why not captain? If it's a threat, shouldn't we take it down as soon as possible?" Axe Knight asked.

"Trust me, I spent a lot of time thinking about it. There're 3 reasons why we aren't going to attack it. One, the stalk has carried various buildings, homes, shops, even the castle of that lousy king. If we attempt to knock the stalk over, we'll end up doing more harm than good. Reason two, Trident and Javelin, I want you to keep helping Bandana Dee and if you come across Kirby, help him out as well. Admittedly, that kid's probably the key to fixing this mess so we need to ensure nothing happens to him."

"Yes sir!" Trident and Javelin responded.

"And the third reason, I already tried."

Vul received multiple confused looks.

"I fired one cannon shot. No damage was dealt to that thing. Chances are we'd run out of ammo before even making a dent in it."

"Is that the reason for all the noise I was hearing earlier?" A slightly stuffy, yet unmistakable voice said.

Everyone immediately turned towards the door to the bridge to see that it was indeed Meta Knight. However, he instead had wrapped himself in a blanket similarly to how he normally did with his cape but covered his face just enough to keep his mouth covered if he suddenly coughed or sneezed.

"Lord Meta Knight!" The group scrambled in attempt to hide the image of the Dreamstalk.

"What are you doing up, sir? Shouldn't you be resting?" Vul asked.

"And how did you get by Gale?" Axe added.

Their superior gave a slight cough. "I didn't."

He stepped aside to reveal that the head nurse was right behind him.

"And I already knew about the Dreamstalk, you can stop trying to hide it." He added in slight annoyance.

The entire crew seemed to stare at him in shock.

"Wait...how did you know about it?"

"Gale opened the window in my room to let some light and air in."

Vul scratched his head. "Sooo... you weren't going to go try to take down the Dreamstalk?"

Meta Knight gave a glare that clearly asked, "Are you serious?".

"Of course I wasn't. This morning my body ached to the point where I could barely walk. There's no way I'd be able to fight in my current state. Besides, I trust that Kirby can handle it on his own."

Suddenly, Gale spoke up. "Originally, I had come to say that his fever had broken, but then he decided to leave on his own..."

The knight gave another slight cough.

"There's another reason I wanted to come here, actually." He then turned to his vice-captain. "Vul, may I speak with you privately?"

"Of course, sir. Everyone, go back to your stations."

With that, everyone left the bridge, except for Bio Gale, who silently hid in the shadows.

"What did you want to talk about, sir?" Vul asked, slightly worried about what his leader had to say.

"I'd like a status report on this situation with the Dreamstalk." He replied before giving another cough.

"Well, Trident and Javelin are currently investigating it while assisting Bandana. We also have confirmation that Kirby is climbing it as well. We've observed that it appears to be for the exact same reason. Simply put, a mage attacked Castle Dedede and kidnapped that oaf of a king because he believed he was the hero of Dreamland."

"Dedede? The hero of Dreamland?" The knight uttered in slight surprise before falling silent. He then poorly attempted to stifle a fit of laughter, only to be cut off by his own coughing followed by a sneeze.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Based on my observations, all we can do is wait to see what your student can do about it, since all other methods are either too dangerous or simply do not work."

"And one of such methods you attempted was firing the cannons at it?"

"Y-yes..." Vul hid his eyes with his cap. "Was that a reasonable decision, sir?"

"I believe it was. I trust that Kirby can handle this on his own. This will be more than enough to make up for all of the training we'll be missing anyway." He gave a simple reply.

"Thank you, sir. If you feel well enough, you can take over." The response Vul received was a coughing fit which ended with a sneeze.

"...I don't think I'm well enough to take over just yet."

"Oh, absolutely..."

Meta Knight then turned back around to head out of the bridge. "Keep up the good work, Vul."

His vice-captain gave a slight smile. "Will do, sir. Rest well."

With a single nod, he returned to his room.

It was now the evening and Kirby had reached the top of the Dreamstalk according to Trident and Javelin's reports. He had engaged the mage who kidnapped Dedede and defeated him, discovering that the stalk was not his doing. Instead, it was sent by the so-called People of the Sky, who did it with the hopes of summoning a hero from the land below to defeat the tyrannical ruler of Floralia, Queen Sectonia. The mage, apparently named Taranza, tried to thwart it by capturing said hero before they could do so. However, he assumed that Dedede was the hero due to coming upon his castle first. As a result, Kirby gave chase, and it wasn't until after being directly fought by the puff that Taranza had realized his grave mistake at the top of the castle.

Currently, Kirby was fighting Queen Sectonia.

"Sailor, may I ask you a question?" Vul suddenly asked while keeping his eyes glued on the fight.

"What is it, Captain?"

"Now don't take this the wrong way, but normally you'd be shaking in fear, yet here you are completely unfazed by this fight."

The Waddle Dee scratched his head. "I wouldn't say unfazed sir. I am scared, but..."

"But?" Vul glanced at Sailor.

"With Lord Meta Knight out of commission, someone needs to be brave for him. Besides, I'm sure Kirby will win."

Suddenly, the vines of the Dreamstalk grew and began to spread all throughout Popstar, almost covering the entire planet.

"I sure hope you're right about that, Sailor." He uttered, noting that the queen had fused with the Dreamstalk itself.

"Well, if Lord Meta Knight can trust that he can handle it so much, it's gotta be possible, right? Right!?" The Waddle Dee added in a bit more of a nervous tone. Captain Vul only gave another sigh.

"I have to say again. I can only hope that you're right by that..."

Not too long after, Meta Knight awoke again to hearing the sounds of battle outside his window. For a brief moment, he looked outside to see Kirby finishing off the fused Queen Sectonia. He appeared to have some unknown ability that made him flash in multiple colors and appeared to enhance his inhale ability, based on how he inhaled an entire laser and fired it back at the queen. Seeing this result, he could now rest satisfied.

"...I knew he could do it..." he uttered with a cough before falling back asleep.

Two days after the Dreamstalk incident and Meta Knight was feeling a bit better. However, due to still feeling sick and Bio Gale's orders, he had to remain in his room to rest. Thankfully, he had a lot of books in his room to read to help distract him if he couldn't fall asleep. It was during this period that he received a call on his cellphone. Admittedly, he preferred to use the various methods on the Halberd and at his main base to communicate with others, but most of his crew and Kirby were able to convince him to get one just in case something happened.

"What is it?" he uttered with a slight cough.

"Yo, ain't it kinda rude to not say "hello" or something?!"

Of course, it was King Dedede.

"Sooooo, whacha doin'?"

"Minding my own business like you should be."

"I'M TRYING TO MAKE CASUAL CONVERSATION HERE!"

Then came the silence.

"So... uh... ya hear 'bout the whole thing with that there Dreamstalk?"

"I did."

"Surprised you weren't there to get in some o' that extra trainin' and stuff. Seein' how obsessed ya are with gettin' strong and stuff."

"I would have if I wasn't..." he cut himself off with a cough. "...sick."

"Huh? Sick? Ya sick from overworkin' yourself? Not surprised if I'm gonna be honest."

"No, sick from a virus." The knight grumbled that in a more annoyed tone than he normally would speak in.

"Huh. Didn't know you could get sick."

As much as Meta Knight wanted to say that anyone could get sick and call the king a dolt, he honestly didn't have the energy right now to do it. Instead, they sat in awkward silence, as he noted the king sounding increasingly uncomfortable by it.

"If that's all you need, I'll be leaving now. Bye, Dedede."

With that he hung up and resumed reading. It was a book about cybernetics. While he himself had no desire to obtain cybernetic enhancements like many other warriors in the galaxy have, he did find the concept interesting. That's when he got another call, this time from Vul.

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but we have a certain pink invader heading towards your room."

Immediately Meta Knight knew exactly who it was.

Shortly after that call, the door slammed open, and he immediately looked up from his book to see a pink ball running straight towards him.

"META-SENSEIIIIIIIIII!"

With lightning-fast response time, Bio Gale dropped down from the ceiling and quickly restrained the child, preventing him from moving any further. The puff squirmed for a bit before seemingly giving up and pouting at the kunoichi.

"I must request that you follow proper visitation protocol, Kirby." She uttered with a slight sigh.

The student only continued to pout, except he also puffed up his cheeks more as well.

"Kirby, I'm still sick right now. I appreciate you visiting, but please refrain from getting close to me for the time being." Meta Knight told his student with a light cough. "I'm quite sure you wouldn't want to get sick as well."

It was after this that the child seemed to understand, as he had stopped his pouting. Instead, it was replaced with a burst of intense energy that Meta Knight could feel from the other side of the room, mostly due to how quickly the child began to talk now.

"Meta-sensei, did you hear about the thing with the Dreamstalk? And how Dedede was kidnapped? And how I fought him and the guy that kidnapped him named Taranza and how he was backstabbed by the guy he worked for because she was a mean queen? And how I had to stop the queen because she was gonna consume all of Popstar's energy? And...and how..."

"Kirby, slow down, you're speaking too fast." The knight uttered, his head beginning to hurt from attempting to process everything that was being told.

Kirby only laughed timidly. "Hee hee... sorry, do you need my help to write another of those report things?"

The knight gave a slight nod. "It's also because I'm genuinely interested to hear what happened and how much you improved with your combat skills."

Hearing that only seemed to make Kirby more excited, as he instantly began to chatter on.

After Kirby and Bio Gale left, Meta Knight was once again left to his own devices. His eyes wandered back to the open window. The cool air that blew in with the breeze was quite refreshing but at the same time it just made him want to get out of this room he found himself trapped in.

Hopefully by tomorrow, he can finally get back into action and feel the wind beneath his wings once more.

Was anyone expecting me to do Triple Deluxe for even a Slice-of-Life chapter? I'm not sure.

I just wanted to do a more lighthearted chapter considering the content of the next one. Oh yes, if you remember what the next mainline Kirby game is, you already know why.

Dragon Of The Ecplising Moon- Thank you! I'm glad I gave you the feels in chapter 12!