Dad! I stared at Meta Knight, and compassion filled his normally
placid eyes. "I know, Magnum," He told me. I continued staring. It hadn't
really struck me until now to think about what had happened to my father. I
had been so self-absorbed stuck in my training. "Magnum, there is a strong
chance that the man that led that group of children, who were most likely
your old class mates, was you father." Horrible shivers began to run up and
down my back and arms. I didn't really notice that I had clenched my hands
into shaking fists.
Masadona awoke suddenly, and sat up. She watched me, and backed away some. Regret filled me instantly, and I exerted my will and stopped the shivering. Meta Knight nodded his approval. Meta Knight looked back at the cave, and Loki finally got up. I watched as Meta Knight's eyes changed, and glowed a strange green. He stared concentratedly at the cave, and His gaze whipped back to me. "Who are you with?" He asked. "Brutus and Goliath," I told him. "Why?"
His eyes darkened with what seemed to be anger. "Only two others?" He asked. I nodded earnestly. He suddenly ran to the cave, and I instinctively followed him. "What's wrong?" I shouted to him. He didn't turn around, but he answered. "There's some one else in there!" He shouted. I paused in surprise, but continued.
Meta Knight grabbed his old sword out of the corpse, and ran head long into the cave. I snatched up a Long Branch to use as a pole and followed him in. Meta Knight came to a fast stop, and I almost crashed into him. "YOU!" He shouted. I followed his gaze, and squinted in the dark. The other Meta Knight! He looked so different . . .
(Meta Knight's clone stood in front of both Magnum and his teacher, now garbed in a flowing black cloak, lined with silk. He had adorned a mask similar to the mask the real Meta Knight once wore, but this one was gold: traced with bronze flames. His eyes, the pupils now fully opened, were little more than glowing, circular out lines. The sword he held seemed to consist of black flames almost invisible in the dark, but Magnum could easily feel its heat and the power radiating from it from 10 feet away.)
"Yes, ME!" The clone shout back. He laughed chillingly, a sound like glass shattering on ice. I shivered again, and was filled with such anger that I considered using the fury for the second time today. The dark clone advanced, but Meta Knight held his ground. "Magnum! Back away!" He shouted. I quickly obeyed.
I was blinded momentarily as Meta Knight's sword blazed with a piercing white light. Once my eyes adjusted, I could easily see all the contents of the cave. The sword Meta Knight held was white hot, and I was unable to look straight at it. I turned away, and saw Brutus slumped in the corner. Blue/red blood trickled down the side of his head from a nasty looking lump so big it had split the skin. Goliath was still against the wall, though his already blood soaked bandages from earlier were now falling off, unable to stay on to block the heavy flow from his side.
"Magnum! What going on?!" Shouted Masadona from the mouth of the cave. Garther repeated her line. The Clone turned, and smiled wickedly at the undefended Masadona. I saw his intent in his eyes. Time seemed to slow down, and I watched as he turned, and ran at her . . . the sword thrust straight out . . . I got to my feet, and ran. Ran? No, I SHIFTED. I had gotten up, and moved so fast, I felt the lag of gravity leave me for a moment, and I materialized in front of the dark Meta Knight. The branch I had picked up slammed into his chest, and I realized with shock that it was ME moving like this.
(For those of you having trouble imagining this speed, think about the Matrix, or the speed that Goku has when he fights. Like his instant transmission. If you haven't seen or heard of these things, Imagine seeing some one move so fast that they disappear, and reappear when they stop. )
The clone grunted in pain, and stepped back. I pushed on, and forced him to the ground. Almost instantly, my hand was on his throat: and my thumb was pushed into his windpipe. I saw his eyes widen further. He stared up at me, almost unbelievingly. His eyes turned to Meta Knight, and he croaked out, "What have you been teaching the boy?"
Masadona stepped back out of the cave, while Garther and Cinsta entered. The movement momentarily distracted me, and I felt the hot, black blade that the clone carried press flatly into my side. I clenched my teeth, and whisper/screamed in pain. It felt like some one was pressing a brand into my side. Instead of letting up as he probably expected me to, I pressed my thumb further into his throat. He gagged, and pulled back his sword. His eyes rolled up into his head, disappearing from the black slit in the mask he was then wearing. He slumped against the dirt floor, and the blade of his sword cooled, to reveal that it was a plain iron sword with a black leather bound hilt. I got up and kicked it away. Meta Knight put a hand to my shoulder, and pulled me back. "What are you doing?" I asked. He said nothing. I asked again, but stopped in mid sentence as he raised his own sword, still glowing with an ethereal light.
He brought the blade swiftly down, and I watched with horror as it pierced the mask, widening the eye slit as it penetrated directly between his clone's blank eyes. The light of the sword flared beneath the mask, and then went out completely. I was temporarily blind again as my eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness.
"Meta Knight!" I gasped. I hadn't known him long, but I began to doubt if I should stay with some one so cold. Would he hesitate to kill me if he had to?
He turned back to me, and understood what I thought. "Magnum, learn this now: leave no chances for your enemies to attack again. The only good enemy is-" Brutus suddenly spoke up hoarsely. "I' a dea' enemy. Aye, if I'd followe' tha' rule, I wou'dn' 'ave thi'!" He pointed to the lump on his head. "I coul' 'ave taken 'im ou' earlier."
I was still horrified by the completely nonchalant way that my teacher had killed his adversary, but some thing deep inside of me agreed with this notion. If you can't teach an enemy to become a friend, the only way to deal with them is death: be it you or them. I leaned over and removed the ruined mask from the clone's face, and turned away. The clone's face was utterly destroyed: ground, burned meat.
I examined the mask. The mark from Meta Knight's sword was much wider than the blade, and the edges were melted. I stared at Meta Knight, who was now by Brutus' and Goliath's sides. I had forgotten about their injuries during my horror. Meta Knight was Calling Masadona to him, to take care of their wounds. I barely heard them as I wondered about Meta Knight's power. What kind of attack had he used, that so much energy could come from a simple sword? Why had he not told or taught me of this attack? Did he think me to weak to learn or use it?
Later on, Meta Knight and I sat by our own private fire. I bit into the roasted leg of the small animal I had caught. Meta Knight chewed reflectively on his own portion of meat, thinking about battles past, I suppose. I lowered my meat, and stared at him. Though he faced away from me, he still sensed my gaze. "What is it?" He asked me.
I waited a moment for him to swallow, and asked him. "How did you use the sword like that? . . . The energy attack I mean." He turned on his seat to look at me. "It's called a sword beam. I simply exerted my will while using it to keep it on the sword. When I released it from a still position, it was all concentrated on my target."
I now felt confusion, and a little resentment. "Why haven't you taught me this attack?" Meta Knight stared at me, while taking another bite. I sat annoyed as I waited for him to swallow again. "There are two reasons," he stated, with his mouth still half full of food. "The first, I suspected you may already know this attack." He tapped his head, and mouthed the word "Kirby." I looked at him. "What do you mean? Kirby never taught me that attack." He sighed. "No, that is NOT what I meant." He got up, setting the roasted bird down on a rock. He walked to my side and placed a hand on the side of my head. "Close your eyes." He told me. I obliged, and he pressed his hand to my temple. I suddenly saw a huge space, full of small lights like stars.
I heard his distant voice. "Look for him." He told me. I didn't understand, but I searched for Kirby. Quite suddenly, he was in front of me. It was Kirby, but he was trapped in some sort of dark, red, spherical crystal. Meta Knight let go of me, and I rocked back to reality. Meta Knight was already sitting back down.
"I thought you might know it already because Kirby and your self are attached in such a way that you and Kirby share memories and abilities."
I stared at him, harder than before. "So, if I tried to remember, I might be able to do it?" Meta Knight nodded. But then he glared at me. "But I don't want you to try yet."
"Why not?" I asked, slightly taken aback. "I'm worried you may be to strong. The way you are now, with out complete control of your fury, you could kill hundreds with the wrong flick of your wrist. The sword beam delves into your innermost power, and brings most of it out of you . . . if you can't control it. You need to get a true grip on your fury, and then I will teach the sword beam attack to you."
(Ahh! So now Magnum is going to learn the sword beam . . .. Maybe. And Kirby is inside of Magnum! That explains the visions to him. But what about Goliath and Brutus? Are they OK? R/R the next chapter!)
Masadona awoke suddenly, and sat up. She watched me, and backed away some. Regret filled me instantly, and I exerted my will and stopped the shivering. Meta Knight nodded his approval. Meta Knight looked back at the cave, and Loki finally got up. I watched as Meta Knight's eyes changed, and glowed a strange green. He stared concentratedly at the cave, and His gaze whipped back to me. "Who are you with?" He asked. "Brutus and Goliath," I told him. "Why?"
His eyes darkened with what seemed to be anger. "Only two others?" He asked. I nodded earnestly. He suddenly ran to the cave, and I instinctively followed him. "What's wrong?" I shouted to him. He didn't turn around, but he answered. "There's some one else in there!" He shouted. I paused in surprise, but continued.
Meta Knight grabbed his old sword out of the corpse, and ran head long into the cave. I snatched up a Long Branch to use as a pole and followed him in. Meta Knight came to a fast stop, and I almost crashed into him. "YOU!" He shouted. I followed his gaze, and squinted in the dark. The other Meta Knight! He looked so different . . .
(Meta Knight's clone stood in front of both Magnum and his teacher, now garbed in a flowing black cloak, lined with silk. He had adorned a mask similar to the mask the real Meta Knight once wore, but this one was gold: traced with bronze flames. His eyes, the pupils now fully opened, were little more than glowing, circular out lines. The sword he held seemed to consist of black flames almost invisible in the dark, but Magnum could easily feel its heat and the power radiating from it from 10 feet away.)
"Yes, ME!" The clone shout back. He laughed chillingly, a sound like glass shattering on ice. I shivered again, and was filled with such anger that I considered using the fury for the second time today. The dark clone advanced, but Meta Knight held his ground. "Magnum! Back away!" He shouted. I quickly obeyed.
I was blinded momentarily as Meta Knight's sword blazed with a piercing white light. Once my eyes adjusted, I could easily see all the contents of the cave. The sword Meta Knight held was white hot, and I was unable to look straight at it. I turned away, and saw Brutus slumped in the corner. Blue/red blood trickled down the side of his head from a nasty looking lump so big it had split the skin. Goliath was still against the wall, though his already blood soaked bandages from earlier were now falling off, unable to stay on to block the heavy flow from his side.
"Magnum! What going on?!" Shouted Masadona from the mouth of the cave. Garther repeated her line. The Clone turned, and smiled wickedly at the undefended Masadona. I saw his intent in his eyes. Time seemed to slow down, and I watched as he turned, and ran at her . . . the sword thrust straight out . . . I got to my feet, and ran. Ran? No, I SHIFTED. I had gotten up, and moved so fast, I felt the lag of gravity leave me for a moment, and I materialized in front of the dark Meta Knight. The branch I had picked up slammed into his chest, and I realized with shock that it was ME moving like this.
(For those of you having trouble imagining this speed, think about the Matrix, or the speed that Goku has when he fights. Like his instant transmission. If you haven't seen or heard of these things, Imagine seeing some one move so fast that they disappear, and reappear when they stop. )
The clone grunted in pain, and stepped back. I pushed on, and forced him to the ground. Almost instantly, my hand was on his throat: and my thumb was pushed into his windpipe. I saw his eyes widen further. He stared up at me, almost unbelievingly. His eyes turned to Meta Knight, and he croaked out, "What have you been teaching the boy?"
Masadona stepped back out of the cave, while Garther and Cinsta entered. The movement momentarily distracted me, and I felt the hot, black blade that the clone carried press flatly into my side. I clenched my teeth, and whisper/screamed in pain. It felt like some one was pressing a brand into my side. Instead of letting up as he probably expected me to, I pressed my thumb further into his throat. He gagged, and pulled back his sword. His eyes rolled up into his head, disappearing from the black slit in the mask he was then wearing. He slumped against the dirt floor, and the blade of his sword cooled, to reveal that it was a plain iron sword with a black leather bound hilt. I got up and kicked it away. Meta Knight put a hand to my shoulder, and pulled me back. "What are you doing?" I asked. He said nothing. I asked again, but stopped in mid sentence as he raised his own sword, still glowing with an ethereal light.
He brought the blade swiftly down, and I watched with horror as it pierced the mask, widening the eye slit as it penetrated directly between his clone's blank eyes. The light of the sword flared beneath the mask, and then went out completely. I was temporarily blind again as my eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness.
"Meta Knight!" I gasped. I hadn't known him long, but I began to doubt if I should stay with some one so cold. Would he hesitate to kill me if he had to?
He turned back to me, and understood what I thought. "Magnum, learn this now: leave no chances for your enemies to attack again. The only good enemy is-" Brutus suddenly spoke up hoarsely. "I' a dea' enemy. Aye, if I'd followe' tha' rule, I wou'dn' 'ave thi'!" He pointed to the lump on his head. "I coul' 'ave taken 'im ou' earlier."
I was still horrified by the completely nonchalant way that my teacher had killed his adversary, but some thing deep inside of me agreed with this notion. If you can't teach an enemy to become a friend, the only way to deal with them is death: be it you or them. I leaned over and removed the ruined mask from the clone's face, and turned away. The clone's face was utterly destroyed: ground, burned meat.
I examined the mask. The mark from Meta Knight's sword was much wider than the blade, and the edges were melted. I stared at Meta Knight, who was now by Brutus' and Goliath's sides. I had forgotten about their injuries during my horror. Meta Knight was Calling Masadona to him, to take care of their wounds. I barely heard them as I wondered about Meta Knight's power. What kind of attack had he used, that so much energy could come from a simple sword? Why had he not told or taught me of this attack? Did he think me to weak to learn or use it?
Later on, Meta Knight and I sat by our own private fire. I bit into the roasted leg of the small animal I had caught. Meta Knight chewed reflectively on his own portion of meat, thinking about battles past, I suppose. I lowered my meat, and stared at him. Though he faced away from me, he still sensed my gaze. "What is it?" He asked me.
I waited a moment for him to swallow, and asked him. "How did you use the sword like that? . . . The energy attack I mean." He turned on his seat to look at me. "It's called a sword beam. I simply exerted my will while using it to keep it on the sword. When I released it from a still position, it was all concentrated on my target."
I now felt confusion, and a little resentment. "Why haven't you taught me this attack?" Meta Knight stared at me, while taking another bite. I sat annoyed as I waited for him to swallow again. "There are two reasons," he stated, with his mouth still half full of food. "The first, I suspected you may already know this attack." He tapped his head, and mouthed the word "Kirby." I looked at him. "What do you mean? Kirby never taught me that attack." He sighed. "No, that is NOT what I meant." He got up, setting the roasted bird down on a rock. He walked to my side and placed a hand on the side of my head. "Close your eyes." He told me. I obliged, and he pressed his hand to my temple. I suddenly saw a huge space, full of small lights like stars.
I heard his distant voice. "Look for him." He told me. I didn't understand, but I searched for Kirby. Quite suddenly, he was in front of me. It was Kirby, but he was trapped in some sort of dark, red, spherical crystal. Meta Knight let go of me, and I rocked back to reality. Meta Knight was already sitting back down.
"I thought you might know it already because Kirby and your self are attached in such a way that you and Kirby share memories and abilities."
I stared at him, harder than before. "So, if I tried to remember, I might be able to do it?" Meta Knight nodded. But then he glared at me. "But I don't want you to try yet."
"Why not?" I asked, slightly taken aback. "I'm worried you may be to strong. The way you are now, with out complete control of your fury, you could kill hundreds with the wrong flick of your wrist. The sword beam delves into your innermost power, and brings most of it out of you . . . if you can't control it. You need to get a true grip on your fury, and then I will teach the sword beam attack to you."
(Ahh! So now Magnum is going to learn the sword beam . . .. Maybe. And Kirby is inside of Magnum! That explains the visions to him. But what about Goliath and Brutus? Are they OK? R/R the next chapter!)