I remained seated in my Captain's room, my arms crossed, wings wrapped around my tiny orb of a body, as if shielding myself from the rest of the world, lost in my thoughts, where we were going, why we were going there, and the boy's safety.. "Wait, what?" I thought alloud, my thoughts trailed back to the boy, Sora, as he called himself.
Why was he here? On MY ship out of anywhere in Dream Land, why my ship? If we never had landed, the boy would have been passed by, just like the rest of dreamland.
My thoughts were interrupted as a small, quiet knock tapped the door, and a tiny, almost scared voice, "Meta Knight, sir?" Without thinking, I responded, "Come in." Another minute of hestitation, the door opened, and in popped that tiny body, the very one I was thinking about. Of course, it was a good few years now since he joined my crew, so he was a bit bigger now, his clothes VERY tight on him, so most of his baby fat was then gone, but if he got any bigger, he'd tear through them.
"I-I'm sorry to disturb you Captain.." Captain? First time I had ever heard THAT word from a mouth of my crew. "..But, I was wondering if I could use your gym..?" He asked quietly, his voice now mature sounding, even though I saw him almost every day, I wondered why I never noticed. After a moment of thinking, I replied, "What's wrong with the crew's gym?" "I..Kinda..broke everything..?" It came out as a question instead of an answer, I chuckled to myself, "And how did that happen?" "Well, I was training, and suddenly everything I used started to fall apart, then Mr. Waddle-Doo kicked me out, said I was being abusive with his equipment." I thought for a moment, 'Hmm..This kid has potential, but to get kicked out by Waddle-Doo..even my strongest of the army cannot seem to destroy Waddle-Doo's equipment;' I jumped from my chair, landing firmly on the ground, "You may, but only AFTER we get you changed." And left toward the door with a sign that read "Do Not Enter", I looked to catch him looking with concern, "It's fine." I assured him, yet he reluctantly followed.
--
I stared at the young man before me, wearing some gear I had specially made. He wore a dark, black-ish-purple body suit, much like the one Samus wore whenever her power suit was removed, several belts crossing his stomach, that wore over his shoulders for smaller equipment, such as grenades, ammo, and other things like that, and his combat boots worn light on his feet, but specially designed so he could keep up with the likes of Me, or Sonic, but provide the stealth of Snake, as they were sound resistant. The personal touch, that was a failed experiment on me, but worked for him perfectly, a scouter, smaller than Fox's, but could stare MUCH more data, and I could communicate with him, the blue lens hung slightly before his right eye, and the ear piece fitting only slightly loosely, for I wouldn't send him into battle untill he physically developed a little more. I suppose you wonder why I worry about his body, not his mind, this clever child, younger than any of my crew, and yet, he was the smartest of them all. He would probably give Snake and his companions some trouble, or even the wise Zelda.
"So, how do I look?" He asked nervously, looking himself over, "You look fine." Was all I could tell him, not untill he could show me his combat skills. I reached into the closet behind me, and drew a blade, only slightly longer than my own, but could prove useful for the child. As I brought it into his view, he automatically drew back in a defensive stance, giving me a confused look when I shook my head.
I held the blade to him, "This is for you." He gave me a look that was a cross between surprise, and confusion, "B-But why me?" He asked, "You have potential, child." Up untill now, that's all I've called him, "I want to see your skills." He nodded, then gave a bow, "Yes, sensei, thank you, sensei." Now was my turn to be confused, he was calling me his teacher. He took the blade from my hands, and fastened it into one of the belts, across his back, still in it's sheith, anyway, he looked alot like Link, really.
I watched as he stepped toward one of the dummies I had set up, it was more sturdy than the ones in the other gym, so even I could not destroy it, let alone leave a scratch.
"Right, let me see your abilities with a blade, something only YOU could create." I asked of him, and watched as he drew his blade, and pondered, then stepped back, "ONE THOUSAND CLAWS!" He called out, throwing the blade toward the side, I was amazed as the blade moved AROUND him instead of away from him, but then again, I've seen rodents who could shoot electricity from it's cheeks, and a blue hedgehog who was faster than anyone I've seen. Sora's blade flew in circles around him, across my dummy, and back, moving fast enough to create the illusion of multiple blades. When he felt his attack was over, he grabbed the blade from the air, landing safely in his hand.
"Very Good.." I muttered, "Now, let me see a move that you can use to hit far away targets." I thought again, then smiled as he jumped back, away from the dummy. He pointed the blade in front of him, "STRIKE SHOT!" the sword gave off a small beam, going through my dummy, while giving damage, I guessed, the way it moved around.
"Now, show me an ability that will let you travel good distances, if you were to get knocked away from the battlefield, or off of the Halberd." He ran toward the bag, his sword ready to attack, and disobey me, but when he put his hands over his head, and spun the sword in wide circles, he created a helicopter effect, lifting himself from the ground, striking the dummy, then flying up, down, foreward, and back, landed with a soft "Tap". I was amazed, I've only seen two people do anything like that, one had minimal range, poor recovery, and blew his oppenents back, while the other used some sort of machine.
"Hmm..Impressive, okay, one last test, show me an ability that is unusual, only you could perfect." Without skipping a beat, he threw his sword around him like his first attack, but vanished for a second, then reapeared behind the dummy, then striking faster than Fox, when he used the ability to fly forward creating a blue after image behind him.
The boy, now sweating, and panting heavily, stood for a moment, then put his sword away, turning to me and bowing lightly, "How..was that...sensei..?" He asked between labored breaths. He was amazed as I clapped my hands, slowly, however, then stepped toward him, holding out a gloved hand, "You were perfect, I will be glad to have you as my apprentice." His state of shock proved he was not expecting this. His hand eventually met my hand, giving it a firm, shake, before letting go.
"Th-Thank you Sensei." He bowed again, "No, just call me Meta Knight." I turned to leave, him following closely. As we left the gym, into my Captain's room, I spoke, "Feel free to use my gym anytime, Sora." At the sound of his name, he turned in surprise of hearing his name, "Y-Yes Meta Knight, sir. Thank you." "Now go get some rest," I handed him a small note, excusing him from anything the crew might say, "You've diserved it." He bowed again, "Thank you again, sir." then did something my crew would never do, he saluted me, why, was beyond me, but respectful, none the less, he's earned the trust and respect of Meta Knight, "Captain, may I take my leave?" and waited, staying motionless for an answer. After a while, I saluted him in return, granting him permission. He turned and left in a tired fashion, but I couldn't help but feel the excitement emmiting from him.