Chapter 14

The seven tired spelunkers gave themselves a few precious minutes to rest. Fumu and Bun looked up at the long tunnel which they were carried down, feeling even more nervous about their return trip. Fumu knew that Meta Knight would do everything he could to protect her, but he had been through a lot in a few hours, and the fact that he could even carry a creature as (comparatively) heavy to him as her safely down the pit was almost superhuman. How much more could he take? She just pictured him running out of energy from having to carry her upwards, his wings disappearing back into a cape as they both fell. Bun, who was usually talkative, stayed strangely silent. Though he didn't share his thoughts with his sister, he was thinking the same thing.

Sword and Blade sat together, Blade attempting to rotate his foot every few minutes only to grunt in pain and hold still. Sword said nothing, his emotionless helmet hiding a facial expression of despair - he had no idea how Blade was going to be able to climb back up safely.

"Guys", Sword said in a low voice, voicing his concern. "I don't think Blade can do this."

"No way. I'm fine" Blade blustered. Sword gave him a look.

Meta Knight's eyes dimmed as he looked at his wounded friend. Though he had remained silent, the same thoughts had troubled him.

"Poyo!" A high-pitched voice cried.

Everyone looked to Kirby. He patted himself on the chest to indicate he was speaking about himself, before gesturing to Blade.

"Poyo poy, Poyoyo! Poy poyo poy."

The others exchanged quizzical glances. Fumu, who was used to playing a game of makeshift charades whenever having to "translate" Kirby, rubbed her chin with a thoughtful frown.

"Guys..." she said, eyes widening as Kirby walked over to stand beside Blade. "I think what he's trying to say is he'll help Blade out in the climb."

"You will? That's awesome Kirby, thanks!" Sword said, clearly relieved at the sight of a solution.

"Thanks Kirby, but I can handle it..." Blade began.

Meta Knight's eyes suddenly lit up, glowing brightly from the darkness of his mask and gaining a slight orange tint.

"Swallow your pride", he growled.

Blade turned his head silently. He offered no resistance as Sword and Kirby helped him to his feet. There were few things Blade didn't like more than being helpless, but he knew that climbing up the vertical rock face with a wounded leg would be nearly impossible. With Meta Knight and Shieldmaiden carrying the children, and Sword having enough trouble climbing up himself, he thought that he would have to do the best he could and if the worst case scenario occurred, so be it. He smiled behind his helmet, feeling both humbled and proud of his friends for being there for him even when Blade wouldn't be there for himself.

The time had come for the group to ascend. Meta Knight and Shieldmaiden grabbed their young charges and crouched, ready for flight. Meta Knight's heart sank as he gripped Fumu from behind; he could sense her fear. He hated seeing her so upset, though she had every reason to be considering the circumstances. In a rare display of comforting behavior he lifted one arm to gently pat her shoulder. Fumu's eyes widened at the gesture. Meta Knight was probably both the coldest and least 'touchy' person she'd ever met; for him to extend such a warm platonic gesture to her was shocking. She wondered as his wings materialized if he was simply trying to comfort her, or if he reached out for comfort of his own because he was secretly as scared of what they were doing as she was.

Bun held the relic in his hands, the light so bright that it illuminated the area far better than the glowing mushrooms did. To the fliers, who were directly underneath it, the light was almost too much. With several strained flaps of her wings Shieldmaiden lifted Bun upwards, holding him in her arms. The two ascended first, Bun holding the light out with arms extended so everyone could see, while Meta Knight and Fumu flew underneath them.

Shieldmaiden's wing muscles started screaming almost immediately after takeoff; instead of going with gravity as she did during her descent, she was now fighting against it with a heavy weight in her hands. Her battle with the Rockies had sapped her strength further. She breathed deeply through her armor, pushing her body as her quivering wings flapped through the air with stroke after agonizing stroke. Bun's own heart was pounding wildly. He could feel Shieldmaiden's arms quake slightly with each flap of her wings and could easily hear her labored breathing through her helmet. Thoughts of the two falling backwards into the darkness haunted him.

"Please don't drop me, please don't drop me..." Bun begged silently.

Meta knight was not faring much better. He controlled his flight, the motion painless even when he was tired since the wings were a part of his cape and were not biologically tied to him. However, he still needed to rely on his own energy to power the wings and that energy had been sapped from all he had done. He held onto the single thought that he could not lose his wings, that doing so would probably kill Fumu if not both of them. He powered through his fading strength by sheer force of will, struggling to stay focused as well as keep himself and Fumu from scraping on the sides of the pit as he flew upwards.

Meanwhile, the other three climbed their way up. Sword climbed normally, tired as well but determined to get the grueling activity over with. He had made a promise to himself long ago; that he was to either die in battle or of old age. Falling into a crevasse was not on that list. Panting heavily through his helmet, he pressed on.

Blade climbed slowly, coordinating his movements with Kirby who held onto him with one arm while climbing upwards with the other. Despite having no fingers Kirby was an incredible climber, his hands and feet both finding every little handhold needed to press forward. Had he not been assisting Blade, he could've easily outpaced them both. With his aid, Blade was able to climb upwards with his arm and good foot while letting the injured junction of body and foot dangle freely.

In time, the two fliers landed and safely deposited Fumu and Bun. The two children rolled on the ground as their guardians roughly dropped them, too winded to set them down gently. Meta Knight's wings immediately turned back into a cape the second the two were over solid ground, the Star Warrior landing roughly next to Fumu. He lifted his body up from the ground by his arms and remained there for a moment, overwhelmed and breathing heavily. Shieldmaiden watched Bun tumble onto the ground and stood for a few seconds, swaying, before she dashed off to a nearby corner and lowered her breastplate to throw up.

The three turned to watch her, Meta Knight's hidden brow furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?" He asked, his own voice still soft from exertion.

"Oh man, gross." Bun commented.

Shieldmaiden stopped, wings lifted around her and mantled to conceal herself as much as possible with her face burning from embarrassment. She hadn't gotten sick from exertion since one of her earliest training drills back when she first joined the Galaxy Soldier Army years ago. She wiped off her face and slipped her breastplate back up, concealing all but her eyes behind armor, and turned to face them sheepishly.

"Fine, thanks" Shieldmaiden said in a voice overly cheery to hide her weakness. "You know how it is...just like when you work out really hard!"

Fumu dipped her head to her and Meta Knight. "Thanks for getting us down there and back in one piece, guys. It couldnt've been easy."

Both Star Warriors silently nodded in response, trying to appear as composed as possible even though they were both on the brink of collapse.

Minutes later, they saw a hand wave at them from the edge of the pit. "Hey!"

Meta Knight and Shieldmaiden hopped off the edge with their wings spread, helping the exhausted Sword onto the ledge. Moments later, they did the same to assist Blade and Kirby.

"We made it!" Sword cried.

"I never want to see a cliff again" Blade groaned, Fumu and Bun nodding vigorously in agreement.

Kirby smiled, looking out at his friends. He was the only member of the group who didn't look weary. The group took a few minutes to catch their breath before leaving the cave, exiting the same way they came.

As they neared the cave entrance, a dull yet familiar roar hit their ears. They looked outside at the cave's open doorway entrance, the same way they had come in, to see streaks of gray liquid pouring down.

"Rain! Water!" Bun cried, pumping his fist.

Kirby and the children found the energy to run towards the entrance, eager to feel water on their face and to finally have another drink. The adults walked behind them in a hurried pace. Fumu spread her arms as she walked out of the cave entrance, the cold water feeling even better than it did before. They all drank their fill and scrubbed their dirty faces in the refreshing rainfall for a few minutes, ducking back into the cave's entrance afterwards.

Meta Knight looked out into the jungle, noting that even through the rainfall it was getting dark. He turned to face the group.

"We might as well camp here for the night. The cave will protect us from rain and make us less obvious to jungle predators."

Sword nodded. "We can get the second relic first thing in the morning."

'We need food sooner then that, though" Bun said, grimacing and rubbing his stomach. Though no one said anything in response, they all exchanged glances with each other in silent acknowledgement of Bun's words. The group had not eaten all day.

Meta Knight nodded and turned with feet squared, preparing to fly out of the small pit the cave's entrance laid within. However, no matter how much he focused, his cape remained a cape. It raised upwards and billowed out around him momentarily, as if stirred by an invisible breeze, before hanging limply off of Meta Knight's back as if nothing happened. Meta Knight straightened back up and blushed behind his mask, turning away from the group. Shieldmaiden stifled a chuckle, his failed attempt at flight causing her to feel a bit less embarrassed about her losing it earlier. They were all exhausted, and it was starting to show.

"Poyoo..." Kirby said in a low voice, rubbing his stomach. Considering how much he could put away, Fumu couldn't imagine how hungry the small creature felt. He walked forward through the silver veil of rain, climbing out of the pit himself.

Fumu watched him go nervously. "Kirby, where are you going?"

"Poyo poy!" Kirby responded, patting his stomach. He then darted off into the jungle, quickly disappearing into the thick greenery.

Fumu looked to the group, putting a hand behind her neck. "I'm pretty sure he's going to get some food."

Kirby dashed through the trees, flattening and stretching his flexible body to maneuver through the bushes that Sword and Blade would have needed to cut through to pass. He knew that his friends needed help with gathering food, and he himself was getting very hungry - that dangerous level of hungry, where nothing vaguely food-shaped was safe in his presence. The rain slowed as he hunted, deep blue eyes scanning the world around him with the eye of an experienced gourmand in search of anything he and the others could eat.

The first thing Kirby found was a coconut tree; unable to wait, he quickly scrambled up the tree and inhaled the hard drupes one by one while perched on top of the leaves next to them. He then slid down the branch-less tree trunk and fell softly into the grass, rubbing his stomach. Three coconuts to Kirby was like a single hors-d'oeuvre for most people, and he was nowhere near satiated. However, he could now find food for the others without the urge to down all of the food himself overwhelming him. His thoughts again flashed to the times he lost control at the melon fields, and Fumu's stern face as she scolded him. He then thought of what he had just seen back by the cave, his friends holding their stomachs and even Meta Knight being too weak to fly. This was his chance to make it up to them, both proving his self-control and helping out his friends who were always so nice as to feed him back in Dreamland. He smiled, hopping back into the underbrush.

An hour later, the group sat by the entrance to the cave. Fumu paced outside of the entrance, brow furrowed in worry; she knew that Kirby could handle himself quite well for his age, but the thought of him being alone in such a harsh environment still bothered her. The others all reclined in various positions on the ground, finally able to rest after having worked so hard climbing and battling in the cave. In the dusky light, a round dark silhouette suddenly popped up over the lip of the pit and hopped downwards to join them.

"Kirby!" The group cried, gathering around him. Kirby proudly displayed his gatherings; towering above him, held above his head, were mangoes, bananas, a coconut, and a batch of nuts. The others cheered in delight as he set his findings down.

"Kirby, you're amazing! Thank you!" Shieldmaiden cried, giving him a pat on the back.

"The food here is amazing...fresher than the farmer's market!" Bun said as he bit into an enormous mango.

Meta Knight said nothing, but he looked at Kirby and gave him a stern nod with eyes glowing blue from pride. He couldn't fathom the amount of restraint the little Star Warrior must have needed to bring back so much food when they were all nearly starving. He then slashed at the coconut with Galaxia, holding it out to the others so that they could all share the drink inside.

Blade was about to bite into a banana when he suddenly heard a noise. The sun hung so low in the sky that a thin line of pink, barely visible through the trees,was all they had to see with besides their glowing relic. The noise sounded almost as if someone had stepped forward, yet he saw nothing. He held his head still and lifted, straining to hear if there were any other suspicious noises over the din of the group, before he relaxed and resumed eating.

Minutes later, the noise was heard again. Meta Knight, who was still holding the half-empty coconut, passed the food to Fumu. He then slowly turned, withdrawing his sword. He paused, looking out into the darkness as a silent hush fell on the group. Blade met Meta Knight's gaze and held it for a moment; he heard it, too. No one moved for a full minute. In time, Meta Knight relaxed. He sheathed his sword and walked over to pick up a banana, eyes still focused on the site where the sound came from.

No other disturbances hit the group, and they enjoyed the rest of their meal in peace. It was not long afterward that they were curled up by the cave's entrance, ready to sleep.

"We need to establish a guard." Meta Knight said, noticing the other warriors beginning to yawn and get comfortable. With a powerful piece of the relic in their possession, they were even more vulnerable than the previous night. Meta Knight walked over to a branch and broke it up into sticks, making sure that one was smaller. He then had Bun hold the sticks, with all of them appearing to be equal height.

His eyes scanned the crowd. "This will be between Sword, Blade, Shieldmaiden and I. The rest of you can go to bed."

Meta Knight's eyes fell on the four sticks. "Short stick gets the first shift."

One by one, the four warriors withdrew a stick. Blade lifted a hidden brow as he noticed his stick was one third shorter than the others. He shrugged and gave a weak laugh.

"Guess I'm up first."

Shieldmaiden withdrew the second smallest stick, followed by Sword and Meta Knight last. Blade stationed himself at the edge of the cave as a guard while the three other warriors all went to bed in a spread out circle around the children.

Fumu looked up through bleary eyes at the cave's ceiling, already falling into unconsciousness. One last thought passed through her mind as she closed her eyes for the night.

'The bats haven't come back yet...'

Far into the night, everyone was sound asleep. Blade and Kirby seemed to be competing for who could out snore each other, while Meta Knight laid quietly in a corner nestled in his own cape. Shieldmaiden slept nearby, face up and on her belly so as not to lay on her wings. Bun slept close to Kirby as he did the previous night, while Fumu used the extra space the cave's entrance offered her to sleep farther away from the group.

Sword stood at the edge of the cave where Blade once was, as it was his turn in their guard shift. His eyes kept closing behind the mask, but he shook himself awake. Not only did the group have to worry about possible predation from the jungle's inhabitants, they also now had a part of the relic in their possession. Whoever hid the piece in the first place could want it back. The previously heard sound happened again, the softest rustle in the bushes. Sword was startled out of his daze by it and looked over; he saw nothing. He looked at the relic, its bright glow growing more and more obnoxious to him despite it probably being the one thing keeping him awake at his post.

Unbeknownst to Sword, a tiny black ball was beginning to float towards him. The strange ball gave off dark purple wisps of smoke as it moved, the trail lifting in a light smoke before dissipating into the night air. The small, smoky black creature had one single, amber-colored eye fixed in its center like a cyclops. It paused for a moment and closed its single eye, unmoving. It then suddenly slipped into a large round bug that had been laying concealed in the leaves nearby. The bug twitched and flailed its legs as if it were sprayed by a bug killer. The insect's body then changed, growing black and becoming consumed by strange, purple wisps. The mutated creature then slowly rose on six, spindly legs. The once ordinary bug was now a Mariel. The small black spider-like creature, looking like a large Daddy Longlegs, opened two tiny white pinpoint eyes and began to crawl towards Sword. Sword was half asleep and keeping an eye on the bushes beyond the pit at the edge of his line of vision, paying little attention to the ground right next to him. The spider-like being crawled closer and closer before it nearly rested on Sword's foot. It then quickly darted past his foot and up his side, delivering a bite in between his armor.

"F-oww" Sword said in a hoarse whisper, shooting up in the air and doing an awkward dance to pat the biting bug away. The Mariel fell off of him and crawled back into its leafy shelter.

Satisfied that the bug had been dealt with, Sword resumed his guard. However, he felt increasingly strange as time wore on. He began to feel a bit woozy, his mind drifting off more and more. He figured it was his brain coaxing him to sleep, even though he was determined to stay awake at his post for the sake of his friends. The feeling began to well up more and more inside of him, gently teasing at the edge of his mind; pleasant, dream-like feelings lingered, waiting for him to just give in and close his eyes.

Sword realized that he was being hit by this wave of "exhaustion" really hard and shook his head violently, eyes popping open. The feeling inside of him continued to grow, suddenly feeling less like sleepiness and more like an overwhelming force taking over his body like a heavy drug. His vision blurred slightly, brain beginning to feel foggy and distant. Sword began to panic; he noticed the change in his body, and wondered if the bug that bit him was poisonous. He began to try and retain his focus, but the strange drug-like feeling inside of him kept growing stronger and more prevalent. In a sudden jolt, the strange force consumed his mind so rapidly that Sword's body went into an involuntary spasm. All at once his world spun around him wildly as it slowly dimmed out, his instinctive cry for help coming out as a muted, choked sputter. Sword's head went limp for a moment. Slowly, it rose again. A stray wisp of purple smoke emanated from the breathing holes in the front of his helmet. His hidden eyes, now a deep purple, scanned the group before resting on the relic.