A/N: The first chapter felt a little bare-boned to me, so have an update earlier than planned. Don't expect the next update to come this quickly, though.

Wind

Trees and the forest trail beneath his feet. Endless green and brown. Sometimes a blur of orange or gray: a sign of a forest animal scurrying to shelter from the incoming squall. But other than that, leaves and tree trunks as far as the eye could see… wait, there's some red!

Intrigued by the change of color, Kirby walked off of the path and up to the tree that wore the distinct red. He was excited to find out that the tree bore bright, juicy apples in its branches. But his excitement faded when a worrying thought popped into his head. Fumu said that there was going to be a really bad storm soon, so he should probably get back home as fast as possible instead of stopping to eat.

But… maybe a quick snack wouldn't hurt. If he just grabbed one, he'd still have enough time to make it home before the rain started.

The puffball slowly inhaled air and rose above the ground, flapping his stubby arms to gain altitude. He kept rising until he reached the lowest branch with an apple on it. He exhaled and landed on it, then scooted closer to the apple. He plucked it off the stem, then wiped its skin with his paw until it shone. It was a luscious bright red that made Kirby's mouth water… No! He could wait. It was for the road home… Just a taste. To make sure it was a tasty apple. He would be pretty disappointed to find out that it was rotten later.

He took a tiny nibble… it was just soft enough, juicy, and immeasurably sweet. His stomach grumbled at the sampling… It wanted more. It wasn't enough. He needed more!

He took another bite, a large one this time, and savored every bit of it. Sooo good! Kirby couldn't help himself. One bite turned to two, which turned to three…

A barren apple core fell to the dirt road below, and the tree branches above creaked under Kirby's weight, as he stood on his toes to reach for another apple.

Soon another apple core joined the one below. Then another, and another…

Kirby had now completely forgotten about his worries, Fumu's worries, and pretty much everything about the storm, as he became focused on filling the never-ending pit that was his belly.

He didn't even notice that the wind had picked up.

"Alright, we got a first-aid kit, a flashlight, batteries, some food and water… Are we missing anything?"

"The generator..."

"You already know we can't bring that thing in here! Dedede thinks it's a bomb!"

"Blade," Meta Knight interjected, "no need to bring anymore drama in here. You know what happens when King Dedede is… livid."

Meta Knight didn't need to hear his squire speak to know that Blade was embarrassed… The way he slouched over was enough, despite his full suit of armor. Any other day, Meta Knight would patiently put up with his squires' bickering, but today as a whole was stressful enough. The news of a hurricane rolling into Dreamland had set everybody on edge; and according to the local news sources, this wouldn't be any normal thunderstorm… this storm was apparently deadly. Wind speeds were supposedly strong enough to knock trees over and rip houses from their foundations. In the time he had spent here in Dreamland, Meta Knight couldn't recall experiencing a storm that dangerous.

It wasn't himself that Meta Knight was worried about… Despite Dedede's incompetence, the penguin had the wit to carefully plan out the design of his castle, to make sure it would survive any windstorm. What Meta Knight truly worried about were the Cappies in the village below. Their houses and buildings weren't as strong; he's seen proof of that more than several times before. Usually it was because of a Demon Beast or Kirby – which always ended up with the grumpy Cappies having to repair the damage – but still, when a Demon Beast attacked, the Cappies were normally able to find shelter somewhere else. In a thunderstorm, however… Home was their only shelter.

Meta Knight sighed; he felt that, somehow, he was to blame for this. He was a Star Warrior, and a sworn knight of honor: it's his duty to protect the people. If this storm was caused by the Demon Beast Kracko, he could easily prevent this. But, to form a storm this big, there would have to be multiple Krackos working together. It was highly unlikely that that would be the case, because Krackos were rare to come across these days.

Mother Nature couldn't be stopped; this Meta Knight knew. Then why did he feel so… guilty? So worried? So angry with himself?!

He slammed his gloved mitt down on the table, making his cup of coffee tip over and spill – away from himself, thankfully. But he could sense his squires staring at him.

Sword and Blade had never really seen Meta Knight angry, but when they have… It was scary. They had never witnessed their lord acting so violent. They knew better than to inquire about it at the moment, as it would always make things worse. Meta Knight tended to deny that anger if provoked.

They weren't surprised when he got up from the table, leaving his spill unattended, and left the room. They didn't follow him knowing that he could sort out his emotions on his own. But… They still worried about their mentor. Meta Knight was the one who had saved them all those years ago, and taught them the art of the sword and chivalry. Ironically enough, Meta Knight also told them that it was bad to become to attached to someone, because losing them would be even harder, and would damage their judgment in battle...

It, admittedly, was something they couldn't do. Sword and Blade have been under Meta Knight's service for so long, they couldn't simply stop caring about him. Whether he liked it or not, Meta Knight was a big part of their lives, and they weren't afraid to express that.

Drawing in a shaky breath, Sword said to his brother, "We've got to be strong for Sir Meta Knight, Blade."

"Agreed, brother," Blade said, as he wiped up the coffee spill on the table. "We don't know what he's going through, but we gotta be there for him no matter what."

A low rumble in the distance scared Kirby out of his sleep, and it took everything within him not to fall out of his perch in the treetops. When did he fall asleep? That wasn't supposed to happen…

He got up and turned into a position that would easily allow him to look down at the ground… And was met with quite a sight. There was a great big pile of apple cores on the ground, nearly all of them stripped bare of their delicious juicy flesh. He was so hungry he lost track of how many apples he was eating. How embarrassing! He wanted to prove how great of a Star Warrior he had become, but his hunger had gotten the best of him once again…

A sudden wind swept through the forest, so strong and fast Kirby couldn't hold on. He fell to the ground along with many handfuls of leaves. Above him, a small tree branch snapped and fell too. The rain didn't even start and the storm had already begun its destruction.

He needed to get home, now.

Kirby started running. As long as he kept this pace, he could get home before the worst of it came. No more distractions!

Unbeknownst to him a pair of red eyes were watching him from the shadows, weaving through the trees, stalking him silently.

Fumu didn't seem to notice the frantic waddle dees skittering to and fro around her. She kept her eyes trained to the floor, her feet coming in and out of sight at the bottom of her peripheral vision. She was practically moving on autopilot and it was a miracle that she somehow hadn't collided with a waddle dee yet.

And Fumu was starting to regret her earlier actions. Kirby was so brave, ready to face this storm like a soldier. But she could think of at least twenty things that could happen to him; none of them good. He could get lost, a Demon Beast could attack him, he could get blown away by the wind…

What if this storm is worse than we initially thought?

Now that was a scary thought. The wind and rain were already battering the windows like hail at this point. Any more destructive and the windows might shatter… With that capacity of power, Kirby's tiny house wouldn't stand a chance. It could even be ripped from its foundation, that's how tiny it was.

Lightning flashed outside. The walls did little to insulate the following boom.

Fumu gasped and stopped walking. No. I shouldn't have left him alone. It's too dangerous!

And now there was nothing she could do about it. There was no way her parents would allow her to go outside now. It Kirby got harmed in any way, Fumu didn't know if she could find it within her to forgive herself. Kirby had been in Dream Land for only a few months, but already she just loved him. Heck, everybody did. Maybe it was his outgoing, innocent demeanor or his willingness to be a helping hand to everyone. He had all the qualities of a hero, too. Yet…

He was a child. So far he has shown to be a very courageous one at that, never failing to stand up to any Demon Beast that stood in his way. But if something managed to hurt or scare him enough for that courage to break…

There was no guaranteeing that he would ever be the same again. That cheerful little puffball that everyone knew and loved… would be gone, just like that.

She didn't know when she started crying. All she knew was that at some point she had made it back to her room at the castle and was being surrounded by her family, asking her what was wrong.

"Mom, Dad..." she wailed as she threw herself into their loving arms.

The stroll Meta Knight had decided to take was doing little to quell the raging storm of emotion inside himself. He had probably made at least three round trips through the halls as the weather slowly deteriorated. He couldn't describe how he was feeling—restless, maybe? That sixth sense of his was acting up again, giving him the dreaded feeling that something was terribly, terribly wrong. He just didn't know what, and that bothered him the most.

He flinched as lighting boomed outside. So this was it… The storm had reached its peak. Could it possibly get any worse than this?

Just minutes later he discovered that yes; it could. But not quite in the way he thought it would.

With the howling winds outside it was near impossible to pick up any smaller noises, but Meta Knight was trained the pick up any suspicious sound, however soft it may be, in the worst of conditions. However this noise was unexpected… it was someone crying.

He traced the sound to the door nearby. The door to the Ebrum's room. He approached, and the crying voice became more distinct: that was Fumu who was crying. Instantly his mind was flooded with questions; what could possibly happen that would make her cry? Fumu was a girl who was quite mature for her age, and arguably one of the most level-headed people in town. She was also very optimistic and outgoing, being able to find the good in any situation.

He tiptoed to the door, wrapping his cape tighter around himself to muffle the noise of his armor clicking, so as to not draw attention to himself. Meta Knight hated to eavesdrop on people, much less their personal situations, but if something terrible happened, especially now, he needed to know.

"Fumu, sweetie, please just calm down and tell us what's wrong..." Her father.

"I—I," she blubbered, "I let Kirby go home by himself, and now I'm afraid he could get hurt..."

A pause. Meta Knight could easily sense her parent's hesitancy, their insecurity of how to respond to this situation. In their shoes, he would chastise her without question, scolding her for her lack of care for Kirby's safety… No, of course she cared! Why else would she be crying right now?

He shook his head in frustration. He thought he could trust Fumu with things like this—Kirby was just a child; there was no way he should be alone right now. He needed to be somewhere where he would be safe from the storm, close to a responsible, caring person who would provide comfort if the need arose. His little house provided neither of those.

Sighing, he looking out the window. It was pouring, the wind rattling the tree branches and causing them to bang against the window like a burglar trying to get in. Rain flowed nonstop down the glass in a thin sheet of water, almost as if it was a miniature waterfall. To think that Kirby could be out in this weather—

There was a loud crack, and it wasn't thunder. It scraunched, splintered, and Meta Knight's eyes flew back to the window as he witnessed a tree fall over from the strength of the wind alone. The massive plant crashed into the overflowing moat, splashing mud and remains of plants all over the glass.

Before he even realized what he was doing Meta Knight managed to tear his cape off and reveal his never-before seen wings, flapping them with an unfamiliar surge of emotion that he hadn't felt in years.

Fear.