Abridged Kirby: Episode 19
By: JadeDragonKnight
Part 3
Night had fallen. The moon shined brightly above. In the jail house, the prisoner kept watch through the window.
"How is it? Is he gone?" Chief Borun asked.
At that moment, Knuckle Joe sped by. The prisoner turned back and shook his head. The villagers were cramped up in the jail cell muttering in fear.
Meanwhile, at the restaurant a door quietly slid open. Fumu peeked out and looked both ways. Then, she opened the door all the way and headed out followed by Bun and Kawasaki who were carrying a large bag.
Escargon came out from behind a tree and muttered, "Anywhere there's food, there's bound to be Kirby."
The small troop left the village and eventually came to a cave on the cliff side. They dumped the contents of the bag on the cave floor. A pile of leftover sandwiches, takeout boxes, and fried food spread out on the ground. Kirby jumped in excitement and began chowing down.
"Now this is important Kirby," Fumu stated. "If you are discovered, you cannot fight this kid. You have to run."
"Yeah, he's way too dangerous for you," Bun added.
"He seems to have a lot of reckless energy," Kawasaki informed.
"Mmpoy," Kirby cooed as he continued to eat.
"No, not 'mmpoy'," Bun sighed.
"Ugh, doesn't he understand?" Fumu groaned.
"Sorry to interrupt the meal, but Kirby has a visitor."
Everyone looked out of the cave to see King Dedede, Escargon, and Knuckle Joe.
"So this is where you've been hiding?" the boy said.
Kirby looked at him quizzically.
He returned the look and asked, "Uh, by any chance, are you Kirby?"
Kirby thought for a moment then happily replied, "Poyo, Kirby!"
He gawked at him in disbelief. He rubbed his nose and asked, "Really…you're Kirby?"
Kirby rubbed where his nose would be if he had one and replied, "Piyo."
Knuckle Joe face palmed and thought, 'This is bad. I can't fight this guy. He's a harmless puff ball.'
"What's the matter? We brought you out here, so get him," Dedede stated.
"Yeah, hurry up," the snail added.
"I need to organize my thoughts!" the boy replied. He took a deep breath and muttered, "Why not? Strength and looks are not related." He cocked his fists and shouted, "Kirby, fight me!"
"Run, Kirby!" Fumu commanded.
Knuckle Joe pounced on Kirby. The puff ball scattered away with the elf boy right behind.
"Vulcan Jab!" Joe cried as he threw many energy balls.
Kirby hastily dodged them.
"Smash Punch!"
He threw a larger energy ball that tore through the ground. Kirby turned and ran the other way.
Meanwhile, Bun and Fumu watched the chase.
"Sis, the Warp Star," Bun said.
"Right," she replied. She turned to call upon it.
"Not this time!" Escargon yelled as he jumped on them and swiftly tied them together.
"Hey, what are you doing to those children," Kawasaki protested.
Suddenly, Dedede grabbed the cook and tied him up to his mouth. He chuckled at their brilliance.
Knuckle Joe continued to try and hit Kirby with an energy ball. He stopped, out of breath.
"Damn, he keeps dodging," he panted.
Then, he looked up the side of the cliff that Kirby was running up. A boulder was sitting precariously at the top. He grinned and threw a Smash Punch at the boulder. Kirby stopped and looked up at the rock that was falling toward him. He screamed and ran back down the cliff with the boulder rolling after him. While he was distracted, Knuckle Joe caught him with an energy ball, knocking him across the ground. Before Kirby could recover, Joe came over and grabbed him.
He jumped high in the air and yelled, "One Hand Throw!"
Then, Knuckle Joe threw Kirby into the ground.
"Kirby," Fumu cried.
Dedede and Escargon watched in amazement.
Shallow gasps of pain escaped Kirby's mouth.
Knuckle Joe ran over and cried, "Overhead Toss!"
He chucked the puff ball over his head and into the cliff face. Kirby peeled off the wall and fell to the ground.
"Down Kick!" Joe called as he bounced off of him. Then he shouted, "Spin Kick!" and shot an energy ball from his foot.
"He's gotta be a Pokémon," Bun muttered.
The ground exploded. When the dust cleared, Kirby was lying unconscious in a crater.
"That felt great!" Dedede said as he laughed.
Knuckle Joe walked toward the puff ball.
"I can't look," Fumu said as she turned her head away.
The boy grinned as he prepared to end it. Suddenly, he heard someone falling toward him. He stepped back as something landed in between him and Kirby. Everyone gasped and looked at them. Knuckle Joe stared blankly as Meta Knight peeled his face off the ground.
"Ok, that one hurt," he groaned.
"What are you-?"
"Hang on a sec," the knight said, holding up a finger, "vertigo."
The boy waited as the knight just stood there.
He sighed, lowered his hand, and said, "Ok."
"What are you doing here, old man?" Knuckle Joe demanded.
"Hey, I'm not old! I'm only…" Meta Knight began to think and count on his fingers. "Well, I don't know how old, but I'm not old!"
"Answer my question!"
Kirby's eyes fluttered open and he moaned.
"Huh? Oh, hi Kirby," Meta Knight said.
Knuckle Joe gasped. He tried to pass the knight, but he stepped in the way.
"How dare you get in my way!" Joe cried.
"Yeah, Meta Knight," the king called, "get out of the way!"
"Hang on a second! I need to tell him something," the knight replied.
"Then spit it out!"
Meta Knight pointed at him and stated, "Your face is in my locket!"
"Huh?" everyone said.
Knuckle Joe looked the most dumbfounded.
The knight reached behind and took out a gold locket. "It's true! See for yourself."
Meta Knight handed the boy the necklace. He popped it open and gasped. There was a picture inside of him as a baby on the floor with a pacifier in his mouth.
"Where did you get this?" Joe asked.
"I don't know, you tell me. It's your face that's in it," the knight replied.
Kirby began to slowly crawl out of the hole as Knuckle Joe stared at the picture.
"Hey, maybe we're like soul mates or something," Meta Knight stated.
Knuckle Joe raised a tired eyebrow at the knight, who was looking at him with starry eyes. He let the locket slide out of his hand. Suddenly, he kicked Meta Knight right between his feet. He cried out in pain and doubled over. Knuckle Joe stomped over to Kirby and kicked him hard. The puff ball went flying into the air. The boy proceeded to lay down another beating on poor Kirby. Fumu looked over at Meta Knight who was still holding his crouch.
"But Meta Knight, you don't have any-?"
"It still hurts!" he bellowed. "How would you like it if I gave you a swift kick in the crouch?!"
"Never mind that! You have to help Kirby!"
"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," the knight groaned as he slowly stood up.
"No man! Knuckle Joe is going to kill him!" Bun added.
"He thinks Kirby killed his father!" Fumu yelled.
"Really? That's stupid. Kirby wouldn't hurt a fly."
With the knight recovered, he looked around at the carnage. Knuckle Joe wasn't going easy on Kirby even though he's already had one beating. Meta Knight frowned at the fact that the kids might be right. Kirby was in trouble. Suddenly, he froze with his eyes wide and blank.
"What the? Meta Knight, snap out of it, please!" Fumu pleaded.
"Give it up. That lunatic can't even tie his shoelaces, let alone save Kirby," the king gloated.
"Which is why his shoes don't have laces," Escargon chimed in.
They laughed. Just then, Knuckle Joe had Kirby pinned against the cliff.
"It's over! My father shall be avenged now. Prepare to die, Kirby!" Knuckle Joe stated.
Out of nowhere, something pushed the boy back. Kirby dropped to the ground unconscious. Everyone gasped to see that is was Meta Knight that pushed him away. The knight had fire in his eyes.
"Not again," the elf boy said, rubbing his nose. "You are really getting on my nerves."
"Kirby didn't kill your father," the knight informed darkly.
Knuckle Joe gasped, stopping his rub dead.
"I did," Meta Knight added.
The group collectively held their mouths open.
"DUN DUN DUNNNNN!" Bun cried.
"W-What? You? But, I…" Joe stammered.
"What is this Meta Knight?!" Dedede shouted. "Are you trying to take the heat off of Kirby? Well I won't allow it! I order you to-!"
The knight faced him and the full wrath of his flaming eyes met the king's soul.
"Uuuuuhhhhhhhhhh," Dedede slurred. Then, he jumped behind Escargon protectively and added, "N-never mind. Keep doing what you're doing."
The knight grunted and turned back to Knuckle Joe. "Both your father and I were Star Warriors," Meta Knight began to explain. "We fought side by side. He was one of the strongest Star Warriors, and… he was my friend."
Everyone gazed at the knight in awe.
"Wow, he's gotta be bipolar or something. He's really serious," Bun whispered.
Fumu watched in silence.
"One night, we were ambushed while we slept," the knight continued. "Many of our men fell, and your father was taken captive. I resigned myself to his death. But one day, he returned to us. No one was more overjoyed than I to see his miraculous return. However, I soon realized he had fallen under Nightmare's temptation and became a demon."
"Liar! That's bull crap!" Knuckle Joe shouted. "I refuse to believe that my father turned into a demon!"
Meta Knight held out his sword and replied, "I swear by the sword that I used to kill my friend, and I swear by his love."
"His love?" Fumu asked.
Knuckle Joe gasped and muttered, "The locket…"
The knight nodded and said, "Yes. To the end your father never parted with it. It was that love that gave him the power to live even though he became a demon. The love of his own son…"
"I'm gonna cry," Bun stated.
"Knuckle Joe, your father wanted anything just to see you again," Fumu stated.
"No, not that! These ropes are chafing me," Bun complained.
Fumu elbowed him, making him cry out.
Knuckle Joe stared at the ground. Then, he began laughing. The others stared at him in awe as Meta Knight's expression grew deeper.
"Damn it!" the boy cried. "My father was an idiot! A big idiot!"
"And you think you're any better?" the knight stated.
"What?!" the boy yelled.
"You think yourself better to come to a distant planet to kill an innocent. In your pursuit of vengeance you have committed yourself to the same fate as your father!"
"What? You're saying I'm a demon?!"
"No doubt you came here with the assistance of Nightmare. He doesn't just offer free rides, Knuckle Joe. He sent you off to kill his greatest enemy with demon powers to ensure you get the job done."
"I am not a demon!"
"Then prove it! Fight me and we shall see where your true power comes from!"
"What the hey hey," Bun gasped. "Is he trying to get himself killed?!"
"You gonna stop them?" Fumu said to the king.
"No way! Meta Knight's really scary right now," Dedede replied.
Knuckle Joe shook with fury. Suddenly, he did a battle cry as he threw an energy ball at the knight. Meta Knight dodged it easily. Knuckle Joe continued his barrage of attacks. The knight moved at lightning speed, dodging each energy blast and punch.
"Whoa…" Bun gasped. "He's really fast."
"And his sword isn't even drawn," Escargon muttered in a shaky voice.
Fumu watched as Meta Knight moved across the battle field with ease as Knuckle Joe got angrier. "That's…kinda hot…"
"What?" Bun asked.
"Nothing, I didn't say anything," she replied quickly.
Just then, they heard the patter of feet. They turned to see Sword and Blade arrive at the scene.
"Finally, we found you," Sword said.
"What'd we miss?" Blade asked. Then, he turned to the battle. "Oh…"
"You guys are always late, but better late than never," Bun stated as they began to untie them.
The king went to object, but he was afraid the knaves would turn scary like Meta Knight did.
"Vulcan Jab!" the boy bellowed as he threw multiple energy balls.
Meta Knight ran out of the way and skidded to a halt, facing him.
"Why are you going easy on me?" the knight taunted. "Surely you can't think you can win like this?"
Knuckle Joe panted as he thought, 'He's right. At this rate he'll ware me out before I can land a hit! But I refuse to give up! I will kill him for murdering my father, but how? Unless…' Suddenly, his expression went blank as a light encased him. 'What? I know techniques I shouldn't know…yes, I can beat him.'
Everyone gasped as Knuckle Joe began to transform.
"There," Meta Knight muttered as he drew his sword.
"The Ultimate Secret, Needle!" Joe cried as the light faded to reveal a floating ball with arms and needles growing out of its skull.
Bun gasped and said, "He is a demon."
Meta Knight readied himself. Demon Joe fired all of his spikes at him. He jumped out of the way. Before he could land, the demon grew more needles and fired them. The knight deflected the attack and dashed toward him. Before the demon could fire at him again, it locked its arms with Meta Knight's blade. They fought against each other.
"Look, Knuckle Joe," the knight yelled.
Demon Joe looked at its reflection in his sword. Its eyes grew wide.
"The form you see is your own! Fight its power! Wake up!"
Demon Joe pushed the knight back. He landed and charged at it again.
'Even if that is me…I can't be a demon…'
Meta Knight jumped and sliced through him.
'I won't believe it…'
Knuckle Joe flew back and landed on the ground. The crowd gasped and held their breath. The boy stirred, but couldn't get up.
"Knuckle Joe!" Fumu cried as she and Bun ran to him.
Meta Knight withdrew his sword and picked up the locket from the ground.
"He's not ready yet…" he muttered to himself as he tucked the necklace away.
Then, he went over the Knuckle Joe. The kids looked up at him in awe and took a step back. He looked down at the boy.
Knuckle Joe grunted and said weakly, "I…am not…a demon."
"I know, Knuckle Joe," Meta Knight replied softly.
The boy relaxed and sighed, "Thank you…"
The knight nodded. The fire in his eyes calmed. The others gathered around.
"Uh, are you done being scary now?" Dedede asked.
"I don't know what you mean," the knight replied.
"Hmm, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?" Fumu muttered.
Just then, Kirby staggered up to the group moaning.
"Kirby!" Fumu and Bun cried as they knelt by him and examined his wounds.
The knight signed. Suddenly, he froze with a blank expression. Sword and Blade came over to him with concern. He staggered back with a hand on his head.
"My lord!" they said as they caught him.
"Are you alright?" Sword asked.
Meta Knight looked around the area. He saw the craters, the cave, everyone standing around, Kirby covered in bruises, and Knuckle Joe collapsed on the ground.
"AWW, why do I always miss the good stuff?!" he cried in despair.
Everyone stared at him. Even Knuckle Joe sat up to look.
"I just had to black out today! I was going a whole week without blackouts, but here it is! I have no idea what happened and it looks awesome! How long was I out?"
"Uh, about 5 minutes," Blade replied.
"Really? That's not too bad I guess," Meta Knight groaned sadly.
"What?! You don't remember anything?!" Dedede yelled in shock. "It's like someone flipped a switch and you were totally bad-!"
Sword shut the king's mouth and shook his head.
"Whateve's. I'm strangely tired, like I just ran a track meet," Meta Knight stated.
"We should get you back to the castle. In fact, we should all go back to the castle," Blade suggested.
Luckily, everyone agreed and they returned home.
Yes, that was a long chapter which is why the last chapter was short. Yes, my Abridged Kirby Meta Knight has a split personality. Anyway, last chapter comes tomorrow.
Review please!