A/N: This one chapter doesn't have too much action until the end. While it's not necessarily a boring chapter, there's defiantly not as much action as the last chapter. I kind of have writer's block right as for what to do for Darksol's scheme, but I'll pull out of it, I'm sure of it. Anyway, onto the next chapter.

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Rise of Dark Matter

Chapter 2

Meta-Knight and his group of warriors had just returned to the fortress at Orange Ocean. All of the soldiers were relieved of their duties when Meta-Knight returned and they finally got some sleep. However Meta-Knight; along with Bio Spark, Kirby, and Chris; stayed awake and each knew they would not get much, if any, sleep at all that night. Meta-Knight glanced at his companions. Bio Spark was getting himself a cup of water to drink and Kirby and Chris were sitting on the sofa, silently waiting for something to happen. It was uncomfortably quite inside Meta-Knight's office.

"Chris and Kirby, I'd like you two to get some sleep. You're both still young and need some rest." Meta-Knight suddenly stated. Then the room fell back into silence. Kirby rose up, nodded, and left the room towards the guest quarters. Chris sighed as he too rose from his seat…

"Chris, I'd like to ask you something." Meta-Knight stated once more.

Chris looked at his former teacher, "Yes, sir?"

"…no, it's nothing. You may go."

Chris shrugged and then quietly left the room, closing the door behind him. After about five minutes passed by, Meta-Knight and Bio Spark exchanged looks.

"What troubles you, sir?" Bio Spark asked as he took a sip of water.

"…Those creatures earlier. They are nothing like anything we fought before… I fear that Dark Matter's awakening is upon us…" Meta-Knight replied.

"They were probably servants of Dark Matter. If that's the case, we could be in for another war…"

"I'm quite sure you're right, but why would they, of all places, attack Castle Dedede? What value could it have to make them attack such a place? It just doesn't make sense."

There was another moment of complete silence. After about eight minutes of pondering, Bio Spark asked, "May I make a suggestion, sir?"

"Go ahead."

"Perhaps Dedede is hiding something there? Like some sort of artifact or something?"

Meta-Knight pondered about this possibility for a moment. That seemed like a reasonable suggestion. After all, Dedede did happen to take all kinds of things all the time, simply because he liked how it looked or some other kind of excuse. Meta-Knight concluded with this possibility being very likely. "That's a good idea, Bio Spark… We'll look into this tomorrow; we should try to get some shut eye while we still can."

"That's reasonable. Good night, sir." Bio Spark then left the room to go to his quarters. Meta-Knight continued to seat in his chair and slowly drifted off into sleep.

The morning sun rose up halfway through the ocean, appearing as if the sun had just woken up from its sleep underneath the ocean waters. Chris was in one of the guest chambers, stretching and yawning as he rose from the comfortable bed. Chris looked at the room he was inside of; there was a sturdy wooden table near the window with three wooden chairs nearby. There was also a large cabinet to left side of the bed, probably filled with morning robes and such, which never had been a favorite of Chris's. As he rose, he immediately slipped on his headband, which was on a small bureau to his right. After fitting on his headband, he started to slip onto his other equipment; his set of armor, his gloves, and his two swords. After he made sure everything fit correctly, Chris walked over to the door and opened it, while slipping on his green mantle. He started walking towards the cafeteria, wondering what was for breakfast. Upon reaching the cafeteria, he noticed that it was quite crowded, which never failed to surprise Chris. He then walked up to the counter where the chefs where and asked for a typical breakfast, which consisted of toast, bacon, and some potato wedges. The chef, a Mace Knight (in full armor) with an apron and chef hat on top of his head, gave him his requested meal and served the others behind Chris. Chris walked towards a table that held the additional toppings; such as salt, pepper, and ketchup, and Chris dumped a little bit of ketchup on an empty area of his plate, grabbed the salt and shook it for awhile. Chris sat down and he then noticed something. Meta-Knight wasn't around the cafeteria. In fact, he hadn't run into anytime during the morning. Chris shrugged, figuring it was no big deal. He then noticed Colonel Dee running by, getting himself some breakfast, and then he ran around, trying to find a spot to sit. Chris then waved to the Waddle Dee, and he then ran towards him.

"Thanks for offering a seat. Nobody seems to want to seat with me at all!" Colonel Dee stated as he fixed his hat and sat down and began nibbling on his food, at least that's how it appeared to Chris.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Chris asked the colonel. Colonel Dee looked up at Chris, acknowledging his question.

"What is it?"

"I've been wondering how you guys can eat and talk. Since, you know, you don't have a mouth and all…"

Colonel Dee than put one of his stubby hands on his 'chin', pondering on this thought. "You know, that's a good question! I never really thought about it before!" he said and gave a little laugh afterwards. He was about to say something else when all of a sudden…

"Kirby's coming! Hide your plates, mates!" yelled a panicked Axe Knight. Everyone then entered a sudden state of panic and confusion as the pink puffball emerged into the large room. He quickly ran towards the chef, pushing anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way aside. The now panicked chef didn't ask for what Kirby wanted as he gave him a dish made up of all the different kinds of food in the cafeteria. Kirby, satisfied, walked off towards Chris's table. Chris could see the chef swiping a sweat off his brow, and Chris made a light laugh at the comical sight. Kirby sat himself next to Chris and began gobbling on his food. Everyone in the cafeteria watched Kirby eat; some were amused, while some were simply horrified as they hoped Kirby wouldn't ask for more. Colonel Dee watched in amazement as Kirby made a mess of his face as he ate his food, as the colonel ate his own food. Chris simply ignored Kirby as he continued eating his food. After a minute, Kirby finished eating and placed a hand on his belly, satisfied. Everyone in the room gave a huge sigh of relief as they resumed eating their breakfast.

"I cannot believe someone so small like Kirby has such a large appetite." the colonel stated as he munched on his breakfast. Chris chuckled after the colonel's statement.

"He's usually a lot worse than that." Chris replied. The colonel laughed as well. They both then finished their breakfast and Colonel Dee took the three plates and brought them to the chef, as Chris wiped Kirby's now sloppy face with a napkin he picked up earlier. Colonel Dee ran back over to Chris.

"Thanks again for having breakfast with me. I have duties to attend to, so farewell." The colonel than ran off quickly. Chris and Kirby also took their leave as they walked onto the battlements of the fortress. It was a pretty view; the ocean looked really sparkly as the water reflected the light of the sun. It reminded Chris of staring at a clear starry night sky. Kirby gazed in amazement at the wide ocean.

He must think it's pretty too, Chris thought to himself. He found it hard to believe that those demonic creatures attacked Castle Dedede the other day.

"I see that you two are enjoying the view," Meta-Knight appeared behind Chris and Kirby; he stepped in between them as he too gazed at the ocean. For some reason, however, Chris didn't think he was actually staring at the ocean. Meta-Knight had something on his mind, he could tell.

"What are you doing out here, sir?" Chris said. Meta-Knight looked at Chris for awhile.

"Something's been bothering me lately. I wanted to concentrate on what I should do about it."

Chris nodded. He saw it in his eyes as well. Something was defiantly bugging Meta-Knight. Chris couldn't quite lay his finger on what was bothering him, though. Perhaps it was about the attack yesterday? Or was it something else entirely? He couldn't tell. But he knew he had to do something about it. Should he ask what's bothering him?

"What's troubling you, sir?" Chris asked.

Meta Knight didn't reply right away. Perhaps he was thinking of what to say to him. "…The attack last night. I don't understand why those…things attacked Castle Dedede. I'm going to visit there later today to get some answers. You are welcome to accompany me."

"I'd be honored to accompany you, sir." Chris replied. Kirby also nodded and jumped in excitement, like a young child eager to go to the park.

"Thanks, I'd appreciate the company." Meta Knight concluded, smiling underneath his mask, and then began walking back inside the fortress. The smile soon faded away as he resumed his troubling thoughts.

Should I tell him what I think they attacked for…? Meta Knight pondered to himself. He knew one thing; if those were servants of Dark Matter, then Crystallis was no longer safe here. What should he do…? Chris would have to know of this troubling news sometime soon, though. Meta Knight sighed in aggravation, having not the slightest idea of what to do for his old student. He then remembered why he came out here in the first place and guided Crystallis and Kirby towards the entrance of the fortress. Meta Knight told the gatekeeper where he was going and the usual "don't let anyone besides me and those accompanying me inside the castle" and then the trio departed towards Castle Dedede.

"Come on! Put your back into it, Will!" Charles shouted to the new recruit. The two were outside of Castle Dedede, sparring with wooden swords. Will didn't really know how to use a sword, so he just dashed and slashed at the veteran soldier. Charles was too quick, however, and simply stepped to the side and watched the helpless Waddle Dee fall on his face.

"You need to place the element of surprise into all different kinds of battles, Will! I saw several openings in your attack pattern that I could have easily turned to my advantage!" Charles explained to Will. Will rose onto his feet, grabbed his cap and placed it back on top of his head, and gripped the oak blade tightly with both of his stubby hands. He looked in determination at the man he always admired. He got himself into a battle pose and charged again. Charles expected Will to just run at him again, so he got himself ready. He then sidestepped again and noticed that Will was not on the ground near him. Then he felt something fall onto his back and struggled to stay on. Charles, although surprised by the different attack, easily grabbed the recruit and Charles slammed the poor Waddle Dee onto the ground, on top of his back. It wasn't a very hard slam, but it was enough for Will to lose his breath. The only thing Will could do was just lie still on the grassy ground, moaning in pain. Charles offered the recruit his hand, and Will easily accepted it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt ya." Charles apologized.

"Nah, it's alright. I need to get toughened up anyway." Will reply as he pulled himself back up, using Charles's hand to do so, and the Sword Knight lifted him off the ground, making sure that Will landed on his feet while doing so, and picked up the practice swords as Will tried to regain his breath.

"I must admit, I did not expect ya to jump onto my back like ya did. That was pretty impressive."

"Thanks, sir. I noticed how you always sidestepped in the same direction as I ran at you before, so I decided to try to use that to my advantage and try to defeat you that way, but you managed to get me off." Will laughed a little at how easily Charles countered that.

"Still though, you're quite something. A natural fighter, but you aren't at your full potential yet. You still need work in your movements. And you said you never used a sword before?"

"Nope, although I used to play with other kids with sticks, and pretended that we were in a swordfight. I usually won them." Will smiled as he reflected on his memories of his childhood. Charles smiled underneath his helmet, remembering his own similar childhood memories. He then walked over to Will and gave him one of the wooden practice blades, Will looked up to him.

"Just imagine yourself from back them, and give it all ya got against me." Charles stated, and walked back a few feet and stared at Will, waiting for his course of action. Will closed his eyes, reflecting back to his childhood memories. The times he used to play silly games with his friends, pretending to have sword fights using sticks. Will then remembered the first thing he'd always do; which was getting himself into a casual pose and pointing his "blade" at his opponent, in this case Charles, as if challenging him. Charles then dashed towards him, sword in hand. Will waited until Charles was close enough, and then he rolled to the side, catching Charles off guard as he attempted to stop running, but then Will dashed towards the veteran knight and slashed at Charles, but Charles was able to turn in time to lock blades. The two stared at each other for awhile, as they continued to lock blades. Charles broke the lock and tackled Will, whom he unfortunately took; but Will was able to recover himself very quickly and readied himself for the next attack. Will dashed towards Charles and executed a dropkick, which accurately hit Charles in the chest. Charles was flung backwards from the blow, but he was far from done. Charles quickly got back onto his feet and slide towards Will's feet, which Charles's legs locked onto, and quickly flipped Will onto the ground, slamming him into the soft grass. Will and Charles then engaged into an intense swordfight after they got back onto their feet. The two stroked with so much power, that the practice blades began to chip and crack as they swung and parried each attack. The two fighters didn't even seem to notice or care about the condition of their weapons, just the intensity of the battle as they clashed wood to wood. The two warriors then jumped back and breathed heavily. The two then ran towards each other and swung their blades with amazing force, and then there was a mighty crack as the blades connected. The two just stood there for awhile, and then the blades of both practice weapons fell from the sky. Will looked at the now broken weapon that was in his hand, and stared at Charles, who also wielded a broken wooden sword. The two laughed as they realized the fight was so intense that the blades snapped. During the laugh, they heard claps and cheers from the audience. Charles and Will looked and saw that Meta-Knight, Crystallis, and Kirby were watching the duel the whole time.

"Excellent sword play back there," Meta-Knight stated as he applauded. "I wouldn't want to find myself fighting the two of you."

Charles laughed "So the great Meta Knight watched the great sword battle! Glad that you were entertained from the sword training match."

"Ha! That was training? I cannot even imagine how well you'd perform in actual battle!" Crystallis commented, noting the intensity of the dual.

Will quickly gazed away from the trio, as if embarrassed from the comments. Did I really do that well, he thought to himself. He then felt Charles giving him a hearty pat on the back.

"That was a great match, Will! I hope to be able to spar with you again sometime."

Will chuckled softly as Charles complimented him. "Thank you, sir! I'm looking forward to our next match!" Charles gave Will a nod, smiling underneath the helmet, as he picked up the broken sword pieces and walked back towards the castle. Meta-Knight and Kirby gave him their regards and followed Charles. As Crystallis walked by him, he stopped and took a look at Will.

"Where did you learn to wield a sword like that?"

Will laughed, "I remembered how I used to play with my friends when I was younger and remembered how we used to pretend we were knights and had a sword dual, and I thought like how I would then!" He sounded very proud of himself as he said this statement.

"Is that so? I'd liked to face you someday!" Crystallis mentioned as he gave a courteous bow and ran to catch up with his companions. Will hurried after them too as they reached the castle gates.

A/N: I kind of like this chapter, for some reason. It gives more character depth to the cast, especially Will and Charles, at least that what I thought when I proofread it. Anyway, comment if you wish to. Remember, I'd love to hear any constructive criticism for this story or any other future projects (whoever's reading this must be sick of me saying this, but I'd really like to hear how I could improve my writing). Well, comment if you want to. As for me, I'll be off doing other stuff. Later. (disappears)