(warning, this chapter severely pushes the rating. If you don't like gore
and violence, you'll be missing stuff, but if I were you . . . I wouldn't
read this. Or at least the last half. . .)
I felt him slip away, and almost wanted to go with him. . . but Kirby's words still echoed in my mind. I clenched my warpstar tightly in my fist, and felt the force of my former teacher's life energy flow into me. I looked down at my horrifically mutilated legs, and saw the skin patch and a little of the blood crumble and crack away. My legs were no more than stubs, ending just above where my knees once were. I wiped away the tears that had been streaming in torrents down my face, realizing my pain was gone.
I looked over at the strange men, both dark blue and very old. One name for both came to me: "Meta Knight." I knew not what it meant, nor did the name reveal anything else about them. But now, both of the sinewy fighters squared off again, fists raised to do battle, eyes glowing ferociously. Half of me wanted to stay and learn more, but the other half of me (the half that now seemed to be saturated with another, friendly, consciousness) didn't want to be there when those two really started going at it. I moved so that I was directly on the edge of the hole blown in the wall, and peered over the edge. "Too long of a drop. . . how am I supposed to get out of here?" I whispered. I looked up, and saw something strange against the moon. A shadow?
It was like a giant bird, but no bird, not even the Dyna-blade, was this big. As it got closer, I saw that there were lights coming from beneath it. It was a ship! I peered hard into the night to see its name, but could only make out the numeral II. "Something 2 . . ." I murmured. I was confused, but I stopped thinking about it. It seemed to be heading in the opposite direction now, and the two Meta Knights were starting exchange blows. Light filled the cavernous hall with each power filled hit. Suddenly, the ship veered around and came cruising back to my position. Bright, artificial light rained down on the three of a booming voice and us blasted us from the ship. "INHABITANTS OF DREAM LAND!" It roared. "WE ARE FORCE THREE OF THE STAR FEDERATION II! PLEASE DIRECT US TO. . . DEAR GOD!" It's commanding tone suddenly changed, as if the speaker was just noticing something.
"Is that Meta Knight? THE Meta Knight?" The voice inquired. Though still loud, without the speakers, the voice would have been an awed whisper. Meta Knight (the original, I assumed) looked up, seemingly confused and amazed. The other Meta Knight saw his distraction, and attacked. The voice spoke again. "I'M GOING TO LAND THE SHIP! STOP THE FIGHT, WE'LL BE THERE IN SECONDS!" And it was true. I shoved my self against the wall to the left of the giant hole, and the ship landed several stories down beneath me. I heard several metallic clanks as uncountable numbers of grappling hooks pierced the ledge where I had been perched not moments before. I watched in a numb sort of fright. Creatures I had never seen before, all of them heavily pierced or tattooed were flooding in through the hole.
The two Meta Knights stopped their warring long enough to look around at the rugged yet strong crowd that now surrounded us all. One of them stepped forward, and I recognized his voice immediately as the speaker. "Uh. . ." He said uncertainly. "Which of you is the true Meta Knight?" Both shouted out: "I AM!" They began fighting again, and I forgot which one was the imposter whom had shouted of his servitude to NME.
"AARRGGHH!" Shouted the speaker. "Stop it!" He yelled frustrated. "Until you two calm down, and stop this, you're going with Brutus!" He pointed to an unpleasant looking man standing nearby, who was several times my own height, and had bone piercings across his face.
For a moment, both Meta Knights were stock still. . . But in a flash, both of them had disappeared into the shadows. The leader sent a few men to search for them. I cleared my throat, surprising several of those standing near me. Brutus gazed over in my direction, and chuckled at my suddenly terrified look. He spoke with a heavy accent. It reminded me much of Goliath: in fact, I'm sure he could have passed for Goliath's long dead father.
"Don' ye worry yer wee 'ead over me, I wouldn' 'urt ye." The leader laughed along with him, but was silenced suddenly when he noticed Kirby's remains near me. The crowd of warriors parted so that he could approach me.
He squatted down to stare into my face. "Your name and reason for being in this fortress." He asked frankly. I answered quickly. "My name is Magnum. I was taken here by NME to be tortured as a spite to Kirby."
I heard a few whispers amongst the group. Several of them, it seemed, recognized the name of my former Master. Each whispered voice dripped with respect. "Who is Kirby?" He asked. I pointed to my former teacher's stiffening corpse. He examined the body.
"Hmm. . . So this is Kirby. Brutus, come here." The frightening giant lumbered over with surprising speed. "I want you to take this body to the infirmary until it can be prepared for a proper burial." Brutus lifted Kirby and slung him over his shoulder. I cried out before I could stop myself.
"What is it?" The leader asked. "It's just . . ." I whispered. ". . . He gave his life for me. Do you think I could come with you, maybe help out?" The leader put a heavy hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you'd be able to do much. You'll just get in the way." My shoulders drooped. He looked down, and saw my legs. It was difficult to see that they were almost completely healed due to the fact that they were still covered in blood. I suppose he thought I was still hurt.
". . .But you know what," he told me, "We here have a crack team of surgeons, technicians, and engineers. To make it up to you, what say we give you a new pair of legs?" I looked up at him, still unsure if I should trust him. I still had no idea who these people were. He saw my uncertainty in my eyes. "It's OK," he told me. "We're here to help!" I decided he was OK. Brutus disappeared over the edge of the hole, with Kirby over his shoulder. The leader, though not much taller than me, picked me up easily. He was careful not to touch my legs.
I held onto his neck as we too dropped over the edge, with my new savior clinging to one of the many ropes. It was a moment before we touched the ground, but the entire way down, I had stared at the Ship he had arrived in. I could now very clearly see its name. "FEDERATION II"
I was taken aboard the ship, and down a long hall to a room labeled "weaponry." I wondered about the purpose of bringing me there. The leader knocked on the door, which opened to reveal a girl. Yes, a girl. She seemed about my age, and was very, very pretty. "Yes, Marthen?" She asked, pushing up her goggles to reveal her shining eyes: golden bronze, almost like mine.
He looked down at her. "This here is Magnum. I promised him a new set of legs. Do you think that you and Mandela can carry it out?" He asked her. She scoffed. "If I can rebuild half of a living head, I think that I can make a pair of legs." "I never had a doubt." He replied with a chuckle. He looked at me after setting me on a table in the weaponry room. "I'll see you in a while. Maybe I'll give you a tour of the ship later."
After Marthen left, The attractive engineer turned to me. "My name is Masadona. I'll be the one attaching the legs to your body. Mandela will design them." I looked up at her. "You have a pretty name, Masadona." She smiled chillingly. "Where I come from, it means 'Disastrous blade'."
"Who's Mandela?" I asked. "You'll meet him later." She told me, and held a mask to my face. "Now breathe . . ." I sucked in, and the world went black with a dizzying speed.
I awoke with a light head, and realized in a strange way, that I could feel my legs. Legs? I looked around. I was in some sort of medical room . . . The infirmary. I saw a round shape under a cloth on a table across the room. "Possibly Kirby. . ." I thought to myself. I lifted up my sheets to see my new appendages. The first thing that I noticed was not my new legs . . . But that I was completely naked. "Where are my pants?!" I cried. A head poked around the corner. It's not like I'm strange in that way, but the amused young man who was looking at me was VERY attractive.
"Oh," he said. That simple, like it meant something. I supposed it did, to him. "Your awake." I wasn't looking at him. I was groping under the bed for my clothes. "Yo, you lookin' for your clothes?" He asked suddenly. I looked up at him, not enjoying the look on his face. It was a strange mix of spite and sick pleasure, which was slightly hidden by his dark tattoos.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. May I ask who you are?" He approached my bedside. "You watch your tone while you in my facility." He stressed 'facility' and gestured around the infirmary. "But I'm Mandela."
I wondered for a brief and despairing moment if this angry, mean minded young man was Masadona's boyfriend.
He stared at me. I stared back. "Well," he told me. "Your clothes be down the hall, in surgery." He sniggered. "Have fun gettin' there." He disappeared around the corner again. I grabbed the sheet from my bed and wrapped it around my waist. Carefully, I opened the door and peeked into the hall. Empty so far. . .
"OK, so my clothes are in surgery, down the hall . . . Which way?!" I looked up at a sign on the corridor hall. It was in a language I didn't recognize, and couldn't read. But I recognized the symbol for scalpel, and an arrow pointing to my left. I walked quietly in that direction. Suddenly, a door opened. Masadona. Very quickly, I felt a pleasant (but at the moment, unwelcome) warmth spread across my lap. I quickly turned around so that Masadona couldn't see what was going on. Mandela was standing in the hall now, not far from me. He noticed the bulge very quickly. He stifled laughter.
"Hey, Masadona, could you get Magnum's Clothes for him?" "Sure," She called back. I was taken by surprise when Mandela rushed forward, and spun me around. My sheet fell from my grasp, and crinkled around my ankles. I gasped, covering myself. I looked up. Masadona had already disappeared into Surgery. I turned back around, wrapping the blanket around me once again. Mandela was rolling on the floor amid gales of laughter.
It was much later (and after I was dressed again) that Marthen agreed to take me home. I was shocked by the sight that greeted me. The ground was covered in tracks, presumably those of the wolves that had near killed me.
I ran to the house (on legs that I had found out were totally mechanical, but some how connected to me in such a way they felt real) and stopped at the open door. I followed the course of the hall, and stopped at a large spot of blackish, hardened blood. I reached down and touched the carpet nearby, steadying myself. Who had lost that much blood in the house where I had been born?
My head whipped back as a vision stormed my mind . . .
(The false Meta Knight rushed forward, stabbing Kirby in the side. Kirby stiffened, then staggered to the floor. The imposter stepped forward, paused, and slid his sword out of the dying warrior. He then turned and entered the room where between Tuff and Claris, Magnum had been conceived. )
My eyes widened. What did he do in my parent's room? I shoved open the door, and screamed. I thought I would never stop. Mom was sitting in the chair before her writing table, slumped over backward with a gaping, dark hole in her chest. It looked like a mouth. Very suddenly, I had gone deaf. Was I still screaming? I couldn't tell. I had gone numb also. I grabbed mom's shoulders and rocked her forward. Her eyes were gone. Empty sockets stared at me from my cold mother's face. My fingers sank into her now yielding corpse flesh, and I was greeted by another, even worse, vision.
(Storming the room, the false Meta Knight laughed hard, and pushed over Claris. She hit the desk chair hard, and there was an unpleasantly wet snap from her ribs. The sound was repeated as her head hit the desk afterward, but this sound was a duller, richer sound. She screamed for a very short time, before a sword glowing with energy pierced her back, stopping the noise for a time. She struggled briefly before she collapsed. The only thing she was thinking was "My son!" The false Meta Knight laughed harder, and propped her up in her own chair in a mock form of respect. He then proceeded to further torturing her. He pressed his thumbs to her eyes, digging them into the corners closest to the nose. He pushes harder, and harder, until one of the eyes ruptured, and the other popped from it's socket. Claris screamed breathlessly, a mute cry of pain. She couldn't move. The imposter plucked both of the ruined eyes out and. . . . )
I discovered at this time that I could "close my eyes" so to speak, but it didn't stop the laughter. I opened my eye again. Mom had stopped moving.
(Still laughing, the imposter looked at his now twice soiled sword. He threw it away. There were no more obstacles. Now that the one woman who could have produced another rival was dead, and he had killed all his enemies in the galactial area, he needed the sword no longer. The sword skidded under the bed. Suddenly, a shadow flew in threw the window. "Damn it, I'm too late!" It yelled. It spotted Kirby out in the hall, and ran to him. The imposter, now threatened, scooped up the body and ran, the shadow, now revealed to be the real Meta Knight, close behind. . .)
My real eyes opened. I was lying crumpled on the floor beside the desk, my hand curled around something hard beneath the bed. I yanked it out, and realized it was the sword that had killed my mother and given Kirby his death wound. Marthen was standing over me, looking highly concerned.
"I heard screaming. Are you OK?" I looked at him, full of sudden rage. Not at him exactly, but at the man whom had killed my mother. I couldn't begin to convey the feeling surging through me. Marthen saw my face, and understood some how what was there. He offered me a hand up. I accepted, and felt a little better. As I got up, I noticed a piece of paper on the desk. I picked it up, but fearing another violent dream, I shoved it in my pocket.
We got back on the ship; Marthen and I. Marthen invited me to join me up in the bridge (control room). On the way, he began talking to me. "Do you know who that sword belonged to?" I had a feeling that the original owner was not the murderer that I had seen. "Meta Knight?" I said tentatively. Marthen smiled grimly. "Yes. And you know what? The two you saw aren't even supposed to exist. I want to show you something . . ."
We got up the bridge, and Marthen pressed a few buttons. A recording came over the speakers. At first, it was just the hiss of an open line, but I began to hear things. '
"Before we continue, I want to tell you that these are recordings of messages sent from all over during the war. You're going to hear some strange things . . ."
The voices began.
KAA-RAAAR! (The sound of bombing, accompanied by screams, and the sound of swords) "Dear God! Some one help us!" (Many people running, more screaming, more blasts. Some one runs near the radio transmitter, yelling like they're seeing Hell.) "META KNIGHTS' BEEN STABBED! HE'S BEEN HURT! SOME ONE, HELP US ALL! (The sound of a near by blast, and the thud of a body hitting the ground. The shouter stops, but the other screams continue.) B B B B B B B A A A A A A A A A A A A C C C C C S S S S S H H H H H H H H H H H ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (There is one final, giant blast.) S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S. . . (For several minutes, nothing but static is heard. Foot steps.)
(It is a younger Kirby, breathing very hard.) Pant . . . Pant . . . "Meta Knight". . . Pant. . . "Has fallen". . . (harsh breath). . . "He's dead." (Slowly, distant cheers rise up.) "The war is over." (The sound of the radio being dropped as hundreds of foot falls approach, bringing with them, the cheering.
I was very intrigued by this recording. I started to say something, when Masadona entered the room. "Magnum, two of my other patients have just awaken. They say they know you. Do you mind coming with me?"
I wondered who it could be. I knew many people. . . I found we were headed back down to surgery. I was led into the back. I rocked back on my heels, surprised at the pair looking at me. Under slightly different armor like plates, familiar eyes stared at me from twin visors. One of them spoke up, in a rough, slightly mechanical voice. "Magnum! Oh man, we thought you were dead for sure. . ." I stopped them. "Who are you?"
(and that is where I end it. I hope it was OK. Oh, and don't worry. Even though this story seems to be wandering away from the Kirby Genre, more familiar characters will soon be introduced. MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!)
I felt him slip away, and almost wanted to go with him. . . but Kirby's words still echoed in my mind. I clenched my warpstar tightly in my fist, and felt the force of my former teacher's life energy flow into me. I looked down at my horrifically mutilated legs, and saw the skin patch and a little of the blood crumble and crack away. My legs were no more than stubs, ending just above where my knees once were. I wiped away the tears that had been streaming in torrents down my face, realizing my pain was gone.
I looked over at the strange men, both dark blue and very old. One name for both came to me: "Meta Knight." I knew not what it meant, nor did the name reveal anything else about them. But now, both of the sinewy fighters squared off again, fists raised to do battle, eyes glowing ferociously. Half of me wanted to stay and learn more, but the other half of me (the half that now seemed to be saturated with another, friendly, consciousness) didn't want to be there when those two really started going at it. I moved so that I was directly on the edge of the hole blown in the wall, and peered over the edge. "Too long of a drop. . . how am I supposed to get out of here?" I whispered. I looked up, and saw something strange against the moon. A shadow?
It was like a giant bird, but no bird, not even the Dyna-blade, was this big. As it got closer, I saw that there were lights coming from beneath it. It was a ship! I peered hard into the night to see its name, but could only make out the numeral II. "Something 2 . . ." I murmured. I was confused, but I stopped thinking about it. It seemed to be heading in the opposite direction now, and the two Meta Knights were starting exchange blows. Light filled the cavernous hall with each power filled hit. Suddenly, the ship veered around and came cruising back to my position. Bright, artificial light rained down on the three of a booming voice and us blasted us from the ship. "INHABITANTS OF DREAM LAND!" It roared. "WE ARE FORCE THREE OF THE STAR FEDERATION II! PLEASE DIRECT US TO. . . DEAR GOD!" It's commanding tone suddenly changed, as if the speaker was just noticing something.
"Is that Meta Knight? THE Meta Knight?" The voice inquired. Though still loud, without the speakers, the voice would have been an awed whisper. Meta Knight (the original, I assumed) looked up, seemingly confused and amazed. The other Meta Knight saw his distraction, and attacked. The voice spoke again. "I'M GOING TO LAND THE SHIP! STOP THE FIGHT, WE'LL BE THERE IN SECONDS!" And it was true. I shoved my self against the wall to the left of the giant hole, and the ship landed several stories down beneath me. I heard several metallic clanks as uncountable numbers of grappling hooks pierced the ledge where I had been perched not moments before. I watched in a numb sort of fright. Creatures I had never seen before, all of them heavily pierced or tattooed were flooding in through the hole.
The two Meta Knights stopped their warring long enough to look around at the rugged yet strong crowd that now surrounded us all. One of them stepped forward, and I recognized his voice immediately as the speaker. "Uh. . ." He said uncertainly. "Which of you is the true Meta Knight?" Both shouted out: "I AM!" They began fighting again, and I forgot which one was the imposter whom had shouted of his servitude to NME.
"AARRGGHH!" Shouted the speaker. "Stop it!" He yelled frustrated. "Until you two calm down, and stop this, you're going with Brutus!" He pointed to an unpleasant looking man standing nearby, who was several times my own height, and had bone piercings across his face.
For a moment, both Meta Knights were stock still. . . But in a flash, both of them had disappeared into the shadows. The leader sent a few men to search for them. I cleared my throat, surprising several of those standing near me. Brutus gazed over in my direction, and chuckled at my suddenly terrified look. He spoke with a heavy accent. It reminded me much of Goliath: in fact, I'm sure he could have passed for Goliath's long dead father.
"Don' ye worry yer wee 'ead over me, I wouldn' 'urt ye." The leader laughed along with him, but was silenced suddenly when he noticed Kirby's remains near me. The crowd of warriors parted so that he could approach me.
He squatted down to stare into my face. "Your name and reason for being in this fortress." He asked frankly. I answered quickly. "My name is Magnum. I was taken here by NME to be tortured as a spite to Kirby."
I heard a few whispers amongst the group. Several of them, it seemed, recognized the name of my former Master. Each whispered voice dripped with respect. "Who is Kirby?" He asked. I pointed to my former teacher's stiffening corpse. He examined the body.
"Hmm. . . So this is Kirby. Brutus, come here." The frightening giant lumbered over with surprising speed. "I want you to take this body to the infirmary until it can be prepared for a proper burial." Brutus lifted Kirby and slung him over his shoulder. I cried out before I could stop myself.
"What is it?" The leader asked. "It's just . . ." I whispered. ". . . He gave his life for me. Do you think I could come with you, maybe help out?" The leader put a heavy hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you'd be able to do much. You'll just get in the way." My shoulders drooped. He looked down, and saw my legs. It was difficult to see that they were almost completely healed due to the fact that they were still covered in blood. I suppose he thought I was still hurt.
". . .But you know what," he told me, "We here have a crack team of surgeons, technicians, and engineers. To make it up to you, what say we give you a new pair of legs?" I looked up at him, still unsure if I should trust him. I still had no idea who these people were. He saw my uncertainty in my eyes. "It's OK," he told me. "We're here to help!" I decided he was OK. Brutus disappeared over the edge of the hole, with Kirby over his shoulder. The leader, though not much taller than me, picked me up easily. He was careful not to touch my legs.
I held onto his neck as we too dropped over the edge, with my new savior clinging to one of the many ropes. It was a moment before we touched the ground, but the entire way down, I had stared at the Ship he had arrived in. I could now very clearly see its name. "FEDERATION II"
I was taken aboard the ship, and down a long hall to a room labeled "weaponry." I wondered about the purpose of bringing me there. The leader knocked on the door, which opened to reveal a girl. Yes, a girl. She seemed about my age, and was very, very pretty. "Yes, Marthen?" She asked, pushing up her goggles to reveal her shining eyes: golden bronze, almost like mine.
He looked down at her. "This here is Magnum. I promised him a new set of legs. Do you think that you and Mandela can carry it out?" He asked her. She scoffed. "If I can rebuild half of a living head, I think that I can make a pair of legs." "I never had a doubt." He replied with a chuckle. He looked at me after setting me on a table in the weaponry room. "I'll see you in a while. Maybe I'll give you a tour of the ship later."
After Marthen left, The attractive engineer turned to me. "My name is Masadona. I'll be the one attaching the legs to your body. Mandela will design them." I looked up at her. "You have a pretty name, Masadona." She smiled chillingly. "Where I come from, it means 'Disastrous blade'."
"Who's Mandela?" I asked. "You'll meet him later." She told me, and held a mask to my face. "Now breathe . . ." I sucked in, and the world went black with a dizzying speed.
I awoke with a light head, and realized in a strange way, that I could feel my legs. Legs? I looked around. I was in some sort of medical room . . . The infirmary. I saw a round shape under a cloth on a table across the room. "Possibly Kirby. . ." I thought to myself. I lifted up my sheets to see my new appendages. The first thing that I noticed was not my new legs . . . But that I was completely naked. "Where are my pants?!" I cried. A head poked around the corner. It's not like I'm strange in that way, but the amused young man who was looking at me was VERY attractive.
"Oh," he said. That simple, like it meant something. I supposed it did, to him. "Your awake." I wasn't looking at him. I was groping under the bed for my clothes. "Yo, you lookin' for your clothes?" He asked suddenly. I looked up at him, not enjoying the look on his face. It was a strange mix of spite and sick pleasure, which was slightly hidden by his dark tattoos.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. May I ask who you are?" He approached my bedside. "You watch your tone while you in my facility." He stressed 'facility' and gestured around the infirmary. "But I'm Mandela."
I wondered for a brief and despairing moment if this angry, mean minded young man was Masadona's boyfriend.
He stared at me. I stared back. "Well," he told me. "Your clothes be down the hall, in surgery." He sniggered. "Have fun gettin' there." He disappeared around the corner again. I grabbed the sheet from my bed and wrapped it around my waist. Carefully, I opened the door and peeked into the hall. Empty so far. . .
"OK, so my clothes are in surgery, down the hall . . . Which way?!" I looked up at a sign on the corridor hall. It was in a language I didn't recognize, and couldn't read. But I recognized the symbol for scalpel, and an arrow pointing to my left. I walked quietly in that direction. Suddenly, a door opened. Masadona. Very quickly, I felt a pleasant (but at the moment, unwelcome) warmth spread across my lap. I quickly turned around so that Masadona couldn't see what was going on. Mandela was standing in the hall now, not far from me. He noticed the bulge very quickly. He stifled laughter.
"Hey, Masadona, could you get Magnum's Clothes for him?" "Sure," She called back. I was taken by surprise when Mandela rushed forward, and spun me around. My sheet fell from my grasp, and crinkled around my ankles. I gasped, covering myself. I looked up. Masadona had already disappeared into Surgery. I turned back around, wrapping the blanket around me once again. Mandela was rolling on the floor amid gales of laughter.
It was much later (and after I was dressed again) that Marthen agreed to take me home. I was shocked by the sight that greeted me. The ground was covered in tracks, presumably those of the wolves that had near killed me.
I ran to the house (on legs that I had found out were totally mechanical, but some how connected to me in such a way they felt real) and stopped at the open door. I followed the course of the hall, and stopped at a large spot of blackish, hardened blood. I reached down and touched the carpet nearby, steadying myself. Who had lost that much blood in the house where I had been born?
My head whipped back as a vision stormed my mind . . .
(The false Meta Knight rushed forward, stabbing Kirby in the side. Kirby stiffened, then staggered to the floor. The imposter stepped forward, paused, and slid his sword out of the dying warrior. He then turned and entered the room where between Tuff and Claris, Magnum had been conceived. )
My eyes widened. What did he do in my parent's room? I shoved open the door, and screamed. I thought I would never stop. Mom was sitting in the chair before her writing table, slumped over backward with a gaping, dark hole in her chest. It looked like a mouth. Very suddenly, I had gone deaf. Was I still screaming? I couldn't tell. I had gone numb also. I grabbed mom's shoulders and rocked her forward. Her eyes were gone. Empty sockets stared at me from my cold mother's face. My fingers sank into her now yielding corpse flesh, and I was greeted by another, even worse, vision.
(Storming the room, the false Meta Knight laughed hard, and pushed over Claris. She hit the desk chair hard, and there was an unpleasantly wet snap from her ribs. The sound was repeated as her head hit the desk afterward, but this sound was a duller, richer sound. She screamed for a very short time, before a sword glowing with energy pierced her back, stopping the noise for a time. She struggled briefly before she collapsed. The only thing she was thinking was "My son!" The false Meta Knight laughed harder, and propped her up in her own chair in a mock form of respect. He then proceeded to further torturing her. He pressed his thumbs to her eyes, digging them into the corners closest to the nose. He pushes harder, and harder, until one of the eyes ruptured, and the other popped from it's socket. Claris screamed breathlessly, a mute cry of pain. She couldn't move. The imposter plucked both of the ruined eyes out and. . . . )
I discovered at this time that I could "close my eyes" so to speak, but it didn't stop the laughter. I opened my eye again. Mom had stopped moving.
(Still laughing, the imposter looked at his now twice soiled sword. He threw it away. There were no more obstacles. Now that the one woman who could have produced another rival was dead, and he had killed all his enemies in the galactial area, he needed the sword no longer. The sword skidded under the bed. Suddenly, a shadow flew in threw the window. "Damn it, I'm too late!" It yelled. It spotted Kirby out in the hall, and ran to him. The imposter, now threatened, scooped up the body and ran, the shadow, now revealed to be the real Meta Knight, close behind. . .)
My real eyes opened. I was lying crumpled on the floor beside the desk, my hand curled around something hard beneath the bed. I yanked it out, and realized it was the sword that had killed my mother and given Kirby his death wound. Marthen was standing over me, looking highly concerned.
"I heard screaming. Are you OK?" I looked at him, full of sudden rage. Not at him exactly, but at the man whom had killed my mother. I couldn't begin to convey the feeling surging through me. Marthen saw my face, and understood some how what was there. He offered me a hand up. I accepted, and felt a little better. As I got up, I noticed a piece of paper on the desk. I picked it up, but fearing another violent dream, I shoved it in my pocket.
We got back on the ship; Marthen and I. Marthen invited me to join me up in the bridge (control room). On the way, he began talking to me. "Do you know who that sword belonged to?" I had a feeling that the original owner was not the murderer that I had seen. "Meta Knight?" I said tentatively. Marthen smiled grimly. "Yes. And you know what? The two you saw aren't even supposed to exist. I want to show you something . . ."
We got up the bridge, and Marthen pressed a few buttons. A recording came over the speakers. At first, it was just the hiss of an open line, but I began to hear things. '
"Before we continue, I want to tell you that these are recordings of messages sent from all over during the war. You're going to hear some strange things . . ."
The voices began.
KAA-RAAAR! (The sound of bombing, accompanied by screams, and the sound of swords) "Dear God! Some one help us!" (Many people running, more screaming, more blasts. Some one runs near the radio transmitter, yelling like they're seeing Hell.) "META KNIGHTS' BEEN STABBED! HE'S BEEN HURT! SOME ONE, HELP US ALL! (The sound of a near by blast, and the thud of a body hitting the ground. The shouter stops, but the other screams continue.) B B B B B B B A A A A A A A A A A A A C C C C C S S S S S H H H H H H H H H H H ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (There is one final, giant blast.) S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S. . . (For several minutes, nothing but static is heard. Foot steps.)
(It is a younger Kirby, breathing very hard.) Pant . . . Pant . . . "Meta Knight". . . Pant. . . "Has fallen". . . (harsh breath). . . "He's dead." (Slowly, distant cheers rise up.) "The war is over." (The sound of the radio being dropped as hundreds of foot falls approach, bringing with them, the cheering.
I was very intrigued by this recording. I started to say something, when Masadona entered the room. "Magnum, two of my other patients have just awaken. They say they know you. Do you mind coming with me?"
I wondered who it could be. I knew many people. . . I found we were headed back down to surgery. I was led into the back. I rocked back on my heels, surprised at the pair looking at me. Under slightly different armor like plates, familiar eyes stared at me from twin visors. One of them spoke up, in a rough, slightly mechanical voice. "Magnum! Oh man, we thought you were dead for sure. . ." I stopped them. "Who are you?"
(and that is where I end it. I hope it was OK. Oh, and don't worry. Even though this story seems to be wandering away from the Kirby Genre, more familiar characters will soon be introduced. MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!)