Chapter 5
"Tiff! Tuff! Kirby!" Blade Knight called out.
"Huh?" Tuff stopped short of kicking the ball. It was a surprise to see Blade out of the castle, especially without Sword.
Tiff looked up from her book and ran over to see what was going on. Kibry bounded over after them.
"What is it, Blade?" Tiff asked.
"Ruo drol tog esrow, what do you fight in the woods?" Blade asked.
"What? It was a giant plant monster, why?" Tiff replied in alarm. "Is something wrong?"
"Sti ton doog won, it's Meta Knight." Blade answered, sounding distressed.
"What?" Tuff and Tiff asked with a gasp.
"Poyo?" Kirby added.
"Come on, let's go!" Tiff shouted and they took off towards the castle. This was one of those times when she wished she could understand Blade's thick accent.
They charged into the Knight's chambers, where Sword came out of Meta Knight's room to see what was going on.
"Sword! Blade said something happened, what's going on?" Tiff asked. "Why did you need to know about the monster in the woods?"
"It's Meta Knight." Sword explained, "It seemed like he was getting better yesterday, but when I went to check on him he had a full blown fever and won't wake up!"
"Poyo?" Kirby said. He ran into Meta Knight's room.
Meta Knight was lying still on his bed. He'd been neatly tucked in. His eyes were a faded yellow under his mask, meaning he was either sleeping or unconscious.
Kirby started jumping and nudging him from different angles to try to wake him up. He even tried tapping the space between Meta Knight's eyes through the hold in his mask, saying "Poyo, poyo!"
"It's no use, Kirby, we've tried everything." Sword said, sounding a little defeated. "I found this near his bed."
Tiff took the piece of paper Sword held out and Tuff looked over her shoulder. "It's like a checklist, but all it says is 'Library' and 'TF pollen'."
"He was probably planning to go to the library to look into something." Tuff said. "But why are his notes so vague?"
"I'll bet TF stands for Torple Flower." Tiff suggested, "That's what the monster Kirby fought was called. Let's go to the Library and see if we can find anything."
Sword and Blade nodded.
"Dew retteb tilps pu. I'll stay with Meta Knight." Blade said.
"Right. Come on, kids, let's go!" Sword announced, and they headed to the library, leaving Blade to watch over Meta Knight.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll have you better in no time." Blade told the unconscious Meta Knight.
—-
Tiff, Tuff, Kirby, and Sword Knight scoured the library for every book on plants and monsters that they could find. Kirby and Tuff looked for the books while Sword and Tiff looked through them for anything on the Torple flower.
"I don't think there's another book on plants or monsters in this whole library!" Tuff exclaimed, exasperated.
"Keep looking, Tuff! There has to be something." Tiff replied.
"There's been nothing useful in any of these books." Sword added. "It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack."
"Yeah, except instead of a haystack it's a bunch of books." Tuff said.
"Poyo." Kirby nodded.
"I remember there being a book on Botanica in here somewhere. It had a green cover with fancy golden letters." Tiff said as she sorted through the books.
"Wait, a green cover and golden letters?" Sword asked.
"Yeah, did you find it?" Tiff looked up hopefully.
"No, but I've seen Escargoon and the king with a book like that." Sword answered, "Maybe they have it!"
"That would explain how they knew about the Pukey flower!" Tuff realized.
"If they're behind this, I bet Kirby was the original target." Tiff said. "But Meta Knight ended up getting sick instead."
"We've got to get that book." Sword Knight said.
"I'll check Escargoon's room. Sword Knight, you can check the kings." Tiff instructed.
"What'll Kirby and I do, Tiff?" Tuff asked.
"Keep an eye on Dedede and Escargoon and make sure they're distracted." Tiff answered.
"Oh boy! Come on Kirby, I have an idea!" Tuff giggled mischievously in excitement and he ran off with Kirby in tow. Sword and Tiff split up and went to investigate the rooms.
—-
King Dedede and Escargoon were playing croquet in the courtyard. Every time Dedede made a shot he would shout, "Ha, top that, Escargoon!" Before doing something to mess up Escargoon's shot.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised he cheats at croquet too." Tuff said. He and Kirby were looking out of an upper hall's window down at the courtyard, safely out of sight. Next to them was a bucket of balls.
"Ready, Kirby?" Tuff asked, lighting a match on the castle's stone wall. "Did you lock all the doors?
"Poya!" Kirby answered.
Tuff giggled and tossed the first ball at the back of Dedede's head while Escargoon had a mallet over his shoulder and was looking the other way.
"Hey!" Dedede yelled when the ball bounced off his head. "Escargoon, did you just hit me with your mallet?"
"What? Of course not, sire!" Escargoon protested frantically.
"Hmm." Dedede turned back and when he was in mid-swing another ball hit him in the back of the head and messed up his shot. His face turned red and he turned to Escargoon and started his temper tantrum "ESCARGOON YOU CHEAT'R!" He started chasing the snail around, trying to hit him with his hammer.
"Sire, no please! It wasn't me, sire!" Escargoon shrieked as they ran in circles. He made a break for the door, but found that it had been locked. Cornered, he backed up against the door and Dedede hit him straight through it, leaving an Escargon-shaped hole in the door.
"Oh no, that was supposed to keep them in the courtyard!" Tuff exclaimed, "Come on, we'd better go warn Tiff and Sword Knight!"
—-
"Tuff, you were only supposed to distract him if he was coming into the castle, not distract him and drive him into the castle!" Tiff exclaimed in exasperation. She'd had to hide in a cupboard while the enraged king chased Escargoon around the room for a few minutes before they left. Then she ran off to meet the others in the library. "At least Sword found the book."
"'Ere it is." Sword set the heavy book on the library table. The lettering read; Encyclopedia of Botanica
"That's one big book." Tuff said. "Hopefully it has what we're looking for."
Tiff started flipping through the table of contents, muttering the entries out loud to herself. "Gobbledygreens, Pukey flower…"
Sword and Tuff looked over her shoulder as she scanned the page.
"Ah! Here it is!" Tiff exclaimed. She checked the page number and then flipped through the book to get the page. "Hmmm."
"What does it say?" Tuff asked.
"The Torple flower lives in the deep reaches of the Babagahara. Like the Pukey flower, the Torple flower is carnivorous. When its prey gets in range, it will trap it and try to immobilize it. Among its techniques to immobilize their prey are the small needle monsters it produces and pollen blast attacks. The needle monsters will take care of the prey and carry it back to the center of the flower, where it will be digested. When it hasn't eaten, it often drains large amounts of nutrients from the forest causing its surroundings to shrivel or become warped." Tiff read out loud, "When the prey is hit with the pollen attack, the pollen will stick and cause the victim to become tired and fall ill. It is fast acting and once the prey falls, the little monsters carry it away to be eaten."
"I bet that's what happened to Meta Knight!" Tuff concluded. "He got sick 'cause of the pollen!"
"But how're none of you sick?" Sword asked.
"Well, Meta Knight was the only one who got a face full of pollen." Tuff recalled. "Kirby almost did, but Meta Knight pushed him out of the way."
"Poya." Kirby answered.
"But wait, Tiff. Is there any mention of a cure for the pollen?" Sword asked urgently.
"I'm looking." Tiff flipped the page and continued reading for a few seconds. She pointed to "Here, there's a recipe for the cure."
"We should start looking for these ingredients right away!" Sword declared.
"Some of these will be easy, but these three will be the hardest." Tiff noted, pointing at the recipe. She jotted it down on a different sheet of paper and handed it to Sword knight.
"Tuff, you go get these and then bring them to Sir Meta Knight's room." Tiff handed her brother a sheet of paper. "We'll tell Blade about the recipe and then go to find the last three ingredients."
"Hey, why do I have to get the boring stuff?" Tuff asked.
"Do you want to help Meta Knight or not?" Tiff answered flatly.
"Fine." Tuff relented with a sigh before heading out with his list.
Tiff and Sword hurried back to the Knight's quarters to tell Blade the news while Kirby went in to see Meta Knight. They showed him the recipe and told him Tuff would be bringing some ingredients. Blade nodded.
"How is he?" Sword asked.
"Llew, it doesn't look like he got any worse." Blade answered. "Btu I'll keep hctaw revo mih, just get those ingredients."
"We will." Sword knight answered.
"What was that last part?" Tiff asked. Sword might be able to fully understand Blade, but she still couldn't, so she only heard "ingredients'".
"Let's get those ingredients." Sword translatered. Tiff nodded and called Kirby. Then they were off.
Blade Knight dutifully stayed behind again. He checked on Meta Knight, who was still lying motionless on his bed. He wiped the sweat off the older knight's forehead and adjusted his pink blanket so he was neatly tucked in. He set his hand on his mentor's carefully.
"Don't worry, sir. Tiff, Sword, and Kirby are on their way to get the antidote." Blade told him. He wondered if his lord could hear him, but he would relay it to him either way.
.
Authors note: The adventure continues! As a side note, Blade Knight's words aren't just me smashing on the keyboard, so there is a way to decipher them. But as usual, all the main information is handed to you, so you don't have to if you don't feel like it, haha. Hope you enjoyed chapter 5, and I will continue to work on chapter 6! :)