FRC9: A Debate with the Scout
Shoot. If both she and Cody ask me why I was spying on them, I'm off to a horrible start in this place.
Being an adorable puffball, Meta Knight did have the advantage of looking cute and innocent when he needed a convincing façade. But this was the last person he'd been prepared to deal with, and he didn't know what sort of equally-convincing excuses he needed to create to back up said façade. Why couldn't people just let teenage puffballs spy on them? It would have made his life so much easier if he'd had more chances to eavesdrop on her.
You call yourself a knight? Stop thinking about stupid things like that and greet her like the mature, refined adult that you almost are.
Meta Knight offered his paw to the Dee in front of him, trying his best to keep smiling at her. He'd really had enough socialization for one day, but this was a Dee that he needed to leave a good impression on…especially considering that she barely talked with her own tribemates. What could she possibly want with him?
"My name is Meta—well, nickname, actually. Computers can't pronounce my real name very well. It's nice to meet you."
The Dee accepted the gesture and shook his paw politely. "My name's Kajinara; it's nice to meet you as well, Meta. Though, this may seem weird, but…" She inspected him a bit more closely, reluctantly releasing his paw. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Mikaru Ponyo, would it?"
Despite his best efforts, the smile on the puff's face vanished for a few seconds.
Crap. The last time someone said my name was right before I was dragged into a biomedical facility, sedated, and forced to fight for an ancient computer, and the time before that was when I'd been hospitalized after my ruined graduation party…so hypothetically, this is about to suck.
"Um…maybe?" Meta Knight's wings twitched, and he tried to suppress a shudder of fear. If the Dee was actually dangerous, letting her know that he felt threatened simply wouldn't do. "…How…do you know that name?"
Much to his surprise, the Dee seemed…almost saddened by that question.
"Nowhere important. It was a while ago," she answered quietly, dragging her feet in the sand. "I saw someone with that name who looked exactly like you—sort of. I just thought I'd ask. They're probably dead by now, anyways."
Now that Meta Knight looked closer, the scout's outfit was somewhat different than the rest of the Dees'. Her feet were bound in metal strap-sandals similar to the ones he wore himself, and someone had knit a dark-orange wristband that she wore on her left paw. Unlike all the other Dees, however, she wore an almost transparently-ice-blue headdress similar to a cape, and she was chocolate brown instead of bright orange like the other Dees. And from the firelight he had, she…
…almost seemed familiar to him.
"I'd like to talk to one of them in particular…I need to tell him this…But it isn't the sort of information people would like to hear."
"Can't you please tell us about it?"
"No, I-I can't. I don't want to discuss it right now."
"But, Mikaru?"
The sapphire puff blinked, his expression one of neutral curiosity. "Yes?"
"Can I ask you something? Nothing too important, just…something I was curious about." The Dee shuffled her feet in the sand, but other than that, she barely moved, even to breathe. Not wanting to be outmatched in terms of acting strange, Meta Knight remained stock-still himself.
"Of course. What were you curious about?" the puffball asked.
Where have I seen her before?
I know that I've met her; it's just where and when that's the problem…
It felt like he should know the answer to that, but he just couldn't pull what he needed out of the back of his mind.
"Did…" The scout straightened up, looking him in the eyes. "Did you mean what you said earlier? When you said you were curious about learning things about your past…Would you really look for answers even if you knew it might be bad, or would you rather leave it a mystery and create your own story about where you came from?"
The Dee rubbed her eyes, hesitating for a moment. The ocean breeze blew her headdress around her, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Trust me. I know a lot of things about my past that I wish I could forget, and some of them, I—I didn't even have to search for. Would you rather know for a fact that horrible things were true, or would you rather assume that horrible things were true, and just leave them as speculations? Thinking something is one thing, but living with reality is a whole other topic." Kajinara grabbed an edge of her headdress in her paw and pulled it around her. "I was just curious…Which would you pick? If you can't change the past, would you rather know the truth and cause yourself a lot of pain and suffering? Or would you rather leave the topic alone, and live pain-free, but without knowing what really happened?"
Meta Knight blinked, frowning. "I…"
He had to think this over for a moment. Why was she asking him this? Even if she'd overheard him, what would she need to know that for? There was no way she could've known anything about his past; besides, it was a riddle…wasn't it? She couldn't really know anything, could she? How could she know? Or was she asking just as an opinion poll of sorts…?
I know everyone in Dream Land is weird, including myself, but this is still getting a bit too weird.
Though, he was curious. What harm could answering her questions be anyway? He was a star child and a species of rare space guardians, too. Surely, if she threatened (or blackmailed) him later, he'd have no problem disputing matters with her.
Besides, she seemed nice enough, despite what Bandana Dee had told him. Maybe creepy or suspicious to the average person, but he was Meta Knight. Motionlessly staring at people for hours was mature to him, not creepy or suspicious.
Still, is she asking this to test how mature I am? A philosophical answer is probably the best, just to be safe.
"I…I'd want the truth," the puffball answered steadily, despite how tired he was. Every second that passed was getting closer to an ungodly hour of the morning, and he didn't like carrying on important philosophical debates at 4 AM. "No matter what happened, I think—or believe that the truth is precious."
"Are you sure?" The Dee seemed uneasy with that answer, pulling her headdress a little tighter around herself. "You mean…You'd rather know for a fact that all your disappointments and fears were real, rather than not having anything confirmed at all? I…To put that into perspective, you could be watching an undesirable theory become an undesirable reality; keyword 'real.' If you're OCD and think of every possible theory, you know that one of them will be real and true, right? So would you really be okay with that? Even if nobody needed to know that truth?"
"Why wouldn't I? It's real, isn't it?" The puff gave her a small smile, trying to reassure her. "I mean, you can't deny reality forever. I'll admit, there are things I wish I could forget, but they made me who I am today. And I know that some things are better left unsaid, but…" He shrugged, the smile turning into a grin. "I'm curious. To be fair to everyone, I like to base my judgments on the truth, even when there's no point in knowing it."
The scout crossed her paws, letting go of the headdress. "Well, that's a pretty good reason…for a kid. It's nice to know you have a mature perspective on things."
Meta Knight internally cheered at the compliment.
"But out of curiosity, you said you were an orphan, right? So seriously speaking, there's a lot of open ground for things to go wrong there," the Dee hinted, unwilling to let the argument go.
"Well, being left in outer space, I assume the worst that could happen was that I was potentially a monster, failed experiment, some trigger to an ancient prophecy or doomsday device, or a reject orphan that had problems so bad that his parents abandoned him. All of which have been backstories for protagonists in novels, and most of which have been survivable by said protagonists…excluding any extra despair and trouble brought onto them by that." Meta Knight smiled, thinking back to the novels he used to read as a child. "I think anything is possible to endure or survive, with the right technique and determination."
There was a slight flicker of emotional indecisiveness on the Dee's face, but it was so brief that the puff wondered whether he'd imagined it. Regardless of whether his brain was tricking him, the female Dee did take a bit longer to answer him.
"…I see." She closed her eyes for a moment, briefly turning away from him…though only a few seconds passed before she was staring him down again. Then, much to the puff's surprise, he could swear he heard her laugh.
"You know, I would say the same thing, even today. It's nice that someone else agrees with me on that opinion—something we have in common, you know?" The Dee relaxed, and Meta Knight knew from experience with Dees that she'd be smiling if she could. "The truth is precious, Mikaru. I'm glad you remember that much. Even if it hurts, it's still reality, like you said. I suppose it's something that everyone has to face someday—well, not always. But even then…you would stand by your choice, right?"
"Of course."
The Dee shrugged, letting go of her headdress. For some reason, she seemed almost annoyed now. "Well, my choice isn't always the best choice on that sort of thing, so I can't say I didn't warn you to think about that."
Meta Knight frowned, getting ready to pull Galaxia out of his mouth in case the shift in her voice was an indication that he was about to be attacked.
"But, I don't want to pressure you or force your decisions. Just keep what I've said in mind when you do things. I'd recommend you really think about that sort of choice. Even if you manage to find the truth…some things are best left undisturbed." The Dee crossed her paws, resuming her motionless stance.
"I do think things through; more carefully than most do. It's…my job, and my role with my friends." What was her expression now? Was she…Did she find that funny? Meta Knight reconsidered what he had to say, but continued when he saw no adverse reaction from the Dee. Of course, he got no other reaction at all from her, which he wasn't sure was any better. "But, why offer me that advice?"
Should he add 'When you don't even know me' to that? The whole conversation had been prompted from her asking him about his past, and whether he was willing to face up to it if it was—presumably—terrible. It was probably safe to assume that she knew at least something about him…particularly if she knew his name.
That's right…She knows my name. It's not on file anywhere in the kingdom; how would she get it without going off-planet…and how would she even connect it to me, when I've been going by 'Meta Knight' for all these years? Is it just out of coincidence? Even Kirby didn't make the connection that I was the same species as him, but maybe the Dees would pay more attention.
…no. She knows me, somehow. She said she's heard of me; that has to be significant. She wouldn't be wasting both of our time asking me all these questions about my past if she could care less, or didn't know anything related to it.
But what if I am a monster? What if she thinks I'm dangerous, and a threat to the tribe and my companions? Haltmann Works said there was something odd about my genetics…Maybe I don't want to know after all. It would still be useful to know, though, even if it were just for health or magic-related issues. No being a coward, Meta—you have to find out what she knows.
Only the sound of the dying fire followed his question. The scout seemed almost frozen in time, completely silent. Puff and Dee stared at each other motionlessly, the intensity in their eyes amplified by the growing moonlight.
"…I've lost almost everything from my past, Mikaru. It doesn't matter much to me anymore, since there's nothing left of it. That's the truth." She flicked her paw, her headdress billowing in the wind before falling completely flat…as if there were no breeze at all. "But for you? The—The people who care about you would probably like you to make a choice in the matter, instead of blindly pursuing what others have done before you. Especially since yours may affect you quite a bit more than mine. You seem smart. I know you'll make a good choice."
"Thank you. I understand."
The Dee and the puffball stood in their places for what seemed like an eternity, both trying to remain as calm and emotionless as possible while still getting their point across. Considering the experience that Meta Knight had with this sort of thing, they could be there a while. A very long while, to be precise.
Wow, I never realized how strange it looks to stare at someone for so long until someone stared at me like that. Maybe I shouldn't do that as frequently as I do. Really, though…Why is she so determined to make that point? What does she know about me that could be so significant?
"Nothing too important," apparently…But that's 'nothing too important' to HER, not me! She must have been smart enough to plan out what she wanted to say here; my answers are mainly yes-or-no, so it wouldn't be too hard to think of a response to any of them. Maybe my wish that the rest of Dream Land would do things strategically like I do wasn't such a good wish after all.
And why bother hiding things behind vague questions? Granted, that is still a very smart move, but how bad…
No, stop right there, Meta. Don't you DARE say 'how bad could it be?'; that's a HORRIBLE thing to say when you're a star child!
Being mature couldn't stop him from being curious about what the Dee had to say. The puff's problem was how to approach her. But judging by the fact that the Dee was still staring at him, Meta Knight thought it was fairly safe to assume that the scout wasn't planning on telling him much information. In past experience, that usually gave his cue to start stalking people and eavesdropping on them, but in this case, it would probably be quite a bit more difficult, especially in broad daylight with a hundred or so Dees around. Granted, if the information she was withholding really was insignificant he should have nothing to worry about, but that would take away his advantage of knowing everything. Meta Knight very much liked strategic advantages and was not about to give them up without at least some fight.
Begging for information is absolutely out of the question—well, maybe as a last resort. Playing innocent is also a possibility, but it's not as convincing when you talk so formally…You should have toned that down so you looked younger and cuter, Meta. Perhaps she would have taken sympathy on you and—
"Well, it's growing late, and I can't think of anything else to tell you at the moment," the scout commented, shifting on her feet. "You should be going to bed soon, yourself. Twenty-five is barely the age for a legal adult here, and that's not counting your own, Pikonyan species' standards. Get some sleep, Meta. It'll do you a world of good; I'm sure you had a long journey getting here."
She closed her eyes before turning away from him and starting to walk back toward her tent in camp. "I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Mik—Meta."
With Kajinara's back toward him, Meta Knight let himself shudder. He internally checked all the trivial details that the scout knew about him off a mental list.
She knows my age, my species, my name…I mentioned my species name to Silva, but that's about it; we aren't native to Dream Land. The puff frowned, crossing his paws. That still leaves the question of how she found out my name and age, though—
Wait. I don't even know my age. How does she know that? Either her guess is as good as mine, or…
'Or' what? If it's not a guess, then does that mean she actually knows for certain how old I am? But how?
The more he thought about it, the more disadvantaged he was compared to the scout. She did say that she'd see him tomorrow, but…what would that give him? It wouldn't necessarily give him any information, though perhaps a bit of apprehension about his decision to sleep by himself among a bunch of strangers might be gained from that promise.
If she's a scout for the tribe, she has to have at least some experience fighting, especially if Cody is her teacher…Does she have any special powers she could use against you? She's a Waddle Dee; she couldn't have fended on her own for this long if she had no clue what she was doing.
She won't hurt you, Meta. She's a scout for the tribe. If she really wanted to do anything, she'd have already tried it…or she could still ambush me in my sleep. That's still an intelligent option, but she has no reason to do so. People rarely do things without reason, and she seems sane enough.
The sapphire puff frowned, still unable to convince himself that nobody would attack him.
Not Kajinara…well, maybe Kajinara. I mean, if someone was going to attack me, it would be—
"Hey Meta? Izzat you?"
Meta Knight neatly spun on a foot to face his king, who appeared to be half-asleep and dragging himself around.
"Yes, your Majesty?" the knight asked politely.
Dedede rubbed his eyes, scowling at the puff. "It's 'great king' to you, noob."
"Apologies, your Majesty." The puffball smiled innocently, flapping his wings a few times. "Is there anything I can do for his Majesty?"
"Yeah. You could trade beds with Kirby so that he doesn't have to sleep with me," the king grumbled, giving up the title argument.
Meta Knight couldn't help but frown at hearing his request. "Who am I staying with now?"
"At Bandana's house. But please, Meta, orders from your king! Don't let that annoying gumball bunk with me! I'm serious; get him—and Silva—away from me!"
The blue puffball smirked, crossing his arms as his wings perked up. "You're asking me to give up a nice bed in a peaceful house in exchange for sleeping in a tent on the beach. His Majesty knows I dislike camping. What do you have to offer me in exchange?"
"I'm not paying you, Meta."
The knight frowned, glaring at the king as seriously as possible. It was a bit difficult with his cute face, but making the effort was better than nothing. "No, you are paying me. That's how it works in real life when you ask someone to do something they don't want to: you bribe them. How badly do you want me as a tentmate?"
Despite the penguin's protests, it was only fifteen minutes later that Meta Knight was building a nest for himself in the king's tent—and making his host sleep by the door, to boot. He still didn't feel very secure sleeping with cloth walls (particularly compared to the steel-enforced walls of his own bedroom), but he'd pocketed quite a sum of money out of the deal and at the very least, bunking with the region's king would hopefully lessen the chances of being attacked by his hosts.
Way to make yourself feel better, Meta. You're paranoid, you probably won't get to sleep now, you're sharing a tent with someone instead of maybe getting the chance to sleep by yourself, you keep wondering about your past and your family life, you're completely in the dark about how any suspicious people could potentially attack you, and it's only day two. This is about where the effort curve comes in for your failing grade of trying to be happy and worry-free.
…After the curve, you got a D for Dedede. Which earns you exactly the same thing as an F since only C's and above count as passing.
As if fate itself had planned it, Dedede snored loudly.
C/N: (Edit (9/5/17): This chapter has been REVISED from the original! So uh...hopefully you notice a difference in writing style. The original is still on my deviantArt, but I plan to replace it and just include the old versions in a stash document for people to compare how and what I improved.)
Didn't mention this last chapter (when she actually appeared), but Cody is a senior to Meta Knight (and a few other characters) in some ways. We won't be seeing her for a while after this, but not even Kajinara knows what Meta Knight picked out about her. There are hints about her whenever she's mentioned though, so if one of you guys picks out her dual role, you get a raft full of cookies! Hope you have a boating license.
I think Meta's thoughts pretty much sum up anything I could tease you with, so I won't say anything more...yet.
(Guest) Review Replies
Indigo Puff: Oooooooh boy, you're on to me. But it's funny that that line turned out like it did, because that chapter was actually the first one I finished in the project.
Meow: I'm guessing the words you refer to are 'penguin type'? It's been a while since I've picked up a Kirby game, so do you remember the names for the other penguin enemies? I keep thinking of the ones from the Mario series; apparently blue is a popular penguin color.
And...thanks for your response last chapter. That made me feel a lot better. And the story comparisons...thank you. And I'm glad you like the way I write the Kirby verse. I like the interpretations that you described a lot. I'm not good at talking a lot, but...I really want to say thank you, so much.
I read jikanet's story, too! So many people I want to update...And yes, you're right on StarRod. I've been looking out for her too!