Oh? What's this?
Le gasp! A new story update?! After two years?!
You bet'cha.
If you're wondering what I've been up to, well it's...school. That's it.
But...hey, I'm a graduate now, so...pretty cool methinks.
So this chapter is short, yeah. That's me trying to get back into the flow of fanfic writing. Next chapters will be cooler, I promise.
xxx
Remain asleep...remain asleep...
That was it. All he needed to do was sleep through the night. That would be his sign that things were beginning to regulate themselves again.
Surrounding the knight was a dark and empty void leading into nothingness. It was a galaxy of his own that he was quite used to seeing, so much so that even the bleakness seemed to even greet him once again. He lifted up his head and closed his eyes, taking the time of silence to recall the events of his life to answer the questions on his mind...
The questions of how he had gotten here...and the concerns.
No matter what context he put his thoughts too, all he could happen to think about was paired with a terrible realization—if he couldn't do such an easy task like rest... it would be confirmation that the consequences of his own actions had finally rendered him truly doomed.
xxx
Meta Knight didn't remember much from his learning years. As far as he was concerned, they barely even existed before he was incubated in the Warp Star, given nothing to do but sleep for centuries. The slumber was induced by the starship itself; it would emit a certain calming gas as soon as the glass lid had closed. This would ensure the child would be secure through its' long and rough travels and they wouldn't be awake long enough to get curious and start pressing things they shouldn't.
At the time of war, of course it seemed ingenious. But one thing they hadn't really considered was how unprepared for adulthood those same children would be as they awoke to an unfamiliar world, one that they had to now figure out all the details of. Now that was a feeling the knight had remembered all too well.
So new to it all...so many expectations.
When he opened his eyes for the very first time in centuries, he was overwhelmed by everything all at once. The muffled noises of the cosmos, all of the vibrant hues of the galaxy presenting themselves, his own stifled, frightened gasp when he felt something jolt up within himself...
He couldn't help but be paralyzed by the fear that came with arriving in the New World. A blazing train of thought tried to reason whether it would hold the same seemingly unkind first impression as this universe or not. Nova, he didn't even know how to talk yet, but oh did he so desperately wish he could turn back.
The fairly harsh truth was that it was bound to strike him into reality at some point.
That would be the first lesson this life was to teach...acceptance. Knowing when it was time to succumb. Trying to spare every waking moment was a waste, for when the star landed, there was no going back to his incubation. No more peaceful life of sleep and dreams. It would only mark the beginning of a brand new era...one that would inevitably tear him apart—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Despite how dark the repressed memory appeared, the star warrior couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief. To just vaguely remember how easygoing the Kiridian species was known to be and how much he had grown to contrast it. Yet, it was worth a thought, no? Just to think that he was just like Kirby at some point.
But of course, of course, his childish nature had to be sacrificed for the sake of war. Surely his maturity in many areas would have had to be well developed to act properly as a recruit. Perhaps that was the reasoning for advanced army training seeping most of his livelihood away, or the obligation to teach himself to be immune to the cacophony of the battlefield.
How he loved to pretend losing the ones he cared about barely affected him.
How easy it would be to tell the story when it was all finished, to be praised as the only surviving member of the elder generation of galactic warriors—at the time being so sure he'd be the one who defeated eNeMeE.
But then it all became so terrifying.
When it was over, when it became a battle that he couldn't possibly win.
So he used Dreamland as what was supposed to be a temporary retreat. Soon would it come to Meta's awareness while he had to simply be normal among the townspeople, trained to be mature and elegant in so many areas, yet so unknowing of such a vital concept—
It took him a while to stop questioning every aspect of his identity. He was barely even sure who he was when he didn't have to fight.
From then on, that would always be an internal conflict. The answer seemed to be right in front of him, but it wasn't. As long as Nightmare was still around, all of his foolishness was something he truly left behind in the past, where he once had the sweetest of dreams.
xxx
Sleep...sleep...
He could feel himself close to waking, but tried to stop himself from doing so. Perhaps that was too...morbid for a mere dream scenario. At times like this he'd wonder what Kirby would tell him if he were here. Or do, rather, since the pink puffball was likely used to having more fun dreams than this.
He tried to diverge his thoughts, taking what his mentor taught him and putting it to good use.
Sighing deeply, he began to envision...things he would normally regard as foolish pleasures. But to be honest, just a few dream parfaits wouldn't hurt him in the real world. A line of varied flavors of the delicacy appeared at his feet. He bent down to pick up one of them. He picked up a spoon and shoveled out some of the cream, lifting his mask up ever so slightly to put it in his mouth.
"...Mmm~..." such a sweet, cold delicacy was clearly meant to be savored. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the sensation eating one brought him. It was one of the few things that could make him feel...special.
He'd keep spooning the cream into his mouth, making the point of it being best savored in his eyes pretty ironic. He seemed to follow his own sentiment less and less as he kept eating. But by no means was this too unusual for him, Meta certainly had an unaddressed tendency to fall into dessert comas. This was especially true with candy as well.
Although whenever he thought about it, his most prevalent thoughts linked back to...the incident.
Nobody really thought Meta was much of an eater at first. He rarely attended the royal dinners in the castle for how busy he claimed to be most of the time. And for someone who didn't eat a lot, he definitely would burn a lot of energy during training.
But then, on a fateful night, The king walked in on something that left him flabbergasted! Truly a most unlikely experience...
As he was going to get the typical late night snack, he couldn't help but feel as if someone else was planning on doing so too. Dedede was walking into the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge until he heard a peculiar sound...the sound of munching that wasn't his own. Something that was even weirder to see was the trail of chocolate bar wrappers the suspect had left in their wake.
They led all the way up to inside the pantry, the chewing and odd noises getting louder and louder...he slowly crept to the door, and the fearless monarch, most certainly not fearing a ghost right then because 'those don't scare him none' , flung the pantry door open, leading to a surprised gasp from...
...
Meta Knight...who appeared to be gorging on them.
The very next day, gossip quickly spread through the town. It seemed everyone had made a connection and realized how much his appetite really did liken to Kirby's. It was one of the few moments he lost his self control, and he still regretted it. Because having to hear King Dedede heckle about "the time dat dere Meta Knight snarfed down twenty whole chocolate bars" got tiring after a while even if he could hide his irritation well. At the very least he was still respected by everyone, though the knight was well aware of all the...comments they had made about his faltering.
But...hey, this was his quiet place, wasn't it?
He could eat as much food as he wanted in his dreams, yet never really considered the possibility of it. He'd spent so much time brooding on his deep dark past and worrying about his future that he disregarded what really mattered...munchies.
Perhaps...surrendering to laziness wasn't the only part of it. It wouldn't be unreasonable to surrender to Kiridian cravings too. All the time he'd spend resisting them to pursue his destiny as a warrior...did that really matter right now?
Meta glanced back at the parfaits that he'd manifested for a moment, not even realizing he'd completely cleared the cup he was holding of all its' substance. The remains of chocolate and vanilla rested on his mouth.
What would he do next? Knowing he'd already had his 'knightly' dessert and had pretty much just left a huge mess on his mouth...the answer was pretty obvious.
He was a venerable star warrior with a great deal of self respect. The best and most rational course of action would be to stop this foolish course of action.
...
You know, after the next twelve parfaits.
First time writing this in a while...sorry for the chapter quality! Meta's past will play into why he has trouble sleeping sometime later, I promise that's why i included that little bit.