I know I normally don't put notes at the beginning of my stories, but I feel I have to make note of this since not everyone reading this has read Dreamland on the Glittering Star. "Saber Blade" is the name I use for the Helper version of Blade Knight.

Chapter 3: Saber Blade

The clanging of metal rang throughout the morning skies of Dreamland. There was no doubt to anyone where it originated from. Kirby managed to dodge several sword slashes as he began to make his move to attack. With one final clash, it was finally over.

"Your dodging skills have improved. I'm quite impressed." Meta Knight pushed him back with his blade, breaking them up. "That's enough for today, Kirby. Well done."

Kirby gave an exhausted sigh as he lowered his sword and sat on the ground.

"Your endurance has improved quite a lot. However, as for things that need work…"

The knight's lecture was interrupted by clapping. "Very well done, both of you. Your fights never fail to amaze me."

The duo looked over to see the familiar form of a Blade Knight wearing Sword Kirby's hat watching them.

"Ah! It's Saber Blade!"

Knowing that her presence was now acknowledged, she took out her sword and planted it into the ground in front of her, placing both of her hands on top of it.

"Fare thee well, Comrade Kirby and Sir Meta Knight! Good to see that thou art in good health!" The two stared at her in silence. "In other words, wassup, homies."

The pink puff cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. "Um… nothing much. What's going on with you?"

Saber Blade returned the sword to her back and continued. "I was just passing by and saw both of you dueling and wanted to watch a bit…which reminds me of what I was doing in the first place!"

The way she said that last part made it sound as if it was a sudden after thought.

"You see, there have been reports of a dragon attacking a nearby village and I was planning on taking it down. You in?"

"Kirby, you should go with her. This would be good extra training for you."

"I was planning on going anyway!" The puff replied to his mentor with a pout.

"Cool beans. What about you, Sir Meta Knight? For sure you want to come along for extra training."

"Unfortunately, I have my own business to attend to, so I will have to pass this time."

"Bummer, man. What are you even doing anyway?"

Without another word, Meta Knight fully unfurled his wings and took off. Such a response was common for someone as secretive as the knight.

"Say Saber, why didn't you ask your brother to come join us? He could be helpful and it's good to have more people to help you out in a big fight." The knight looked directly at him. "Nah, he'd just ruin the vibe."

"Oh, ok. Then how about the other Meta-Knights?"

"Most of them would just bring him along anyway, and my other homies are busy. So, it's just you and me, dude."

"Well, ok then! Let's get going!" the pink puff yelled as he started running off.

"Hey, wait! You're going the wrong way! Well... at least I know I won't get bored..." The knight said in a tone that was mostly filled with amusement.

The village looked like any other that Kirby had seen, minus all of the repairs that were being done on the buildings. It was nestled within Prism Plains and close to a large forest.

"The tavern should be around here somewhere. That is usually where people post notices and requests..." Saber Blade was talking to herself.

"So...um...Saber, I'm just wondering, why do you talk the way that you do?" Kirby suddenly asked as they were walking through the town.

"Oh, are you that curious about it?"

"Uh-huh!"

Unfazed by such responses, Saber cleared her throat. "You see, speaking like this gives you the air of an honorable knight and warrior. Do you not think that?"

"It is, but it's sometimes hard to understand you when you speak like that..."

She turned her head towards him in surprise. "...well, I guess that is to be expected to a point..." she murmured, turning back to look again for the tavern.

"And what about the weird words you use like "homies"? Is that also part of being a knight? I've never heard any others use them before!"

"That's quite different. When I was but a child, I met some friends while wanting to take a break from my family. Those kids talked like that, and I started to talk like that as well the more I hung out with them. Due to sticking around them for quite a while, I guess it developed into becoming part of my normal vocabulary." She then stopped walking.

"Ah. There it is."

"Are you sure that's the right place?"

"Fo shizzle." The two entered the tavern and Saber began looking over the bulletin board. Kirby himself tried to help look, but all the fliers had so many words that he just didn't understand that it confused him a bit.

"Found it." The knight took down one of the pieces of paper. "Let's see here...according to this flier, the dragon is located in... Vocal Volcano? Has its territory really grown that large?" she grumbled under her breath.

"Vocal Volcano? Oh, I know where that is!" The pink puff exclaimed.

"I know where it is as well, but who could've imagined this fiend would have expanded its territory to such a size?! We must slay it immediately!"

Saber Blade immediately took Kirby's stub-hand and they rushed out of the tavern. In the pink puff's mind, he was slightly surprised that nobody noticed him. Usually, he couldn't go anywhere in Dreamland without a random citizen pointing him out. Is this because it was so far out of a village?

To save on time, the duo had taken a shortcut through Cushy Clouds and came across a peaceful lake.

"Saberrrrrrr...I'm hungry...can we eat yet?" Kirby began to complain.

"No way, fam. We're almost there, so hold on a bit longer." She replied.

"But I need foooood!" The puff slumped to the ground but perked up upon seeing a basket being placed on the ground.

"I'm only joking. I'm starting to get quite hungry myself." The child's eyes seemed to light up.

"AH! THANK YOU!" He jumped to his feet and immediately opened his mouth to inhale it, only stopping himself upon suddenly remembering that his friend needed to eat as well. Saber gave a sigh and set out the blanket for them.

"It's best if we take a break here to save and recover the rest of our energy for facing the dragon." She commented, receiving a nod in agreement from Kirby in response. Shortly after their meal, Kirby suddenly spoke up.

"You know, we should take a break for a bit longer!"

"Oh? Why do you say that?" the knight replied. The puff pulled out two fishing rods in response to that.

"Ah...why not?" She gave a nod and took one of the rods.

While they were fishing, Saber suddenly realized something. "Wait, do you just carry fishing rods on you at all times?"

"Not at all times. Just some of the time. "

"Ok, but why though?"

"Well, what if I need to fish?"

"Fair enough. "

They then continued to fish in quiet.

After an hour or two more of walking, the two managed to reach the mountain. Kirby immediately recognized the mountain where the dragon was located as the more mountainous region of Vocal Volcano. He had been here before and remembered that it was actually a mountain and several volcanoes. Why a dragon would like to be located here was unknown to him.

"According to the map, it's just a bit further up this mountain." Saber Blade looked back at Kirby, who gave a nod before they began to scale it. Avoiding the occasional falling rock, the duo trudged on.

"Um…Saber, I don't know if this is too personal, but…"

"Ask away, my comrade! As long as you allow me to ask my own question back."

"Why does it sometimes seem like you want to avoid Blade Knight?"

That was when she stopped walking.

"…Saber? Are you ok?" Kirby began to slightly panic.

It was that moment when he noticed a boulder tumbling down the mountain, straight towards them. The puff readied his sword and was about to cut it in half, when Saber Blade stepped in front of him, attacking it herself.

"That story is such a drag…" she seemed to grumble before giving a sigh. "Let us advance and I shall discuss it."

The two began to walk further up the mountain, with the knight cutting boulders that fell into their tracks.

"My younger brother was a…well…not the best when we were younger."

"You mean he was a bully?"

"Somewhat. He's gotten better over the years, which is why I still sometimes visit him. However, there are times where I just don't want anything to do with him."

"But he's family! Why wouldn't you want to deal with him?"

Saber Blade cut another boulder in half. "Because he just irritates me sometimes."

"When was the last time he did something that made you mad?"

"I don't remember."

"Then why?"

"It's a family thing, you wouldn't understand."

Kirby didn't know why, but he froze when he heard that response. It was as if his mind just simply stopped working and couldn't think. Saber Blade took notice of this and cut another boulder in half. She had known the puff long enough and could tell that she might have struck a raw nerve.

"Let's just not talk about it further, ok?" she said, receiving a small nod in response. They advanced further up the mountain.

"Well, I guess it's my turn to ask my own question." She rubbed the back of her head. "So why did you start training with Meta Knight, if you don't mind me asking."

Kirby gave a nod and began to speak. "Well, it's like…I don't know, it's a weird feeling. It's like…I feel I need to be around him. Like he's the only one that kinda looks like me …"

"It's something like an instinct then?"

"I guess, and that's why I wanted to become his student at first."

Saber gave a slight chuckle. "Surely, there can't be other ways to be around him, could there?"

"You mean like joining the Meta-Knights? No way! Those guys can be so mean at times!" Kirby replied with a pout.

"I know, I know. But don't you still have other ways?"

The puff took a moment to think. "…I mean, it's super-duper rare, but if we train at his base on a rainy day, we sometimes work on jigsaw puzzles together. But that's super-duper rare, so it doesn't happen! Other than that, no!"

Saber Blade cut apart another boulder before making another response. "So you think the only way you can be around him is to do something he's interested in, like training?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Did you ever tell him that?"

"No! He'd probably get super angry at me and cut me off if I asked!"

The knight had a firmer grip on her sword at that point.

"Besides, I don't mind it at all! I gotta train my Copy Abilities anyway, so why not?"

Saber Blade didn't respond.

"Though I sometimes wish we could do something together other than training or saving the world…" he added in a slightly wistful tone.

The knight only cut through another boulder and walked further up the mountain with her ally.

The top of the mountain was suspiciously quiet. The massive cave in front of them and the various bones and molted skin scattered about were the only things that remotely hinted at anything being present there.

"The dragon should be here. I can sense it…" Saber Blade uttered, sword at the ready.

Immediately, a burst of fire came out from the cave, causing the duo to dodge.

"Here it comes! Have at thee!" The knight shouted as the massive beast roared out of the cave.

"Ah! It must've just woken up!" Kirby exclaimed, dodging another burst of fire.

That was the moment that Saber noticed something. The dragon before them seemed to by trying to keep them from going further inside the cave.

"Kirby! Go further into the cave! I'll distract the dragon!"

"What's wrong?!"

"The dragon is guarding something! I need you to see what it is while I'm distracting them!"

Understanding the situation, the puff gave a nod. "Please be careful!" he shouted and ran into the cave.

It was mostly dark, but he could still see within it thanks to the light from outside and the fire from the combat happening outside. It was at that moment when Kirby saw four small creatures looking back at him. He blinked for a moment in surprise as he realized that he was looking at baby dragons.

"It's…just like with Dyna Blade!" he thought before running towards the exit of the cave. "…I have to tell Saber about this!"

Suddenly, the dragon blocked his path, but he easily was able to slide underneath it and return to Saber's side.

"What did you find?!"

"There are baby dragons in there!"

"Baby…!?"

The duo dodged another clawing attack from the dragon.

"Ah…I'm going to try to speak to the dragon! Hopefully, I can get her to calm down!"

Upon hearing that, the puff lost his footing and hit the ground. "Wait, how did you learn to talk to dragons?! You never told me about that before!" Kirby exclaimed with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Honestly, I'm not too sure. Ever since I was born, I could speak to all kinds of lizards. Blade used to call me weird and make fun of me for it. He was probably just jealous about it."

The puff took a moment to process what he was told. "…fo shizzle?"

"Fo shizzle."

The knight then turned to the dragon and began to speak to her. Kirby didn't understand the words his friend was saying, but it appeared to calm their opponent down, as its body language became less tense. What followed was a conversation between Saber and the dragon that Kirby himself couldn't understand but believed was a peaceful resolution. Eventually, the dragon retreated back to its cave without another word.

"Hey, Blade, what did you two talk about?" Kirby asked as they began to walk back down the mountain.

"The dragon was indeed a mother. She wasn't actually attacking the village. She was just trying to get food for her children, but her hunting ground coincidentally overlapped with the village. As a result, the villagers assumed she was attacking them and tried to defend themselves. This caused the dragon to also defend herself and that's why the village was attacked."

"Oh, so it's a simple misunderstanding!"

"Indeed. I also told her about an alternative place she can hunt where there's plenty of food and no villages nearby for her to worry about getting attacked."

"Well, I'm glad that this resulted in a happy ending!" Kirby exclaimed as they continued on.

"I'm glad, too. Though it may have felt like we came out here for jack all reasons, I'm happy we did because I got to spend time with you."

"Uh-huh! You wanna go get dinner then?"

Saber gave a slight chuckle. "Of course."

Honestly, this might be one of my favorite chapters I've written so far.

fish-Thank you for your complement!

Omake (Bonus):

MK: So, Kirby, did you learn anything valuable?

Kirby: Sho did, my homie!

MK: Oh no. (Mask breaks)