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True friendship is revealed when you are in trouble.

—T. C. José—

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The persistent knocking at her door woke Tiff up early that morning. She sat up groggily with a yawn.

"Tiff! Tiff! Please wake up! This is terrible!"

"I am coming!" Tiff hurried out of bed, throwing on her robe. Once she reached the door, she yanked it open to reveal the Fofa halves floating on her doorstep. "Fololo, Falala! What is it?"

"This!" Fololo thrust a photograph in her face.

Tiff stared at it with her eyes growing wider by the second.

The man in the picture reared back in shock with this mouth hanging open in horror and the blushes on his cheeks were so dark that they were purple. His eyes were glittering gold, or was it silver? Tiff peered closer. It seemed to be gold-colored eyes, but they shined brightly like silver.

Whoever this was, he looked awfully a lot like-

"This is Meta Knight!" Falala blurted.

Ah, that explained the resemblance.

Tiff felt her cheeks beginning to heat. How could someone so serious with such a manly voice have a cuddly face!?

"He's pretty cute, isn't he?" Falala covered her mouth to stiff a giggle.

Tiff let out a small cough as she averted her eyes. "He is rather adorable..." she admitted shyly.

Fololo rolled his eyes at their girly antics. "I doubt Sir Meta Knight wants you or anyone else remarking how "cute" or "adorable" he is!" he snorted. "If we don't do something soon, everyone in Cappy Town will have a picture of him too!"

"...what?!" Tiff gasped. "Just what happened?"

"Dedede," Fololo deadpanned as if it explained everything.

Tiff sighed. Indeed, it did. Getting straight to the point, she asked, "What needs to be done to help Meta Knight-"

"Lady Tiff!" someone called her name. A moment later the sound of clanking armor filled the corridor as the two armored knights, Sword and Blade appeared from around the corner. Her brother Tuff followed behind them still dressed in his pajamas. "We are sorry for disturbing you so early, but given the circumstances, we need your help!"

Tiff stepped aside to allow them to enter. "Come in quickly!"

Once everyone was inside, Tiff closed the door and led them to the living room. She made a quick detour to the kitchen to click on her coffee machine and prepared it to brew a large pot. Tiff had a feeling they were going to need it.

"Did you happen to find Sir Meta Knight?" Tiff heard Falala ask Blade Knight as she returned to them.

Sword Knight and Blade Knights shook their heads. "No, we can't find him anywhere in the castle."

Tiff sat down in her armchair. "Fololo and Falala were saying something about Meta Knight's picture being printed out for all the cappies to see?" she said.

"Yes, Miss. Tiff!" Blade turned his attention to her. "You see this despicable little jester name Marx made a deal with King Dedede. If he could get Sir Meta Knight's mask and a picture of his face, he could perform on Channel DDD. But that was not enough for him! He persuaded Dedede to print it for everyone in Dreamland to see too!"

Tiff narrowed her eyes. That sounded rather mean spirited.

Tuff crossed his arms. "This guy sounds either sadistic or he's holding a grudge against Meta Knight," he muttered.

"My gut is telling me it's probably the latter," Sword remarked bitterly.

"Yeah," Blade agreed with them. "I saw it with my own eyes! Marx seemed very keen on humiliating our master."

Tiff tapped her chin. "Why is it such a bad thing for the cappies to see Meta Knight's true face?" she asked. "I mean it's embarrassing for a moment, but that's all it is to it, right?"

"Wrong miss," Sword Knight corrected her. "It's an ultimate humiliation. In Sir Meta Knight's culture, their people always hide away their faces from outsiders," he explained. "It is considered a great shame to be exposed publicly or to have their helmets taken or destroyed!"

"I see…" Tiff folded her hands thoughtfully. It may not be a big deal to her or any other cappie for the matter, but if it mattered to Meta Knight then that is all that mattered.

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" she raised her voice to grab everyone's attention. "We are short on time so we got to move quickly! Fololo and Falala!" Tiff pointed at the two spheres. "You two must collect every paper from every doorstep in Cappy Town!"

"That's a lot…" Falala hesitated a little.

"It is, but we will do our best!" Fololo promised.

"I'll help you too!" Blade Knight offered without hesitation. "That way we'll be able to cover more ground."

"Hold up, I may need help too, from either Sword or you," Tiff remarked. "You see, it's important to remove all the prints from the cappies, but we also got to retrieve the original photos, the film rolls, and delete any digital copies too," she explained. "Or else Dedede will just order a reprint!"

"Good thinking, Tiff! Since I deal with the more technical side of things anyway, I'll go with you!" Sword Knight volunteered.

Tuff clenched his fist. It is about honor. He was about to become a knight himself soon and could not allow a fellow knight of the code to be humiliated like this. "And I'll get Meta Knight's mask back somehow!" he vowed. "It's in Dedede's room, right?"

"Yes," Blade Knight confirmed. "Along with a photo. Make sure to get both."

Tiff turned a worried eye to her brother. "Be careful, Tuff," she cautioned.

"As long as you do the same!" he replied with a smile.

Tiff nodded to him, "I will. Okay, I guess that settles it… When we complete our tasks, we will meet up at Kabu's Shrine in Kabu Valley, does everyone agree?" she received various nods. "Alright then! Well, gang, Meta Knight is depending on us, so let us do our best!"

"YEAH!" they all cheered.

"Wait…" Tuff paused suddenly. "Uh, sis, how are we going to do all this without alerting Dedede, Escargoon, or that jester to what is going on?" he asked. "They will try to stop us if they suspect anything!"

"…uh…" Tiff paused. She realized Tuff was right. They were going to need a distraction. "…let me think about that… in the meanwhile, I'll go get us some coffee."

Tiff got up and went into her kitchen to think. She poured herself and the others a cup and placed them on a tray to be taken out. Tiff glanced into her fridge to see if she had any sweets to serve with the coffee, but she did not have enough for everyone on such short notice. Wait… food, that was it!

"Aha!" she exclaimed once the answer came to her. Tiff picked up the tray and carried it out filled with steamy mugs of coffee. "I got an idea!" she announced.

"Thank you, kindly, miss!" Blade took his mug gratefully. "What's the plan?"

Tiff gave him a tentative smile. "Let me put it this way, we're all gonna owe Kawasaki a big one after this if he agrees to help us!"

There was a lot of movement going on outside his room. Dedede rolled out of bed to see what was happening. He opened his door to see his Waddle Dees marching past. All heading in the same direction outside and out the castle gate heading straight into Cappy Town.

Dedede began to panic. Luckily, he spotted Captain Waddle Doo running amongst them. "Hey, Waddle Doo!"

"Yes, your majesty?"

"What's going on here? Where are all my Waddle Dees goin'?!" he demanded.

"Oh, to the free breakfast at Kawasaki's restaurant!" Waddle Doo explained. "Here!" he passed him a flyer. It read: FREE ALL YOU CAN EAT BREAKFAST FOR WADDLE DEES AND KING DEDEDE! ONE HOUR ONLY! In a smaller print, it read, While Supplies Last.

"Now if you excuse me, sire, I want to get my breakfast too!" without waiting for a reply, Waddle Dee rushed by Dedede.

"Hey!" Dedede called after him in vain. "Aw, forget it. I need to get ready to leave for Kawasaki's too!" Dedede rushed back into his room and quickly got dressed before going to Escargoon's rooms. "Hey! Escargoon!" the king hammered his fist on the door. "Get up! I gotta get going!"

There was no answer.

"ESCARGOON!"

Dedede took out his expandable hammer from his robe pocket and was just about to beat the door in when a voice asked, "Sire, what is wrong?"

"Oh, it's you," Dedede paused, lowing his hammer at seeing the jester standing behind him. "You finished with 'em prints, Marx?" he asked.

"Yes indeed, your majesty," Marx nodded. "Delivery should already be in progress, but I am afraid the Waddle Dees seemed to have dropped everything when they found those flyers…" he trailed off in an annoyed huff.

"As long as they get the job done, it's all that matters, now come!" Dedede grabbed Marx.

"S-Sire! What are you doing?!" the jester demanded.

"I can't wait around for that sluggard, Escargoon!" Dedede explained impatiently. "So you'll be accompanying me in his stead! And you'll be driving us there!"

Marx visibly twitched but dared not to disagree. "Of course, sire…" he fumed silently as he dangled in the king's grasp. They departed at once to the castle's garage.

When the coast was clear, Sword Knight, Tiff, and Tuff came from around the corner. "I can't believe it worked," Sword chuckled. "The castle is practically deserted!"

Tiff grinned. "I did not think it was too farfetched to assume the Waddle Dees would take the bait," she reasoned. "Dedede is a bonus!"

"That means doing my part will be a piece of cake!" Tuff smirked.

"Don't let your guard down, squire!" Sword Knight warned his apprentice.

"I won't, sir," Tuff promised with a salute. "Good luck to both of you! I'll meet up with you guys later!" Tuff bolted down the hall, heading towards Dedede's bedroom.

"Good luck, Tuff!" Tiff called over her shoulder as she and Sword Knight hurried in the printing room.

Mr. Curio was naturally an early riser. He let out a peaceful sigh as stepped outside his door to go on his early morning walk when something crunched beneath his foot. "Hm?" He took a step back to see what he stepped on.

It was a paper flyer. The title read in bold red letters on the cover: META KNIGHT EXPOSED! "What is this?" Mr. Curio wondered out loud.

Just as he was bending over to get it, a blue blur zoomed in and snatched it from the ground. "Sorry, Mr. Curio, but it's a misprint!"

"Uh?!"

"Have a good morning, sir!" and the little paper thief was gone.

"…bye?" Mr. Curio offered a farewell to the nothingness.

Cappy Town was not a big place and with the three of them collecting the papers at once, their task was almost done within an hour. Fololo dumped the prints he had collected into their ever-growing pile on the back of a wagon Blade Knight brought with him.

He floated there for a moment. Waiting for his partners to return. They did, right behind the other. First Falala and then Blade Knight. Each sporting an armful of prints tucked under their arms.

"Hey, Fololo!" Falala greeted him. "Are you done with your area?"

"Yep, I just finished! What about you guys?"

Falala added her bundles to the pile. "Yes, I am done as well!"

"Same for me," Blade knight answered, tossing in his fryers in too. "The last place we're checking is going to be the business district and then we haul to Kabu Valley!"

Fortunately, there were no prints to be found in the business district for a very obvious reason: all the Waddle Dees had temporarily abandoned their deliveries to get in line for a free breakfast. They waited patiently in a line that wrapped around Kawasaki's restaurant.

"Fololo, I think the last of the undelivered copies are still in that cart left on the side of the road…" Falala pointed to the cart left unattended. There were about six carts in total parked there, but only one still had some prints left in it.

It took about three trips to empty out the cart. On their last trip, it was only a small pile left. Falala managed to scoop up the remaining flyers into her arms and then flew off.

Fololo was about to follow her when he spotted Marx sitting inside the restaurant through the window. The jester sat across from Dedede in the diner looking disgusted and rather put out as he watched the king gobble up as many sausages and pancakes as he could without choking.

"Hm?" Falala noticed her other half was not following her. "What is it, Fololo?"

"My gut is telling me that Marx is sure to have at least one photo on him for backup. If so, I got to get it back too!" he reasoned.

"Be careful," she warned him.

"I will. You and Blade Knight get a move on just in case this goes south. We don't need the Waddle Dees attacking us or retrieving all the prints we managed to get back."

Falala looked like she wanted to argue but held her tongue. "Alright, see you at Kabu's Shrine," She flew off.

Fololo floated down to the ground and crept inside the building on foot. It was a challenge to avoid getting stepped on as he maneuvered through the sea of Waddle Dees and waiters running about. Eventually, Fololo made it to King Dedede's table.

"Don't you think you had enough your majesty?" He heard Marx ask the king.

In reply, Dedede let out a crass belch. "It's all you can eat, and I plan to live up to it! Kawasaki! Bring me another platter!" he ordered.

"Here you go, your majesty!" Kawasaki came running with a towering stack of pancakes. "Enjoy!" he ran off.

Right when Dedede was starting to dig into his new plate, Fololo sprang into action. "SURPRISE!" he yelled. The starling effect gave him just the opening he needed. Fololo lunged behind Marx's chair and pulled down the back as far as he could and then let go.

"WHAT THE FRACK-AAHHH!"

The force of the chair hitting the jester's back caused Marx to be catapulted into the air. He went flying and landed right in the middle of Dedede's new pancake pile. Spraying the king with whipped cream and strawberry jam.

"WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" Dedede demanded angrily as he tried in vain to wipe the whipped cream out of his eyes.

The jester's hat had fallen off and was lying in the mess. Sticking out of the hat were two photographs of Meta Knight's face covered in whipped cream and syrup. Fololo snatched up the photos and flew out of the restaurant as quickly as he could.

"Hey! You!" Marx tried to run after Fololo. Only to slip on the carpet from the gunk on his boots. "GUARDS!"

The Waddle Dees did not seem to care about what just happened and continued to eat. "Listen to when I talk to you, you senseless gluttons!" Marx snapped at them. But the Waddle Dees paid him no mind.

"Grrr… he will pay for this!" Marx promised himself-

"DON'T RUIN MY FOOD AGAIN YOU DING-DONG!" Dedede exclaimed angrily from behind him.

Marx turned around to see an infuriated king wearing on his robes what was the equivalent of a breakfast buffet. "N-Now sire! I did not mean to-"

In pure retaliation, King Dedede whacked Marx a good one with his hammer.

"I can't believe his majesty has left me behind!" Escargoon grumbled to himself when he realized the castle was practically empty and Dedede had gone on ahead with Marx, his new favorite.

That little man was weaseling his way into the king's good graces while he was being pushed out! He would have to keep an eye on that Marx-

Escargoon paused upon seeing Tuff jogging up the hallway suddenly.

-but for now, he would have to keep an eye on this brat.

He was about to ask Tuff "where's the fire?" when the teen stopped at the king's door. Escargoon flattened himself against the wall around the corner and waited to see what he was doing.

The young man looked up and down the hallways before entering.

"Hey!" Escargoon flailed his arms around in the air indignantly. He hurried in behind Tuff. "What are you doing sneaking in here?" Escargoon caught him red-handedly stuffing something in his shirt pocket and then Tuff was reaching for the mask left on the King's dresser. "Leave now or I call the guards!"

Tuff would have nothing of it. "Have you forgotten what the King did to you some years back?" he retorted.

The king did a lot of mean things to him. Too many to pinpoint what the brat was referring to. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific, kid," Escargoon grumbled. He shoved Tuff out the bedroom and back into the hallway.

"When Dedede broke your shell for his amusement!" Tuff answered. "He did not care if it hurt you, violated your privacy, or even humiliated you in front of everyone! The King wanted to see you naked at all costs! Hmph!" Tuff let out a snort of disgust. "I would think that of all people that you would understand how Meta Knight feels right now, Escargoon!"

Escargoon dropped his eyes. He remembered the pain he felt at being exposed and humiliated. "Fine," he let out a sigh. "Wait here…" He went into the King's bedroom and retrieved the mask himself. "If the king catches me… he's sure to give me the beating of my life!" he muttered fretfully.

Escargoon practically threw the helmet at Tuff. "Here you are, now scram! I was never here! Remember that!" he took off down the hall to get as far away from the scene of the crime as he could.

"Thanks, Escargoon!" Tuff waved him goodbye before running off in the opposite direction to join his sister and master.

Blade Knight knew he had volunteered to help Falala and Fololo, but at this moment he had wished he had gone with Tiff instead. Pulling a full wagon up the hills into the cliffs with no sleep and the coffee pep gone really wore him down.

"I got you!" Falala encouraged him as she pushed all she could from the back of the wagon.

"Correction, we got you!" Fololo corrected her as he finally managed to rejoin them.

"Fololo!" Falala cheered. "Was your intuition right?"

"Yep!" Fololo tossed in the two photos before joining his other half and helped her push from behind.

"Thanks, guys!" Blade trudged on with new vigor.

The trio managed to make it up the canyon wall and maneuvered down the narrow way that led them straight to the ancient shrine. Blade collapsed like an overworked mule once they reached Kabu's Shrine.

"So… what do we do with all these prints?" Falala asked.

"The obvious answer is that we burn them!" Blade Knight said as he eyed the warm fire always alit in front of the Kabu Totem pole.

"Isn't that the sacred fire of the Shrine…?" Fololo hesitated.

"I doubt Kabu will mind. It is his job to protect Star Warriors so technically this count!" he reasoned.

"If you say so…"

They threw all the pictures into the pit. Blade sat contentedly in front of the fire with Fololo and Falala sitting on both sides of him as they watched it all burn with a sense of accomplishment.

Blade let out a sigh of relief as he tilted his head back gazing at the ever silent Kabu. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he thought he saw something twinkling in the shaded entryway of the sanctuary. It was eyes… golden eyes peering down at them.

"Wait… Meta Knight? Is that you up there, sir?!" Blade Knight asked incredulously.

"…huh?" Fololo and Falala tried to see what Blade was looking at.

The eyes faded back into the darkness.

"No! No!" Blade jumped to his feet. "Please do not run away again sir, we won't look!" he promised him. "Honest! We all worked together to help foil Marx's plan! Kawasaki created a distraction so Fololo, Falala, and I could gather all the prints in Cappy Town while Tiff and Sword got the original copies and Tuff said he'd get your mask back!"

"And we were supposed to meet up here when we finished!" Falala called up to Meta Knight.

"So it shouldn't be much longer!" Fololo added. "Just hang a little longer, Sir Meta Knight!"

The three then fell silent and waited. It took a moment, but then a soft voice said, "I am grateful for the assistance, my friends, thank you."

"No problem, sir!" Blade saluted him.

"Yeah, that's what friends are for!" Falala chirped. "Right, Fololo?"

"Right!"

It was not much longer until Tiff, Sword Knight and Tuff arrived at the Shrine. By then the flyers were nothing more than a large pile of ash. They tossed in their photographs too and the fire quickly devoured the remnant.

"Glad that's over," Tiff remarked with a sigh of relief.

"I managed to get Meta Knight's mask back," Tuff took held it out to Blade Knight. "Do you know where Meta Knight could be hiding out?"

Blade Knight let out a cheerful laugh. "That's the funny thing, he's-"

"META KNIGHT RESIDES WITHIN ME," Kabu rumbled out, speaking for the first time.

"Really?" Tuff blurted.

"Yeah," Falala and Fololo spoke up. "He's been hiding inside the temple."

"Kabu is a sanctuary for Star Warriors," Sword Knight remarked. "Guess that makes sense he would come here."

"Alright!" Tuff perked up. He ran up the steps leading into the temple. "Hey Sir Meta Knight, I got your mask!" Once he reached the doorway, Tuff turned his back and held out the mask from behind.

A gloved hand reached out and took it from him. Some clicking was heard and then out of the shadows came a fully masked Meta Knight. He looked at each of them in the face and then bowed humbly. "I am forever grateful for this. Thank you for what you have done for me today, Star Allies."

"Why do you call us that?" Tuff asked.

"Onto all of you, the honorary title of Star Ally is given because you helped a Star Warrior in their time of need. Whether if you gave aid to Kirby or me."

As soon as the name "Kirby" left his lips the people around him sagged with depression at the reminder that their friend was still missing somewhere out there.

"Please do not be dismayed or worried! Kirby is safe wherever she is," Meta Knight encouraged them. "You must believe that. We shall find her soon."

"But we don't even know where Kirby is…" Tiff sighed. She missed Kirby so much and at times even worried for her. She knew Kirby could take care of herself, but there was this nagging feeling of helplessness gnawing at her from the inside.

"I cannot shake the feeling Kirby is under our very noses," Meta Knight remarked. "Chin up, Star Allies. We will find her soon or she will return when ready."

Meta Knight gazed up at the sun rising beautifully in the east. "I will be going about my duties now. I have a meeting with Arthur and the others this very morning-"

"Wait, before you go, Meta Knight!" Tuff interrupted. "I have a question… if it's not too personal that is!" he added quickly.

Meta Knight turned him. "What is it?"

Tuff self-consciously scratched the back of his hand. "…I've noticed you had names carved on the inside of your mask. I wonder… who's names are those?"

"They are the names of my fallen comrades," Meta Knight answered quietly, almost reverently. "My greatest friends were Jerca, Lady Starbelle, Garlude, Sir Xeno, and the late Kit Cosmos…"

He took a deep breath and exhaled. "I wish to remember them all until my dying breath," after a moment, Meta Knight confessed, "I suppose Kit's passing was harder on me because he truly was the last from my era to perish. He died of old age of course, but now only Kirby and I are the last Star Warriors in the Universe…"

"But what about Sir Arthur and his men?" Tuff asked, feeling confused. "Aren't they Star Warriors?"

"No, they are galaxy soldiers who fought bravely alongside us Star Warriors," Meta Knight corrected him. "They would be considered Star Allies, like you, according to the ancient law."

"…what law?" Tiff blurted from the side. She was absorbing everything Meta Knight was saying since he hardly talked about himself or his past. "And what exactly is the difference between you and the others?"

"Star Warriors are a bloodline," Meta Knight explained patiently. "Long ago, my ancestor vowed to the Ancients to serve their will to uphold justice and peace. Arthur is not a direct descendant like I am, or Kirby is."

"Then what about Knuckle Joe and Sirica?" Tiff considered. "Weren't their parents Star Warriors? So why are they not considered Star Warriors?"

"Joe and Sirica are of the bloodline but not every descendant will be born with a warp star… in other words, it can skip a generation or two. However, there is a chance that if they choose to have children, their offspring may yet be Star Warriors. Now if you excuse me…" Meta Knight pardoned himself.

He went out from among them. "Sword, Blade, you two have the rest of the day off," he remarked as he passed by.

"Yes, sir, thank you!" Sword and Blade saluted him.

"Let us return to the castle for breakfast, I'll cook," Tiff offered, turning to all of them. "And then we'll hang low for the rest of the day."

"That will be easy for me to do as I will be going back to bed…" Blade let out a long yawn. "It has been a long night and an even longer morning!"

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Next Chapter: Star Crossed Meetings

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