Strange Friends
Although it had only taken a day, the journey had felt way too long.
Lying on the bed, Morphe sighed sadly... They had spent the little money they had saved to buy Ladiva a gift on the trip to that island, and yet his sister was reluctant to tell him what she was thinking.
After the several-hour journey to Auguste on a passenger ship, they had to take a second ship that could fly them to a smaller nearby island. His sister had been visibly overwhelmed and anxious throughout the journey, but she had held on as best she could.
They were now in a small inn on that island, resting from the trip. Phoebe insisted that he should rest, because the next day was going to be a difficult one. But aside from that, she still resisted giving him a clear answer as to what was going on.
Morphe felt like that time when he had discovered the truth about Phoebe being a primal beast and him just being a manifestation of her powers. She had a plan, and he was part of it without knowing what she was actually doing.
"Come on Phoebe, think about how I feel. Do you know how worried I am about you?" he told her, frustrated. Morphe wanted to support her, but it was hard to do so if she didn't open up to him.
"Just try to rest, Morphe" she simply replied. Her brother could sense that she was getting more and more anxious as time passed.
"I know this has to do with the nightmares people keep mentioning. And I'm sure that the reason you are acting like this is because you know what's going on" he accused her.
"No, I don't know what's going on!" she yelled at him, furious, thought her anger didn't seem directed at her brother."I don't know why he's doing this and I'm terrified because of it!"
After that sudden outburst, Phoebe finally burst into tears. She had tried to conceal her feelings, but she couldn't take it any more. Morphe got up from the bed and walked over to her. He still didn't understand what was wrong with her, but his sister was feeling bad and she needed him.
Morphe hugged her tightly. Phoebe collapsed on top of him, as tears welled up in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Morphe," she apologized. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I believed that as I got closer to him, I would see everything more clearly. For a moment, I wanted to believe that he had come back for me, that we could be a family again" she revealed sadly. Morphe finally understood who she was talking about and what her sister had come to do on that island. "I don't know what's happening because he would never..."
"He would never do this" she was going to say. But that wasn't totally true. The person that occupied her thoughts had mostly cared about his investigations. He had used the inhabitants of that island as guinea pigs. He had even used her. Surely, the nightmares that had invaded the entire Sky Realm were the result of another of his experiments.
Morphe, sensing her doubts, hugged her tighter and said:
"No matter what happens, I'll always be with you."
.-.-.-.-.-
Everything around him was pure darkness. What was that place? Why did he feel so lonely? Where were his friends?
The little being scanned his surroundings, but there was only darkness and desolation. Had he... lost? Had he let some evil being like Dark Matter or Void Termina destroy everything he loved, leaving only that empty place full of despair?
Or had that been his doing?
He didn't want to think about it, so he started calling his friends. He got no response. Thinking that perhaps they were far away, he began to call out their names louder and louder. However, the only sound in that sinister place was the echo of his own voice. With tears in his eyes, he cried out their names again in sheer desperation.
But nobody came.
"Kirby... Kirby, you have to wake up " he finally heard someone say with a soft, delicate voice. That someone was gently shaking his body.
"Uhh… Yuni?" He asked, stunned as he opened his eyes again, the light returning to his life.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked him.
"I had a very bad dream" he replied sadly. That wasn't his first nightmare, but he still wasn't used to them. Sometimes, his adventures took him to worlds where he did not have the protection of the Fountain of Dreams; so in those places there was always the chance of suffering some sort of bad dream. But this nightmare felt as if it had gone straight to tapping into his deepest fears, in order to drown him in despair. What would have happened if Yuni hadn't woken him up?
"Do you want to talk about it?" Yuni asked.
"I couldn't find my friends anywhere" he answered sadly. "I felt so lonely... What if one day I never see them again? What if I fail to protect them?"
Yuni gently patted his head, to comfort him.
"Close your eyes" Yuni told him. "Think about those people who matter so much to you and put your hands over your heart."
Kirby did as she instructed.
He thought of Meta, Bandana and Dedede, all the adventures they had lived together, and how, even if they still argued with each other from time to time, at the end of the day they laughed together again. He thought of Elfilin, the little being that had accompanied him on their journey through the Forgotten Land, and all that they had shared together. He thought of the animals of Dreamland, who had come to his aid without second thoughts when he had asked. He thought of Gooey, the Dark Matter who had rebelled against his fate. He thought of Ribbon and Adeleine, of their bravery and fearlessness in defending their homes. He thought of all the people he had helped on his travels and that, even if most of them he had never seen again, his smiles and promises of friendship would always be with him. He thought about the enemies he had forgiven and who now were part of his life, and how he had helped them improve as people (or at least that was what he hoped).
"Do you feel that warmth?"
"Ye " he answered finally, without opening his eyes. He felt a pleasant warmth at the thought of all of them, comforting like a fireplace in the winter or a candle in the dark.
"Are your friends here now?"
"Nope."
"But they will always be in your heart. As long as you remember them, their light will stay with you."
Kirby smiled at Yuni, his sadness fading.
"That is true. That ugly dream almost made me forget something so important."
Yuni smiled back at him. She put her hands to her heart and thought: "Your light will always be with me, Cosmos"
"Yuni. Why are you awake, poyo? Did you have a nightmare too?" Kirby asked, curious.
"I am a primal beast. We don't need as much sleep as mortals. " she revealed. Kirby looked at her, surprised. Primal beasts could be children too! "But you should go back to sleep" she recommended. "I'll watch over you and wake you up again if you have more bad dreams like that."
"Thanks for everything Yuni" the little puffball thanked with a smile, before yawning and falling asleep immediately. Yuni smiled at him tenderly.
When Kirby woke up again, the sun was already in the sky. He only had bad dreams that night, but at least he hadn't been visited by another nightmare as terrible as that one.
"Good morning" greeted Yuni, who apparently had kept her word. Kirby returned the greeting with a smile.
It didn't take him long to get up and go to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Yuni, however, decided to stay in her cabin to avoid the morning crowds. On his way to his destination, he greeted the other passengers, who seemed even more tired than the day before. Soon, he discovered that Gran and Djeeta had also kept their word and the ship had indeed taken flight in the early morning. Kirby smiled enthusiastically at the thought of reuniting with Meta Knight.
Once in the kitchen, he found Wilnas, who was talking to a person with tan skin, long silver hair and horns whom he had never seen before. This person was a bit taller than the rest of the horned people that traveled on the ship, and they had the longest horns he had seen so far. On one of the horns the person wore an ornament in the shape of a skull.
"Are you serious, Fediel?" Wilnas asked his companion.
"Absolutely. Lu Woh came back to the island with a huge wound on his back " Wilnas' companion replied, with a feminine voice. "Even with his regeneration powers, it took a while for him to fully recover. I don't know what he fought against, as he refused to give me details, but it wasn't the average creature."
"Poyo! Hello, Wilnas!" the little hero saluted, making himself noticed. Eavesdropping was wrong.
"Hey Kirby! How are you, little one? Are you hungry?" The dragon greeted him back, as he approached to offer him a watermelon.
"So here's the famous anomaly" the woman commented, observing Kirby with interest.
"Hiii, what's your name?" Kirby greeted the stranger with a smile, as he ate the watermelon Wilnas had given him in one bite. The woman blinked, puzzled at this act.
"I'm Fediel, a friend of Wilnas" she finally introduced herself.
"Oh, if you're Wilnas' friend, then you're my friend too, poyo!" he exclaimed happily.
"Well, I can't argue with that logic" laughed Fediel, amused by Kirby's innocence.
Kirby stared at Fediel. Just like Wilnas' eyes reflected pure fire, behind Fediel's was pure darkness, which contrasted with the smile on her face. She somehow reminded him of Necrodeus, the terrible being that had once divided him into ten and tried to kill him. Still, he could feel that she wasn't evil at all.
"Hey Wilnas, have you seen Kirby?" Djeeta asked as she entered the kitchen, accompanied by Vyrn. Immediately, she noticed that Wilnas was accompanied by the pink puffball and the dragon of darkness. Kirby happily greeted her as he popped another whole watermelon into his mouth, while Vyrn stared at him in awe. "Oh, here you are. And hello to you too, Fediel. I wasn't expecting you today."
"Hello, Singularity" greeted the aforementioned. "Where is your other half? Finally forming a dyad?"
"Heh, more than a few boys and girls wished that they could be in a relationship with my brother, but he couldn't be more dense in that aspect even if he tried" Djeeta laughed dryly at the dragon's comment. "He's on the deck with Lyria, supervising that the flight goes well."
"By the way, Kirby: we were looking for you" said Vyrn." We will arrive soon at Stardust Town. Do you want to come to the deck?" the little dragon invited the puffball.
"Yes, poyo!" he exclaimed happily, while he left with the wyvern and the captain." Goodbye Wilnas, goodbye Fediel!"
"See you later, little one " Wilnas said goodbye with a smile.
"Wilnas, you're getting too attached to the pigment" Fediel informed his companion in a stern tone once Djeeta, Vyrn and Kirby had left the kitchen.
"Do you think so?" he replied, a little embarrassed.
"Yes, although I don't blame you: he's "adorable and that aura of positive energy makes you want to be close to him " she admitted. " But be careful: remember that if at any time he puts this world in danger...
"I know, I know" he yielded." But, honestly, I don't think that will ever happen."
The rest of the flight to Stardust Town was uneventful, Kirby being able to gaze at the beautiful cloud sea of the Sky Realm without a worry. It didn't take them long to arrive at their destination.
At the boarding of the island where Stardust Town was, three silhouettes were waiting for the Grandcypher. Kirby recognized one of them immediately.
"META!" Kirby yelled excitedly when he noticed his friend, immediately jumping over the side of the ship before it finished docking, and floating towards the knight.
"Kirby?!" Meta Knight exclaimed, surprised to see Kirby. Although he should have imagined that Kirby would end up in the same boat as the people he had heard so much about.
Kirby threw himself into the arms of the knight, who had no choice but to accept it. The little puffball let go of him when he noticed that his friend was getting uncomfortable, and instead he began to bombard him with questions like "How are you?" "What happened to your wing?". Beside the knight, Siete smiled amusedly at the scene. Meta Knight glared at the Eternal, annoyed.
The Grandcypher finally docked and its passengers were soon disembarking. The captains and their companions came down to greet them.
"Are you Meta, Kirby's friend?" Lyria asked. "Oh, he is so tiny. How cute" she added mentally.
"It's Meta Knight" he corrected, a bit curtly. He only tolerated being called Meta by his closest circle.
"A pleasure, Sir Meta Knight. My name is Gran, and this is my sister, Djeeta" Gran formally introduced himself, offering a hand to the warrior, who took it politely. Djeeta soon followed in her brother's footsteps. Meta Knight looked at them both, a bit flabbergasted: they were way younger than he had expected. "And these are Vyrn and Lyria" he added, introducing his companions."
"Wait. Six, what happened to your mask?" Djeeta asked the Eternal curiously, noticing that he was wearing a mask just like Meta Knight's.
"Nothing important" he replied, concealing his embarrassed tone as best he could. "I'm going to see Cagliostro so she can repair it."
"Did you talk to Nehan?" Gran stopped him before he left.
Six sighed.
"There is nothing more we need to talk about" he answered bluntly." Everything was settled in our combat."
"But the complaint to the enforcer's crew..." commented Djeeta, with concern.
"Let him drop it whenever he wants" replied the Eternal, continuing on his way.
"You could have at least reminded him about it" the captain insisted, but Six ignored her, going into the ship.
"Oi, don't ignore us!" Vyrn yelled at him.
"Is your friend okay, poyo?" Kirby asked, worried.
"He has a legal problem with another person, but it isn't too serious, at least right now."
Although Meta Knight was curious about this legal problem with Nehan (Six didn't strike him as someone who would get into trouble like that), it was none of his business, so he decided to don't make a comment about. What confounded him the most was that Nehan and Six had fought each other in the past. That explained why the doctor had reacted that way towards Six. But what reason could those two have had to fight each other? And most importantly, how did Nehan fight if he seemed so weak? That was intriguing.
"Hehe, I don't know what we're going to do with those two" Siete laughed, amused.
"And what are you doing here?" Djeeta asked Siete, with some irritation. The leader of the Eternals was not part of their plans.
"Meta Knight has invited me to this adventure to fight against that evil wizard, dark lord or whatever" the Eternal replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"He invited himself!" Meta Knight quickly clarified, not hiding his anger at Siete lie.
"That is so like you..." Gran scolded Siete, glaring at him.
"Haha. Well, I'm going to my cabin. See you later" Siete said, before hurrying inside the ship.
"Yeah, run away from your problems. The greatest warrior in the sky... I wish he acted like that" Djeeta commented.
"By the way..." Vyrn began, looking at Meta Knight.
"Yes, me and Six have a similar personality. We've already noticed" Meta Knight guessed, a little tired with the comparison.
"Meta, how come you have given one of your masks to someone?" Kirby asked the knight. "Have you made a friend? I'm so proud of you" he congratulated, while trying to pat the knight's head. Meta Knight quickly moved away when he saw his friend's intentions.
"Hey! The role of mentor who gives pats is mine!" he complained. "Besides, it's way too early to call him a friend."
"Were you the one who broke his mask?"
"As he did to mine" he excused himself." We had a duel and ended up in a tie."
"Oooh, Six has to be very strong" Kirby said, amazed that someone had managed to tie with Meta Knight: the knight usually won all the duels, except those that were against him. But then he noticed something that his friend had said. " Wait, have you gotten into a fight while being wounded? That is bad, poyo!" the pink puffball scolded him." Dedede is going to get angry at you for being so reckless!"
"If you tell the king about this, I won't give you lollipops any more" Meta Knight threatened.
"Noooo" Kirby whimpered, as he lightly tapped his friend's mask. "Don't be mean, Meta!".
A giggle escaped Meta Knight at Kirby's reaction. Lyria laughed, amused at the scene: Kirby's interaction with his friend was so adorable. They almost seemed like a father with his son.
"Well, we are going to take a short walk through town and say hello to everyone. We'll be right back" Gran reported. "I guess we'll have to talk to Nehan ourselves..." he added mentally."
"Kirby, can you show the Grandcypher to Meta Knight?" Djeeta asked the tiny hero.
"Leave it to me, poyo. Come Meta! This place is very cool " Kirby said as he indicated to his friend to follow him.
"One moment, please. Nehan told me that I should seek for someone in your crew who knows about healing magic, so that my wing can be fully healed" the knight recalled, turning to the captains and his companions.
"Right now, I think Io is the right person. Her healing magic is great" Lyria commented after thinking about the healers that were aboard in that moment and their well-being. "Kirby, do you remember who Io is?"
"The blonde girl with the multicolored pigtails!" Kirby exclaimed." She's a magician, Meta!" He informed his friend.
"See you later!" Lyria said, waving them goodbye.
.-.-.-.-.-
Meta Knight was quite fascinated by the Grandcypher.
The ship seemed to be larger on the inside than on the outside, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was just an optical illusion or if some kind of dimensional magic was at work. Kirby was getting to everyone they met, and introducing them to Meta Knight. It was easy to distinguish who was a primal beast and who wasn't because the latter, although they greeted them back with a smile on their faces, had the typical tired look of someone who hadn't slept well.
"Nightmare's magic is already starting to take its toll on the inhabitants of this world… how did he get so strong in just twenty-four hours?" the warrior wondered.
Tiredness was just the beginning. The nightmares would only get worse in the following days and slowly but steadily, the inhabitants of that world would become more tired, angry and sad; some would even end up falling into despair, all while their enemy only grew stronger. Meta Knight could only hope that the people on this ship were strong enough in mind and spirit to withstand what was coming, at least until the villain had been brought down.
"Gran and Djeeta have even more friends than I do, can you believe it?" Kirby said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Have you already met all of them?" He asked the pink puffball.
"Well, almost everyone, poyo. There are so many people on the ship and some do not leave their cabins.
"What are they like?" He asked, intriged. He wanted to know what kind of people were traveling with someone who had earned the trust of the mightiest warriors of that world.
"Oh, most of them seem pretty strong, but there are also people with no combat experience who have nowhere else to go" Kirby explained. "Some of them are children, like me!"
That dismayed Meta Knight. Why would they take children on such a dangerous journey? But then he remembered that Six had mentioned that there were networks that trafficked people. Surely, some of those would be specifically dedicated to trafficking children. That would also explain the existence of Stardust Town as a refuge for orphaned children, and why Quatre was so overprotective.
"This world can be really cruel."
There was also the possibility that some of these children were, in a superficial sense, like Kirby: young, but full of power and with a desire to protect their world and those who mattered to them. Maybe that crew kept them around so they could teach those children how to use and control their strength and powers. Or maybe he was just overthinking again...
Kirby guided Meta Knight to a specific cabin.
"Io? Are you there?" the hero of Dream Land asked as he knocked on the door. The occupant of the cabin wasted no time in opening the door for them.
"Hello there, Kirby" greeted the girl with a smile after opening the door. " I see you have already reunited with your friend. Nice to meet you. I'm Io" she introduced herself to Meta Knight with a polite bow. Meta Knight returned the gesture. " Come in!"
"Io is one of the first people that joined Gran and Djeeta's crew" Kirby informed Meta Knight excitedly as they entered Io's cabin. "She is a very powerful mage."
"I'm still a young lady that has a lot to learn" she replied, blushing." How can I help you two?"
"Meta's left wing is damaged" Kirby told her, pointing to his friend's bandages.
"Lyria mentioned that you are a great healer. If you don't mind, could you use your magic on it?" Meta Knight asked politely.
"Sure, let me see."
The young mage carefully removed the bandages. Meta Knight could see that part of the wing membrane had already been fully recovered, but there were still some holes in it.
"Okay, give me a second" Io asked, as she went over to pick up a golden staff. It had a strong magical aura around it, so Meta Knight guessed that it was a legendary weapon, like his Galaxia. The girl's magical powers resonated with those of the staff, and a green glow, accompanied by a fresh and pleasant sensation, flowed by his body. " And done! Your wing looks like new."
Meta Knight flapped his wings on the spot. It was as if that dragon had never burned it.
"Incredible. Thank you very much, young lady" he thanked." You are indeed an excellent mage."
"Well, Nehan deserves some credit too: he treated the wing very well. I just had to give it the last finishing touch" she said happily." Now if you'll excuse me, I want to try to sleep a little" Io asked." I'm going to test a spell to see if I can somehow ward off those creepy dreams" she added, with a bit of sadness.
"Don't worry Io: we will defeat Nightmare and bring back everybody's good dreams" Kirby promised, determined. Meta Knight nodded at his friends words.
"Thank you, Kirby" she thanked the pink puffball. "You can't imagine how relieved we are that we can count on someone like you and your friend in this ordeal."
They parted ways with Io, wishing her luck on her spell. Now that his wings were healed, Meta Knight could finally retract them. He immediately made his cape appear and hid them. The knight then started walking next to Kirby, who kept showing him around the ship. As they explored, it set sail, its engines and propellers starting up, so he guessed the captains must have returned from their visit.
Meta Knight was a bit jealous. Although the Halberd was more equipped for combat than the Grandcypher, this ship had more mod cons. Apart from the numerous cabins, there were a couple of bathrooms, a huge dining room, a library, a weapons room, a workshop... Also, it had numerous galleries that had various functions, such as a cafeteria (that was closed), a classroom, or a bar. There was also some sort of garage in which there were a couple of smaller ships and even devices that looked like robots.
"I don't understand the level of tech-development this world has. On the one hand, it looks like a society from a medieval fantasy novel, but on the other there is this kind of stuff" Meta Knight thought, confused. Apart from being cruel, that world was also strange.
Finally, Kirby led him to the deck, where they found Six, Siete, Lyria, Vyrn, and Fediel. Kirby quickly introducing the last one to Meta Knight. All of them were looking at something while chatting animatedly. Noticing the arrival of the knight, Six, who had recovered his old mask, approached them and returned the lended mask back to Meta Knight, thanking him for the favor.
Fediel gave Meta Knight an inquisitive look, and the knight couldn't help but get tense. There was something odd about this draph, and it had nothing to do with the fact that her anatomy didn't match Six's description of that species: she was much taller and had longer horns than usual. Perhaps she was a variant of that race, like that gigantic boy who lived in Stardust Town. Either way, there was something weirder about her than her appearance. There was something dark about her, and those eyes felt familiar, somehow reminding him of the dragon he had fought.
"Look, poyo! They're training!" Kirby exclaimed with energy while pointing to the deck, causing Meta Knight to abandon his thoughts about Fediel.
Indeed, on the deck there was a number of people dueling in pairs. He quickly located Gran and Djeeta. The first one was fighting with a katana against a young Darph woman with long purple hair. The poses of both were impeccable, although she looked a bit more skilled in handling the weapon than the captain, and the elegance and strength on her attacks were stunning.
Djeeta, on the other hand, was bare-knuckle fighting a brown-skinned human in an intense match of boxing. Both of them were interchanging strong fierce blows.
"So those two have quite the discipline to handle various combat techniques" Meta Knight noted mentally out as he watched the two captains train.
"Do you want to spar, Meta?" Kirby asked.
The knight smiled under his mask. His friend knowed him way too well.
"As long as you don't break my mask" he replied." There are way too many unknown people around to let my face be exposed..."
"Okay, poyo! I'll try not to do it" said the pink puffball. Then, he got an idea. "I know! The first to disarm the other wins. That way I won't unmask you if I beat you."
"Fair enough" Meta Knight said as he pulled out one of his spare swords and handed it to Kirby.
Upon receiving the weapon, Kirby transformed into Sword Kirby, his classic green beanie appearing on top of his head. Those present (except Meta Knight) looked at him curiously.
"Yesterday it was that fireball, and now the sword... how do you do that, Kirby?" Vyrn asked curiously.
"Well, when I absorb an enemy or acquire a weapon, my body copies the properties of these and it transforms, giving me abilities" the hero exposed, proudly."I call them copy abilities!"
"Wait, what happens to the things that you absorb?" Lyria wanted to know, with curiosity and a little fear. She didn't know that apart from projectiles, he could also absorb other beings. Did the puffball eat their enemies?
"Well, when I put something in my mouth, I can spit it out or swallow it. When I swallow something, it first is sent to my pocket dimension" Kirby explained. He had memorized that explanation once he and his friends had figured out how his powers worked. "If it is a living being, after a few seconds, the dimension expels them. But, if it's food or something that isn't alive, then my body absorbs it. I can also store some objects and food for later in there."
"That's kinda creepy" Vyrn commented, disgusted.
"You think so? I find it quite interesting" Siete commented." I'm pretty sure you are quite a creative fighter with such a unique skill. And a pocket dimension sounds really useful even if it is located in such a weird spot."
"Meta also has a pocket dimension" Kirby said as he pointed out to the aforementioned.
"Yes, but mine is located on my back" he quickly clarified, to prevent those present from having strange ideas about him.
"Well, Cassius eats metal. I suppose that every being from outside this planet has his peculiarities" Lyria commented, with a nervous giggle.
"Our alien friends can be very strange…" Vyrn said as he watched Kirby and Meta Knight walk away to train.
Kirby and Meta Knight located a gap in the deck and began exchanging attacks. Soon both of them had forgotten that this was just a sparring session and not actual combat.
Both fighters exchanged quick, clean blows. Meta Knight was happy to finally be able to use his abilities to their full extend, even if they both had to fight carefully so they wouldn't interrupt the other passengers' training. Although, they had already done that.
Most of the training pairs had stopped fighting and had turned to watch the combat of the two puffballs, fascinated. They had never seen two adorable little creatures fight with such skill and ferocity. It was like watching a meticulous dance.
"Would you look at that" Siete commented in awe, upon seeing Meta Knight's technique. "It seems I've finally found a swordsman at my level. What do you think, Six?"
"That I should duel him again, now that he is recovered" his fellow Eternal answered. "Maybe we could find an isolated island, so we could go all out."
"Not if I do that first!" Siete laughed.
"Are you two really going to argue about who is going to beat Kirby's friend first? Weirdos" Vyrn claimed.
"And you, Fediel. What do you think about them?" Lyria asked the dragon.
"I wonder, how do their species give birth?" the dragon of darkness and death replied. Just as Wilnas had developed an interest in agriculture and cooking, Fediel had become really interested in how live came to be when she had gained a mortal form. "Is the older one the biological father of the anomalous pigment? If that is the case, who is the mother? Is a mother even necessary for their species to have children? Oh, this is so fascinating. The Sky Realm can't produce such unique lifeforms."
"I don't think Meta Knight is Kirby's dad. I thought that at first too, but they behave more like siblings or close friends" Lyria noted.
The two puffballs' weapons collided violently, drawing all the spectators attention. Then, they both pushed with all their might. Meta Knight's sword flew out first, ending the duel.
The knight sighed, defeated. He once again had lost against Kirby. At least, he felt good after being able to fight at full strength once again.
"I won, poyo! You owe me candy!" the pink hero exclaimed, after doing his victory dance.
"When did we bet candy on this fight?" Meta Knight replied. He had retrieved his sword while the other danced.
"Right now!"
"Kirby, bets don't work like that" the knight said as he put a hand to his temple.
"Oh" the other whimpered.
"Fine, take it anyway" Meta Knight conceded, rolling his eyes and making a lollipop appear. Kirby popped it into his mouth happily.
Then, applause and cheers began to be heard. The crew of the Grandcypher seemed to have enjoyed the duel very much.
"If this is how you train, I can't imagine what your real fights are like" Gran laughed.
"That was awesome. I really want to train with any of you some day" Djeeta said, excited. "I'm sure I'll learn a lot."
Kirby replied with a "no problem", but with the lollipop in his mouth he was barely understood.
Then, in the crowd, he noticed someone with a very peculiar appearance, who was looking to the sides as if he was looking for something.
The stranger had two huge hairy ears sticking out of his head. He was dressed in an elegant suit, in shades of white and brown. His blond hair was tied up in a very long braid. But the most striking thing was that, like Fediel and Wilnas, his eyes had something supernatural in them... Electricity? Light? Both?
"Lu Woh? What are you doing here?" he heard Djeeta ask in a bemused tone.
Lu Woh? Why did that name sound familiar? Kirby had heard it somewhere before... Oh yes, in the kitchen that morning! Was he another friend of Wilnas?
Kirby was about to approach Lu Woh, but Meta Knight stopped him. Kirby could feel his friend tensing up as his gaze locked onto the newcomer's, which was filled with hostility towards them.
"So it's you again..." Meta Knight growled as he took a step forward and stood between Kirby and Lu Woh, raising his sword.
"Meta? What's wrong?" Kirby asked in confusion, after removing the lollipop from his mouth.
Lu Woh, said nothing. He just ran towards the two puffballs at lightning speed and, before anyone could make a move, grabbed Kirby and Meta Knight and teleported with them. Kirby had to close his eyes due to a blinding light.
When he opened them again, he and Meta Knight were trapped in the clutches of a huge golden-scaled dragon. And the worst part of it was that he had dropped his lollipop.
"False friends" words are my worst enemy while translating this lol