Knight Errant
Part 12
Kirby: I came back to visit you guys! There was a mutiny and my friend Marx and I got stranded on a planet somewhat near here. We went to visit Prince Fluff-did you ever meet him? He's King Fluff now. Anyways, I realized we were near Pop Star, so I decided to stop by. I have some things I need to sort out.
Tiff: Yeah, and so do we. Come on!
*Tiff walks over to Kirby, grabs him by the arm, and walks off.*
Kirby could have easily pulled away from her, but he wanted to get to the bottom of things, and he knew the answers lay with her and Meta Knight.
In The Dungeon
Kirby: You think I did what?
Meta Knight: The rumors about your betrayal are very widespread. Some think of them as just rumors, but I know what to believe and what not to. I may not be directly involved with the Star Warriors any more, but I still keep in contact with them. I have heard you left the Star Warriors from many reliable sources.
Kirby: I don't get what you're saying! What betrayal?
Meta Knight: *in a whisper, to Tiff* This is not working; we will never get any information from him at this rate.
Tiff: You're right. We need to try another tactic. We'll leave Kirby for now.
Meta Knight: Good idea. Make sure not to tell anyone about Kirby's arrival. No one must know he is here, especially King Dedede.
*the two begin to walk off.*
Kirby: Hey! Don't go! I still have stuff to ask you guys!
*he pauses in thought for a moment.*
Kirby: Wait a minute! I know what's going on! Nightmare must have used some sort of mind control on you, like what happened on Ripple Star! Come back! I want to help find some way to break it!
*Tiff and Meta Knight exchange a glance.*
Later, at Night
*The bars of Kirby's cell rattle. The rattling is loud enough to wake Kirby up.*
*Kirby blinks and rubs his eyes.*
Kirby: Huh? Who's there?
Kirby opened his eyes to see a young pale yellow girl, paler than Tiff, with long hair with light blue tips standing outside of his cell.
?: I saw you arrive this afternoon on the roof. I wanted to see you, but I knew Mom wouldn't let me if I asked, so I snuck down here on my own. Please don't tell her I was down here!
Kirby: Okay, I'll keep it a secret! You must be Tiff's and Seren's daughter.
Gemma: Yep, my name's Gemma. Are you Kirby? My mom's told so many stories about you! She says you were a big hero when you were younger!
Kirby: But I'm still a big hero!
Gemma: What about all the bad stuff you've done?
Kirby: What "bad stuff"? What's everybody talking about? Is this because of Nightmare's mind control?
Gemma: Huh?
Kirby: According to other Star Warriors, Nightmare has some kind of mind control ability. They say it's very, very, very, very, very, very, very powerful, powerful enough to control entire regions, possibly entire planets!
Gemma: Wow! I didn't know that kind of power existed!
Kirby: Nightmare's really strong; the Star Warriors have defeated him many times, but he always comes back in some form or another! Still, we won't give up until Nightmare is defeated for good!
Gemma: Well, I hope you defeat him someday!
Kirby: I hope so, too!
Gemma: Do you want me to break you out? I can make it look like you did it yourself.
Kirby: No thankies, I can break out on my own. Besides I want to find out more information before I go.
Gemma: I think I should go now. I don't know what time it is, but the Waddle Dees start cleaning down here at 4:00 every morning. I snuck into Waddle Doo's room and made a copy of the Waddle Dee's schedule-it's really handy to know when the Waddle Dees are around or not! Hopefully I can sneak down here tomorrow night!
Kirby: See ya!
The Next Morning
*The bars of Kirby's cell rattle. The rattling is loud enough to wake Kirby up.*
*Kirby blinks and rubs his eyes.*
Kirby: Huh? Who's there? Gemma, is it you?
Tiff: No, it's me. It's almost noon; did you have trouble sleeping last night? Hold on, how do you know about Gemma?
Kirby: Well…you mentioned her to me yesterday.
Tiff: I did? I don't remember that, but anyways, I have more important things to talk about.
Kirby: What's wrong?
Tiff: You were right about the mind control. I managed to break it using an elixir the company Seren works for is manufacturing. He's had some, and so has Gemma.
Kirby: What about Meta Knight, Blade, Sword, and the others?
Tiff: I haven't had a chance to give them any yet. I'm waiting for another shipment to arrive. Say, when did you first find out about the mind controlling?
Kirby: I've heard it from countless Star Warriors.
Tiff: Really? Meta Knight never heard about it, and neither did Blade or Sword. Yes, they don't pay too much attention to the Star Warriors' news, but they ought to have heard about something as important as that.
Kirby: Really? There's no way he could've missed it! Now it's my turn to ask you something: how come you haven't been sending me any messages?
Tiff: We tried, but the messaging system in your star ship was blocked!
Kirby: How did that happen? Even if I knew you could block messages, I wouldn't have done it!
Tiff: We've also traced the coordinates of your star ship multiple times and not once did it show up at the Star Warrior's base.
Kirby: I wasn't there very often; most the time I was on patrols or missions. I feel like you're interrogating me; can we change the subject?
Tiff: All right. How have things been going for you as a Star Warrior?
Kirby: It's been super-duper! I like my new mentor, Sabre Knight, I'm now the leader of my brigade and I really like this girl-she's named Mint!
Tiff: Oh, are you in love? That's great, Kirby!
Kirby: In love…? Oh, so that's what I feel when I'm near her! Y'know, she was the first kirbette I ever met-aside from my mother and sisters!
Tiff: What does she look like?
Kirby: She's pale green-not a yellowy-green, but a soft green, with white feet and cheeks and pretty green eyes. She also wears a lotus on her head!
Tiff: She sounds pretty. Is she nice?
Kirby: Yeah, she's really nice! I don't get to see her as often as I'd like, but I see her every now and then. I picked her some flowers while I was on Patch Star; I hope they're still fresh by the time I give them to her.
Tiff: So you said you were leader of your brigade? What's that like?
Kirby: It's a lot of work, but I really like it! The only problem is that my brigade mutinied. I got stranded with my friend Marx, but thankfully I had my star ship. Speaking of Marx, have you seen him since I landed here? He's a purple Noddy who wears a big purple and red hat. Sometimes he's on a ball, too.
Tiff: No, I never saw him.
Kirby: I'm sure he's okay, but I wish I knew where he was!
Tiff: I'm sure he'll turn up. Have you been knighted yet?
Kirby: No, not yet. The day after I was appointed brigade leader, Sabre Knight said I would be knighted very soon. Since I was appointed brigade leader, he said I was worthy of being knighted. According to him, Sir Arthur said I was ready, too. If I hadn't been called into battle, I would be knighted now. Oh well! I'll have something to look forward to once I get back!
Tiff: Sir Arthur said that? How long ago was this?
Kirby: That was a few days ago. Why do you ask?
Tiff: Kirby, Sir Arthur is dead!
Kirby: What? When did he die?
Tiff: He died sixty or seventy years ago. I remember Meta Knight, Sword and Blade went to attend his funeral.
Kirby: That can't be! There must be some big mistake!
Tiff: I'll go ask Meta Knight myself. I know what I remembered.
Kirby: *thinking* If Sir Arthur's been dead for so long, who have Sabre Knight and I been talking to?
If this chapter seemed like it didn't have enough action in it, you'll definitely enjoy the next few chapters.
Coming up next:
Sir Arthur is...dead? If that's the case, then who has Kirby been talking to? And what's become of Marx?