The group stood around the blocked-off entrance, Bun still seated and cradling his unconscious sister in one arm. Meta Knight gently took the torch from Bun's hand. His yellow eyes carefully scanned the pile of debris blocking their exit, looking for any possible way to get out. He noted that despite there being many rocks, there were also blocks of pure ice…ice which could be melted away. The veteran looked at his own torch warily; this was his last one. If Fire Kirby lost his ability, the group would have no light or warmth at all. If it went out before Kirby could burn a way through the icy cavern, they would be stuck in the dark until they slowly died from cold and hunger. His eyes flickered.
"Kirby" Meta Knight stated, voice tense as he addressed the boy. "This is our last torch. We need you to become Fire Kirby and melt the ice to get us out of here."
Sword and Blade eyed each other nervously. They knew exactly what Meta Knight was implying when he let Kirby know that the torch he carried was his last.
Kirby exhaled slowly. Although he usually had boundless energy, he had been through a lot over the past few hours and wanted nothing more than a nap. Even his youthful energy was nearly completely sapped. However, he knew that if he did not pull through this final time that the entire group would suffer a slow death.
"Okay" Kirby replied with a nod, clearly winded but understanding the urgency of the situation.
Meta Knight held up the torch, squaring his feet and stabbing Galaxia's point into the icy ground in preparation for the intense suction he was about to feel. Within a second the torch was gone from his hand as Kirby again transformed.
"Stand back" Blade cautioned, everyone else moving away from the pile of debris. He knew that when the ice at the bottom of the pile was melted that the foundation of the rock and ice would be disturbed, possibly triggering the rest to fall on them.
The rest of the group began to move back a few feet, standing as far away from the blocked entrance as they could without being too far from Fire Kirby's light to see. Bun started to move, but realized that Fumu was still unconscious. He tried to help her to her feet, but she limply fell back into his arms again. Bun nervously checked her pulse; she was still alive.
Meta Knight walked over to Bun, looking at the two. "She is still recovering" he noted.
With a grunt of effort, Meta Knight bent down and rested Fumu's unconscious body over his shoulder. The girl laid over his cold metal spaulder, feet facing forward while her head and hands were draped limply across his back. Bun watched what the Star Warrior did and smiled; he would have carried Fumu himself, but he did not have the strength.
Fire Kirby turned to his task, brows furrowed. He picked his first spot to work on; a large, solid chunk of ice that did not appear to have any rock in it. It was impossible to melt solid stone, but if he weakened enough of the ice there would probably be enough room for the group to exit. Kirby took a deep breath, his entire body inflating slightly, before unleashing a torrent of white-hot flame straight at the ice. Steam began to erupt from the ice, causing a white mist to cloud the darkened area. Even with the immense temperature of Kirby's flame, the ice took time to melt. Slowly, the gigantic block of ice began to give way to Kirby's focused attack. Kirby paused for less than a second, inhaling, to again blow fire at the ice. After several minutes, the large frozen chunk began to grow smaller and smaller.
Meta Knight's eyes flashed. His feet began to vibrate.
"The rocks are going to fall!" Meta Knight cried, stepping back until he was bathed in complete darkness. The others followed suit, grouping together in order to find each other in the darkness as they moved as far away from the doorway as possible.
The rumbling began to grow. Fire Kirby leaped backward, leaving a blazing trail behind him as the tightly-packed group of ice and rock at the doorway began to fall. With a terrific crash that startled the entire group, the ice and rock plunged forward at once and scattered across the floor. As Bun scrambled farther back he tripped over one of the frozen undead bodies, letting out a clipped scream as he fell face-to-face with a decapitated head.
The room again fell silent. After about a minute of huddling together in a shivering heap, the party began to glance at the entranceway. Fire Kirby stepped forward first, willing to melt more ice if it was necessary. However, the rocks fell in a way that there was a small hole that everyone could climb through towards the top of the door.
"Good work" Sword said, nodding approvingly at the red-skinned Star Warrior. Fire Kirby smiled in response, wiping the evaporating sweat from his heated brow; he had done it. They could be free.
"Be very careful" Meta Knight warned as the group began to walk forward. "The rocks could still be unstable."
"I'll go first" Sword said. "I'm covered in armor, so even if the floor fell through I would feel it a lot less."
Meta Knight gave a terse nod in response. Kirby stood close by to the rocks with his fiery crown functioning as a flashlight as Sword walked forward, preparing to climb. He gingerly stepped on the first rock, cautiously putting weight on it while his other foot remained on the floor to test its stability. He then reached out to a rock above him with a gloved hand, again putting weight on it cautiously to make sure that it would not give way. Sword proceeded to climb up the icy rocks, making his way towards the narrow hole towards the top of the doorway. Upon reaching it, Sword laid on his belly and carefully shimmied through the hole. At one point, the tip of his long helmet scraped across the narrow ceiling. The swordsman froze.
"You okay?" Blade called to him.
"Fine" Sword replied shakily after a brief pause, registering what the feeling on his helmet was from. He continued to crawl until he made it through to the other side. Sword descended in total darkness, Fire Kirby's light blocked by the debris. He lost his grip and slid down the last couple of feet of ice, slowly gliding to a stop on the icy floor.
"I'm okay" Sword called out wearily across the blockage. "It's safe."
"Let's make sure the children make it across safely, then" Meta Knight said. "Bun – you go first."
"M-me?" Bun asked timidly. Meta Knight focused his unblinking gaze on the small boy.
"It'll be okay" Blade said reassuringly. "Sword made it across just fine, and you're smaller and lighter. Just climb up and he'll be there for you on the other side."
Bun pulled around his scarf where it met his neck with one finger, loosening it nervously. "Well, okay. Here goes."
Bun climbed upwards in a faster, more panicky manner than Sword did, straining his memory in an attempt to use the same exact handholds Sword did. When he reached the top, Bun slid on his belly through the hole on all fours. When he reached the other side, he momentarily froze while bathed in darkness. He could not see the ground, or what he was even grabbing onto.
"It's okay, just feel for handholds as you make your way down. I'm here for you" Sword called to him from below.
Bun squeezed his eyes shut, grit his teeth, and quickly climbed down the pile of rocks and ice to meet Sword at the bottom. Blade made the climb next, more slowly than the other two due to his wounded arm. He emitted a stifled yelp in pain as he extended his wounded arm upwards to grab a rock, fresh blood from the wound tricking backwards down his arm and into his tunic. He made it through the entrance and down the other side in the same way Sword did.
Meta Knight glanced upwards. He, Kirby, and the unconscious Fumu were the last people left behind. Meta Knight rubbed the part of his mask where his chin would be in thought; Fumu was obviously in no condition to climb up on her own.
"Sword" Meta Knight called through the barrier, choosing the less wounded of his two comrades. "Climb up to the entrance by the other side so you can help Fumu down."
"Yes, Sir!" Sword said.
Sword swallowed reflexively, as if pushing down the growing fear in his gut as he climbed the wall on the other side in almost complete darkness. He clutched the rock precariously on the other side as Meta Knight carefully climbed the rocky slope, slower and clumsier than the others due to having to carry a body at the same time. At one point, one his violet sabatons slipped on a patch of ice slick with a thin layer of water from Fire Kirby's heat. He slid down a few inches before catching himself, heart hammering wildly. A small fall for the armored knight would be a minor inconvenience, but Fumu falling while unconscious would be far more dangerous. After making sure he was secure, Meta Knight continued to ascend. When he reached the small hole where the others exited through, Meta Knight carefully removed Fumu from his back. He pushed the limp girl through the opening, feet facing him.
"Grab her arms" Meta Knight instructed, balancing awkwardly on the rocks as he gently slid Fumu through their makeshift hole.
"Got her!" Sword cried, his gloved hands gently gripping Fumu's arms. He hauled her forward, carefully wrapping one arm around to hold her under her arms before making his way back down. Meta Knight crawled into the free space as soon as Fumu was gone, feeling the frilled tip of his cape drag against the narrow icy wall. Meta Knight took rapid, strained breaths; although not claustrophobic, he was surrounded on all sides by rock and ice and one cave-in away from being trapped there. Finally, Sword landed with Fumu safely in his other arm and let Meta Knight know that it was safe to descend. The blue Star Warrior hurried through the hole and climbed down, bright yellow eyes shining in the darkness.
"Kirby" Meta Knight called, deep voice echoing through the ice. "You can come now."
"Coming!" Kirby cried. He scurried up the wall, faster than the others as his fingerless hands effortlessly found handholds. He slipped through the hole, emerging through to the other side through a cloud of steam as his fiery crown melted the ceiling of the icy hole he crawled through. He began to descend, the others watching him with bated breath. Fire Kirby paused halfway down, carefully feeling around him with his feet in order to find a suitable foothold. As he stood, the ice he gripped began to melt from the immense heat his body gave off. Kirby's hands slipped loose, causing him to fall backward. He tumbled down a few feet, landing on his back on the floor with a cry of pain. The others swarmed around him.
"You okay?" Blade asked.
Kirby sat up after a couple of seconds, dazed but whole, an ugly bruise already forming where his back hit the icy floor.
"I'm okay!" Kirby replied, making a pained smile.
The group breathed a collective sigh of relief; everyone had made it out of what could have been their tomb. However, their troubles were just beginning. Meta Knight frowned as he thought, gently taking Fumu from Sword's hands as he again held her over his shoulder. The Necromancer had the Orb, and he had a massive head start to wherever he was going with it. No matter how weary they were, they could not rest.
The group silently walked forward, their pace as quick as possible in order to prevent the undead from rising from the ground or walls around them upon sensing life. Kirby grimaced as he emitted heat, using his last reserves of energy for the sake of the group. The thing that kept him going, besides his friends, was thinking of all of the delicious food he could have when he returned to Popstar. He tried to focus on that instead of the bleak scene in front of him, trudging forward through the freezing cave.
Fumu was gently jostled with each footstep, Meta Knight holding her carefully as he walked. After a while, her green eyes slowly blinked open. All she saw was the ice below her, Bun walking close by. Still half-lucid, she realized only that she was being carried. Her fragmented mind thought that it must have been Parm giving her a piggyback ride. Why was her silly old dad carrying her? She's not a little girl anymore. Fumu gave a faint laugh and wiggled slightly, giving a weak kick as she tried to get herself down.
"Cut it out, dad" she said, half-consciously slurring.
Meta Knight looked up, a thin line of frost coating his mask and gathering around the visor. He raised a hidden eyebrow.
"Dad?" Meta Knight asked.
Fumu's eyes snapped open upon hearing his voice. She realized who was carrying her and flailed about weakly, causing Meta Knight to gently lower the arm that held her until she reached the ground.
Fumu stumbled forward weakly, Meta Knight catching her arm before she could fall over onto the ice. She blushed slightly as recent memories came back to her, realizing that she must have accidentally called Meta Knight her father.
"Sis! You're okay!" Bun cried, running over to his sister. Kirby jumped for joy and joined him, the two facing Fumu.
"I'm okay. I'm okay?" Fumu wondered aloud, her green eyes becoming less vacant as she became more coherent. Her gaze hardened as she rested them on Bun, causing her eager brother to draw back. He knew that look.
"What happened?" Fumu asked.
Bun made a big, fake toothy smile as he stammered. "Um, ah...you got really tired and fell asleep for a while. That's why Sir Meta Knight was carrying you. But you're awake now!"
Fumu's gaze hardened as she looked through Bun's bangs, meeting his concealed eyes.
"What happened." Fumu stated a second time, the words now phrased less like a question and more like a command. She knew when her little brother was lying.
Bun shuffled his feet, smile falling as he looked downwards. "Well..a Ghost Knight got you back there. But Spark Kirby put his hands on you just like the doctors on that D.R show do and brought you back to life."
Fumu's feet quaked, eyes widening. She put a hand to her chest.
"Back...back to life?" Fumu asked timidly. She looked to the others, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Your heart stopped" Meta Knight stated simply.
Fumu grew quiet, the hand on her chest beginning to quake. She removed her gloved hand and examined it as it trembled. She slowly closed her hand into a fist, overwhelmed.
"Kirby, I..." Fumu said in a tiny voice. Fire Kirby looked at her, tilting his round body in response.
Fumu walked over and kneeled downwards, giving her friend a tight hug. Kirby hugged her back with his tiny arms, nuzzling into her pink coat. The crown of flame on top of Kirby's head surged higher as the two embraced, tears running down his red cheeks as his fiery body evaporated them halfway. He wished he could express how happy he was, how Fumu felt as much of a big sister to him as she probably did to Bun.
"Fumu" Kirby murmured tearfully, his words muffled as his face was buried into her coat.
Fumu smiled. She knew what he was trying to say.
Meta Knight shifted. "Fumu...if you can walk on your own, we need to get moving."
Fumu rose to her feet, still clearly shaky but no longer needing support. She understood what Meta Knight was saying; Fire Kirby standing in place would just cause more frozen mummies to erupt from the ice.
"You're right, Sir. I'm fine", Fumu responded, weakly smiling at the others in an attempt to reassure them. "Let's go."