Rising Darkness
By: JadeDragonKnight
Chapter 4: The Race
The blackness gave way to light. The sound of birds chirping further awakened him. Meta Knight opened his eyes into a squint. Mid-day light shone through the window. He tiredly looked around the room. It was his room in the castle. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes through his mask. His body felt somewhat sore. He looked over at his nightstand. Standing on it was a green bottle with a glowing whirlwind inside. He picked it up to examine it. Memories of the storm flooded his mind.
'This must have caused the storm. Was it calling me? Why? I could have died- if Pit wasn't there then… But before that, I saw the future, but how?'
His attention diverted when he caught a whiff of something foul. He sniffed the air to locate the stench. He raised an eyebrow and lifted his arm. When he smelled again, it hit like someone punching him in the face. The air got caught in his throat and he in turn coughed in disgust. He held his breath as he waited for his dizziness to subside.
"Yup, I need a shower," he said to himself behind clenched teeth.
Out in the hallway, a Waddle Dee was sweeping the floor with a little broom. He turned when he heard a door open. He saw a glimpse of a blue puff ball peeking around the door.
"Ah, be a dear and wash this for me, thank you," the knight said as he tossed a pile of clothes at the Waddle Dee before shutting the door.
The little orange servant had to drop his broom so he could catch the clothes. He blinked in confusion. Then he took a breath and the odor hit him hard. He whirled around and dizzily walked down the hall to wash the armor.
Gentle ocean waves lapped the air. The water was crystal clear and teeming with life. Colorful fish were swimming in and out of the coral structures. The moving water shifted the image from above. An angel like being was hovering above the water. The sound the flapping wings made was almost nonexistent. She glowed with a brilliant white and blue light. She held a crudely made wooden spear in one arm. A rough rope was tied on her wrist with other end on the blunt side of the spear. She carefully scanned the water. Then she caught sight of a curious fish that had swum up close to the surface, memorized by the glow she admitted. She slowly held up her spear and focused a little above the fish. She let out a grunt as she threw the spear straight into the water. There was barely a splash. The rope went taut, but then quickly went limp. When the water settled, she saw that she missed her mark.
"Fudger-butter!" she shouted. "Why did I think this was a good idea?"
She sighed and pulled the rope up. The spear came out of the water and she carefully took hold of it. She scanned for fish again. After a minute or so she groaned.
"Ah screw it."
She cocked her free hand above her head. A white energy ball formed in her palm. She threw it down into the water. It descended a few feet then exploded. A huge plume of water burst into the air in front of her. She pointed her spear in the air. As the water rained back into the ocean, a fish landed on the point of the spear. It flopped around to no avail.
"That's more like it," the girl said satisfied.
Just then, a light in the distance caught her eye. She looked up to the sky to see something coming towards her. At first it looked like a star, but as it came closer she could pick out a pink ball riding on it. The ball noticed her and waved. She smiled and waved back. The star flew above her and continued toward her island. She flapped her wings harder and followed it to the land mass.
Upon reaching the island, the angel drifted down to the sand. When she landed, the glow she admitted left her body in the form of tiny crystals. Her wings dissipated and her normal colors returned. By the time her transformation was complete, the pink visitor was running toward her. She knelt down on the ground and spread her arms as the puff ball jumped up to hug her.
"Kirby, good to see you," she said happily.
"Hi," he replied.
She set him on the ground with her free hand.
"What's up?"
"Jade, play?" he asked.
"Sure, just let me put this away first," Jade replied, gesturing to the spear with the fish.
"Ok."
Kirby ran down the beach toward Jade's shelter.
She smiled and said, "Guess I'll have to catch a few more fish tonight."
After his much needed bath, Meta Knight walked down the corridor, wrapped in his cape. He wanted answers about what happened during the storm, but he figured he check in with the king before he goes anywhere else. Soon he passed through a doorway into the dining hall. He looked to the end of the long table to see King Dedede stuffing his face with food. He went to him and stood waiting in front of him. Dedede wolfed down a chicken leg before he acknowledged the knight's presence.
"Good," the king muffled, "you're awake. I've been meaning," he paused to swallow, "to talk to you."
Meta Knight nodded in reply. Instead of continuing, Dedede went back to eating.
"If you don't mind me asking," the knight stated, "what happened while I was out?"
"Mm, well Pit showed up with you passed out on his back. You both were filthy and smelled God awful, like wet dog."
The knight nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, I had some Waddle Dee carry you to your room, then Pit started going on about a storm and how you flew straight into it."
"That's accurate."
"See, that's what I wanted to talk to you about," Dedede replied, pushing his empty plate aside and laying his clasped hands on the table.
"What is it, your majesty?"
"Pit and I agreed that you could have died in that storm. So, uh, if you're feeling down you need to talk to someone."
"I'm sorry. I'm not sure what you're getting at."
"Look, if you're suicidal you need to let me know."
"Whoa, uh that's ok. I'm not suicidal."
"You sure?"
"I swear."
Dedede sighed in relief, sat back in his chair, and said, "That's good. I really did not want to talk about that."
Meta Knight was relieved as well.
"Never the less, I got someone to watch you for a while," the king added, returning to his meal.
The knight's eyes widened as he asked, "What?"
"Pit told me that you told him that you blacked out before you flew into the storm. So I started calling people to watch you 'cause I have no time to baby-sit you. Problem is, a lot of the team members already left, but I did get a hold of someone that'll work perfectly. He should be here soon."
"A babysitter?"
"Look, between you and your two little buddies, you're the only knights I got and I'll look pretty stupid if one of you randomly dies on me."
Before Meta Knight could make an argument, they heard the sound of someone running through the halls. A streak of blue flashed across the doorway. Something screeched to a halt. Then a blue hedgehog came jogging into the room and stood opposite Meta Knight of the table.
"Whew, this place is crazy," he stated. "How do you guys get around in here?"
Meta Knight looked at him, then the king, to the hedgehog, then back at the king.
"Really? Sonic?"
"Quit your complaining," Dedede replied, taking on a rack of ribs, "now get out of here. I'm eating dinner."
The knight shook his head and proceeded to leave. Sonic dutifully trailed close behind.
"One more thing, if you're planning on heading out again then go to the forest and pick up some apples," the king added.
"Yes your majesty," Meta Knight replied tiredly.
"So there I was, out in space in the middle of a spaceship armada. I was out numbered and out gunned, but I wasn't going down without a fight."
"That's great, Sonic," Meta Knight sighed during his pause.
Convinced he was listening, Sonic continued, "All of their turrets locked on to me, waiting for me to make a move, but I wasn't going to make it easy for them. I ran down the deck of the ship, dodging lazars and taking on robots with machine guns-"
Meta Knight moaned to himself. Sonic was pretty quiet until they left the castle grounds. Why couldn't he have stayed quiet?
The knight and the hedgehog walked on down the dirt path away from the castle. Sonic was adding sound effects to his story. Meta Knight looked at the sky. It was deep orange and the sun was just touching the horizon. Worry struck him. It was going to happen soon. He glanced back at Sonic who seemed to be too wrapped up in his story telling to notice him. He had to get him away.
"And Eggman was all like, 'Oh no, don't hurt me Sonic'!" the hedgehog said with an ill-fitting woman's voice.
"Look Sonic," the knight said as they both stopped walking, "I don't know how much Dedede is paying you, but I could probably more or less double it if you just go away."
"Sorry, can't do that," Sonic stated, "I got principles."
"He's notorious for not paying his dues," the knight added.
"I figured. I had him pay me up front."
"How did you-?" The knight shook his head and informed, "Listen, I just need you to turn your back for maybe five minutes."
"Nope, you'll just sneak off," Sonic argued, crossing his arms.
The knight growled in frustration and glanced back at the sunset. He was running out of time.
"Don't make me have to beat the stuffing out of you," Meta Knight threatened.
"Bring it on, I can take you," the hedgehog replied in a cocky manner.
It seemed this argument could go on all evening. The knight looked at the sunset again.
He sighed and said, "Fine, stay. I just didn't want you to see this."
He went to the nearest boulder and stood close to it.
Sonic raised an eyebrow and asked, "See what?"
At that moment, the sun disappeared under the horizon. The world grew a little darker. A pulse went through the knight's body. He groaned and braced himself against the rock.
"Hey, you alright?" Sonic asked.
Suddenly, dark shadows erupted around Meta Knight. He clenched up as the shadows wrapped around him. As they took hold, they gradually changed the color of his armor and skin. His skin, gloves, mask, and cape turned darker blue. The bat symbol on his cape changed to blood red. His metal shoes bleached to silver. His back slid down the rock as he sat on the ground, still moaning in discomfort. His yellow eyes clouded over and turned red. With the transformation complete, the shadows dissipated and the knight went limp. He panted with his eyes closed. Sonic stood in shock. Suddenly, the hedgehog threw up his fists in defense and stared down the knight with fear plastered on his face. When Meta Knight looked up and noticed this, he frowned.
"Sonic, what are you-?"
"Don't move!" Sonic instinctively said, not even caring that the reply didn't make any sense.
The knight thought for a moment then asked, "Why are you afraid of me?"
"Last time you looked like that, you pinned me to the wall by my neck then threw me across the room in less than a second!"
This statement worried him, but it also didn't ring a bell.
"Really?"
"Yes! So don't you get up and toss me around like a ragdoll."
Meta Knight then remembered the fortress of the strange dark being. After the monster gave him the powers, he blacked out and did some things, most likely the creature's orders. One of those was probably to hurt Sonic.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I wasn't myself then," the knight informed, hoping Sonic could confirm that was the event they were talking about.
The hedgehog didn't drop his defenses, but the fear on his face began to clear.
"So, you're good then?" Sonic asked.
"Yes. I won't hurt you."
He didn't seem totally convinced, but his dropped his fists slowly. He walked over to the knight and held a hand to him. Meta Knight grasped the hand and was helped off the ground.
"By the way, that looked kinda painful," Sonic added. "Are you ok?"
"You mean the transformation? It was uncomfortable, but it's getting better. It happens every time the sun goes down."
The hedgehog nodded slowly with his eyebrows pressed together.
Realizing the tension, the knight added, "It'll go away in the morning."
"Ok," Sonic replied, trying to hide his sigh of relief. "So where was I? Oh yeah, Eggman was begging for mercy."
Meta Knight's shoulders slumped. Sonic's story didn't interest him in the least and he was hoping he'd forgotten about it. He looked out toward the mountains in the distance. Just across those mountains was the forest that housed the apples the king wanted. It was a few weeks journey by foot, but not for Meta Knight. Then he got an idea. A mischievous grin creased his hidden lips.
"Sonic," the knight said, interrupting his story, "how would you feel about a race?"
The hedgehog's ears pricked up.
"A race? With you?" Sonic asked.
"Yes. To those mountains over there," the knight replied, pointing toward the peaks.
Sonic studied the distance as his lips curled into a sly grin.
"Sure, I could go for a jog," he added, tapping the points of his shoes on the ground.
Meta Knight walked a little in front of him, back toward the hedgehog.
He looked over his shoulder and said, "Try to keep up."
He faced forward again and narrowed his eyes. Purple static danced all over his body, then channeled to his feet. In a flash of light, the knight vanished with a trail of dust in his wake.
Meta Knight ran at lightning speed. He passed countless tress that would look like blurs of green and brown to a normal person at this speed. However, his dark powers not only give him super speed, but also enhance his senses and reaction time, so dodging the trees was no problem for him. He passed animals that would think they almost got hit by a flash of lightning. He jumped over large boulders in his path and every step he took avoided tree roots and holes. After a while, he was satisfied with the distance he covered and slowed to a stop. He looked back and saw a column of dust and dirt in the air where he tore through the forest. And no sign of a hedgehog. He smiled and lifted his chin in triumph. He turned and jumped back in surprise. Sonic was on top of a root, lying on his back with his leg crossed over the other and his hands behind his head.
He looked at the knight and asked, "So, how about that race you were talking about?"
Meta Knight's smile was replaced by a frown. He clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.
"Sorry, I was just warming up," the knight replied.
Sonic nodded, but didn't get up.
Meta Knight faced his next destination and charged up again. He launched forward and left the hedgehog where he sat. The knight put more power in his dash and ran even faster through the forest. The added speed presented more of a challenge to keep control of, but it was nothing the knight couldn't handle. He burst out from the trees and saw a lake in front of him. Without faltering, he charged right into the water and raced across the top of it without breaking the surface.
'There's no way he can follow me across water,' Meta Knight thought smugly.
It was much easier to travel across the flat body of water than the forest, so his speed doubled without him knowing about it. It took only seconds to reach the other side, and it was straight up into a steep hill from there. Meta Knight took more care to keep from slipping on loose rocks. He stopped again half way up the hill. He was panting a little bit, but he quickly regained his breath. It seemed that Sonic couldn't cross the lake and gave up. Then something struck his thoughts. What if Sonic did try to follow him through the water and drowned? The knight knew that the hedgehog couldn't swim. He was preparing to go back and check when he suddenly heard something sloshing up behind him. He whirled around to find none other than Sonic trying to shake water from his shoes.
"What?" Sonic asked with mock surprise to see him. "You didn't give up did you?"
Meta Knight's worry turned into frustration.
"Never!" the knight replied as he began to charge up again.
He turned and raced up the hill, kicking up as much dust as he could. Meta Knight didn't hold back anymore. He channeled all his energy into his dash. At the top of the hill, there was a cliff facing the mountains. The knight did a sort of battle cry as he ran as hard as he could and launched off of the cliff. He opened his wings, but kept them closer to his back to avoid too much air friction. This worked well, considering he was soaring through the sky at break neck speed. He made very slight adjustments to stay on track toward the mountains. Soon, he was flying so fast that a great boom and a puff of smoke came off of him. He had broken the sound barrier. The mountains grew in size at an alarming rate. Meta Knight slowly stretched out his wings to keep the wind from ripping them off. He had already passed the first line of peaks before he began to dive to land. He angled himself to be parallel with the ground and hit it running. He skidded and raked stones into the air. When he finally stopped, he found he was gasping for air. During his flight, he had stopped breathing after he hit supersonic. He went over to a rock and sat on it to help his breathing slow down. Sonic was fast, but there's no way he could have followed the knight through the air. He would have to run on the ground and through the mountains without the knight's trail of dirt to follow. Hopefully, the hedgehog would lose the knight altogether and go home.
Just then, Meta Knight heard rubber skidding to a halt behind him. He hesitated then looked in the direction of the sound with a glare. Sonic stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, a wide grin on his face.
The blue hedgehog lifted his chin at him and said, "Sup."
"Afternoon," the knight replied grudgingly.
He faced forward and let his head fall in defeat.
'Humph, who was I to underestimate Sonic the Hedgehog? That won't happen again.'
Sonic tapped his foot for a few seconds.
"Want to go get those apples now?" Sonic asked.
"Sure," the knight sighed as he stood up and walked toward the apple forest wrapped in his cape.
Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, am I right? Anyway, the next portion of the story will be posted next Saturday.
Review time!