And here's a chapter involving Meta Knight.

I wouldn't say that this belongs to any arc in particular (maybe the next arc at most), but this is basically just harmless filler. A "calm before the storm" if you will.

Gooey shook as he sat beside a tree. He knew Kirby liked to fight his friends for fun, but that didn't make Gooey feel any less nervous.

Kirby had a sword in his hand as he fought Meta Knight, who tried to lash out with his own sword. The two of them had been at it for a while now, and had Gooey been able to handle these fights, he would've tried to stop this by now.

After such a long battle, Kirby landed a hard blow on Meta Knight. The older of the two managed to land on his feet, but his mask had broken in half. Not surprisingly, his face was similar to Kirby's.

Realizing what had happened, Meta Knight wrapped himself in his cape and disappeared. Kirby panted as he stabbed the ground with the sword, all that fighting looked like it had knocked the wind out of him.

Gooey crawled over to the broken mask and picked it up, he looked at Kirby with concern. "Should we give it back?"

"Nah, he's...he's probably got another one on him already," Kirby wheezed. Gooey couldn't help but scowl. "But what if you hurt him?"

"He's fine," Kirby reassured him. "If you wanna give him his mask back, go ahead. I'm just gonna..." Before Kirby could finish his sentence, he let go of his sword and fell onto the ground. Apparently, that fight had really tired him out.

Gooey would have to remember find some food for Kirby later. But for now, he wanted to give Meta Knight his mask back. So he took the mask with him and started to search for him. Besides, he couldn't have gone too far...right?

Unlike the rest of Kirby's friends, Gooey didn't know Meta Knight too well. He didn't know where exactly he was supposed to find him, so Gooey had searched high and low for him. Just as he was about to give up, he spotted the blue Kirby sitting against a tree with a book in his lap.

"E-excuse me," Gooey called out, which gained Meta Knight's attention. The blob crawled over to his side and noticed he was already wearing another mask. Nonetheless, Gooey still handed him the broken one. "I...think this is yours."

Meta Knight quietly glanced at Gooey before putting the book down and stuffed the broken mask into his cape. Gooey didn't have much of a reason to stay, and he felt as if he was going to anger Meta Knight if he stayed any longer. But he couldn't help but wonder...

"You know, your face looks pretty normal. Why do you hide it?"

That was probably the worst thing he could ask on impulse. Because once Meta Knight looked at him again, Gooey began to panic. "S-sorry, forget I say anything!"

"...Tell me, have you ever had someone talk down to you before?"

Gooey frowned, he didn't get what Meta Knight was talking about.

"You used to live with other Dark Matter, didn't you? Have they ever treated you...differently from the rest?"

Gooey looked down and nodded. "Brother and I are defective, so we act and think differently from everyone else. But unlike him, I dunno how to fight or possess anyone."

"...I see," Meta Knight closed his book and put it aside. "I can't say I know what you've been through. But it's hard to take someone seriously when they have a face like mine."

"Or mine," Gooey added quietly. "But...Kirby has the same face as you, and I take him seriously." Suddenly, Gooey came to an awful conclusion. "You're not ashamed of your brother, are you?"

"You mean Kirby?"

"Yeah, you're not ashamed of him...are you?"

Meta Knight let out a sigh of amusement. "First of all, Kirby isn't my brother...or at least, I don't think he is."

"But...aren't you the same?"

"Just because we're the same species doesn't mean we're brothers," Meta Knight replied. "And I'm not ashamed of Kirby, either. Although...I will admit, he still has a lot to learn."

"Ah...so wait, does that mean he learned how to copy from you?"

Meta Knight shook his head. "We lose our ability to copy by the time we're fully grown. I could teach Kirby how to use the Sword and Tornado ability, but he has to learn everything else through experience."

"Hm..." So Meta Knight didn't have the Copy Ability anymore. He had to wonder how Meta Knight learned so few abilities while Lord Miracle still learned so many...but that was a story for another day. And besides, Meta Knight just said that he knew the Sword Ability, right?

"Could you teach me how to use a sword?"

"I...don't think you're ready for such a thing," Meta Knight said sternly. Gooey huffed in annoyance, "You let Kirby use a sword!"

"Because I know he can handle it, do you really think you could handle someone like me?"

Gooey growled in defeat. It was true, he wasn't any good at fighting. He couldn't even hold a sword like his brother could, so what made him think that he could train with someone like Meta Knight?

"...If it makes you feel any better, I couldn't handle a sword either when I was young."

"How so?" Gooey asked, confused. Meta Knight looked up as he tried to think. "I...wasn't exactly at my strongest when I was Kirby's age. In fact, most enemies would knock me out pretty easily if I wasn't careful."

"So you're defective too?"

"...In a sense, yes." Meta Knight replied. "But I've grown stronger since then, and even now I'm sure there are still ways for me to get even stronger. But if I can reach the level I'm at now, then I'm sure you'll be able to reach that same level one day."

Though Gooey wasn't much of a fighter, the idea that he'll get stronger was enough to put a smile on his face. It might be a long time until Gooey reached Meta Knight's level, or even his brother's level. But either way, he was sure that he'll get there.

"Well when I get stronger, I wanna be able to fight you one day like you fight Kirby."

"...Maybe one day," Meta Knight said, though Gooey could sense that he didn't want to. He wasn't sure why that was, though.

Still, the idea that he'd reach Meta Knight's level excited him.

After getting to know Meta Knight a little better, Gooey decided that he needed to get back to Kirby. He held an apple in his hands just in case Kirby was still asleep, and sure enough, he was still passed out. The sword that Kirby stabbed into the ground had fallen over

"Are you OK?" Gooey asked as he put the apple down and tried to nudge Kirby. "I got you an apple."

Kirby groaned as he sat up, he rubbed his eyes as he let out a big yawn. "Hey, Gooey...did you give Meta Knight his mask back?"

Gooey nodded. "He had a mask on by the time I found him, though."

"That sounds about right, he doesn't like showing his face off to anybody."

Gooey could understand why, and he was sure that Kirby did too. Though if the two of them weren't brothers, then what were they?

"Hey, Kirby? What's Meta Knight to you?" Gooey asked. Kirby frowned as he pick up the apple. "What do you mean?"

"Is he your friend? Or is he your rival like Dedede?"

"Uh...I guess you could call him a friend?" Kirby asked with uncertainty. "He tried to take over Dream Land not long after I beat Nightmare, but he hasn't done anything like that since then."

Gooey was surprised, why would Meta Knight want to take over Dream Land? Especially when Dedede was always willing to protect it?

...Then again, perhaps it was nothing to get worked up over? Besides, Meta Knight seemed like a good person each time Gooey talked to him. And if the Kirby and Meta Knight truly hated each other, then Kirby probably wouldn't have helped him escape that mirror in the first place...right?