Author's Note: Hello! Long time no see! Well, I'm back! I had this story in the backburner for a very long time, and after mulling over it for some time I've decided to continue where I left off! I had the map for the entire story written a long time ago, and I think it's a story worth being told. I have every intention of seeing this story to its conclusion, so I hope you're ready to hop back in!


Click, clack, click clack

Meta Knight's metal shoes clicked against the stone floors of Castle Dedede as he paced back and forth. His eyes were glowing a deep green, his mind replaying recent events.

"Don't talk to me… ever again." Kirby's last words to him hurt, like a red hot knife stabbing into his heart. He understood that he had severely messed up with his student, leaving important information like that had done nothing but hurt in the end. Despite his many, many years of living, he could still make these ridiculous lapses in judgement. His life seemed to consist of one mistake after another.

He always lived by the vow that "A star warrior never lies." It was one of the first sentences Kirby was able to memorize all by himself for Nova's sake! He didn't even quite understand what made him so hesitant to tell the truth in the first place. Was it the shame of dishonesty? The hesitation to crush a child's dreams? Regardless of reason, he had to work with the cards he was dealt.

That's not to mention the sudden appearance of his old lost friend, Galacta Knight. The two had been thick as thieves when they were young, rising up the ranks of the GSA, fighting many kinds of demons and beasts together. That is, until tragedy struck Galacta's family and he disappeared without a trace. Hundreds of years… hundreds of unanswered calls and letters. Meta Knight had given up looking for his friend long ago, only for him to appear out of the blue? So many questions…

After several minutes of silence, Galacta cleared his throat and spoke up. "Meta, I know you're upset right now, but we have much to discuss. The young one will be okay, I assure you."

Meta Knight paused his pacing for a moment, snapping out of his thoughts and giving Galacta a cold glare. "And how would you know that? You could see just as well as I that Kirby is very much so not fine."

Galacta raised his paws and gave a dismissive wave. "As snappy as ever; you haven't changed a bit, have you?" He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. That failed, however, and the two stared at each other for an extremely tense few seconds before the larger knight sighed and looked away. "...I mean to say Kirby will be okay until after we've had our discussion. The kid needs his space for a while, give him a day or two and he'll be alright."

Meta Knight looked down at his feet. He knew Galacta was right. Kirby was incredibly upset with him, and would likely push away any attempts to talk for a while. "You're right. We have more important matters to discuss. What was that you mentioned about Dark Matter?"

Galacta nodded, turning to walk down the hall, Meta Knight following close behind. "It is my job to cleanse planets of the galaxy of Dark Matter. I am here because Dark Matter has been detected here on Planet Popstar. I'm sure you are aware that this is a big problem."

Meta Knight stared at Galacta in mild bewilderment. The two shared a silent look for a few moments before Meta Knight lowered his head. "...I see." Dark Matter… here, of all planets. Popstar was known for its purity, its light… far from any looming threats in the galaxy, especially now that Nightmare had been vanquished. How Dark Matter was able to take root here, Meta Knight had no clue.

"We're just as surprised as you," Galacta explained. His eyes brightened a bit. "But it gave me the opportunity to be able to see you again, right?"

Meta Knight hummed in acknowledgement, wrapping himself a little tighter in his cape. It was true that this was a mission of happenstance, and yet… How many more years would he have gone without seeing Galacta if this mission hadn't cropped up? Would he have ever seen his old friend again? He had given up his search so many years ago… and yet Galacta knew he was here on Popstar this whole time.

Galacta's gaze softened ever so slightly, as though he could read the other knight's thoughts. "Look, Meta, I… don't have any excuse for keeping myself away for as long as I did, but please understand… after what happened with Stella, I-"

"I understand," Meta Knight murmured, though he still felt an ice in his heart that wouldn't melt. "You had your duty, as did I."

"It was more than just duty, Meta. I abandoned you when we needed each other most."

"You did."

Galacta looked away, his feathered wings ruffling a bit as he bit his tongue, unsure what to say. The air seemed to have grown increasingly cold between them. "I cannot fix what has been broken. All I ask for now is for us to do one last mission together."

Meta Knight's eyes flashed as he looked over at Galacta. "Very well. Consider yourself lucky that Dark Matter is a mutual threat."

Galacta sighed softly in relief, nodding his head. "I know." He paused briefly before speaking again. "You work under the ruler of Dreamland, King Dedede, correct?"

Meta Knight nodded. "Indeed. He must be made aware of the threat as well."

As the two made their way down the hall towards King Dedede's throne room, a few waddle dees had stopped what they were doing to look. They curiously mumbled amongst themselves, a brave one or two approaching Galacta to get a closer look. The two knights remained silent the whole way there, however. At the doors to the throne room, a waddle dee sporting a blue bandanna wrapped around their head turned to face the two, eyes widening in surprise.

"M-Meta Knight, sir!" The dee swiftly saluted Meta Knight, who nodded in return. "Are you here to see His Majesty?"

"Indeed. Is His Majesty free for a brief moment? There is something urgent we must discuss."

The waddle dee nodded their head, eyes closing in a pleasant smile. "Should be! I can go make sure he is ready for you." With that, they opened the door and squeezed in before it shut again.

Galacta blinked, not saying anything for a brief moment before looking back at Meta Knight. "Those are…?"

"The waddle dees. They are the king's servants. The one wearing the bandana is their new captain."

"...How did that one talk? They don't have a…"

"Best you don't question it."

Before Galacta could ask any other questions, the doors to the throne room opened back up, the bandana wearing waddle dee gesturing them forward with their spear.

"His Majesty is happy to discuss matters with you, and your new friend."

"Thank you, Captain Bandana Dee." Meta Knight nodded towards them, stepping forward with Galacta close behind.

Galacta looked up and around the throne room, taking in the gold and red decor that sparkled in the sun. Various waddle dees were busy dusting and shining everything in the room. "He certainly keeps the throne room tidy, huh?" He chuckled to himself softly.

"Well, if it isn't Meta Knight!" As the two knights approached the center of the room, the throne swiveled around, revealing King Dedede. The giant blue penguin had a cocky grin on his face. "It's not every day you come in here off your own accord!" Dedede glanced over at Galacta, giving him a puzzled look. "You didn't tell me you had a sister!"

"Sire," Meta Knight tightened his hold around his cape as Galacta stifled a laugh beside him. Now was not the time for senseless jokes. "This is Sir Galacta Knight. He has come here to brief you on a threat looming over Dreamland."

King Dedede's grin faltered a bit as he tensed up. "Threat? Now listen here, I haven't ordered a demon beast since-"

Meta Knight flashed a glare at the king, who grumbled and stopped talking. "I did not claim you have done such a thing. It is not a demon beast, sire, but rather something completely different. Sir Galacta Knight will explain." Meta Knight gestured over to Galacta, who gave a polite bow.

"Greetings, your highness. I am Sir Galacta Knight. It is my duty to search the galaxy for a being called Dark Matter."

King Dedede looked Galacta up and down, resting his chin in his palm, eyes furrowed in suspicion. "And what, dare I ask, is this 'Dark Matter'? How come I've never heard of it?"

"If I may," Galacta rummaged through his person, approaching King Dedede with a small device in his palm. The king leaned in and blinked in surprise as a small beam of light shot up from it and widened, forming a hologram screen that displayed various objects and text. "Dark Matter is an omnipotent being that exists throughout the known universe," Galacta explained, swiping through a few screens. He stopped at a particular image, a dark colored, round creature adorned with spikes and a single, staring eyeball. "This is Dark Matter. They take this shape and hide amongst the shadows. I have been made aware of its presence on Planet Popstar, something incredibly unusual and dangerous."

King Dedede narrowed his eyes at the image on the screen, tapping his chin thoughtfully before looking back to Galacta. "And how do I know this isn't some kind of trick? Nothing like that has never been spotted in Dreamland since I was an egg! And I would know, I am king!"

"I do not know," Galacta shook his head, swiping to other screens on his device. "But you must understand that regardless of how it got here, its presence is a major threat to your people. If you will allow me to explain."

King Dedede made a sour face, staring down at Galacta with doubt written all over him. "Go on, then."

Galacta paused, taking in a breath before continuing. "Dark Matter hunts and feeds off fractured souls. It gains power through one's doubts, their dark desires, and when strong enough, can possess another being's body by force and use it as their own. How it chooses to feed and possess depends on the target…"

As Galacta was explaining, Meta Knight noticed King Dedede's body language shift and his expression change. It seemed that something had suddenly dawned on the king.

"Hold on a minute… Is that what the mayor in town was babbling about? I had gotten reports of one or two of my waddle dees actin' strange, but…"

Before Galacta could respond, a loud crash off to the side rang through the large room. All three of them turned their heads to one of the waddle dees that was cleaning hunched over, a very expensive looking plate in pieces at their feet as they held their head in their paws.

"Hey! That plate was expensive!" King Dedede shouted, slamming his fist on the arm of the throne. "Bandana Dee!"

"Y-your Highness!" The captain hurried over, almost tripping over their spear as they stopped at the king's throne.

King Dedede sighed and grimaced at the broken plate, pinching between his eyes in frustration. He looked like he wanted to shout and punish the waddle dee for breaking that plate, but he refrained from doing so. "Just… Make sure that dee is alright so we can clean up that mess. Last thing we need is cut up feet smearing blood all over my clean floor!"

Bandana Dee nodded, immediately running over to the hunched over dee and rubbing their back. "Hey, let's get you back to the quarters…" they gestured to another dee, who nodded and immediately began to sweep up the broken glass.

Galacta narrowed his eyes, shoulders tensed up as he watched the two waddle dees slowly walk towards the door.

"W-whoa, hey! Calm down!" Bandana Dee cried out when the other dee wrenched themselves from the comforting paw, body shaking as they fell to the floor.

"What's going on with that dee?!" King Dedede stood, ready to go over to the scene himself, but was stopped by Meta Knight.

"Sire, it's best you stay out of harm's way," the knight said sternly.

"What? What are you talking about-"

Before King Dedede could finish his sentence, the strange acting waddle dee managed to toss Bandana Dee away from them, the captain shouting and landing at King Dedede's feet, their spear landing beside them with a clatter.

"Ow…"

It was then that the other waddle dees in the room collectively gathered, trying to hold the strange one back and ultimately failing. The crowd of waddle dees were tossed around the throne room like a bunch of ping-pong balls one by one. All sorts of trophies and knick-knacks around the room were getting toppled over amidst the chaos. However, the moment there was a safe opening, Galacta spread his massive wings and swooped like a hawk onto the aggressive waddle dee.

"Hey, what does he think he's-!" King Dedede was once again stopped by Meta Knight. The two watched carefully as Galacta pinned the waddle dee without breaking a sweat, wings flared open as he pressed his open palm onto their forehead. The waddle dee began squirming violently beneath it as though the gesture was hurting them.

A mysterious dark cloud then emitted from the waddle dee. A single eye looked rapidly about the room before making eye contact intensely at King Dedede before Galacta released the waddle dee. He unsheathed the lance tethered to his side and stabbed it directly into the dark cloud's eye, causing it to screech and dissolve into nothing.

Just as quickly as the chaos came, the room fell into silence. King Dedede was stunned at the sudden turn of events, staring wide-eyed at Galacta as he folded his wings, sheathed his lance and offered a paw to help the waddle dee up. The waddle dee was shaken as well as they stared at the floor, eyes drooping with exhaustion as they leaned against the large knight for support.

"That," Galacta paused, looking around the room for anything else that was unusual. "Was Dark Matter."

King Dedede gulped nervously, the intense stare of the monster still fresh in his mind as he slowly nodded. "I… I see. Uh… thanks for telling me." The king glanced at Bandana Dee, who had gotten up and was picking up their spear. "Bandana Dee, please see to it that all the waddle dees are watched carefully for… stuff like that."

Bandana Dee nodded, adjusting the bandanna that had become lopsided on their head. "Yes, your Majesty. We won't let this slip by again!" They briskly took a hold of the previously possessed waddle dee from Galacta Knight, rubbing their back as they silently were escorted out of the room.

As everyone was collecting themselves, Meta Knight kept his distance, silently observing Galacta and King Dedede as they talked amongst themselves. What just transpired proved that Galacta was genuine about his profession as a Dark Matter hunter, that was for certain. And yet, concerns weighed in his mind. How many residents of Dreamland have already been dealing with this threat?

While Galacta was a professional and could likely deal with this threat himself, Meta Knight considered making Kirby aware and perhaps train him to fight against this new foe as well. Kirby was upset with him, yes, but training is training. There was no time to let emotions get in the way of facing this threat. Emotions are what Dark Matter feed off of, after all. Kirby just needed a few days to recover, then Meta Knight would intensify his student's training.