Chapter 17

Meta Knight and Shieldmaiden stood at the water's edge inside the small, cramped underwater cave. In Meta Knight's hands, the fully formed relic glowed fiercely. He could tell that without his gloves on, it might have even burned his bare hands. The two looked at each other, still winded from coming dangerously close to their air limit diving down. Though both of them held neutral expressions, they could see it in each other's eyes; fear. Neither was fully mentally ready to take the plunge again, to feel themselves lose air while stuck in a cold, featureless blue void. Still, they had no choice but to try. Without any way to signal for help or be rescued with equipment, the only thing they could accomplish in the cave was wasting away until their bodies joined the mass grave of Cappies.

The two turned to look at the water. Meta Knight shut his eyes, inhaling as deeply as he could as he tried to recollect the layout of the underwater tunnel they had arrived in. He then exhaled, looking again to Shieldmaiden.

"See you at the surface" he said as he took one final breath, jumping into the water while gripping the relic tightly. Shieldmaiden inhaled deeply herself before jumping in after him.

The two swam forward as fast as they could, now focused on nothing but surviving the trip upward. With their memories guiding them, they were able to push through the underwater tunnel quickly. Their round forms erupted from the mouth of the cave in a flurry of bubbles, Meta Knight first and Shieldmaiden second. They then aimed their bodies upward and began to kick towards the surface.

As time passed, Meta Knight felt that dull pain begin to arise deep in his chest again. He shut his eyes as he swam, focusing on powering forward. As he swam, the pain grew. Shieldmaiden was not faring much better, gripping her spear tightly as she plowed through the water. Her large wings, which were helpful in flight, were completely useless and were in fact holding her back slightly by increasing drag. The two ascended higher, lungs burning in the chests of both Star Warriors as their need for air grew.

Meta Knight remained focused, determined. He kicked his legs and moved one arm rhythmically to propel himself forward, the other hand clutching the relic tightly to his masked chest. He counted the minutes in his head at first as he ascended from the deep. As time wore on, though, he found that counting only seemed to highlight that the two Star Warriors were running out of time. He figured that at least ten minutes had passed, maybe more; he lost count. He felt the first pang in his chest, a sharp ache that radiated upwards. His urge to breathe grew. He ignored it, focusing instead on other parts of his body. The knight cleared his mind as much as possible, focusing on nothing but moving forward, keeping his arms and legs in sync to maximize his efficiency while swimming.

Meta Knight felt something else rise within him as he swam; panic. His mind, usually sharp and laser-focused, began to drift and go muddy even worse than during his descent. His urge to breathe became unbearably strong, his brain firing alarm signals that forced him to feel increasingly distracted. His body demanded air, but there was nothing he could do but continue to hold his failing breath; his swimming movements became a bit less fluid, becoming jerky as fearful instinct began to wash over him and threaten to override his reason. His vision tunneled; he could see blue, more blue, an entire world of featureless blue in all directions. His yellow eyes remained fixed upward, focusing on the surface. In time, he could make out the waves. His entire body was in pain at this point, the deep ache in his chest spreading to his arms and feet. His sight began to blur further, a black halo forming at the edge of his vision that grew ever narrower. He pressed forward in a faster pace that caused more energy expenditure, mind and body both in full alarm mode as his need to breathe reached an urgent level. He was so close to the surface, so close...

Meta Knight felt a sudden, deeply painful spasm in his lungs, bubbles rushing forward and out of his mask. His body rebelled; his oxygen depleted entirely, he couldn't take the lack of air anymore. His mouth suddenly opened against his will like a gaping fish, water rushing in immediately. His limbs flailed aimlessly as the awful burning feeling was replaced with a stabbing sensation, a tiny thousand daggers lining the inside of his throat and into his lungs. He opened his mouth again to gulp in more water, instinctively trying to scream for help but unable to make any noise underwater.

Meta Knight felt his limbs flailing frantically, completely beyond coordinated swimming movements. The flailing slowed after a few seconds; spent and entirely depleted of oxygen, his arms and feet went limp. He witnessed the oddly beautiful sight of water around him as his vision darkened, feeling his body drift along. He felt a strange feeling of peace deep within as his mind slipped into a clouded, dreamlike state, feeling at one with the water around him. It felt as if he had gone back in time, musing that this must have been what it was like to be an unborn child floating in the womb. He relaxed.

Shieldmaiden noticed his panicked movements, herself feeling as if she were about to lose the struggle against her own burning lungs. She watched the flurry of bubbles coming from around Meta Knight's mask, the relic slipping abruptly from his hands. Her eyes widened. In a flash she adjusted her course, thankfully being about a meter below him, and caught the relic in her free hand before it could descend to the depths. She then let go of her spear, allowing it to sink downwards, to grab Meta Knight's body with her other hand. She swam frantically herself, the need for air and the sight of her comrade beginning to drown sending her into a total panic. She propelled them towards the surface, her own lungs practically bursting.

They were only a few feet from the water, allowing them both to complete their final ascent in seconds. Gasping deeply for air, Shieldmaiden hit the surface with Meta Knight and the relic in tow. Her eyes widened as she realized that Meta Knight remained limp and silent, that he was not gasping for air as she was. Cursing between gulping down air as fresh tears stung her eyes, she dragged his still body to the shore of the lake.

Shieldmaiden eyed Meta Knight's body frantically, the Star Warrior lying on his back. His eyes were dimmed out entirely beneath the mask. She quickly slipped it off, a brief high-pitched scream escaping her lips at what she saw underneath. The rosy tint to Meta Knight's cheeks was gone entirely, his deep blue face taking on a slightly gray pallor. His eyes were closed, mouth hanging open slightly. She knew that when there was no tint in the cheeks of her species that they were in very serious trouble. She held his gloved hand right under where the glove ended, at the species' equivalent of a wrist, to feel for a pulse. To her relief, there was one. However, he didn't seem to be breathing.

Immediately she began chest compressions, recalling the exact rhythm based on her survival training. In other species this move could break one's ribs, but thankfully her kind didn't have any ribs to break. After doing so for a few seconds, she then wiped his face and mouth quickly, lowering her breastplate and pressing her lips to his, delivering mouth to mouth. She blew a few quick breaths into him and paused, watching his chest to see if it moved. She then tried again, tears running freely down her face as she frantically tried to recall her hazy memories of the technique and praying she was doing it correctly. After a few seconds, she felt his chest rise under her; she then felt a quaking spasm from his body and heard a gurgling cough.

Shieldmaiden knew what was next and quickly moved her mouth away, turning the near-drowned Star Warrior over as the water violently rushed out of his body. She patted and rubbed his back as he expelled the freshwater in a series of hacks and wracking coughs, her tears of panic turning to those of relief as she saw him breathe again.

Meta Knight emitted a weak groan and laid on his side, the color slowly returning to his face. His eyes opened slowly, glowing a silvery white without his mask on. He was only vaguely aware of what was going on; one second he was swimming, and in the blink of an eye he was suddenly vomiting up water while his head and chest throbbed in pain. His white eyes slowly rolled upwards to look at Shieldmaiden, who had quickly dried her tears while he had his back turned in order to appear tougher than she felt.

He witnessed her giving him a strange smile, eyes glassy as she tried not to burst into tears again.

"You're alive" Shieldmaiden said after a few seconds, voice quaking. "Thank the Stars, you're alive."

Meta Knight tried to speak in response but could only cough weakly, spitting up a bit more water. She patted his back.

"Please, Sir. Don't over exert yourself. You almost drowned."

Meta Knight's eyes widened, flashing visibly at her comment. His mind, still dizzy and half-conscious, processed what she said in slow motion.

"We have the full relic now. I'm going to bring it to Kirby" Shieldmaiden said, standing up after she was sure he was okay and concealing her face again behind her breastplate. "He was able to fight off Dark Matter when it attempted to possess him. He is the strongest of us all."

Meta Knight gave a barely perceptible nod, still lying on his side.

"Go." He managed to say, voice hoarse from the water.

"I will be back." Shieldmaiden responded, scooping up the holy relic in her hands. She then gave him one last look, her protective instincts not wanting to leave the vulnerable Star Warrior in the jungle alone, before dashing back through their narrow path to where the others stayed.

As she left she heard Meta Knight's voice one last time, barely perceptible over the chorus of jungle birds and animals.

"Thank you."