Bonjour mes amis, I hope you are not too startled by my speedy update. :D Anyways, I decided that I owe at least that much to you all. First...let's take care of business.

Shining Riku: Ya know. I plan on throwing lots of twists into my story...and maybe a couple unexpected loopholes...you'll just have to wait and see...

Xanxi: Well, I hope that I can sucessfully portray Escargoon in my story. He was pretty hard to write dialogue for. We'll just have to wait and see I guess.

This is gonna be a somewhat short chapter...but it's still moving the story along...and give me some credit, I updated really quick...cough...without further ado...the disclaimer!

Disclaimer stuff: Kirby and all characters that happen to fall under that franchise are owned by Nintendo and Hal. I don't care if you use any original characters that I make, however, it'd be nice if I get some credit for them. Enough legal junk, let's get on with the story.

Chapter 18

Expedition

It was about evening when Knuckle Joe woke up Kirby. "Hey, Kirby! We're almost there!"

Kirby opened his eyes and yawned. He got up and saw the islands which held the world class resort. The Float Islands were so named because the islands were not connected to any land mass whatsoever. In fact, this caused the islands to change position at times.

The boat docked. As Kirby and the rest of the guests got off the boat, Rocky rushed past them. "Well, my friends, it has been…an experience to say the least…now if you don't mind, I have a job to do." Rocky left the group and headed for the resort.

"I guess that's that," said Poppy Jr. "So where do we go now?"

"Excuse me, sir." A very well dressed person came walking up to Kirby. "Are you, by any chance, Kirby?"

"Yes. What do you want?"

"Well sir, your rooms have been prepared. We can take you to the resort right away. Please follow me."

"Wait," said Kirby. "How did you guys know we'd be coming."

"Ah yes. One of our guests informed us that you would arrive today. He went by the name of…Sir Meta Knight, I believe. Please board the monorail." Kirby and the other two boarded the monorail and it speeded off toward the resort.

"Meta Knight?" exclaimed Knuckle Joe. "What's he doing here?"

"You know Meta Knight, Joe?" asked Kirby.

"Well, sort of…he's the one who sent me and Rocky after you."

"Wait a minute…who's this Meta Knight?" asked Poppy Jr.

"I really don't know…" said Kirby. "He came to this planet in a spaceship a couple of days ago…he's also the one that sent me on this quest and gave me the Warp Star…now that I think about it…Meta Knight's been leading me through this whole quest…what does he want?"

"He's against Dedede and that's good enough for me," said Knuckle Joe.

"Maybe...but I think we should learn more about him before we decide to completely trust him…" mused Poppy Jr.

Maybe thought Kirby. But he does seem to have the planets best interest in mind. Even Waddle Dee agreed that the Sparkling Stars should be taken back…perhaps I'll see Meta Knight sometime tonight or tomorrow…

Sir Kibble approached a rather small battleship in Castle Dedede's lower dock. He didn't see a need to take an entire armada to Float Island. One small ship would let him slip in, get the star, and get out. However, he knew that there was a good chance that he'd also encounter Kirby. Kirby…this virtually unknown Dreamlander who had somehow become a national threat within a day. He saw the fights against General Shroomer, the Poppy Elves, Whispy Woods, and his attack on Broom Hatter's castle. Kirby was definitely a powerful warrior. Whatever tactic he used against Kirby would be used against him. What could he do?

Better yet…was he doing the right thing? He knew the consequences of removing the Sparkling Stars. But he was a knight. He lived by a code of honor. He had vowed to protect and do the bidding of King Dedede. He had a duty, and he would fulfill it.

Waddle Doo's face appeared on a screen in front of Sir Kibble. "Sir Kibble, is your crew ready?"

"Hmm…oh, ahem. Yes sir. We are ready to head off for the Float Islands. We should reach it sometime early tomorrow morning, as it is on the other side of Dreamland. We are ready to launch." Waddle Doo nodded and turned off the screen. Sir Kibble turned to his small crew. "We are heading for Float Islands…" Sir Kibble then realized that he hadn't slept in almost two days. "…I'll be sleeping under. Wake me when we arrive." Sir Kibble went below deck as the ship sailed off toward the Float Islands.

Kirby had lost no time in going to sleep as soon as he was shown to his room. The beds were beyond comfortable, allowing for Kirby to sleep for hours. However, his sleep was interrupted by a knock on his room door. Kirby's eyes slowly opened and he looked at his clock. "11:00…who'd come here that late?" Kirby got out of his bed and opened the door. "Meta Knight!" Indeed, the masked swordsman was standing just outside of Kirby's room.

"Come with me," said Meta Knight. He then turned and began to briskly walk down the hallway. Kirby quickly followed him.

"Wait! Where are we going?" asked Kirby.

Meta Knight glanced back. "We are going to retrieve the Sparkling Star. I've found its location. It is deep inside a large cavern underneath the resort. We will traverse the cavern and retrieve the star. We must make haste. The situation has become more dire…"

"Wait, what do you mean? Why all of a sudden is the planet in so much more danger than before?" Meta Knight paused for a moment, then began to walk briskly again. "Don't ignore me! I want to know what's going on!"

"Too bad," said Meta Knight as he continued walking. "We can't always know what is happening. For the moment, you'll just have to trust me…however, I will tell you that your king is about to do something extremely dangerous…and if he succeeds, we won't have much time left…"

Kirby looked confused at Meta Knight. "…What do you mean "we won't have much time left"? What's happening Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight stopped again and seemed to just stand there trying to think of what to say. "…Nevermind. Just know that the sooner we retrieve the stars, the better chance we'll have of saving your planet." They walked out of the hotel lobby and away from the normal walkways.

They soon arrived at the entrance of a cave. "Is this it?" asked Kirby.

"Yes." Meta Knight opened a bag that he had been carrying. Inside were a pair of flashlights and what appeared to be spelunking gear. "Come, we haven't much time." They each activated their flashlights and headed in.

To be Continued

Well...more intruige and mysteriousness...woo hoo! Review plz!