--A Message from the Author--
Greetings all readers, you may or may not remember who I am, so I'll introduce myself first. I am known as SSJ-Sonic, a former author here, pleased to meet you. You may or may not of heard of me, and you may know me as a pretty active member of the Kirby's Rainbow Resort Forums (under the username Crystal Metaknight, by the way), or as a somewhat active member of the Bomberman Board, or by here, as a author of a handful of fanfics. For those of you that may remember me as the author, you're probably thinking "It's been more than X years since you wrote a story here! Why are you writing another one now?" I'll answer this question right away.
It has come to my attention that, despite how long ago I finished my last stories here, I'm still receiving some reviews on those stories, mainly Meta Knight's Apprentice and, to a lesser extent, Sonic Meets Mario and Kirby. Some of these reviews were great and seemed to like the story they reviewed, while some of them were... not as thrilled about them, so to speak. Nevertheless, it would seem that newer people still read my stories, despite their age. You may say that I was inspired to write again and I have decided to once again type up a new fresh story straight from the imagination of yours truly.
So, I bet you are all thinking "Well then, what's this new story about?" I noticed that some of those who read through Meta Knight's Apprentice have suggested me to write about one of the main protagonists, Crystallis, and what he did after that story. I decided to read through the entire story once more and I noted that I wrote how Chris did not participate in the battle against Dark Matter. I thought about that will be based on Crystallis' journeys that take place after Meta Knight's Apprentice, but I drifted away from that idea and decided for the current storyline I'm writing. Do not worry about the characters, for at least some of the old cast will return in this story while new characters are introduced as well. You have my word on it that you'll be at least be interested in the new characters that will be introduced from this story.
So, without further ado, the prologue for my new story, The Rise of Dark Matter…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It has been a year since the war with Dark Matter ended in victory due to the brave efforts of the well-known heroes Meta Knight and Kirby. Meta Knight is seen walking along the tides of the beach near his fortress at Orange Ocean. It was late in the afternoon, so the sun was seen glimmering form the vast ocean, a very beautiful sight. As Meta Knight walked, something caught his eye, a bluish creature similar to himself off in the distance.
"No… could it be… Chris?"
Meta Knight pondered to himself as he ran towards the creature. He caught a glimpse of the creature as he dashed. He was a sky blue color with armored shoes and shoulder pads. He also wore a green mantle and worn white gloves and he had a very familiar feature: a teal headband on his forehead. Meta Knight instantly recognized who he was, it was Chris, the very same one he trained, and they, along with Kirby and the crew of the former Halberd II, searched and battled for the legendary Star Stones. The two swordsmen gazed at each other for a long time, not saying a word.
"Chris, is that you? It does my heart good to see you once more." Meta Knight greeted.
"It's good to see you again, sir." Chris returned the greeting. "I've heard that you and your friends ended the war with Dark Matter. Congratulations."
"Yes, we finally defeated Dark Matter after a long and grueling war. Where have you been? You've been gone for over a year, you know."
"Yes I have. I've been searching for answers that I cannot seem to find."
"What do you mean by that?"
Chris sighed as he sat down near the ocean's tide line. "I've been trying to find out more about myself. Who am I? Who were my parents? Why was I given that Star Stone? Why did the Shadow Sword have some type of interest in me? The answers seem to be escaping from me…"
"I see… Is that why you didn't participate in the battle?"
"That's not the only reason… It seemed as though I was being hunted down by servants of Dark Matter and I had to keep moving to avoid getting caught."
"Really…? Was this during or after the war?"
"They seemed to have stopped following me a little before I heard of your victory over Dark Matter."
Meta Knight nodded and appeared to have understood. Chris took some time to notice how Meta Knight didn't change at all since he last saw him. He still had that same sincere look in his eyes and he always understood you, even if you make something sound really different from what you were trying to say. It was almost as though we went back in time to that day he first met him. Meta Knight, during Chris's observation, saw just how much Chris had grown. He saw the same look of determination and kindness in his eyes and Chris reminded the older knight of himself when he was his age. He also noticed he still had his brother's claymore, Rukifellth, with him; perhaps as a memento of that day he lost Regulus, or perhaps it was it a way to show Chris that Regulus was watching over him? Nevertheless, he noticed that his sword, that same blue saber, was still wielded by Chris.
"Did you ever find out of the name that sword?" Meta Knight asked out of curiosity. Chris grinned and he then unsheathed his blade.
"I decided to call this saber Frostbite. After its appearance of being a frozen blade and its power to freeze whatever come to contact with it." Chris replied. Meta Knight then noticed the scabbard of the sword was quite frozen.
"Would you like to follow me back to the castle, Chris?"
"I'd be honored to, sir."
Chris jumped onto his Shadow Star and rode up to Meta Knight.
"Care to hop on, sir?"
Meta Knight accepted the ride and hopped on Chris's vehicle and it drove towards Meta Knight's fortress. After about three minutes, Chris parked the Shadow Star inside the stables of Meta Knight's fortress and the two swordsmen walked inside the fortress. Chris saw many familiar faces when he reached inside, including Colonel Dee of the Halberd II and Blade, among others. Colonel Dee ran towards his superior officer and quickly greeted him with a salute. He was just an average looking Waddle Dee with a sailor's cap on his head. Meta Knight chuckled and saluted back to the energetic Waddle Dee. Colonel Dee then looked at Chris and recognized him after a couple of seconds.
"Ah, Chris, welcome back!" Colonel Dee greeted.
"Hello to you as well Colonel." Chris returned the greeting. "How have you been?"
"Great! I'm sure things have been fine to you as well, Chris!"
"But of course. It's good to see you again!"
"Same here," concluded the Colonel as he ran back to attend his duties. The greetings from other old friends were very similar to this one as they continued walking through the corridors of the castle. Chris noticed that the castle didn't change a bit since he left. Meta Knight guided Chris to his office where his second-in-command, Bio Spark, was as well. Bio Spark looked just like the ninja enemies from Kirby Super Star, except he had a katana, in its scabbard; on the left side of his belt and a pouch filled with throwing stars and kunai, among other blades, on the right side. Bio Spark quickly greeted the two of them.
"Welcome back, my lord. Welcome back, Chris." Bio Spark greeted to the two.
"It's good to be back here. Well, Bio Spark, you haven't changed at all!" Chris greeted.
"And you've changed quite a bit yourself." Bio Spark replied.
The three warriors then sat down. Meta Knight sat at his desk next to a large window, Bio Spark on a wooden chair near Meta Knight, and Chris sat on the large sofa across the desk. The trio talked for awhile, mainly about the time during the battle with Dark Matter and everything in between. After a couple of laughs and the various talk about the past, Meta Knight then got a serious tone in his voice.
"Chris, if I may ask, what were you doing during the last battle? I would have thought that you, of all people, would've participated in the final battle." Meta Knight asked. Chris then put on a pondering look on his face, trying to think of how to explain everything since that fateful time long ago.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I do not wish to tell it just yet. I'll tell everything to you one day, just not now." Chris replied, with an uncomfortable look on his face. Meta Knight simply nodded as though he understood everything.
"I understand, Chris. You may tell me about it another day." Meta Knight replied as he turned to gaze at the ocean outside. It was starting to get dark out and the sun was indeed going down. "You must be tired, Chris. Please stay here for the night; you know that you're always welcome to stay here."
"Thank you, sir. I'll accept the offer." Chris replied as he walked off towards the guest room and he quietly closed the door. The two old friends continued to sit in their seats for a while, not exchanging a word to each other. Then after a while, the two friends started to talk to each other.
"Bio Spark, there is something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Yes, milord?"
"You've always been there for me, ready to give your life for me, willing to fight with me no matter what the circumstances..."
Bio Spark could tell that this would be something very important. "That's right, sir. I'm always at your disposal."
Meta Knight took a deep breath as he gazed at Bio Spark. "Have you ever heard of the legend about the Shadow Saber and Celestial Body?"
"…Celestial Body?"
"It's a legendary suit of armor, said to be made of the same materials as the Shadow Saber."
"Really…? Such armor exists?"
"Yes. It is said, in legend, that the armor was destroyed by the sword of a warrior who fell from the heavens to combat the demon who wielded the Shadow Saber and Celestial Body."
"Why are you bringing this up, sir?"
"The Shadow Saber and the Celestial Body are said to be required to revive a great evil in the land. Or, if one has the ability to, create a sword and armor with abilities like the cursed gear…"
"Do you mean that…?"
"There is the possibility that the Shadow Saber and the Celestial Body can be recreated and revive Dark Matter…"
"What makes you so certain that there is such a possibility?"
"Chris told me he was pursued by servants of Dark Matter, until a little before he heard of our victory. They may have gone searching for an alchemist or something to recreate the weapons…"
"It is possible…. Why else would they seize their hunt for Chris?"
Meta Knight looked towards the ocean once more and sighed. He only learned of this possibility for only a couple of days, thanks to a book he read in his library. Another war with Dark Matter might arise once more… Bio Spark stood next him.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll be ready for him to come once more…"
Meta Knight shook his head. "No, we should stop him from even reviving at all. But the question is where do we search?"
The two friends then pondered for what seemed like a very long time. However, they then felt a vibration and a blinding flash of light was seen outside the window. The two were blinded for awhile, and they looked outside after being able to see again.
"What was that!" Meta Knight exclaimed. Bio Spark then pointed towards where the flash came from, it was an attack at Castle Dedede! Meta Knight, wasting no time, grabbed and put on his cloak and grabbed his sword, Galaxia.
"Bio Spark, gather some of the others! We're going to investigate this at once! Tell the rest to be on guard duty and watch over the castle!" Meta Knight ordered. Bio Spark nodded and gathered Blade, Simirror, and a select number of Axe Knights, Mace Knights, and Trident Knights and they set off towards Castle Dedede. Chris, now awaken due to the bright flash of light and vibrations, equipped himself with his armor and weapons, and followed the investigation group…
A/N – Next chapter will be a battle at King Dedede's castle! Who is responsible for the attack at Castle Dedede? Comment if you want to, and please leave some constructive crtisism for me, I'd like to improve on my writing as much as I can. Well, I'll be off now, expect chapters 1 and 2 soon. I already finished writing them, but i'm going to read them over again and make I don't leave any mistakes. Well then, farwell for now. (disappears)