I just have to say a few things before you read. Since school has started, I haven't had time for anything, let alone writing, so all the chapters are going to come very slowly. However, I won't make you wait more than a year because that's outrageous.

This chapter came late because I was trying to fit all of the stuff that happens on the Halberd into one chapter. However, as it was, it was 5000 plus words and it wasn't even halfway done. So, I decided to split it into two chapters. It's not exactly where I wanted this chapter to stop, but, as is, it is my longest chapter yet. I hope you all still care enough for Jade to still be interested in what happens.

Again, I'm really sorry the story is being made so slowly. School is getting in the way more than I would like it to. In any case, I hope you enjoy the story!

Rising Darkness

By: JadeDragonKnight

Chapter 7: The Halberd, Part 1

The knight kept his eyes focused on the castle silhouette. The air was cold and whipped at his skin. Occasionally, Jade would moan in discomfort.

"I know it hurts," Meta Knight said to her. "Just hold on a little longer. We're almost there."

It felt like they've been flying for hours. As they reached the castle, Meta Knight scanned below for the entrance to the hanger. When he spotted it, he dived down to the ground. He did his best to make the landing soft. When they landed, he noticed Jade's fists uncurled. It must have felt better to get out of the wind. He hurried inside the pitch dark hanger. He didn't bother to search for the light switch. His eyes illuminated a few feet in front of him, just enough to avoid the tools scattered all over the floor.

'I really need to clean this place up later…'

Soon, he could see the towering side of his ship. He went straight to the side hatch. A small panel next to the door opened, revealing many buttons. Meta Knight groaned irritably, realizing he couldn't enter the code in without dropping Jade.

"I don't have time for this. Computer! Wake up!"

A metallic voice came from the speaker in the panel; "Authorization code, please."

"It's me! Just open the door!"

"I cannot without an authorization code. If you are unable to use the panel, please speak the code."

"Wait, you know I can't use the panel?! Then you know I'm carrying someone in need of medical attention!"

"Yes, which means you are wasting time arguing with me. Authorization code?"

Meta Knight growled, but kept from arguing anymore. He spoke a series of random letters and numbers.

"Access granted," the feminine computer voice replied.

Just then, the hatch cracked open and slowly fell to the floor. Meta Knight quickly entered the ship as the hatch closed behind him. Overhead lights in the hall flickered on, but only in one direction.

"I took the liberty of lighting the way to the infirmary," the computer spoke through the ceiling.

"Thank you," the knight sighed as he kept moving. "Power on the medical equipment."

"Already done."

A metal door slid open. The knight entered the room. It was alive with flashing monitors and the hum of motors. Meta Knight laid Jade out on the nearest bed to the equipment. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing was still irregular. The knight grabbed a breathing mask and placed it over her face. A hiss of air came from the mask and went into her mouth and nose. She seemed to relax a bit. He looked to a monitor that read her breathing rate. With the supported air flow, she became stabilized. He sighed with small relief. He gazed over her whole body, lost as to what to do next.

"It's too bad Ax isn't here," he murmured to himself.

"I recommend a full body scan as your next step," the computer suggested.

"Make it so."

A robotic arm at the edge of the room came to life. It rolled itself over to the bed and swung a long arm over Jade's head. After a moment, a slim beam of light came from the arm. It slowly swept over her in a smooth motion. When it reached the end of the bed, the light shut off and the arm moved back to its original place in the room. Another monitor came to life with a silhouette picture of Jade on it. Blotches of various shades of red began to appear on the picture.

Not sure of what to make of the scan, Meta Knight asked, "Diagnosis?"

"Sixty percent of her body has been burned, twenty percent of that third degree. She also has burns on her trachea and small portions of her lungs melted."

The knight went pale.

"It's amazing she's still alive," he whispered.

"Her condition is critical. Her wounds must be washed and bandaged."

Meta Knight shook his head. He can't let fear cloud his judgment. He needed to stay calm.

"Right," he replied.

He went straight to the cabinet and pulled out a pair of scissors, bandages, and sterilizing fluids. He went right to work at cutting off the tattered clothes, careful not to irritate the areas that melted on her skin. At the computer's guidance, he cleaned the wounds and bandaged them. Hours rolled by as he worked. When he was finally done, he took a step back. Jade was covered head to toe with white cloths and gauzes. She had slept through the whole process and was still sleeping. Meta Knight got her a bed sheet and covered her with it, hoping to make her more comfortable. He checked the monitors. Everything was stable. He made a deep and long sigh. Then, he yawned and suddenly found it hard to keep his eyes open. Unwilling to leave the room, he pulled up the nearest chair and sunk into it. After a while, he fell asleep.

Morning came. The sun's light bathed the land in a warm glow. But the light didn't penetrate the Halberd. In the medical clinic, everything was still the same as Meta Knight had left it before he went to sleep. The machines still hummed and rhythmically beeped. Steady breathing came from both the knight and Jade. Just then, the sound of stomping rang out from the hallway.

"Meta Knight, where are you?!"

The metal door slid open, revealing King Dedede.

"There he is," he said with irritation in his voice.

The king went up to the knight and grabbed his shoulder.

"Wake up now!" Dedede shouted, shaking the knight.

Suddenly, Meta Knight bolted upright and yelled, "I had nothing to do with it!"

"Oh, I think you do!"

The knight turned to Dedede wide eyed, but seemed to calm down when he realized who it was.

"Oh. Morning your majesty," Meta Knight said, rubbing his eyes through his mask.

"Don't try to act like you did nothing," the king firmly stated.

Meta Knight's eyebrows pressed together in confusion.

"What are we talking about exactly?" he asked.

"Humph! The Waddle Dee found this in your room this morning," the king replied, holding Kirby up to the knight's face.

The pink puffball waved shyly at him. Dedede suddenly dropped him.

"Start explaining. You know it's treason to bring my enemies into my castle without my approval!"

Meta Knight sighed, too tired to argue against the king's imperfect logic.

"Alright. There was a fire last night and Kirby was in the middle of it-"

"Is that Jade?" Dedede interrupted.

"Yes, she was in the fire too-"

"Why is she wrapped up like a mummy?"

"She got badly burned, so I had to take her here, cut off her clothes, and bandage her up."

At this point, Kirby was trying to look over the bed to see Jade. Meta Knight got out of his chair and pushed it towards Kirby for him to use.

"That doesn't explain Kirby in your bed," Dedede said, his arms crossed.

"I told him to use my room last night so I could help Jade."

"Wait a second. You said you cut her clothes off, right?"

"Yes. I had to clean her wounds so I-"

"So, she's naked right now?"

Meta Knight's eyes widened at that remark. It didn't even cross his mind that she was naked. Dedede noticed the knight's sudden change of expression and grinned deviously.

"You liked it, didn't you!" the king said.

"What?! No!"

"You're a pervert!" Dedede laughed, pointing at him.

Meta Knight's eyes turned pink and glared at the king.

"Jade was hurt! There was no other way to help her! I don't enjoy other people's suffering!"

"Whoa, easy," King Dedede stated, "I was just kidding. Wow, I've never seen you so worked up over someone."

Meta Knight took a moment to collect himself. His eyes went back to yellow. Kirby looked at them both questionably, not sure what just happened.

"Look, I'm going to be here taking care of Jade for a while. I figured it would be best if Kirby stayed in the castle."

"No, Kirby is not staying in my castle," Dedede argued, crossing his arms again.

"It'll just be for a few days. Besides, he's basically filling in my place at the castle. You'll hardly notice him."

That last comment seemed to spark the king's interest as he rubbed his chin in thought.

"Alright, he can stay, but he has to fill in for you and do everything I say," Dedede said.

Kirby whirled around in the chair, wide-eyed.

Meta Knight sighed and said, "Deal, but he has to be alive and in one piece when I get back."

King Dedede snapped his fingers in defeat and muttered, "Crap. He called it." He looked back at the knight and replied, "Fine, deal."

They shook hands to make it official. Dedede sneaked in a sly grin at Kirby before he left the room. Kirby whined at Meta Knight.

"Oh you'll be fine," the knight reassured. "It's probably better than wherever you've been staying lately."

They both looked at Jade, who managed to sleep through the whole conversation. Kirby gazed at her face sadly.

"She'll be alright, Kirby. I'll take good care of her. You can visit if you want."

The pink puffball nodded. He got down from the chair and left the room. The metal door closed behind him. Meta Knight looked back at Jade and sighed. Her bandages were red in some places.

"I should probably change those…" the knight muttered to himself.

"If it is inconvenient for you," the computer voice stated, "you may wait to change them."

"How long?"

"With the amount of discharge on the bandages, you should change them in an hour or so. Otherwise, the dry areas can be changed tomorrow."

"Thank you, computer."

"You're welcome."

After a moment of silence, Meta Knight's stomach began to growl. That's when he noticed it was also in mild pain. He rubbed it and asked himself when the last time he ate something was. He looked at Jade.

'I should make something for her too.'

He left the room in search of the galley.

Some time had passed before the metal door slid open again. Meta Knight entered the room with a tray of food. When he came in, he noticed Jade was awake. She was sitting upright and examining her bandaged hands. Her face was a picture of grief. The knight looked at her with sympathy. He's woken up to bandages before as well. He knew the best thing to do was help her feel better.

He grinned and said, "Hey, you're awake."

Jade looked at him with surprise.

He walked over to her and continued, "I made us some breakfast. Hungry?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a deep scratchy noise came out. She rubbed her throat and stared at her blanket.

"You don't have to speak. Just try to rest your voice for a while," the knight said as he swung a bed table over Jade's lap and set the tray down on it.

She nodded and went to pick up the fork. When she did, her hand trembled and she winced. She quickly switched hands. She then began to eat the scrambled eggs in front of her. Meta Knight watched her for a moment in thought. Then, he got up and went to the end of the room. Jade watched him with curiosity. He came back with a keyboard. He flipped a switch on the bottom of it before setting it in front of her. He then turned on a TV screen on the wall in front of the bed.

"There. Now, if you want to say something, you can type it in here and I'll see it on the screen."

Jade stared at the keyboard for a few seconds. Then, she set her fork down and typed something with her good hand. Meta Knight looked at the screen as a sentenced formed.

"These eggs are good,"the screen read.

"Oh. Thanks. I figured it would be easy to eat," the knight replied.

Jade nodded. A smile creased her face. Meta Knight found himself grinning as well. He sat down in his chair, removed his mask, and began eating his own eggs. Jade typed something else as he did this.

"I thought you didn't want me to see your face?"

"Well, it's not like you haven't seen it before."

"Oh, right. I remember that."

She stopped typing to go back to eating. They ate in silence for a while. When the knight finished, he placed his plate on the floor and sighed in content. Jade finished soon after him and began typing again.

"That hit the spot."

"Yeah. I haven't eaten for a whole day."

"That was weird. I mean last night. That fire just started on its own. There wasn't a lightning strike or anything." Before Meta Knight could reply, Jade quickly added, "Thanks for rescuing me. I was really scared. I think Kirby was too. He's ok, right?"

The knight chuckled to himself and said, "You may not be able to talk, but you still have a lot to say."

Jade grinned and shrugged. She typed away at the keyboard again.

"Yeah, I can't talk anymore. Or walk, or pick anything up, or move, or-"

Meta Knight watched her type this with concern. Her smile vanished. Then, he grabbed her hand.

"Don't do that to yourself Jade," he stated. "I know it's hard for you to be like this. Trust me, I've been there. But you can't focus on the negatives. You'll only depress yourself. Be happy that you're alive. I am."

Tears began to well in her eyes.

"You'll be ok. These burns will heal and you'll be good as new. I promise."

Jade sniffled and nodded. Meta Knight let her hand go and she wiped the tears in her eyes. She gave him a weak smile as thanks. He nodded. Then, her eyes moved to his hand and became questionable. He looked at his hand with the lily on it.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about this thing," he said, holding it up.

Jade typed something in response.

"Did you go to the prom or something?"

"Haha, no. I went through a lot of trouble to get this. Well, I wasn't exactly looking for it. It just, kind of…ugh, how do I explain this?"

"It's pretty. I didn't know you were into flowers."

"I'm not."

Jade raised an eyebrow.

"Really! It latched itself onto me!"

She lifted her hand toward him, gesturing at the flower.

"Uh, you probably shouldn't."

Her face crunched up in a mocking manner.

"Fine, take it, I don't care," he quickly said, lifting his hand within reach of hers.

She carefully slid her fingers underneath the bud and scooped it into her hand. Meta Knight was astonished to see how easy it was for her.

"What the? Why didn't it…never mind."

Jade examined it. The lily glowed warmly. She brushed her fingers on the pedals. It seemed to bring her comfort. Meta Knight watched her face lighten. Then, she began to bring it to her face.

The knight jumped up and warned, "Don't smell it, please. It knocked Sonic out- Oh crap, Sonic! He's still probably sleeping!"

Jade's eyebrows pressed together. Meta Knight took out his communicator and called Sonic. After a few rings, the speakers clicked.

"Hello?" a voice yawned.

Meta Knight quickly closed the phone.

"Ok, he's fine."

Jade chuckled. She typed something.

"So, are you going to tell me the story behind this?"

She gestured to the lily. He thought for a moment. He didn't want anyone to know what was happening to him lately, but a second opinion on the situation might be good. Besides, he was comfortable talking to Jade.

"Well, I guess I should start from the beginning."

He told her all that happened since the night that he came to her island. He told her about the dream he had, the visions, the storm, the giant Venus fly trap, the glowing objects, everything. She listened to his story intently and didn't type anything unless prompted to. When he was finished, Jade took a moment to let it sink in then typed something.

"You think that monster in your dream caused all of this?"

"No, I never considered that. It couldn't have if it was a dream, right?"

"You said it wanted you to 'run some errands' then it did something to your head. I think it gave you those visions so you could get those glowing artifacts."

His eyes widened. That made sense. Every time he had a vision it lead to an artifact, and he didn't get those visions until after the dream.

"I think you're right, Jade. But why would that thing want these objects?"

She shrugged. Then her fingers moved across the keyboard.

"How many are left?"

"I don't know."

"How many do you have?"

"Uh… three."

Jade paused to look at the flower in thought. Then, she typed again.

"What are the other two like? Are they all flowers?"

"No," Meta Knight replied as he reached behind and took out the fire stone. "This one caused the fire on your island."

After hearing that, she looked at the stone with apprehension.

"I think its ok now. I seem to have some effect on them. When I come in contact with them, they stabilize."

She nodded, but continued to stare at the rock.

"You're still not going to touch it, are you?"

She shook her head.

"Ok, that's understandable," he said as he set the stone on a nearby table.

Jade began to type something.

"What's the other one like?"

"Basically a tornado in a bottle. It caused the massive storm I was telling you about."

She nodded then typed something else.

"Sounds like they represent elements, like wind and fire, that kind of stuff."

"That could be. So, if the stone is fire, the whirlwind is wind, and the lily is…"

"Plants? Life? Earth?"

"Let's go with Earth. That seems to be the theme here. So, what does that leave?"

"Water? I don't know."

"Well, it could be water. The pattern could be Wu Xing."

"What's that?"

"The Chinese Five Elements. There's water, metal, wood, earth, and fire."

"But wind isn't one of them."

"Oh. Good point." He thought for a moment then added, "The Japanese five elements have wind in it. Then there's fire, earth, water, and void."

"Void?"

"If I remember correctly, it's supposed to represent unearthly things, like the sky or pure energy."

"Hmm…"

Meta Knight slumped in his chair. The prospect of having to risk his life to get (possibly) two more artifacts weighed heavily on him. Not to mention the fact that he's doing a monster's dirty work by doing so. And it's not just him that's being affected by it. Pit risked life and limb to help Meta Knight out of the storm. Sonic had to fight off a giant Venus fly trap that ended up reducing him to an unconscious state. And Jade was sitting in front of him, wrapped head to toe in bandages from burn wounds. This wasn't worth it. The suffering had to stop. He narrowed his eyes and sat upright.

"I won't do it anymore. I refuse to put anyone else at risk to get these artifacts to a monster."

Jade looked at him with concern and typed something.

"Can you help it? You didn't exactly choose to get the first three. What if you have to?"

The knight sighed and said, "I'll do whatever it takes to ignore it. Something doesn't feel right about this whole mess, and I won't be involved any longer. I'll live in a cave if I have to."

She nodded slowly then typed: "Alright. Do what you feel is right."

Just then, a speaker on the ceiling clicked on.

"I recommend changing the bandages now," the computer voice said.

"Thank you, computer," Meta Knight replied tiredly.

Jade looked at him questionably as he got up and gathered the necessary medical equipment.

"Ok Jade, I just have to change the wet areas. It's going to hurt. Do you want some pain medicine before we start?"

She nodded.

"Fifteen milligrams of Morphine is recommended."

"Thank you, computer."

"You're welcome."

As the knight went to get the medicine, Jade typed something.

"Is the computer always listening to us?"

After the knight came back and looked at the screen, he replied, "Pretty much. She's the ship's A.I. computer system. She knows what's going on in the Halberd 24/7."

"Does she have a name?"

"I forget what it was. I just call her computer."

Meta Knight poured a small amount of liquid in a graduated cup.

"Here you go. Bottoms up," he said, handing the cup to Jade.

She raised an eyebrow at it. Then, she lifted the cup to her mouth and swallowed the contents in one shot. Her face scrunched up in disgust as Meta Knight took the cup from her.

"Nasty, I know. I thought it would be best not to tell you."

He got her some water from the sink to wash it down. She took it gratefully and drank most of it. She rolled her tongue in her mouth with a skewered look on her face. She stuck her tongue out and pressed on it.

"What? Is your tongue numb?"

She nodded.

"That happens sometimes. It means it's working."

He pushed the bed table aside and placed the keyboard on top of it.

"Ok, let's see what we got here," he stated as he pulled back the sheet.

Jade looked down at her exposed body and gawked. She yanked the sheet from his hand and covered herself up to her chin. Her cheeks went red.

"What's wrong?"

She pointed to the keyboard. Meta Knight handed it back and her fingers furiously danced on it.

"I'm not wearing any clothes!"

"Well, I had to cut your clothes off to bandage you."

"Give them back!"

"I can't. They're not wearable anymore."

"I'M NAKED!"

Now Meta Knight's cheeks began to blush and his eyes turn pink.

"I know that! I try not to think about it! There's no other way to do this, so just let me change your bandages."

Jade continued to hold tight to the sheet.

"Please Jade. It has to be done, or else it could get infected and that would be horrible on you in this state. I just want to help."

She looked down and rubbed the blanket between her fists. After a few moments of this, she finally nodded. The knight gently took the sheet from her and pulled it back. She closed her eyes, her cheeks burning.

"Come on, you're not that exposed. I don't have to change anywhere that's…private."

She opened her eyes just to type something.

"Please just make it quick."

"Yes ma'am."

She closed her eyes again as Meta Knight went to work. He dampened the areas that needed changing and carefully began to remove the cloth. When he got to her skin, she cringed in pain and balled her fists.

"I know it hurts. But just think what it would have felt like without the morphine."

She nodded in response, still keeping her eyes and fists shut tight.

He worked at changing her bandages for what felt like hours. He would sometimes spend more than ten minutes trying to sever the cloth from her skin. At times, she would cry out in her scratchy voice, making Meta Knight cringe in sympathetic pain and promptly apologize for causing her so much agony. When he was all done, he wiped his face and sighed. Jade had tears in her eyes, but they showed relief that it was all over.

"We can wait a few days to change the rest. Maybe next time I should give you a little more morphine."

She nodded weakly. For the first time that day, she was too tired to type anything. The knight checked the clock. It read 2:37.

"Hungry for lunch?" he asked.

She nodded from her pillow.

"Alright."

Meta Knight left the room to make lunch for them both.

That's it for now. I have a little of the next chapter done but it's not enough to post. I'll try to squeeze in some writing time to finish it.

I will tell you all that Kirby visits in the next chapter. That's all the sneak peek that I'm giving you!

Review please. Reviews give me most of my motivation to write!