Kirby, Fumu, Bun, Sword and Blade coasted on Warp Star, Meta Knight flying beside them with his own wings. Kirby made sure his vehicle ran slowly; although Meta Knight was a fast flier, there wasn't a creature alive whose wings could keep up with the supersonic vehicle. The group headed back towards Dedede's castle.

Fumu eyed Meta Knight silently. The stoic Star Warrior never elaborated on what he meant by what he might know regarding the Necromancer's whereabouts; he simply instructed them to return to the castle. After what she had just witnessed, she didn't feel like talking anyway.

Within a few minutes the group landed in the castle's courtyard, by the fountain. One by one Warp Star's passengers slipped off of the vehicle as Meta Knight landed, wings crumpling and reforming into a cape. The group stood in front of the fountain, the quiet courtyard a welcome contrast to the horrors they witnessed earlier.

Fumu worked her jaw as she stared into the fountain. She had the strongest urge to crawl into bed and lay there, even though she wasn't sleepy. She just wanted to shut the world out, to silence the memories constantly replaying in her mind; her grandfather, the fire…

Fumu suddenly felt a small, warm form pressed against her. Kirby, sensing her distress, leaned in to give the troubled girl a hug. Fumu smiled warmly as she looked down at the small, pink creature; he seemed to always know how to make her feel better.

Fumu looked to Meta Knight. "You said you might know where the Necromancer is, Sir?"

Meta Knight wrapped himself up in his cape, regarding the group.

"Yes" he began. "He mentioned an orb… I believe I know what he is talking about, and where it is."

Bun shook his head slightly, trying in vain to clear his mind of the same traumatic memories that haunted Fumu. He managed to speak after a few seconds. "Sir, it sounds like you and that guy knew each other."

Meta Knight glanced upwards. After a brief pause, he replied "Indeed we did, at one time."

He threw his cape aside, one gloved hand clenched into a fist. "I will have to tell you about that later, though. If what I believe is true, he is heading towards the Necromantic Orb right now. If we do not stop him, his powers will be magnified beyond our imagining. All will be lost."

Meta Knight turned, facing the fountain. A gloved hand withdrew a small remote from the depths of his cape, pushing the remote's single button. The fountain slowly split into two halves, sprinkles of water cascading onto the ground from the tip of each half. The split fountain revealed a doorway leading down into a dark chamber, a flight of poorly-lit stairs descending into the darkness.

Fumu rubbed her chin thoughtfully, startled out of her dark thoughts by Meta Knight opening the chamber. "Here again?" she asked the Star Warrior. "Are we going on a trip?"

Meta Knight nodded. With a gloved hand, he gestured to the others with a wave. "Follow me."

The group began to descend downstairs, into the tunnel. The entranceway to the massive complex underneath Dedede's castle never ceased to amaze Fumu. As the group walked, she jogged quickly down the staircase until she was next to Meta Knight.

"Sir, where are we going? And without the Halberd…how?"

Behind her back, she heard Sword chuckle slightly. "Oh, don't worry" he said behind her. "We still have a way to travel."

Meta Knight gave a single nod in response to Sword's comment, eyes staring fixedly ahead of him. Fumu rubbed the back of her neck, deeply curious as to how Meta Knight and his two minions had the ability to travel ever since his enormous battleship had been destroyed. She wondered what else he was keeping from her.

In time, the group reached the large elevator at the base of the stairs. Bun stepped onto the platform gingerly, lagging behind the others; he knew that the elevator had the strength to carry a large group of Cappies on it, so 6 people would not come anywhere near its weight limit. Despite this he still had dark fantasies of the elevator suddenly malfunctioning, dropping them all suddenly and plunging everyone to their death.

"You're being silly" Bun chided himself as he stepped onto the platform last. "Don't be a baby."

Bun glanced over at Kirby, the literal baby of the group, who had enthusiastically bounded down the stairs like a child on Christmas morning and hopped onto the platform first. He knew an adventure was coming and was excited at the prospect of travel.

After making sure everyone was onboard with a quick head count, Meta Knight pressed a blue button on the elevator. The platform began to descend into the darkness, the sound of rickety ropes and gears grinding filling the ears of the group.

Eventually, the elevator landed. The group filed out slowly, Bun first, as they walked into the enormous chamber that once housed the Halberd. To the three children's surprise a different ship stood there, bathed in the lights of the chamber.

Bun began to grin as he walked towards it slowly. "Wow…cool!" he exclaimed. Kirby hopped forward as well, equally impressed.

Before them stood a ship, a weathered bronze in color with gold accents. The ship was long and thin in shape, its front cabin bulging forward and ending in a pointed tip under its flight deck. The sleek design tapered off at the rear into an engine pod, which sat above the ship's main engines. Towards the rear of the ship, by its main engines, sat two triangular gold-trimmed wings. Fumu realized that staring directly above or below the ship the positioning of the wings made the vessel look like the ship was a sword, with the wings as crossguards and the thin rear engines as a pommel. The ship was about as long as two schoolbuses put together; an adequate size for the small group, but comparatively tiny compared to the Halberd.

"Behold" Meta Knight stated, gesturing towards the vessel. "The Makhaira."

"A fitting name" Fumu mused, tilting her head slightly as she eyed the ship. Much like the Halberd was named after a type of axe, the Makhaira was named after an ancient type of sword.

Fumu turned to glance at Meta Knight. "Sir, how did you procure such a thing?"

"The Halberd housed several smaller ships within it" Meta Knight responded. "We removed one of them before preparing the ship for Nightmare's battle, just in case the Halberd was rendered inoperable."

"Good call" Bun muttered.

Kirby ran up to the Makhaira and bounced up and down, clearly excited at the prospect of riding it. "Come on!" he cried, beckoning the others over.

Meta Knight nodded silently, walking forward. "Kirby's right. There's no time for talking; the Necromancer is probably already in space by now. We have to go."

The five others fell in step behind Meta Knight, entering the Makhaira through an entrance door that slid open for them. The ship's interior was a cold and intimidating gray, with a simple flight deck comprised of two seats for its pilots and no other rooms. The main cabin was a long, cramped space directly behind the flight deck, consisting of six seats and a narrow aisle. At the end of the aisle was a door leading to the combined space of limited storage and a tiny, closet-sized restroom. Fumu realized once she was inside how much of the ship's room must have been taken up by the engines; it would be cramped even for six people.

Sword and Blade each sat in the pilot's seats, Meta Knight and the others sitting in the passenger compartment. Bun hopped into the chair enthusiastically, pumping his fist in the air as Kirby climbed into the seat beside him.

"Alright, cool! So when we take off, how long before we hit warp speed?"

Meta Knight looked away in response, remaining silent for an awkward amount of time. "Ah…there will be no warp speed in this trip."

"What?!" Bun exclaimed, slumping into his seat. "No warp speed? But why?"

"Physics" Blade said from his pilot's seat, looking over his armored shoulder.

"The planet we're going to is too close to utilize warp speed" Sword added, not taking his eyes off the controls. "That's for long-distance travel."

"Does a trip between entire planets not count as long distance?" Fumu asked.

"No, not in the context of space travel" Meta Knight replied. "If it's any consolation, the Necromancer cannot use warp speed either. This actually gives us an advantage; we will both be traveling at roughly the same speed this way. It should only be about a day's travel."

Fumu shrugged, making sure that Kirby was safely secured in his own safety harness before sitting down and securing herself in her own seat. "Ah, well…that's not too bad."

Bun grumbled, adjusting his seat harness as he attempted to get comfortable in preparation for takeoff. "As long as that creep doesn't get there first, I guess."

Meta Knight looked away. He knew that the Necromancer had taken off first, and both men knew where the Necromantic Orb was. Even though the group hurried to catch up after him, it was still very likely that he would make landfall first.

"Okay guys, make absolutely sure you're strapped in tight!" Sword shouted as Blade worked the controls. "Don't unbuckle yourselves until we're safely in orbit or you'll get flung into the back of the ship really hard."

Sword and Blade sat in front of a massive console that looked like a mixture between a rocket ship and a passenger plane, a dizzying array of buttons, dials, screens, and radars with different readings spread out before them. Both swordsmen were experienced pilots, but it was still a lot to take in. After Sword's final warning he fell silent, both making sure absolutely everything was perfect and clear for takeoff. Just like when flying a plane within the planet's atmosphere, takeoff and landing were the most dangerous parts of the ride. One mistake could easily kill them all.

Even with the ship's stabilization and gravity controls in place, the G-force mashed everyone onboard uncomfortably into their seats. Meta Knight leaned forward in his harness, one hand braced against his mask to ensure that the intense G-force didn't send it flying off. Fumu and Bun could see nothing, hair whipping into their face so violently that it almost hurt. Kirby was having the time of his life as the ship exited the secret chamber and gained altitude, hands held upwards in the harness as if he were on a roller-coaster.

It did not take long for the Makhaira to exit the ship's atmosphere. Soon, the bright blue skies of Popstar were replaced by the blackness of space.