Sorry I missed the deadline again. However, this chapter is a fairly long one. That should make up for it. Enjoy!

Rising Darkness

By: JadeDragonKnight

Chapter 6: Fire

Night had fallen. The stars were twinkling in the darkness. The crescent moon washed its soft glow over the land. On the island, Jade had made a fire to cook the fish she caught. Kirby sat across from her, happily eating away. They were tired from all the playing they did when the sun was still high in the sky.

"Yup, this is the life," Jade commented, taking a bite of her fish-on-a-stick. "A warm fire, good food, great company, the sound of the sea, and the stars above us; doesn't get much better than that."

Kirby nodded in agreement.

"It was nice of you to come and visit, Kirby. I had a good time."

"Piyo, me too," he replied in a cute baby voice.

Jade giggled at his attempt to speak.

"It's kinda funny that I did most of the talking this whole time," Jade added. "Well, that's ok since I like to talk a lot. Oh, I don't talk too much do I? If I started to annoy you, you would say something, right?"

Kirby nodded, taking another bite of his fish.

"Ok, good." She paused for a moment to toss her empty stick aside. "So, what prompted you to visit me in particular? I'm a bit out of the way, being on an island and all."

Kirby swallowed and replied, "Meda Nigh, poyo."

"Meta Knight? Did he tell you to come here?"

He nodded.

"Huh. Hehe, that reminds me of the other night. He was here training or something. He was shooting lightning bolts and they were loud! Scared the crap out of me. Then I went over and whacked him real hard. Well, I did it on accident, but he kinda deserved it for waking me up. Then he told me that he didn't think anyone lived here. Can you believe that?"

Kirby and Jade laughed.

Jade sighed and added, "Yeah, he's weird like that. I mean, who trains in the middle of the night? Oh well. I guess that's his biz."

The pink puffball threw his stick aside and lied back against his stubby arms, his stomach satisfied. Jade brushed her finger around in the sand for a moment.

"Hey, can I confess something?"

Kirby sat up in interest.

"You can't tell anyone! Not another soul," Jade informed firmly.

He pretended to zip his mouth shut and made a cross on his chest.

"Ok," she continued, satisfied with his reaction. "Truth is…" She leaned in close and so did Kirby. "I got a bit of a crush on him," she whispered, "Meta Knight I mean."

"Poyo," Kirby said with a hint of shock.

"Yeah," Jade replied, now starting to blush. "I mean we've been through a lot together and he's pretty cool. Remember, you can't tell anyone. This is between us."

"Piyo," he replied nodding.

"Good. Well, it's pretty late. You want to spend the night here?"

"Piyo, piyo," Kirby cheered happily.

"Awesome sauce. Hmm, I'll have to make a bed for you," Jade muttered in thought.

Suddenly, their fire burst into a mighty inferno. They backed away from it in fear. It towered over them and roared. Then, just as suddenly as it started, the fire died down to embers. They continued to watch it.

"That was weird," Jade stated, still shaken up.

Just then, a bright, orange light erupted from the forest. They looked to see a huge flame towering over the trees. Its light caused them to shield their eyes. Birds scattered as the flames ate away at the forest.

"What in the world?! How did this happen?"

Kirby stood. He stared into the forest as if he was bewitched. Then, he ran into the brush and disappeared.

"Kirby wait! It's not safe!"

Jade leapt to her feet and chased after him. She threw the dense overgrowth aside as she ran. It didn't take long to hit the fire zone. Tree leaves were going up in seconds, creating an overwhelming whooshing sound. Smoke blanketed the area like a fog. Jade coughed and covered her face with her arm. She saw Kirby standing close to a burning tree.

"Kirby!"

Jade ran up to him and turned him toward her. His face was blank.

"What's wrong? Come on, we got to get out of here," she shouted, shaking him.

He didn't respond. The burning tree creaked and moaned.

"Kirby, wake up! It's me! Kirby! Kirby!"

He blinked and he seemed to come back to life.

"Piyo? Jade?"

There was a loud crack. They whirled around to see the burning tree was falling towards them.

"Run!"

They ran out of the way, just barely escaping the fallen timber. Their coughing worsened as the smoke built up. They couldn't see more than a few feet in front of them. They gasped and stopped abruptly as a wall of flames blocked their path. Jade looked around frantically, but couldn't see another path.

"Get close," she said to Kirby as she crouched down.

Jade held him close as she created an energy barrier around them. It shielded them from the smoke and sweltering heat. She then whipped out her communicator and activated the help signal. Then, Kirby got her attention and pointed to an opening in the flames.

"We gotta run for it," Jade informed.

They got up and sprinted toward the opening, barrier still in effect. Suddenly, Jade tripped and fell to the ground. Kirby stopped and went back to help.

"No! You have to keep going," Jade said.

"But, piyo," Kirby cried back.

"Go! Save yourself! I'll be fine!"

Kirby hesitated, but then ran through the inferno and disappeared. Jade began to stand, but a loud crack from behind stopped her. She whirled around and her eyes widened in fear. A flaming tree was falling towards her. She tried to strengthen her barrier as the tree crashed down onto it. It weakened, allowing smoke to fill Jade's lungs. She coughed, still on her knees, her barrier breaking apart.

Meta Knight had found the giant apple tree again. It was dark now, but his glowing eyes provided enough light to see. He came to the apples that he and Sonic dropped when they got attacked. He rolled one over with his foot. It looked as though it got cored at the wrong side. He next went over to the rest of the apples. He went to pick one up, but he reached out with the hand that had the flower attached to it. He frowned and brought it up to his face.

He sighed and said, "Couldn't you have attached to the back of my hand or something."

Just then, the lily began to move. It used its tiny roots to crawl to the back of his hand. Once there, it became stationary again. Meta Knight stared at it in bewilderment.

"Uh, thanks, I guess…"

He shook his head and picked up an apple. He turned it in his hand and saw a large brown spot on the fruit.

"Hmm, what a waste. Oh well."

Suddenly, his communicator began beeping wildly. He dropped the apple, took out the device, and flipped the cover open. A red dot flashed on the map screen. The word "Jade" was next to it. It took a moment for the knight to register the significance of this, but when he did, his eyes widened and his face grew pale. Meta Knight went to run off, but turned back and looked around. He powered walked into a circle, not sure which way was the quickest to get to the island. He paused to collect his thoughts.

'Think, think. I can't fly or run there, it would take too long- but I can't just stand here! GrrRAAA! Wait, I teleported people out of that fortress. I can still do that, right?'

Meta Knight put his communicator away and drew his sword. He studied it, trying to remember what exactly he did. When he remembered, he plunged his sword into the ground and pushed an image from the beach on the island into the forefront of his mind. His sword glowed purple momentarily, then died down.

"What? No! Come on," the knight cried.

He tried to think of the island again. And again, the sword glowed for a few seconds then faded.

"No! God damn it! I don't have time for this!"

The only thing he could think about was Jade at this point. He couldn't push the image of the island into his mind anymore. Frustrated and worried, he ripped Galaxia out of the ground. When he did, he heard what sounded like fabric tearing. He looked up to find a hole in the air with a swirling vortex inside. He didn't stop to question it. Within seconds, he jumped into the hole as it closed in behind him.

A portal suddenly opened. Meta Knight flew out of it and landed on the sand with a thud. The vortex immediately closed and disappeared. He looked up and saw it; a towering fire had consumed the middle of the island. It raged as the bright flames licked at the heavens and a black cloud blotted out the stars and moon. Meta Knight shielded his eyes and scanned the beach.

'Where's Jade?'

"Meda Nigh!"

He turned to find Kirby racing up to him. The pink puffball tugged frantically at the knight as he made cries of distress.

"Kirby, calm down," Meta Knight said as he put his hands on Kirby's shoulders. "Are you hurt?"

Kirby shook his head, but the fear on his face remained.

"Do you know where Jade is?"

"Po po poyo!" Kirby replied, pointing at the forest.

"She's in there? Alright, just calm down Kirby. I'll go get-"

His train of thought was cut off when he saw someone jogging down the beach towards them. Kirby looked back as well and waited. The man stopped in front of them, holding his communicator.

"I got the signal," Link informed. "What happened here?"

"I'm not sure," Meta Knight replied, "but Kirby says Jade is still in the fire."

"Then we should hurry."

Kirby tugged on the knight's cape.

"Kirby, you have to stay here."

The pink puffball shook his head.

"It's too dangerous. You need to stay here in case Jade comes out on her own."

Kirby looked at the ground then nodded.

"Let's go," Link said.

"Right."

Meta Knight and Link charged into the forest, leaving safety behind. When the smoke hit them, Link pulled his collar over his face and drew his sword. Meta Knight followed Link, who was following his communicator, through the fire. A tree landed a few feet in front of them, showering them with embers. They ran around it and soon hit a clearing.

Link pointed and shouted, "There!"

Meta Knight gasped as he saw Jade lying face down on the ground with a tree on top of her.

"Jade!"

They raced over to her and saw that an energy barrier was between her and the tree, but it was blinking out. Meta Knight sliced through the trunk, splitting the tree in half. Link promptly kicked the halves off of Jade. The knight placed his sword aside and turned Jade over. She was gasping for air.

"Jade, are you ok? Say something," Meta Knight said, cradling her head.

Her eyes fluttered open, but they seemed unfocused and her gaze distant.

"Can you hear me? Look at me."

Jade coughed hoarsely. Meta Knight could tell something was wrong from the scratchy sound. Her eyes seemed to clear for a moment as she looked at him.

"M-mea nigh," came from her mouth like a breath of air.

"Don't talk. We're going to get you out of here. Just stay awake."

He began to pick her up, but a throb in his head stopped him. As soon as he became aware of that, the tugging feeling reappeared, and it was strong. He looked in the direction the feeling wanted him to go.

"Meta Knight," Link said.

He shook his head and replied, "Sorry. I know."

He gently lifted Jade off the ground. When he took a step towards Link, another pulse went through his brain. He growled to himself at having to make a choice.

Meta Knight went to Link and said, "Here, take her. I have to do something."

Link carefully took up Jade and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find the source of this fire. Don't wait for me. Just go."

Link hesitated then nodded. He ran back into the inferno with Jade in his arms. Meta Knight watched until he couldn't see them anymore. Then, he turned to the direction of the tugging. Another pulse went through his mind and a haze began to cloud his vision.

"Show me," he muttered as the world around him disappeared.

After a moment of stillness, the haze parted and revealed a column of flames billowing from a stone. Suddenly, a torrent of rain came down, attacking the fire. The flames fizzled down, exposing the rock. A hand reached out and grabbed it. A light emitted from the stone and blocked out the vision. Meta Knight blinked as the flaming forest came back into existence.

"What? That didn't make any sense," the knight yelled in confusion. "It's a clear night. Where's the rain going to come from?!"

The tugging feeling yanked at his stomach, causing him to groan in discomfort.

"Alright, alright." He sighed and muttered, "I must be insane."

Meta Knight ran into the flames, following the sensation.

Link continued to push through the brush. He had cleared the fire zone, but the smoke still gripped him. Just then, he burst out of the forest onto sand. He went closer to the water to escape the smoke.

"Piyo!" Kirby cried when he saw them.

The little puffball ran up to Link as he gently laid Jade out on the soft sand. Kirby cupped his mouth with his stubby arms when he saw the burns on her. Link freed his mouth from his collar and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"This doesn't look good," he murmured.

"Where Meda Nigh?" Kirby asked.

"I think he's trying to stop the fire," Link replied. "Right now, we need to help Jade."

Kirby felt his heart drop. If only he went back to help her… He gazed back at the fire. Meta Knight was still in there. And how is he going to stop this inferno? He'll be hurt too if he stays in there too long. Kirby's eyes narrowed in determination. He turned to Link and noticed the large boomerang on his back. Perfect. He grabbed the weapon, causing Link to jump in surprise.

"Kirby, what are you doing?"

"Poyo, poyo," Kirby replied, waving the boomerang around.

"What do you want that for?"

Kirby handed it to Link then backed up a few feet.

He pointed to his mouth and said, "Po poyo."

"You want me to throw it at you?" Link replied in suspicion.

Kirby nodded.

"Kirby, this is no time for games," Link affirmed.

"Poyo poyo!" the puffball argued, shaking his head.

Link studied his face. There was a fire of determination in his eyes.

"Alright," Link sighed. "I hope you have a plan."

He took a step back and positioned himself to throw the boomerang. Then, he threw it with a grunt. It spun straight at Kirby. The puffball sucked in a whirlwind of air. The boomerang was swept up by the gale and disappeared inside Kirby. Suddenly, he began to glow. A golden band wrapped around his head. A green gem appeared in the center of the crown. Then, a burst of wind erupted from the crown. With his transformation complete, Kirby seized to glow. Link stared wide eyed at the mini tornado on his head.

"That's interesting," he stated.

Kirby began to spin. A whirlwind surrounded him and lifted him off the ground. Kirby then flew towards the water. Link could barely see him from how far away he went. Just then, the tornado around Kirby strengthened and extended its reach into the water. Almost immediately, a water spout began to form. Link watched as the water went high into the sky. Then, it began to arch towards the island. The water at the top of the arch stopped spinning and fell down on the fire. Link could hear the violent hissing as the flames fought a losing battle against the downpour.

Meta Knight continued to run through the burning trees. The heat was gradually getting more intense. The smoke made a thick blanket in the air. The knight struggled to breath, even with his mask blocking most of the smoke. Just then, he came into another clearing. The trees here were large chunks of charcoal. The ground was coal black. In the center of the clearing was a fist sized stone. Flames billowed from the rock in a firestorm. Meta Knight tried to catch his breath as he shielded himself from the intense heat.

"Ok, now what?" he asked.

Suddenly, a torrent of water rained down on the fire. The flames hissed in pain and began to shrink. The smoke was replaced by white steam. Meta Knight gasped to himself at the suddenness. Some water ran down into his mask. He licked his wet lips.

"Sea water. But how?"

Then, he noticed the flames around the stone dissipated. He seized his chance and charged at the rock. Without thinking, he grasped the stone. The heat of it penetrated his glove and stung his skin. He groaned in pain, but held fast. Just then, the flower around his hand began to glow brighter. The stone in turn began to glow. The heat seemed to vanish. The knight gasped in relief and lifted the stone. It was pure black and had many cracks. The cracks glowed deep red and looked as though fire was swirling around inside. Meta Knight looked around. The rain continued to snuff out the flames, but they didn't seem to fight back. They quickly died down, reducing the forest to dark, smoldering rubble. The rain gradually came to a stop. The world became dark and silent. Ashe floated down like snow. Meta Knight sighed, relieved that it was all over. Then, he remembered Jade. He bolted out of the clearing and raced towards the beach.

Link watched as Kirby came back to the island. He floated down gently on the beach and slowly stopped spinning. The crown on his head was gone. Suddenly, he spit out the boomerang. Link grimaced at the weapon then put it away.

"Good job Kirby," Link said.

Kirby smiled in reply. Just then, they heard someone run out of the forest. They looked to see Meta Knight franticly searching the beach. The second he saw them, he ran up to them.

"What happened? How is she?" he asked quickly.

"Kirby put out the fire with one of his powers. But, I'm afraid Jade isn't doing so well."

Meta Knight got down on the ground next to Jade. His eyes stopped on all the burn wounds. They covered her body. Her clothes were black and melted in some places. Worry and fear coursed through Meta Knight like a river. He noticed that she was still panting. He carefully slid his hand under her head and lifted it slightly towards him.

"Jade, can you hear me?" he said, trying to sound calm.

Her eyes fluttered open. She weakly nodded.

"Can you move?"

She shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. Meta Knight swallowed a knot in his throat. He could tell she was in agony.

"Just hold on. I'll get you some help."

She looked him in the eyes and mouthed two words to him: Thank you.

He nodded to let her know he understood. He gently placed her head back on the sand.

"Meta Knight, she needs a hospital," Link stated.

"I know, but the nearest medical center in more than a hundred miles from here, and it's a Pokémon Center."

"We have to do something."

"I know, I know," Meta Knight replied, beginning to get frustrated at the situation.

Kirby continued to look at Jade. Link thought hard of ways to help. Meta Knight's head burned. He knew that if she didn't get help soon, she could… He shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. Just then, his eyes widened at a sudden realization.

"There's a medical clinic on my ship," he stated. "I can care for her there."

"Hurry then. You don't have much time," Link replied, a hint of relief in his voice.

He nodded then turned to Kirby.

"Kirby, go back to the castle and stay in my room tonight. I'll explain everything to his majesty in the morning."

Kirby nodded.

"Link, do you need a ride?"

"I came here by boat. Don't worry about me."

"Alright."

Meta Knight carefully lifted Jade off the ground. He turned to them and said, "Thank you both. You were very brave."

They nodded to him. With that, Meta Knight took a running start down the beach then unfurled his wings and flew off into the night sky.

Will Meta Knight be able to help Jade in time? Find out next weekend.

Well, maybe not next weekend. I don't have a completed chapter after this one. But I'll work on it and try to get it published on time.

Review!