Shades of Grey - Chapter 4
Escargoon stood before his small lab, working on the cure. Behind him stood Meta-Knight's loyal subordinates, Sword and Blade. As the two watched the snail's labor, Sword slowly scooted closer to his friend.
"It may be a good idea to actually find some of the real serum," Sword whispered, making sure he was beyond the stooge's range of hearing. "Just incase he does try to pull anything, I don't feel safe using the antidote on Meta-Knight until we can test it on something first."
Blade nodded in agreement, "I'll go and find some. Be careful, ok? He's a sneaky one."
"Let 'em try something!" Sword grinned under his helmet. He rested his hand on the hilt. "That'll give me yet another reason to gut em'."
Blade chuckled softly, then turned around and ran out the door. Upon hearing the door shut Escargoon turned his head and looked over his shoulder at Sword. "Where's he going?"
"You need not concern yourself 'bout him," Sword said threateningly, "I'd suggest you get back to work…"
"Meta-Knight!" Tuff cried. "What's wrong with you?!" Lololo and Lalala cowered behind him, fear overtaking them. Kirby stood slightly off to the side, confusion and dismay evident in his young face. Tuff's cries received no response. Slowly Meta-Knight's eyes flashed a bright crimson and his wings spread. The children backed away.
"We… w-we need to tell someone!" Lalala whimpered. Tuff turned to regard the duo.
"You two go find Sword and Blade. Tell them what happened! Maybe they'll know what to do…" The twins answered with a nod, before jumping into the air and floating in the direction of King Dedede's castle. The sudden action caught the knight's attention, and he turned as if he meant to chase them. "No!! Meta-Knight-" Crimson eyes met his, and Tuff's words caught in his throat. His sword was enveloped in an unholy luminous glow, most likely due to a spectral power granted to him by his new form. The glow flickered and brightened in accordance to the old soldier's eyes, as if symbolizing the end of Meta-Knight's former existence in favor of his newer necromantic alternative.
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning Meta-Knight dashed forward. Tuff couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Paralysis gripped him without any intentions of letting go. Meta-Knight swung the blade with such strength it looked as though he cut the air itself. As the edge of Meta-Knight's sword neared the petrified Tuff, a sudden force deflected the blow. The old soldier staggered back, almost dropping the sword and looked for the source of the impact. There, through the crimson haze of Meta-Knight's vision stood Kirby. The little star warrior held a large tree branch, his eyes narrowed with resolve.
Meta-Knight prepared to attack, but his conscience stilled his hand. His crimson eyes flickered to emerald, an outward expression of the turmoil that raged inside.
Not Kirby…
I won't hurt Kirby…
Meta-Knight raised his sword, his wings outstretched and prepared for flight. Kirby watched him, yet the old soldier could see no malice in the eyes of his disciple. All he found was concern. Meta-Knight felt the tug of rage, the wanting to destroy the enemy of Nightmare that stood before him. Yet despite this urge he repressed it with whatever former consciousness he still possessed.
I will not hurt Kirby.
Kirby is our last hope.
Meta-Knight's wings flapped slowly, as if testing their strength and stability. Paralysis continued to hold Tuff in its grasp, all he could do was watch the exchange with unrepressed horror. The old soldier's eyes darkened to red.
Kirby must defeat me.
But he is not yet ready.
Kirby mewled softly, steadying himself. Meta-Knight was his teacher, protector, father figure, friend. The little star warrior had no intentions of harming him, but couldn't stand by and watch Tuff get hurt.
My life is expendable.
Kirby's is not.
Kirby was a strong and brave warrior, yet Meta-Knight knew how this potential exchange could end. He wanted to stop, to spare Kirby the misery of having to fight and destroy him. He wanted to nullify the possibility that he himself could destroy Kirby. The thought of harming Kirby brought a pang of anguish to the old soldier, and he fought desperately to regain control.
He wasn't finished with his training.
He won't be able to defeat me.
I failed.
Abruptly Meta-Knight's eyes flashed and he dashed forward, sword ready to strike. Kirby held his position temporarily, but as his adversary neared he lost his resolve. With a whimper Kirby held the branch before him as protection and tightly closed his eyes.
No!
With the last ounce of strength that resided in the Meta-Knight's consciousness, he willed his body to flap it's newly developed wings. Propelling himself into the air, he flew away as fast as his wings would allow. As each flutter of his webbed wings moved him further away from the battlefield, Meta-Knight watched the clouds around him fade away as the malevolent side of his personality won over and he lost consciousness…
Blade padded silently into King Dedede's throne room. Fortunately no one was there. The actual location of the fiendish tyrant was unknown, yet the least of the young knight's concerns. He really didn't know where to find the serum, but decided that although Dedede was cunning he had a habit of being quite careless and may have left the vial somewhere. Especially with the thought that Meta-Knight was out of the way and Kirby knew neither of the oncoming war nor the serum. Unfortunately, Blade's search came up short. As he turned to leave the room he heard a small sound from below his foot. The young disciple lifted his boot to find a piece of paper. He picked up the slightly crumpled paper and scanned over it. It looked to be a formula, with various symbols and the names of chemicals listed. On the bottom corner of the page was the words "Behemoth Serum." It appeared to be a duplicate, as if King Dedede had made a few copies of it to give to Nightmare. This copy must have slipped the tyrant's grasp and either Dedede didn't notice it missing or was too irresponsible to care. Blade grinned beneath his helmet as joy overwhelmed him. This was perfect! Now they could save Meta-Knight!
As Blade turned to leave, a sudden noise startled him. He looked over his shoulder to see the device King Dedede used to summon monsters activating on its own…
Kirby watched Meta-Knight's abrupt departure. Tuff let out a breath.
"What're we gonna do now?" Tuff questioned. Kirby ran to the young boy and grabbed onto his shirt while gesturing in the direction of Meta-Knight's withdrawal. "We can't go after him! Did you see what he almost did to me? To you?!!" Kirby mewled loudly, his gestures growing more agitated. Tuff sighed, exasperated, "How do you expect us to catch up to him? We can't fly!"
Kirby stopped, deep in thought. After a moment he suddenly grabbed Tuff's shirt once again and gestured in a different direction.
Tuff looked to the direction that Kirby was pointing at, "Kirby, that's where Dynablade lives…hey!" The little star warrior nodded his head vigorously as Tuff suddenly understood. "That's a good idea! After all you've done for her I'm sure Dynablade will help us! C'mon Kirby, lets go!"
Sword leaned back against the wall as he watched Escargoon's progress. The young soldier's patience was wearing thin. The king's lackey looked as if he was purposely taking his time. Suddenly, Escargoon stopped to wipe his brow. "You better get back to work, you're not taking any breaks. You're taking too long as it is!"
A scowl tugged the snail's lips as he looked over his shoulder at his captor. "Don't rush perfection! If you want this antidote done right, then you just have to wait!"
"Don't try me," Sword threatened. "My patience is wearing thin. I think I've been a slight too lenient on you." He withdrew his weapon, turning the blade in his hand. "I could be a bit harsher if you provoke me."
"I'm working as fast as I can!" Escargoon moaned, eyeing the sharp weapon.
"For your sake, you'd better…" Sword forewarned.
Dynablade was perching in her next, the chick sleeping soundly beside her when Kirby and Tuff arrived. Their abrupt appearance initially startled the massive bird, but upon realizing the identity of the visitors she settled down.
"Hi Dynablade!" Tuff called. The giant creature answered with a great nod of her head. "Could you…could you do us a big favor?" Dynablade tilted her head slightly. Tuff explained their situation and the bird sat in silent contemplation. She turned to regard her sleeping chick, then gave the two children a nod. "Thank you!" The massive creature lowered her wing, and once Kirby and Tuff climbed on she jumped off of her perch and glided through the air. Dynablade was much faster in the air than Meta-Knight, as she was much larger and possessed a greater aerial skill. "Now…how are we going to find Meta-Knight?"
Suddenly, Kirby stood up and jumped onto Dynablade's head. His body was almost weightless and did nothing to disturb the bird's flight. The small star warrior pointed in one direction, uttering a small sound. Dynablade dipped one wing down and turned to that direction. Tuff watched the exchange from his place on the creature's broad back. Kirby appeared to have some kind of sixth sense, an intuition that allows him to locate his missing leader. He wasn't sure whether Kirby was able to sense Meta-Knight because he was a star warrior, or because he was a monster. Nevertheless, Tuff hoped for Kirby's sake that Meta-Knight's malady was reversible. The young boy knew that nothing would pain his friend more than having to destroy the only kin he had left…
"Wait, look! I see em'!" Tuff cried, pointing at a small flying figure straight ahead of them. The figure could only have been Meta-Knight, the physique and wings were unmistakable. Yet, now that they found him, what exactly were they going to do? Neither Tuff nor Kirby thought to plan ahead, but that didn't stop the star warrior. A look of determination on his young visage, he soundlessly directed Dynablade to fly over his predecessor. Meta-Knight could hear and feel the presence of the large bird, and turned around in mid-flight. He growled in a voice that was not his own, and shot a bolt from his sword.
Dynablade swerved out of the way, a squawk loudly erupting from her. Tuff and Kirby held on tightly, not wishing to fall from this high up. Meta-Knight flapped his wings hard and propelled himself over Dynablade. His eyes were soulless, only rage and the primitive want for violence resided. Apparently whatever had formerly stilled the old soldier's hand was no longer there. Yet this did nothing to dissuade Kirby. Dynablade began to flap her wings harder, the resulting gust stronger than Meta-Knight's newly developed wings was capable of handling. As he tumbled through the air, he sent another bolt at the bird. This time the bolt landed on the underside of Dynablade's wing. With a cry of pain, Dynablade struggled to maintain balance. Meta-Knight flapped his wings vigorously trying to regain control. As he fell below Dynablade, Kirby jumped off of her head and grabbed onto his struggling adversary. The two tumbled down and hit the ground, Meta-Knight's wings taking the impact.
With a roar of pain, Meta-Knight hurled Kirby off of him and once again attempted flight. His wings would not comply, as they were twisted in awkward positions. Kirby slowly climbed onto his feet. Somehow during the whole ordeal Meta-Knight managed to maintain a death-like grip on his sword. Uttering a low, menacing growl Meta-Knight stabbed his sword into the floor. The ground then began shaking, knocking Kirby off of his feet. Pulling the sword cleanly from the grassless terrain he charged forward, intending to take advantage of the temporarily fallen Kirby. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye he saw a stream of light. Before he could react a powerful blow struck him in the temple. A loud crack resounded as his mask absorbed the impact and he was sent reeling several feet, skidding a few more feet before coming to a stop.
Kirby's eyes widened in surprise as the source of the attack landed gracefully beside him.
"Mind if I join the party?!" Knuckle Joe asked, a determined and arrogant grin lining his features…
Author's Notes: Yay! Finally finished chapter 4! ::Does happy dance:: I think this chapter went pretty well, I spent quite a lot of time working on it. I hope you enjoy it, and I will post Chapter 5 as soon as possible. Honestly I'm not certain how long this story is going to end up, but I do know what direction I want to take it. =D I want to issue a thanks to Kirbster for typing up Knuckle Joe's episode for me! It's going to be a big help especially this next chapter! I also want to give thanks to Ivyna J. Spyder for giving me grammatical advice. Finally, I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my fic! Your wonderful input has been a great incentive for me to continue! Thank you very much, and I hope that the rest of my story doesn't disappoint! =D