PART 23: Meta Knight
With those words, Meta Knight flapped his huge wings and sailed at Kirby, sword drawn. Kirby held his own sword out in front of him to block the attack, but it did not come. Kirby looked up and around him to try to find Meta Knight, but he wasn't there.
"Let me go, you damn fool!" Meta Knight yelled. Kirby looked above him and saw Dynablade holding Meta Knight in her beak. Meta Knight struggled to escape, swinging his sword around uselessly, fuming.
Kirby leaped at the struggling Meta Knight and swung his sword. The attack rebounded off Meta Knight's mask, and Kirby bounced backwards and crashed into the ground. Meta Knight broke free of Dynablade's grip and landed on the ground. Immediately upon landing, he charged at Kirby, his eyes red with madness.
Before he reached Kirby, a floating white glove with no hands inside of it sailed out of nowhere and grabbed Meta Knight. It closed into a fist and squeezed him, and bolts of electricity coursed throughout the glove. The glove threw Meta Knight onto the ground and shook itself.
Kirby leaped back to his feet and sprinted toward the Star Rod while Meta Knight got up and began to attack the glove. Kirby puffed up his cheeks and floated to the top of the fountain, and ran through the waters toward the Star Rod.
Meta Knight noticed this and stopped attacking the glove. Instead, he turned around and flew at Kirby, who didn't notice Meta Knight attacking. Before he could reach the Star Rod, Meta Knight slashed the back of his head, cutting a huge gash in it. Kirby collapsed into the waters of the fountain.
As Meta Knight prepared to deliver a finishing blow, the giant glove changed into a giant black serpent, which snapped at Meta Knight with rows of long teeth. Meta Knight anticipated the attack, and quickly parried it by slicing upwards and cutting right into the serpent's head. The serpent fell and turned into a Simirror, who split apart and escaped from the blade of the sword…
Meanwhile, Kirby struggled to get up. He was now seeing double, and his head was ringing. The sounds of roaring and slashing filled his ears from seemingly every direction. Disorientated, he tried to reach for the Star Rod.
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The ship was filled with an uncontrollable, unsurpassable amount of chaos and panic. Curio was dead, and the three days were mere minutes from being over. From space, you could already see the fog beginning to leave.
They were all about to die. All of them. And the last ray of hope had faded, leaving them lost and afraid on what might have been a path to their salvation.
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Kirby touched it. The 5-point star on the tip of a huge, slender wand. The Star Rod. The object that controlled the Fountain of Dreams and the object that had supposedly destroyed the demonic Nightmare. It was in his grasp now.
Before he could take it, a large shockwave of energy split the sky and smashed into Kirby, throwing him off the fountain before he could get the weapon he so desperately needed.
The ever-changing glove that had saved Kirby before, who now was taking the shape of a small person, jumped over an attack from Meta Knight, and then countered it by changing into a spiked ball and charging at him. Meta Knight skillfully jumped out of the way, but he jumped right into Dynablade's talons. Dynablade let out a powerful screech and flapped her enormous wings, lifting Meta Knight off the ground.
Kirby tried to get back onto the fountain, but the wind from Dynablade's wings was keeping him back. Instead, he sat on the ground and waited for the wind to stop.
Meta Knight struggled to escape Dynablade's grip, but Dynablade just flew higher and higher.
"You foul little…!" Meta Knight roared. "Release me or I'll destroy you!"
Meta Knight's eyes turned purple, and he was suddenly surrounded by a black aura. The aura grew larger until it became almost impossible to see, and then there was a bright flash.
When the light cleared, there was an enormous hole just below where Dynablade was flying. Dynablade kept on flying, unscathed by whatever it was Meta Knight had just done.
"Dyna, drop Meta Knight!" the shape-shifting glove ordered. Dynablade shrieked and released Meta Knight, who began to fall towards the ground. The shape-shifting glove changed into a giant rocket launching platform, which immediately fired missile after missile at the falling swordsman.
At that same moment, Kirby noticed that the wind had stopped, and he floated back up towards the Fountain again, his vision clear. He landed on the top, ran towards the pedestal, and pulled the Star Rod out of the Dream Fountain.
There was a bright flash, and Kirby was suddenly in a deep trance. His eyes closed and he drifted into unconsciousness. He fainted and the light cleared.
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The Cappies stormed Dedede's ship, hitting the door and screaming at the top of their lungs. The door was locked, and they didn't have anything they could use to break it down by force.
They got their answer when a Waddle Doo opened the door and tried to say something. Instead of listening, they knocked the helpless Doo out of the way and ran into the ship. This was their last chance. Their only chance. And their only hope.
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Kirby's head rang, as if someone was playing a giant drum inside it. He was in an area full of blackness and was staggering back and forth as if dizzy. Voices screamed within his head.
"FREE ME…"
"RELEASE ME…"
"DO NOT LEAVE ME ALONE…"
"SAVE ME…"
"DESTROY THE FOUNTAIN…"
"LET ME GO…"
The voices made his head ring more, and he staggered backwards, the Star Rod becoming increasingly difficult to wield. White shadows appeared in the blackness. Formless shadows with gaping mouths, screaming at him, shrieking like banshees.
"Stop…" Kirby whispered, his voice quaking. The voices were getting louder. Louder. Louder. The shadows reached out paper-thin, bony hands and reached toward him…Kirby felt himself getting warmer and warmer as beads of sweat ran down his forehead. He closed his eyes and tried to take control of his thoughts, but they were filling them…
Louder…LOUDER….LOUDER…It was unbearable…Kirby wasn't sure how much more of it he could take…
He screamed and fired blasts of energy from the Star Rod in every direction. The shadows recoiled, and another shadow appeared as the blackness turned into a multi-colored void.
Kirby staggered and was hit by a powerful weapon. He fell onto the ground, if it was ground, and pain shot through his side. More shadows appeared in the void…of all sizes…with barely any form, screaming and reaching at him. They were shrieking…louder and louder…it was utterly unbearable…
He couldn't think at all…his vision and mind swirled…the shadows grabbed him and began to lift him into the air. He could barely tell they were touching him…they didn't feel like anything at all…but he could see their bony, thin hands grabbing onto him, pulling him. And he had to escape…everything depended on it…
Desperate and becoming increasingly insane, he bit one of the hands that was holding him. The hand and shadows recoiled and released him, and he fell towards the ground.
Desperate to escape from this maddening nirvana, Kirby ran through the pulsing void as quickly as he possibly could. But he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't moving. Instead, he was frozen, running in place.
Kirby felt himself losing his mind. He tried to turn around. Nothing.
Kirby tried to simply lay down, but he couldn't do that either. He was trapped.
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Meta Knight had stopped attacking. He was staring at Kirby, confused. Kirby was standing on the fountain, being pulled around, hit, lifted into the air, and bounced around by a bizarre invisible force. Suddenly, a stream of fireballs lit the sky and engulfed Meta Knight, incinerating a large portion of his cape.
Dynablade seemed to be laughing. Meta Knight fumed and went back to fighting.
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Kirby closed his eyes and began to focus. Began to meditate. He had barely any control over his mind now, and he had to get it back. There was no choice…it was either destroy the Star Rod, or lose his own mind to whatever lay inside it…
"YES…FREE US…" The voices screamed as Kirby smashed the Star Rod against the very air itself.
Somehow, it worked. The Star Rod shattered like glass against something solid that he couldn't see. The pieces flew around him like leaves in wind, and then turned into dust. Less than a second later, Kirby was knocked backwards by a powerful shockwave, which simultaneously unleashed tsunamis of dust and fog as the Fountain of Dreams exploded, sending shards flying into the air. As Kirby fell, he opened his eyes to be greeted by a million other ones…The Black Fog was watching him.
Before he landed, Kirby saw something fly by him, bursting through the Fog…a black and purple orb, dotted in pale silver stars...
Kirby's long fall to the ground was interrupted by a solid wall, which he smashed into back-first. He hit the ground, and looked around himself.
There weren't any walls around him. What had he run into?
Before he had any time to think about it, a sword flew at his head. Kirby rolled around it to dodge it, and then heard a voice nearby him.
"Take it."
He looked for the source of the voice, but there was nobody there. He looked around some more, and saw the silhouette of Meta Knight a few feet away. The warrior's back was turned, so it faced him.
Kirby grabbed the sword, and was greeted by a million eyes all around him. Huge, red eyes, gathering around them like there was a fight to be held.
"What?"
"This is our arena. You will not leave it. You will fight me to the death." Meta Knight explained from afar. "I will finally see how skilled you have become…for this will be our last battle. Prepare yourself, Kirby. If you mean to save the ones you love, you must not hold back."
Meta Knight drew his sword without turning around. An eerie red flame surrounded the blade, and Meta Knight faced Kirby. His eyes were surrounded by a flame just like the one around his sword.
"This is it! Prepare to die!" Meta Knight screamed, throwing his cape behind him and running at Kirby, sword out. Kirby tried to use his own sword to block, but Meta Knight moved amazingly fast, striking him before he even had the chance to block. Meta Knight somersaulted backwards after unleashing the attack, and then landed a few feet away.
Kirby charged at Meta Knight, who stood there with his sword out. The flame began to glow brighter. Kirby slashed at Meta Knight, who quickly blocked the attack and flipped into the air. His cape turned into a pair of black wings and he swooped at Kirby, slashing him in the back.
Kirby tried to face Meta again, who had landed. Meta began to walk back and forth, always facing his opponent and seeming to try to keep a certain distance from him. Kirby stood completely still, trying to see if Meta Knight would strike first.
Meta Knight charged again, but Kirby was ready. Kirby spun around with his sword out as Meta Knight rushed by him, and the resulting strike ripped through Meta Knight's cape, leaving a large piece of it on the end of Kirby's sword. Kirby stared at Meta Knight, who had stopped moving. He watched him grab the place where his cape had just been.
"Blood…" Meta Knight whispered. "You actually hit me…It appears I have underestimated you."
"Underestimated?"
"Yes…You are going easy on me, as I am on you. Do not do that, or I will make you fight at your fullest."
"Huh?"
Meta Knight lifted his hands into the air and spread them apart, and the fog above them parted, revealing a clear night sky. The sky was so clear that an enormous silver ship could be seen in it.
"Everyone you know is inside that ship, and the three days are minutes from over. You may not know it yet, but the fog is already beginning to leave. And you do know what will happen when that happens, don't you?"
Kirby didn't understand what he meant.
"They'll all die."
Kirby stared at him in disbelief.
"The satellites, Kirby….did you hear of them? Every time the Fog destroyed a planet, it destroyed everything around it." Meta explained.
Kirby didn't bother saying anything. Either Meta Knight was lying…or…
Kirby looked around him. The fog surrounding the strange bubble around him and Meta Knight was beginning to vanish. Even worse, it was beginning to gather in an enormous cloud above them.
"Oh no…" Kirby whispered.
"So stop holding back! If you mean to save them, then fight me at your fullest!" Meta Knight ordered.
Kirby stared at Meta Knight for a minute. How could he attack, much less kill, his own mentor? He had a feeling Meta Knight wasn't lying at all…and defeating him would be the only way to save his friends.
But why did Meta Knight want to fight him so much?
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The Cappies continued their assault on DeDeDe's ship, knocking down everything that got in their way as they attempted to storm the main control room. If they had to kill DeDeDe to get the ship away, then so be it.
As they pounded against the golden sliding door in front of them, they were completely oblivious to the fact that the ship was rumbling underneath their feet, as if in the middle of an earthquake. The tremors were getting stronger every second, until the Cappies began to lose their balance. They stopped pounding on the door, stared at each other for a few minutes, and sank to their knees.
"This is it, isn't it?" asked one, saying what was on everyone's mind.
Their fears were realized when the entire ship seemed to be tossed into the air. The ship began to fly out of orbit, wildly spinning around and throwing everyone inside against the walls. Outside, the windows shattered, and screaming could be heard, as well as an enormous rush of wind.
The ship shook more and more violently every second, as people held onto whatever they possibly could hold onto. But there was nothing to hold onto, and people flew against the walls with such force that it felt like their ribs were going to be dislocated from their midsections. Only minutes into the tremors, almost everyone was either paralyzed or dead.
And that was only the beginning of it. The tremors flipped the ship over to it's side as an enormous wave of purple and black energy ripped through the ship's midsection, ripping the entire middle section of the ship in half, causing an entire half of the ship to be knocked out of orbit, where it then fell to the planet below.
DeDeDe's ship was unharmed, as a strange black bubble had protected it from the blast. All that remained now was that ship and the other half of the one that had just been completely destroyed. That part of the ship was holding onto DeDeDe's ship, and orbit, by only a single hallway, which had also been spared from the blast.
All of the Cappies were now dead, bleeding to death, or paralyzed. Almost all of the Cappies who had stayed on the parts of the ship that had not been spared were completely destroyed...
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At the time of the Star Rod's destruction, Marx had found Infinity, who was not regaining consciousness. Marx did not expect him to…there wasn't much happiness in the area at all, and the ground itself seemed to be radiating sadness. The resulting explosion, on the other hand, caught Marx off guard, and did something he would have never expected.
It all happened extremely quickly. Marx was knocked off his feet, and was laying against the ground when he watched an enormous black and purple beam burst through the sky, rocket into space, hit a huge silver ship in the distance, and finally, make a complete turn and rocket down towards him.
It was impossible to dodge. The blast hit the very spot where he was standing, overturning the ground and incinerating everything in an hundred-mile radius. The blast left an enormous crater where he had just been standing, as well as a cloud of black and purple dust.
When that dust cleared, there was nobody there. Not Marx. Not Infinity. Nobody.
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When the blast hit, Meta Knight and Kirby stopped fighting. Both of them stared at the beam as it ripped through the ship's midsection. Kirby stared in shock. Meta Knight seemed to smile.
"Well, well, you're too late." he taunted. "The Fog didn't even have to do anything. Thanks to me keeping you here and you destroying the Star Rod, they're all gone."
Kirby glared.
"But I'm sure there are other planets that need saving, after all…and the only way to get to them is to fight me. Or do you not care about that? Strike me down, Kirby…or you'll die, and the universe will have no savior." Meta Knight continued.
Kirby had no choice. He held his sword in front of him, and Meta Knight did the same.
"Very good…"