Chapter 3: Chivalry's Dance
"Ensign Ledo, it is time to wake up." Ledo awoke to the sound of Chamber's voice. He felt… rested, like he was ready to take on the day. Could this be the effect of that Fountain of Dreams thing Kirby had been talking about yesterday? Speaking of which, his host still seemed to be asleep, as he could still hear soft breathing in the bed next to his.
"Should I investigate the home, Chamber?" the ensign asked. "I leave that decision to you, ensign." The young man nodded.
There wasn't much inside the house, likely because of how small it was. There was a chest, a fireplace, a bed, a lamp, a small stack of books, a bowl of fruit, a clock reading 10:15, and a basket. Ledo had a hard time imagining that someone could live in such simple conditions. Shouldn't there be more food in this place? Where did he get water? He'd ask Chamber, but the AI would likely comment that Dreamland is very different. Kirby didn't really complain about the size, likely because he mentioned the citizens of Dreamland built it for him as thanks for getting their food back. However, the size was a bit of a problem for Ledo, as he felt the only way he could 100% avoid banging his head on the ceiling was to sit or lay down. It made him wonder if all houses on Popstar were as small as Kirby's.
There were some items hanging on the wall or sitting on the fireplace shelf. The ensign assumed that they were gifts or souvenirs from Kirby's various trips to stop Popstar's invader of the month. Some were understandable, like a medal-like shard that glistened and a picture of Kirby with what Ledo assumed to be several of his friends, recognizing the king, the two mages, the masked blue puff, the king's bandanaed advisor, but there are several others he didn't recognize in the picture. One of the things he didn't understand was why a sock was hanging on the wall. He could ask Kirby about that when he woke up.
Speaking of which, he was surprised his host wasn't up yet, even with the amount of sunlight entering his room. That was when the puff began to stir awake.
"…morning already?" Kirby yawned and looked around the room. "Ah! Good morning, Ledo! Did you sleep well?" he waved to the young man in front of him.
The young man spoke, the AI following "Good morning. I slept well, thank you."
"That's great! I slept well, too!" the pink puff smiled as he stood up and looked at the clock on the fireplace. His eyes began to widen.
"OH NO! IT'S ALMOST 10:30!" he shouted, throwing his nightcap on his bed. Ledo could only look in confusion. "META KNIGHT WILL BE FURIOUS IF I MISS OUR TRAINING SESSION TODAY!" he grabbed a piece of fruit and was about to run out the door until it seemed like he suddenly remembered that Ledo was there. "Oh…uh…you wanna come with me? I'm sure he won't mind you being there." The ensign nodded and took one of the apples from the basket, running out to Chamber. "Be sure to follow me, okay?" Kirby said, as he summoned forth the Warp Star. That was when the two began to head off.
Ledo followed Kirby to a grassy meadow situated in the woods. The meadow was large enough for Chamber to kneel in, so he carefully maneuvered the mech within the area. Upon landing and getting out of the cockpit, he saw Kirby waiting for him to catch up. The ensign walked over next to him. They seemed to be the only ones in the meadow with no sign of anyone else there.
The young man looked around for a minute before speaking up "Cheinbar, kanzei to wan?"
"Filue ne juun eit hav sien reto."
He gave a nod and looked down at Kirby. He seemed to be looking for something, likely that Meta Knight person he was talking about. That was when something was thrown down from one of the trees, embedding itself into the earth and startling Ledo. It was a sword. Could this be an enemy attack!? He pulled out his laser pistol and held it in front of him, scanning the area. "Calm down, Ledo! It's fine!" the pink puff exclaimed. The young man gave him a look of doubt upon reading the translation. Kirby pointed to a big tree with a rock under it.
On top of the rock stood a ball-like figure, with their back turned to them. Its cape blew in the wind. This was likely that Meta Knight person his host was talking about. "Ledo, you should take a couple of steps back or get behind something." Kirby grinned "We tend to fight rough." Upon finishing that translated sentence, the ensign sprinted to where Chamber was to keep out of what he assumed would be the line of fire.
Knowing that Ledo was safe, Kirby grabbed the sword from the ground, gaining a green hat with a yellow pom-pom on the end. It seems this was another one of Kirby's Copy Abilities. Even from this distance, Ledo could see the figure standing on the rock turn around. He immediately recognized it as the metal-faced blue puff creature from yesterday, the same one that cornered him by the sea and had accompanied Kirby when he came to talk to him yesterday. The blue puff threw off his cape, turning it into bat wings and the two began to fight with each other.
"Ensign Ledo, I fail to see the logic in your actions this morning. Why did we follow Kirby here?" Chamber spoke.
"There's not much we can do right now, Chamber. All we really can do is wait to see if someone responds to our distress signal and learn more about this land." He responded, eyes fixed on the match. "Besides, it would be a good idea to learn about how combat works here."
"Agreed."
The pink puff appeared to be pushing more and more with his attacks, with the blue puff defending against them at every swing. In between each swing, he could hear one of them talking, likely Kirby's opponent.
"They're just fighting with each other…is this really what they call a training session?" he sighed.
"Simulating actual combat conditions is usually the best way to train. I believe you would understand this as much as anyone, ensign." The AI commented. That was correct, to a point.
That was when Kirby gave a cry and swung his sword down to the ground, only for his opponent to dodge backwards. The blue puff shook his head and lunged back at the pink puff, who frantically blocked it. The two clashed swords for a bit before jumping back. They then charged at each other, yelling and unleashed a twirling slice, kicking up a storm. When the dust was clear, Kirby's sword was knocked into the ground. As for the opponent, there looked to be a slash on his mask, but his weapon was angled as if he was about to cut into the puff. Ledo then noticed a flicker of red in the blue opponent's eyes as he spoke sternly to Kirby.
Ledo read the translations on his monitor in surprise:
"What did I tell you about holding back during our training sessions?"
"But I'm not holding back!"
Those flurries of attacks he saw from Kirby was him holding back?!
"It is not that surprising to see that Kirby was holding back, ensign. His threat levels had decreased significantly throughout the entire fight." His AI partner commented. It was likely the result of Kirby being concerned that Ledo would somehow get hurt even though he was standing four meters away.
The pink puff pulled his sword out of the ground and held it in front of him. It seemed his next plan was to go on the defensive. The blue puff retreated into his cape, surprising the ensign.
"Chamber, what happened? Is his opponent still there?" he asked.
"There are life signs still present, ensign. Should I engage?"
"…I don't think you should, but…!"
The puff jumped to the tree. Preparing for a stealth attack, it seemed. When the blue opponent reappeared, he seemed frantic. When he turned to face the tree, Kirby jumped out and quickly brought his sword down onto him just as he was moving to block the attack. The pink puff looked up and seemingly turned pale. Ledo looked to see what happened until he noticed two metal plates on either side of the blue opponent. The opponent seemed stunned for a few minutes until he pulled out his cape and seemingly warped away.
"…Chamber, what happened? Where did he go?" the ensign asked.
"Signs of life detected near the large tree. A preemptive attack is recommended."
"No, do not!"
Ledo could indeed see the figure had gone back to having his back turned towards the tree. Kirby then began to run towards the tree as if panicked. Ledo decided to chase after him to see what the problem was. When he came to where the two metal plates were, he saw that they together resembled the metal face that puff wore.
"Ah…so it was a mask…" the young man thought as he met up with Kirby, whose head (or rather, entire body) was bowed towards the figure and trembling. He seemed to be distressed about something. It began to make more sense once he started reading the translation of what he was saying.
"I'm sorry, Meta-sensei!" Kirby yelled at the figure.
His mentor finished adjusting his mask for a brief moment before heaving a sigh.
The blue puff spoke, his back still turned "There's no need to apologize, Kirby. I was stunned by what you pulled at the end." He turned to face his pupil. "Unleashing a surprise attack after I teleported with my cape certainly caught me off guard…" his eyes turned orange and then sky blue for a moment before returning to their normal yellow color.
"Yeah, but I thought you'd be angry at me for breaking your mask…"
"Was it an accident?"
"It was, but…"
"Then don't worry about it. I carry spares on me for a reason."
Normally, Meta Knight would stop their training if Kirby was close to breaking his mask, but it was likely a combination of both of their respective frustrations with each other and that surprise attack Kirby pulled off that threw him off of when a good stopping time was.
The mentor then noticed the young man from yesterday standing next to his student.
"…you did not see my face, did you?" he asked, gravely. The tone of his voice and the grass-green of his eyes indicated that he was serious.
The translation then came "I did not see your face. Your back was turned to me.".
The blue puff sighed with relief, knowing that one of his most carefully guarded secrets was safe. There were a very select few that knew what he looked like without his mask. Usually those who knew did so either due to an accident or due to them earning a great amount of his trust, but it's normally by accident. This small list of people consisted of Kirby, the Meta-Knights, and Sailor Dee. King Dedede and Bandana Dee likely knew or had an idea, but they respected the knight enough not to say anything.
That's when he realized something. "I believe I haven't properly introduced myself to you, have I?"
Ledo shook his head and spoke while Chamber translated "You were the person who cornered me against Chamber and was with Kirby while talking to me yesterday." The knight nodded, seeing that he remembered.
"I'd like to apologize for cornering you like that. My name is Meta Knight. I only did that out of concern for this land." Upon reading the translation, the young man nodded in understanding. He then thought of something he wanted to ask, but he felt his AI companion would word it better. The word he was asking about seemed to come from their language anyway.
"Cheinbar, onnen sei sare "sehn-say" kongo zeian?"
That was when Chamber began to speak "Question: Does the 'sensei' word that Kirby adds to your name mean anything?"
"It means 'teacher'!" Kirby chirped and continued "Meta Knight is my mentor! He helped me learn how to use and improve my copy abilities!" The knight nodded. That helped explain to the young man why Kirby seemed to be constantly looking to the warrior yesterday as if asking for approval or advice. "Sensei, did you bring them?" Kirby asked in excitement. His mentor chuckled "Of course. Now seems to be about a good time."
The knight reached into some kind of subspace within his cape and produced a box wrapped with a bag. He opened it up to reveal a stack of boxes that appeared to have food in them.
"What are these?" Chamber's translation asked.
"They're lunch boxes. My subordinate Sailor Dee made them this morning. Kirby and I commonly sit here and eat lunch when we finish our training session for the day." He handed the top box to the young man. "He made one for you as well. He didn't know if you would be coming with Kirby, but he wanted to make one for you just in case."
Ledo took the box in his hand and responded, with Chamber translating his words "Thank you.".
The young man and the two puffs sat against the rock and began to eat. Normally, Ledo would be more cautious about eating new foods, especially if they were from someone he had just met, but he was honestly too hungry at this point. While he didn't recognize a lot of the food in this box, what he did know is that it tasted delicious.
During the meal, Chamber suddenly spoke "Meta Knight, I believe that Kirby mentioned that you taught him how to use his Copy Ability. Is it possible that you also possess this so-called Copy Ability?" the knight froze for a moment as he also saw Kirby look at him. It seems this was something not even his student knew.
The knight cleared his throat before saying "I neither confirm nor deny such a thing.". The conclusion the ensign drew from that was "he could, he just chooses not to".
During a break in his eating, the ensign looked over to Meta Knight. He ate a lot slower than Kirby, but that was likely because his student seems to inhale his food.
"Kirby, take your time. Nobody is going to take it from you." He uttered to his student, who started to slow his eating down as if he felt embarrassed from being called out.
"Sorry…it's a bad habit…"
"And don't talk with your mouth full."
"Sorry!"
"Oh, dear Nova…"
From these kinds of interactions, Ledo could've sworn the two were parent and child. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the mentor's mask was slightly raised.
It wasn't much, but he seemed to have raised it just enough so he could eat. Most he could see was a mouth and a small part of blush, almost like Kirby had, but it was mostly covered by the lower part of the mask. The young man wanted to get a closer look, but he likely couldn't without the knight lashing out at him. It was important enough for the knight to ask if the young man knew apparently.
"It's not polite to stare, Ensign Ledo." The knight suddenly said coldly.
He didn't even turn to face him, he just continued to look at the meadow like he was aware of the staring. It was so cold that the ensign didn't need to read the translation to know that what he just did wasn't a good decision. Ledo decided to look away and continue eating his lunch. At least he now had some kind of idea why Kirby never wanted to tempt angering his mentor. Well, that was more "irritate" than "anger". Either way, he seems like one of the last people the ensign would want to truly anger.
The three continued to eat in silence before Ledo spoke up, with his AI translating "When we first arrived here you tossed a sword at Kirby. Do you always do that?".
"When I'm not under any kind of mind control, yes." The blue puff replied.
"Why?" the young man asked.
"It's against my code of honor to duel a disadvantaged opponent. Throwing my opponent a sword with the hope that they take it is my way of making us fight as equals. At least, this is the case with Kirby, as he's the only other person I know of that knows how to use a sword."
The translation started again "What happens if he refuses to take the sword?"
"Oh, he's never refused it during our actual duels. During our Sword training sessions, I'd somewhat have to coax him. But occasionally that doesn't work, then I wait a couple of minutes for him to pick it up. If he still refuses to after then, I'll change around our schedule and we'll focus on whatever Copy Ability he wants to use that day instead. But, there's a small price to pay for that…" he uttered.
"I know, no dessert after lunch…" the pink puff sighed. Based on his tone, the young man assumed that this has happened several times before. Thinking about it, those kinds of training methods made a bit of sense to Ledo.
It was a more minor case, but it reminded him of how those who complete their military service are rewarded with a few months stay in Avalon. In return for completing something, a reward of almost equal value is given. In this case, completing that intense training that he had watched them do earlier would be rewarded with a no-doubt high calorie treat. Adding that to the large amount of food that Kirby is implied to normally eat should've made him fat. He then remembered a hypothesis that Chamber gave on their trip here: Kirby's stomach may be a black hole. The idea sent a chill down Ledo's spine, but it made too much sense when all the factors were put together.
"Is…your stomach a black hole, Kirby?" Chamber translated the words Ledo said.
"A black hole? What's that? Is it yummy?"
"It's not a black hole, he actually has his limits. If anything, he has a large stomach and a speedy metabolism." The blue knight explained, as if he already heard that question before.
A few minutes of eating later, the ensign decided to speak up again "Kirby, how long have you known Meta Knight?"
"Ever since the incident with the Fountain of Dreams." The puff gave a quick reply "He was one of the people Dedede gave a Star Rod piece to! He also sent his subordinates to fight me pretty much at every place I went. It was annoying, but it made sense when I later found out that he actually did that to train me so I could fight Nightmare. My duel with him during that was his final test for that." A sink-or-swim type. Of course. "He also did help me out sometimes, like he tossed me Invincible Candy sometimes!" Kirby's mentor then added "Yes, and I remember that you called me 'the candy knight' whenever you saw me afterwards because of that."
"Well, that's because you never gave me your name until we fought!"
"I remember giving you my name when I first met you, Kirby. You just only remembered me for tossing you candy."
"That's not true!"
Subordinates, earlier Kirby mentioned subordinates. That reminded him…
"Were those people who were guarding me during my ledge-arrest your subordinates?" The AI translated for Ledo.
"Correct. Those people who were guarding you were my men. I'm the head of a group of elite warriors called "the Meta Knights". Each of them is skilled with their own according weapon." The blue puff explained to him.
"They're also really, really loyal to you. You know, like when…" Kirby began to talk before fading off, as if he seemed unsure if he wanted to continue the subject.
"That's true. I still remember it vividly."
There was more silence before Ledo started to speak, just before being cut off by Meta Knight "I guess you do have the right to know about that, since it is a part of Dreamland's history.".
"Do you want me to tell him about it, Meta-sensei?" Kirby asked.
"Is this about your knights' loyalty to you?" the translation said.
"Yeah, it has something to do with that. Maybe a year or two after the Fountain of Dreams incident, and I found out that Meta Knight and his crew constructed an aerial battleship called the Halberd and was planning to take over Dreamland with it." Ledo blinked in surprise, both at the context and the fact that Kirby talked about it like he had just gone to the store. "I managed to destroy it part by part and caused it to sink to the bottom of the Secret Sea."
Ledo spoke again, Chamber following "Meta Knight, you said you're concerned for this land. Why would you attack it?"
Meta Knight only sighed, as if he had heard that question asked before "At the time, I was sick of Dreamland's lazy lifestyle. At the time I did it, Kirby was the only thing in the way of protecting this land. By building my own battleship, I planned to force the other citizens to learn to take up arms so they could defend the land themselves instead of relying on Kirby on the time. I wanted them to do so, and I would do it even if I'd have to force them to.". While Meta Knight's almost military-like reasoning made such actions justified to Ledo, he couldn't help but think of what Kirby said yesterday about himself: he can't help but go out of his way to help people.
"I assume that Kirby stopped you because you were causing problems for Dreamland?" Chamber translated his words.
"That's correct." The blue puff replied and continued "and about my crew's loyalty? They stayed on the ship with me even though I told them to evacuate. In retrospect, I was a bit reckless, since I dueled Kirby while the ship was going down and chased after him." Ledo could only nod.
"Oh! But at least you were able to raise and repair the Halberd at one point!" Kirby said cheerfully.
"Yes, but…it took several years…" he sighed.
"Meta Knight, if I recall correctly, you had attempted to disassemble me when we first landed. Would you care to explain why?" Chamber had spoken up.
"Simple curiosity. I've never seen any technology like yours before and I wanted to learn more about it." The knight explained.
"Thinking about making upgrades to the Halberd?" his student asked.
"Perhaps." The mentor mused, eyes pink with amusement.
"I assume you have an interest in technology?" Ledo's words were translated.
"In machinery in general, yes. I designed and helped build my own battleship, of course." There seemed to be a tinge of pride in his voice.
"Yeah, that's fine and all, just don't get too fixated when you see new technology, sensei." Kirby said.
"No promises, Kirby." The ensign briefly noticed a smirk on his face. He lowered his mask and turned to the young man. "Are you finished eating, Ledo?"
The ensign looked down at his food to notice that he had indeed finished the food inside the lunch box.
Chamber then translated what he said while returning the box to him "Yes, thank you for the food.".
"You're welcome. I have one more thing." Meta Knight opened up one more box that was still in his bag. There were yellow squares inside. "Both of you take two. There's enough for both of you." Kirby happily grabbed two and immediately ate them, while Ledo was more hesitant. "They're lemon bars. I wanted to give Sailor Dee a break by making the dessert for our lunch today and I think they turned out well."
"They're really, really good, sensei!"
"Thank you, Kirby." The young man decided to take the pink puff's word for it and ate it. It was tart and soft but had an air of elegance to them. Ledo wanted to say something, but he just couldn't. "I take it by the look on your face that you like it?" the knight asked. The young man nodded. Meta Knight packed up the box and put it back into the subspace within his cape.
"Thank you for lunch, sensei! It was great!" the young puff exclaimed.
"You're very welcome, Kirby. I'll be sure to tell Sailor Dee that you enjoyed his food." The older puff replied, standing up.
"So, we meet here again in two days, right, Sensei?" Kirby asked, with his teacher responding with a nod.
"Yes, in two days. Your stance has become a bit rusty and we'll need to work a bit more on your block, so we'll start off with that. After that, we'll practice with aiming your Cutter ability backwards. I noticed that you've been missing your mark with it recently. Understood?"
"Yup! I'll see you then!" Kirby was about to run off before Meta Knight grabbed him. "Not so fast. Ledo, are you doing anything tomorrow?" The ensign shook his head. "I see. Dedede and Bandana should be open tomorrow as well…what do you say we take you on a trip around Dreamland?"
"That sounds like fun!" Kirby said, only to be hushed by his teacher. The ensign took a moment to think. It probably would be a good idea to see more of the land than to hear about it.
He spoke up while Chamber translated "That would be fine, thank you."
"Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow, sensei!" The pink puff called out.
"Wait, Kirby! I didn't tell you where we would meet!" his teacher yelled back.
"Call me when you and Dedede figure that out! I promised Rick, Coo, and Kine that I would meet up with them today!" Kirby ran off before Meta Knight could get out another word.
The knight let out a sigh "Dear Nova, my student can be such a pain sometimes…". He turned to Ledo. "Are you going to go follow him?"
The young man nodded and spoke again, Chamber translating "I don't really have much to do now, so I might as well accompany him."
He began walking towards Chamber until he heard the knight again "Ledo, catch this!".
He turned back around and grabbed the item that was tossed at him. It was a white lollipop with a red swirl and a star on it.
"What is this?" the young man asked, Chamber translating.
"One of those Invincible Candies that Kirby mentioned." The knight explained.
"And I can have this?" the AI asked for Ledo.
"Yes… on the condition that you let me take a look at that mech of yours at some point." He heard a tinge of amusement in his voice.
"Is this a bribe?" His mech translated.
"Truthfully, no. It's an apology gift for yesterday. Although I still would like to take a look at your mech at some point. At least with proper permission this time." He responded.
"I see… thank you." The mech translated his words as he was lifted up to the cockpit.
At that moment, Meta Knight unfurled his wings and flew off.
Now, all Ledo would have to do is catch up with Kirby…
"I assume we haven't made contact with anyone yet, Chamber?" Ledo had continued work on his bone flute.
"Negative, ensign. As I have stated before, I have been constantly sending out a distress signal. I shall notify you when I receive one." The only thing the ensign could do was sigh.
"An aerial battleship, huh? Sounds like somewhere we would be right at home."
"Agreed, but with reservations. We are only assuming this based on what Meta Knight told us."
"Yeah…I guess you're right. Maybe he can let us live at his base for a few days to see how it is."
"Reasonable course of action: continue to stay with Kirby until we learn more about this land and its inhabitants."
"Sounds good to me." Ledo stopped talking when he saw Kirby walking over to him. The pink puff began to talk to him, which was translated. "So, they want to go fishing, huh…"
I found this to be a particularly enjoyable chapter to write. If my writing style doesn't make it obvious, character interactions are probably what I'm best at writing.
The translated dialogue was written in Wingdings in the original Word Document, of course that didn't carry over. Partially to save time and I think that the fake language would become annoying to read after a while, especially when Chamber is here to translate. What I plan on doing instead is writing out the translation unless Chamber is not there or Ledo is too distracted with something to read the translation. Let me know what you guys think of this change.
And yes, while this is gameverse, I do really like the idea of Kirby and MK being student and mentor.