Shades of Grey - Chapter 3
Slowly Meta-Knight treaded back to the lake. Kirby was standing in the same place Meta-Knight had left him, a concerned and confused look on his young face. As the elder knight approached him, Kirby jumped up and ran to him.
"Boy-oh?" Kirby asked with the small vocabulary he currently possessed.
The old knight's eyes glowed gently as he tenderly rubbed Kirby's head. "Sorry if I scared you. Don't worry about it, ok?" His words did nothing to ease the mind of his youthful brethren. "Lets forget about the duel. How about you practice your inhale?" Kirby smiled brightly and nodded. "Alright then. Here," Meta-Knight picked up a small rock and placed in among other, heavier rocks. "I want you to inhale this rock, and this rock only. This will force you to control the strength of the vacuum." Kirby stared at him blankly for a moment, then turned to face the group of rocks. Concentrating on the single rock in the middle, Kirby began to inhale.
Meta-Knight stood behind the young star warrior yet could still feel the pull of the suction. Lololo and Lalala were on their third lap around the lake, but exhaustion threatened to overwhelm them. They jogged up to Meta-Knight, then collapsed onto the ground.
"Three…laps…" Lololo wheezed. "I counted…."
Meta-Knight nodded. "Very good. You can go home and rest now. Meet me here tomorrow morning and we will continue the training." The twin creampuffs climbed onto their feet, happy with their leader's praise. Waving a quick goodbye to Kirby they took to the skies, for once truly appreciating the ability that for so long they had taken for granted. Upon their departure, the old war veteran turned to monitor Kirby's progress. He did succeed to swallow the rock…as well as all of the other rocks around them.
The little pink creampuff turned to look at Meta-Knight, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment of his dismal performance.
"That's alright…" Meta-Knight said softly. "We'll try again tomorrow-"
"Finally!" Tuff cried as he bursted from the lake, a rock in his hand. "I got it! I got it! Look, Meta-Knight!" He showed the rock to the old soldier, who nodded with approval.
"So you did. Excellent, Tuff," The young boy beamed with pride. Meta-Knight looked at both of them. The sun was beginning to set behind them. "It's getting late. Training's over for today. Meet me here tomorrow morning and we will continue. You both did a good job."
"Aw…shucks," Tuff laughed as he raised one hand behind his head. Kirby nodded, eager for a chance to redeem himself…
In the room Meta-Knight and his soldiers shared, Sword paced endlessly around the room. Blade stood, leaning back against the wall.
"Blade, I'm worried about Meta-Knight. Star warriors just don't have seizures for no reason!" Sword shook his head. "Heck, he's never even been sick!"
"He dismissed it as if it was nothing," Blade crossed his arms. "He's keeping something from us."
"He may not think it's our business, but damn it, it is!" Sword growled. "But what can we do? We don't even know what's wrong!"
Suddenly, the object of their concern trudged in through the door wearily. Both subordinates turned to look at him. Meta-Knight nodded in greeting.
"Lord Meta-Knight…" Sword began, his voice tight. Their leader looked to him, then to Blade. "I know you're keeping something from us. Please tell us what it is."
Meta-Knight sighed. Originally, he didn't think the serum was going to work, therefore there was no reason to tell them and cause them unnecessary worry. Yet, now that the serum apparently was going to work…it would be best to warn his soldiers and spare them the surprise.
"Remember the serum that King Dedede tried to use on Dynablade's chick?" the two soldiers looked at each other, then nodded. "Well… I discovered while eavesdropping that Dedede is striking an alliance with Nightmare for the war."
The two lieutenants gasped. "I didn't even think the King would stoop so low…" Sword muttered.
"…but I was found out… and while escaping Escargoon stabbed me with the syringe." Meta-Knight finished.
"What?! Why didn't you tell us before!" Blade cried.
The old soldier shook his head, "I didn't think it was going to work, barely any of it was actually injected."
"Aren't you going to look for a cure?" Sword asked.
Meta-Knight shook his head, "I don't think even King Dedede would be stupid enough to make a cure. It would defeat the purpose."
"You can't just give up!" Blade shook his head vigorously, "That's not like you! Maybe we could make Dedede create a cure! We could…find someone to make a cure! Something!"
"I don't have time. War is on the horizon, and Kirby must be ready-" Meta-Knight began.
"Then let us look for the cure!" Sword suggested.
"Yeah! We'll…convince Escargoon to help us," Blade unsheathed his sword. "We can be a bit persuasive when the situation calls for it."
"It's dangerous… to your reputation as well as your physical well-being…" Meta-Knight stated, concern softening his voice. It touched him that his soldiers were so willing to risk themselves for him.
"If we were worried about danger we wouldn't hang out with you at all!" Sword laughed. "You just worry 'bout training Kirby, we'll find you that cure!"
Meta-Knight's eyes glowed softly, "Thank you…"
The full moon showed brightly in the skies, as if the clouds had parted just so the moon could shine down and illuminate Dreamland. Meta-Knight laid in his cot, looking out the window at the glowing orb. It was very late and he was fatigued yet sleep avoided him. His mind was plagued with worry. When was the Behemoth Serum finally going to take over? He vowed to fight the affects as long as he could, but was it really that simple? The thought of hurting Kirby chilled him, tormented him. He didn't want to force Kirby to destroy him, didn't want to abandon him. Meta-Knight knew through first-hand experience how hard it is to harm a friend, even if you know it's for the best. Kirby already had so much weight on his small shoulders; it wasn't fair to put even more weight. Yet in reality there was nothing he could do. That's what angered him more than anything, he knew what was happening and yet could not change the future to which he was compelled. Ultimately, knowing that the peaceful oblivion that sleep provided was not going to be granted to him, he pulled himself out of his cot. Meta-Knight picked up his mask from the bedside table and slipped it on, lightly stepping around the cots of his two subordinates so as not to wake them. Despite the few years they had followed him, neither they nor any other currently living being has seen his face. However, had Blade or Sword been curious enough they probably could have found out being that they and he shared the same room. It pleased the old knight greatly that his two disciples regarded him so highly that they disregarded their own curiosity and respected his privacy. Meta-Knight also knew not what they looked like under their respective helmets, but never asked them. They respected his privacy and he respected theirs'.
Meta-Knight slowly walked out of the castle and to the lake that he had been previously training Kirby and the children. It was a beautiful lake under normal circumstances, but beneath the moonlight it was almost break taking. The old soldier stood silently to regard the radiating scenery before him, when suddenly he noticed a small creature huddling right by the water. One hand on his sword, Meta-Knight slowly approached the figure. Upon stepping on a small twig, the creature turned to look at him with alarm.
"Kirby?" Meta-Knight withdrew his hand from the hilt. "What are you doing out here?" The little creampuff got up and ran over to Meta-Knight, mewling lightly. "What's wrong? What happened?" Kirby looked up at him with misty eyes and tugged on his cape. "Was it a bad dream?" Kirby answered with a nod. Meta-Knight sighed and gently rubbed the top of the young soldier's head. "Bad dreams are just that, they cannot harm you. You should go back to sleep, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Kirby sniffled, tugging on Meta-Knight's cape. This left the war veteran in an awkward position. He couldn't really afford to let Kirby become attached to him… yet he didn't want to be unnecessarily cruel to him, either. As an alternative he could be harsh to Kirby, thereby sparing the young creampuff from the pain of the inevitable. Yet Meta-Knight wondered if detachment would cause him even more pain. With the entire burden forced upon him at such a young age, Meta-Knight felt at the very least he could provide support. At least he could be a father figure, a teacher, a friend…
"Do you want to sleep with me?" Meta-Knight asked tenderly. Kirby nodded. "Alright, c'mon." The old soldier looked up to find a tree with branches that could hold their combined weight. It wasn't overly difficult, despite Kirby's appetite and Meta-Knight's strength both were by nature low density. Once he found branches sturdy enough, he climbed up the tree. Kirby puffed up and floated onto the tree branch as Meta-Knight situated himself. The little pink creampuff landed in front of his elder, who sat down and unclasped his cape. The young star warrior sat down and nuzzled against the front of his mentor's mask. In return, Meta-Knight wrapped his cape tenderly around the little creature. Almost immediately Kirby was fast asleep. "Good, little one. Rest up. We have a long and harsh road ahead of us…"
Escargoon was in one of the guestrooms, rearranging the furniture and hiding all valuables due to the arrival of the King's soon to be "guests." For the alliance, Dedede promised to give Nightmare the serum and allow the monsters to reside at the castle in return for Kirby's destruction and protection during the war. The snail smiled mischievously as he recalled his successful attack on Meta-Knight. He was only capable of injecting a small amount of the serum, but that was all that was needed. The serum was at a high concentration and even a drop could draw out the dark side of even the most timid of creatures.
Escargoon was humming softly as he situated another chair. As he turned to leave the room he found himself face-to-blade with one of Meta-Knight's subordinates.
"Wh-what do you want?!" Escargoon snapped as he jumped back.
"You know what we're here for," Sword growled.
"Ah yes, so the serum must be working, I see," Escargoon nodded proudly. Sword jabbed the snail hard, almost breaking skin. Dedede's right-hand snail yelped in pain.
"We want the cure," Blade threatened. He closed the door and placed his back firmly against it.
"The King will wonder where I am!" Escargoon warned.
"Eventually, but you really won't live long enough to care if you don't obey us," Sword said nonchalant.
"I never made a cure," Escargoon said stubbornly as he crossed his arms.
"So you mean if I got some of that serum and injected you with it, you won't have anything to counteract it?" Blade asked. Suddenly, he pulled out a small vial and a syringe.
"Where'd you get that?!" Escargoon asked.
"We have our ways… now where's the cure? Or you'll suffer the same fate you've so unfairly bestowed upon Meta-Knight…" Sword warned.
"Alright alright… I don't have an actual cure, but I do have a formula. I'll make some immediately. Just don't stick me with that thing…" Escargoon waved his hands. Blade stepped away from the door and allowed the snail passage.
"We're going to follow you, just to make sure you keep your word. Oh, and I would make sure that cure is the right one, because we're testing it on you, first!" Sword forewarned. The snail replied with grumbling as he walked out of the room and towards the lab. Once the two soldiers were out of Escargoon's hearing range, Blade grinned under his helmet.
"Gotta love the magic of food coloring…" Blade commented as he took a sip of water from the vial…
The next morning, all of the children except for Tiff were at the lake as ordered. The young girl instead was at the mayor's office, studying biochemistry. Meta-Knight stood before the ones who arrived. "You all did well yesterday, but today is a new day. I think it would be best if you all knew of each other's strengths and weaknesses. So I want you all to have a friendly competition. I will pair you up in groups. Kirby and Lololo, you two will take on Tuff and Lalala." Meta-Knight held up a large green ball. "I want to see who can reach this ball first, and get it back to me. Use any method available, as long as you don't do any serious harm to your opponent. By the way, not only does the ball have to get to me, but you and your partner. Now go!" The old soldier hurled the ball into the water, the children chasing after it. As he watched their fevered attempts to retrieve the ball, a wave of nausea passed over him.
No! Not now!
He wasn't done training Kirby yet!
Kirby wasn't ready yet!
The earth began to spin around him, everything a haze of red.
Was the Behemoth Serum taking affect?
Was he going to turn into a monster?
Was he going to die?
Suddenly, Tuff tried to through the ball away from Kirby and Lololo and almost nailed Meta-Knight with it. When Kirby and Lololo turned to go after the ball, they noticed their mentor's sudden distress. The elder knight was leaning forward, one hand against a tree, the other on his temple.
"Meta-Knight?" Lololo floated out of the water and landed by his side. Within moments the children were all around him.
"Are you ok?" Lalala asked. Meta-Knight responded with an uncharacteristic growl. "What's wrong?" She reached forward to touch him when he abruptly slapped her hands away.
"G…get away!" Meta-Knight roared. "Don't come near!" This baffled the children, and they all looked to each other for advice on the situation. Yet all they met with were more frightened and baffled stares. Suddenly, their mentor growled with pain and he fell. Yet despite the agony he was able to catch himself.
Kirby mewled, both confused and terrified by the sudden malady of his trainer. The small sound generated a startling response. With a final cry violet bat-like wings bursted from his back. Horrified, the young disciples jumped back. Yet nothing sent a chill of cold deeper then Meta-Knight's eyes. Soulless, orbs crimson, his eyes burned holes into their soul as he rose from the ground and drew his sword…
Author's Notes: I re-wrote chapter 3, and I am now much more pleased with it. I decided to give Sword and Blade a much more vital role than I had originally intended. Also I think the added scenes helps to slow the story down and give it a better flow. What do you think? Thank you so much for your input! I am currently working with the fourth chapter, and will post it as soon as I think it's ready.