Within the heart of Jambandra Base, Hyness awoke from his second taste of defeat. The magic coursing through his veins told him the portal he opened had closed. The sinking pit in his stomach told him that the galactic crisis escaped into this dimension. He huffed and flopped back down onto the cold, metal floor. Where would it have gone?

Probably off to destroy Gamble Galaxy, he figured dryly. He wanted to care, to be concerned for the lives that could be lost. The only thing that mattered was that he needed the damned thing to recover Void Termina.

He looked over at the three mages scattered on the floor. In desperation, he had drained their lives to expand his. Twice. He watched the nearest mage for a moment. "Zann..?"

He tried to call out to her, but her full name fell short on his mind and lips. She did not respond.

"Zann?" No response. He felt air hitch in his throat, nearly choking in its force. He prepared to call out again-

"...why..?" She grumbled, just loud enough for him to hear. With barely enough energy to speak, she remained motionless on the floor. Hyness felt a sharp ache in his chest, as if someone had unzipped him and drove a needle through his heart.

Guilt. Such an unforgiving feeling, almost enough to bring the already broken wizard to tears. He had used her.

The fabled 'Galacta Knight' was free to roam these lands regardless of her nearly comatose state. Void Termina's power faded from Hyness's 'magic radar,' though he was unsure of the cause. His weakened state definitely added to the uncertainty, but the Void was either dying, shattering, or fleeing. He was inclined to believe fleeing, though mostly out of concern for the effort it would take to resolve the other two options.

Hyness could also swear up and down that the group which defeated him contained a very familiar face.

The color returned to the trio as he mused over what had transpired, yet their power was still faint. They needed time to rest, as did the wizard himself. They had to recover and reseal the knight as soon as they could, and now was as good of a time as ever to plan. First, though, Hyness had to regain the trust of the trio. He feared pushing them too far, losing his last ties to the life he held before everyone else betrayed him.

The Warp Star entered Popstar's atmosphere, slowing down and teetering in response. Kirby witnessed milky-white eyes flutter open, blinking their way out of a dream. So pretty! They glow like Meta's too! The child found his mouth opening to greet the knight and-

A butterfly, twice the size of the one Morpho had been before meeting the warrior, plastered itself across his face. The star under him lurched as the weight of the black puff escaped. Meta grunted, but Kirby couldn't see why.

"Morp-o no!" He shrieked and briefly lost his grip on the Warp Star, nearly plummeting into Reef Resort. No matter how much he pawed at it, the butterfly wouldn't release itself from his face. He whirred his head around, hoping for any kind of sign that the knight hadn't slipped into the water far below.

He heard a quiet, melancholy voice next to him apologize. The butterfly disappeared in a bright flash, revealing the knight gliding the same path as the star.

Galacta hated to admit it, but the sound of the small puff babbling his new name nearly split his heart in two. He was afraid of a child. He had materialized a sword out of fear and was ready to kill… The butterfly stopped him from landing an undefended hit, but he was aware that his violent tendencies may be rubbing off on it. He felt guilty for that as well.

"Is your wing alright, Meta Knight?" They remembered how the blue puff's wing had been wrapped around them, and felt the pit of guilt deepen. There was comfort in the knight holding them onto the star, since the butterfly had seen how cold he could be.

He nodded, "I'm fine, thank you." he paused, allowing his eyes to flash an assortment of colors before adding; "though, I would have preferred a warning beforehand."

The most jarring noise the butterfly had ever heard wasn't dark matter-influenced war cries, Chef Kawasaki reading off his specialties of the week, or the whirs and clicks of Haltmann turning Popstar into a giant machine.

It was the unexpectedly warm laugh of the withdrawn knight.

The greatest weakness of the greatest soldier was sarcasm. They laughed too, beginning as a shrill, nervous wheeze that eased up in moments. Kirby started giggling, not quite understanding why the two knights reacted so strongly, only that one sentence had broken the ice with someone even more reserved than Meta.

Kirby also laughed because he could tell that Meta was trying to open up, even if for a moment. He hadn't heard Meta laugh since Magolor was around!

The small puff hopped closer to Meta, rubbing the water from his eyes. He waited for the red knight to recollect too.

"Morp-o, grab on!" He called back, patting the empty space on the Warp Star. The warrior, already weakened by a silly joke, took little coaxing by the butterfly to latch onto the star.

Meta made note of how much less room Morpho took up when he was coherent.

The warp star landed on the beaches of Orange Ocean at dusk. Once the two knights stepped off, Kirby gave the star's peak a hug and sent it off. When he turned around, Meta was gone!

Morpho watched the knight slip off to a large boulder buried in the sand. He ducked behind it, almost long enough for the puff to investigate further.

【ＣＨＩＲＰ ＣＨＩＲＰ】

The loud, jolting noise that echoed from the water sent the skittish warrior skyward. They turned to face the source of the noise, hand open to receive a materializing sword. They expected a giant bird or whale to be in the water, something large and violent.

Their eyes fell upon a dome.

They blinked, expecting the dome to reveal itself as an enemy. It chirped again and split open, revealing a winged ship. The front was shaped like Meta Knight's mask. He glided back down, the ancients didn't have such loud battleships.

He wasn't sure if he meant the noise that scared him senseless or the narcissistic design.

By the time their feet touched the ground, Meta had already crossed a dock leading to the Halberd's hiding place. A cape was wrapped around the knight. Its fabric was only slightly darker than his skin, the cuff of its collar was mint-green. They wondered how he had gotten it and where it was kept.

A door lowered from the 'chin' of the Halberd's mask. The locks that controlled its descent popped as they stepped inside. Meta Knight turned to a small control board built into the wall, pressing buttons in a flurry. The door clicked once, twice, and gave up. The metal slammed into the concrete platform.

Meta glanced over to the source of the noise and sighed. Another key combination entered, another response from the great machine. An overhead speaker crackled to life. "Sir Meta Knight?" it asked.

"Sword, Blade, come here." He replied, still facing the keyboard.

"Right away sir!"

"-Yes sir!" The two voices replied. Click, and they were gone.

Morpho was absolutely stunned by the interior of the ship. From what little he could see from the main entrance, he could tell how much time and money the knight had spent on it. The outside was elaborate and unnecessary; the inside was sleek and functional.

Except for the horn and door.

Meta punched in another code, opening a different door nearby.

"Excuse me," Meta slipped into the room. The lights flickered on, off, and he was back with a toolbox. "Kirby, can you show Sir Morpho where the kitchen is? I will meet you two there once this," he held a hand up to the door, "is resolved."

Morpho continued to gawk over the interior as the pink puff led him through. Each corridor had a similar keyboard installed to their corners. Someone had covered a few of them with plastic sheets and signs that said: 'Maintenance.'

The third maintenance hall had its sheet taken down. Torn, black-stained metal was twisted away to reveal wires and circuits. What had been a window was blown out, leaving behind glass shards. Whoever was in charge of cleaning must have fought demons before taking up that job: especially if the other halls were anywhere near as bad as the torn mess that lied next to the knight.

They stopped, mesmerized. "Holy… wow." They stepped closer, trying to think of anything with enough power to deal that kind of damage.