Depictions of violence and death, so read at your own risk. Have fun with this chapter! It was fun to write~ :3c
Meta-Knight's childhood is a blur.
No, that's not right.
His childhood is bloodstained snapshots. Empty alley ways, broken arms, bruised knuckles, dead bodies.
His childhood is a red orange sword that should only be orange, a puppeteer bent on a sick twisted question of what would happen if he killed the entire adult population of a town. His childhood is a friend, shot with so many unnatural growth hormones at such a young age, yet somehow having a child at 12, before being beaten into coercion with the enemy, and then slain by Galaxia. His childhood is creating a small army, full of children, of much too young people, too young to be fighting, and watching them all die.
His childhood is a Nightmare.
Kirby's memories are a blur.
There are sweet words and kind touches, like the brushing of hair away from his face, and the small kisses on scrapes.
There are lessons, lessons on how to defend, how to attack, to heal, and those are ingrained in his mind.
Then, there are hushed, worried voices that escalate into screams, and pools of red.
He does not know how he got to where he is now.
He finds that he does not care.
Maybe because he has a new family.
Besides, though Meta-Knight's hugs aren't as warm as the ones he remembers, he loves them all the same.
Meta-Knight knows he's not fine.
He should be okay, should be used to this, but he can't help imagining Kirby's crushed body, blood spilling on the floor and wide blue eyes drenched in fear and surprise. And Kirby lies so very still, when he pictures it, with not a single breath to be seen rise and fall from his chest. The picture in his head is so realistic it makes him want to vomit.
Teenagers like him shouldn't know what a crushed body looks like, but he does.
But Kirby, Kirby is there, and Kirby doesn't ask why he needs to carry him on his back so he can feel the vibrations of Kirby's breathing, and so he can feel Kirby's chin on his shoulder.
Kirby simply lets Meta-Knight make sure he's safe and enjoys the view of the market from a higher standpoint.
They are halfway through the market when a monster appears.
It was a boy with bright red skin, and sticks blazing with fire that he twirled around dangerously. There are multiple mechanical arms that connect to a brace on the boy's back, giving him the look of some sort of octopus, and they too are holding sticks of fire. He had a familiar symbol on his arm.
Meta-Knight's vision went black.
When he wakes up, per say, Galaxia is dripping with red liquid, and the child lay dead at his feet, and mixture of sliced skin and broken machinery. Kirby is staring at him with wide eyes, and people around him begin to whisper.
"It's happening again."
"Remember the Warp Star Gang?"
"The self proclaimed Star Warriors, you mean?"
"Such a young group of fighters, with Meta-something as their leader."
"He's going to get us all killed, just like those kids."
"Why is he even here?"
"Nightmare is coming back!"
He runs, runs past Kirby and the townspeople and the dead body and into the alleyway, where it is safe and where it is home. He's shaking, and Kirby's running in behind him, and he holds the boy close to his chest.
There are flickers of memories, of smiles with scruffy little kids coming and joining a gang named after the Stars of Hope, turning serious and searching for supplies and constantly asking"What do we do now, Mr. Meta-Knight?"
And then there are fights, righteous anger raging through them like a wildfire when they find out why their parents are dead, and the retaliation is swift and furious. He learns battle strategies from books in the abandoned library, but even with all his planning and all his skills, children die and they scream and there's blood everywhere and he can't-
And the world shatters at his face, staring at him with a wide, malicious grin, and "Isn't so delicious that everyone you knew died and you couldn't save them?"
And it was so easy to forget all of it, to push it far, far away so he wouldn't have to remember blank eyes and bloody faces, but then Kirby had to come and change everything and make him remember.
And this town is a constant reminder of what he couldn't do, what he couldn't save.
Maybe he couldn't save the town, or any of those so, so young children, but he can keep Kirby safe, can hold him and pretend the world isn't crumbling beneath his feet.
Kirby starts to snore.
It's enough to make Meta-Knight smile.