Family
Meta Knight still didn't know what he was doing there.
After Shalem had "expelled" him out of her spot, Siete had dragged him to the little hub he'd seen in the morning during the tour Kirby had given him. The Eternal hadn't stopped pestering him as he walked back to his room.
"Come on, Meta Knight: give me only thirty minutes of your time. It's a nice place. Six will also be there, and the food is very good" Siete tried to convince him. " If the issue is that you don't have money, I'll treat you."
"If I go, will you leave me alone?" he finally answered the Eternal's pleas, somewhat annoyed. Siete just nodded.
Actually, it had been the Eternal's last couple of sentences that had sold him a bit on the idea of going to the hub. The opportunity to receive free food, or rather free desserts, was something he couldn't pass up. Also, he would be able to study the members of that crew in a more casual setting. Although he could barely stand Siete, he wanted to check what kind of people he was traveling with, as they were supposed to help him and Kirby take down Nightmare.
That's why, when the first thing that greeted them at the bar was the figure of a draph woman dressed as a nun, crying her eyes out on the bar while drinking bottle after bottle of alcohol, Meta Knight's heart sank. If those people were so weak that they lost themselves to drinking after only two nights of bad dreams...
"We are doomed," Meta Knight muttered, deeply disappointed.
"Are you talking about Lamretta? Don't worry about it: she was already like that before that enemy of yours' arrival," Siete informed him, after quickly guessing why the knight had said those words. "She likes to drink way too much, specially after having a bad date, but she is a capable fighter."
"I'll never find a man who loves me!" Lamretta cried aloud. "But wine will always be with me."
Meta Knight restrained himself from facepalming.
"Come on, don't be so sad," a blonde woman with red eyes tried to console the nun, while patting her on the back. "That guy who ditched you was just another despicable playboy. You don't need any men in your life to be happy."
Meta Knight realized that he recognized that blonde woman: she was one of the many that had been on deck practicing that morning near Gran and Djeeta. She had dueled another woman, and both of them had wielded their swords in a professional and impeccable way. But he had stopped paying attention to those two and the other duelists as soon as Kirby had asked the knight to spar with him.
"But you are in love with a woman, Vira! What do you know about dating men?" the nun replied without stopping her cries. Vira looked at her, seemingly pissed off. Six, who was sitting on the fourth seat at the bar, leaving one open between him and the nun, looked down awkwardly, probably wishing he could just vanish.
It was then when the owner of the hub, another draph, noticed the newcomers. To avoid misunderstandings, Siete had already explained to Meta Knight that despite her different appearance from others of her same species, the draph was a woman. Kirby had also told him about her: she was Ladiva, the wrestler who had helped capture the Terribleye the day before.
"Welcome to the Raduga!" Ladiva greeted them, trying to sound cheerful, although a certain amount of sadness was present in her voice. "Long time no see, Siete" she greeted the Eternal. Then she turned to Meta Knight and added: "and you must be Kirby's friend. I'm glad to have you here. Get a seat; don't be shy," she invited the knight. Behind her, a young man dressed in an elegant uniform was sorting through the bottles of wine on the shelf.
Meta Knight was going to sit in the corner of the bar next to Six, but Siete beat him to it, so he had no choice but to jump up on the stool between the nun and Six. Quickly, the young man offered him something to drink. But Meta Knight rejected it: with the accelerated metabolism typical of his species, drinking alcohol was a terrible idea (as he had learnt the hard way a long time ago). Instead, the knight asked him if they had any kind of dessert on the menu.
"Well, I haven't had a chance to serve it yet, but Sandalphon and I made a coffee parfait recipe a few days ago that received the seal of approval from our captains," the young man suggested.
"In that case, it would be my pleasure to be the first customer to taste such a dish," Meta Knight said in a formal tone, although on the inside he was as excited as Kirby would be if the little puffball was offered the same thing.
"Sir Meta Knight, right?" the blonde swordwoman asked the knight with a smile, as she leaned over her companion. "My name is Vira Lillie and I am the Lord Commander of the fortress of Albion and its military academy" she formally introduced herself. "Your duel with Kirby surprised me a lot, and I mean that in the best way: you both are really skilled."
Meta Knight looked at Vira, impressed. Her rank explained the impeccable technique she had displayed that morning. Plus, that gave them access to help from an army in case Nightmare was planning a full-scale invasion, though he hoped it didn't have to come to that as he wanted to risk the least amount of lives possible.
"And I'm Lamretta, a nun from...," the nun started to say. "Uh, right now I don't remember what my order does." Lamretta looked up for a few seconds, as if trying to remember, but in the end she gave up and shrugged. "Bah, who cares? By the way, your son is adorable."
"Kirby is not my son," Meta Knight corrected almost automatically.
"Oh, my bad. Since both of you are aliens and round and seem to be really close, I assumed that you two were related," Lamretta pointed out.
"Don't worry. You are not the first one to make that mistake, and you won't be the last. But even if we are from the same species, we are not related" the knight reassured her.
"Or at least as far as I know," he added in his mind. No one knew a thing about Kirby's past, not even the little hero himself, so Meta Knight couldn't rule out the possibility of them having a common ancestor.
"You know? When that aberrant dragon captured you two, we all got very worried. That despicable being is lucky that Gran and Djeeta prevented the rest of the crew from going after him" Vira told Meta Knight, with a tone of true hatred reflected in her voice as she mentioned Lu Woh.
"Kidnapping you two in front of some of the most capable fighters aboard this ship wasn't that dragon's brightest idea" Six commented. "I bet he was desperate to get rid of what he perceived as a threat to the world."
"I have noticed that this crew seem to be quite fond of Kirby despite how little time he has been here" Meta Knight said.
"Can you blame us? He is like a walking serotonin!" Lamretta claimed.
Meta Knight almost had to chuckle at that. It seemed that only him was inmune to Kirby's contagious joy... well, almost inmune.
"In my case, I'm in debt with Kirby for returning her smile to my beloved Katalina" Vira revealed. "When the nightmares began, she became very dull due to the negative thoughts they invoked upon her. But as soon as she saw Kirby her face lit up and she went back to being who she was. She loves cute things."
"Heh, look at that character development. A couple of years ago, you would be at Kirby's hypothetical throat for taking Katalina's attention away from you," Siete remarked with his smug smile.
"Please, don't remind me of those times" Vira replied, after letting out a sad sigh. "Thankfully, my mental health is much better now due to this journey and the care of our captains and Lyria. But poor Vyrn: I scared him so much back then."
"Lowain his 'bros' are still scared of you, though" Siete added.
"As they should be! Those pesky playboys deserve no mercy!" Vira asserted angrily.
"That is our Vira! The scourge of the Lowains!" Lamretta laughed. "I miss them though: Wilnas doesn't cook half as well as they."
"Yeah, I can't argue with that" Vira had to concede.
"Mmm, I can't help but notice that you don't seem as tired as the other people on the ship, yet you don't seem to be a primal beast" Meta Knight said to Vira, wondering if she was somehow immune to Nightmare's power.
"You are quite observant. I'm not a primal beast, but I am protected by one. In order to shield me from nightmares, she takes control of my body while I am asleep, so my mind doesn't get consumed by those terrible dreams I used to have once more," she revealed in a sad tone. As if sensing her distress, a pair of spheres of light with wings similar to those of a fairy came out of her body and began to flutter around her. "Don't worry, Lumi: I'm fine. I just wish my mind was strong enough to not require such extreme ways of protection," Vira said to the spheres as she caressed them. After that, the spheres returned to her interior once more.
"So some primal beasts are symbiotic and can even possess their hosts..." Meta Knight contemplated without voicing his thoughts. The knight remembered how some of Nightmare's creations he had fought against in the past, like the Demon Frog, could also do the same. Apparently, the villain had copied more than just the creation process from those primal beasts. At least in Vira's case, there seemed to be a mutual consent between her and her beast, like some kind of bond or pact.
"I wish I had a primal beast to take care of me too. That way, I could avoid the nightmares that remind me that I'm a failure that will never accomplish anything in life " Lamretta lamented in a saddened tone.
"Or maybe you could try to face your problems instead of drinking" Six scolded the nun. "I get that you like wine, but drinking until you pass out not only won't solve anything, but it is also bad for your health."
"Ha! As if I hadn't already tried it," the nun exclaimed. "If you were the captain of a crew, it would be called 'Obvious'." Everybody looked at her with confused looks in their faces. "Didn't you get it? Captain Obvious... Welp, I 'm so drunk that I can't even tell a joke correctly, so I'm going to bed."
Immediately after she finished that sentence, Lamretta collapsed and began to snore.
"I should have guessed that going out drinking with a wine lover would end this way " Vira complained, a bit annoyed. "Well, it's my responsibility, so even if I would like to stay, I must take Lamretta back to her cabin. I hope to have the opportunity to speak with you at another time, Meta Knight."
With little effort, Vira picked up Lamretta and carried her on his back while muttering: "someone of my status being demoted to carrying around drunk people." She then politely said goodbye to everybody else and left the Raduga.
"Ladiva, are you feeling well? You have been oddly quiet" Six asked the woman, worried. "Maybe you should take a break."
"I told her that I could handle the Raduga by myself tonight, but she completely ignored me," the young man who was preparing Meta Knight's dessert spoke. He had been focused on his task until Six showed concern for Ladiva.
"Because it's not necessary, Jamil: I'm fine. It's just that I feel as if something bad has happened to Phoebe. I know it's weird, but I just can't get that feeling out of my mind," Ladiva explained.
"Well, you have kind of adopted her and her brother, so that must be your maternal instinct acting up," Siete pointed out. "But don't worry: I'm sure she is fine. After all, the dream world is her territory."
That statement peaked Meta Knight's interest. Did someone in that world have similar powers to Nightmare himself?
"Who is this Phoebe you speak of?" the knight asked, intrigued.
"Phoebe is the 'human' form of the primal beast of dreams. The night the nightmares began, she left with her brother, Morphe, to investigate the cause. We haven't heard from them since then," Jamil reported as he served Meta Knight his parfait. "The Raduga is not the same without those two. I hope they are okay," he added, worried.
"I have a bad feeling about that," Meta Knight thought after hearing those words. The fact that Phoebe had left the ship when Nightmare arrived was really suspicious. Did the villain know about that primal beast? Could they be related somehow since they shared the same territory?
As he wondered about that, Meta Knight slightly lifted his mask to reveal only his mouth, so he could eat the parfait.
"This is an excellent dish, Jamil" Meta Knight congratulated the young man, delighted by the taste of the parfait.
"Thank you, sir," Jamil thanked him with a gentle smile.
"By the way, there is something about you that seems off," Siete said to Meta Knight as he watched the puffball eat. "Several members of the crew have told me that Kirby eats anything, but Nehan claimed that you told him that your species feeds mainly on sweet food," the Eternal exposed. "I asked him about you since you refused to talk to me while we were in Stardust Town."
Meta Knight swallowed, hiding his nervousness. Had Siete discovered his secret?
"You told Nehan a little lie to avoid being judged because you have a sweet tooth, am I right?" Siete surmised, with a mischievous smile.
Yes. He had discovered it. Meta Knight hid his embarrassment and tried to think of some sort of excuse, but the Eternal's soft laugh interrupted him.
"Come on. Don't stress yourself for something like that," Siete said. "Even a prideful warrior such as yourself deserves to be self-indulgent with some things. Everyone needs to have a few little pleasures in their life."
"Eating sweets is undignified for someone who dedicates his life to fighting the darkness of the universe," Meta Knight replied, frustrated with himself. To him, his sweet tooth was a weakness.
"That's what you think," Siete told him, in a midly serious tone. "Believe me: no one here is going to consider you less professional or inferior because you like sweets. Or, at least, I won't."
Meta Knight blinked in puzzlement at those words. He remembered that when Dedede had caught him sneaking at night to eat sweets, the king had ended up telling him the same thing.
Siete began to enumerate: "I will give you an example: Zooey, the Arbitrator of the world's balance, is one of the most important primal beasts for our planet, and she collects stuffed animals. And it's no secret that I am like a child on Christmas morning when it comes to swords."
"I am a professional assassin who enjoys preparing cocktails" Jamil revealed, surprising Meta Knight: wearing that elegant uniform and his warm smile, it was hard to picture the young man killing anyone. "I also like flowers."
"And Sandalphon, the person that helped him with the recipe for that parfait, is the Supreme Primarch. His dream is to open his own chain of coffee shops" Ladiva added.
"What we mean is that on this ship you don't have to pretend to be cold and distant: you can be yourself," Six confirmed.
"I see," Meta Knight understood. "So, do you all consider this ship your home?""
"Well, they say that home is where the heart is. And our hearts are definitely on the Grandcypher," Six replied. "Gran and Djeeta have created a big family without even realising it," he added, after letting out a small chuckle.
"Speaking of those two, have they insisted you to settle things with Nehan again?" Siete asked his fellow Eternal, curiously.
Six sighed before saying:
"I think they've given up for the time being, but I'm sure they'll try again. Why can't they understand that Nehan needs time and space to recover emotionally?"
"They just want to save everyone. I guess they're worried that he might suffer a relapse," Ladiva reminded him.
"Is it because of the coma?" Meta Knight asked, concerned about the erune's condition.
During his stay in Stardust Town, Meta Knight had been told that Nehan had woken up from a coma only a few months earlier, and that was why he was not in physical condition to travel with them. Apparently, after he had betrayed the Mafia, one of his former colleagues had shot him, and he had suffered a severe injury. Yet the Eternals were able to save his life.
"I wish we only had to worry about the aftermath of the coma... If that Nightmare is going straight to exploiting our deepest fears, I'm worried about what might happen to him. Nehan has suffered way too much in his life. Because of me, he ended up in the hands of the Magasin Family and was a slave to them since his childhood" Six revealed to the knight, trying in vain to hide his anguish and guilt.
"Six, you don't need to keep torturing yourself for that," Siete tried to reassure him. "You were also a child, and those circumstances were literally out of your control. Also, as you told Gran and Djeeta, that whole thing was settled with your fight."
Meta Knight looked at Six thoughtfully. What exactly had happened between those two? As curious as he was, he refrained himself from asking: gossiping about others' pasts was more like Dedede than him.
"Honestly, Nehan doesn't strike me as someone who gives up easily," Meta Knight stated instead. "The fact that he is still alive despite everything that he has gone through is proof of his determination. I don't think he's going to succumb so easily to that villain's nightmares."
"You're right," Six agreed, relieved. "Besides, with Mugen by his side, I don't think he is going to try anything stupid."
Suddenly, Meta Knight jumped up. Hearing about Mugen, the giant child of Stardust Town who turned out to be Nehan's adoptive son, made him think of Kirby.
"Well, the thirty minutes I promised to Siete are over, so I must say goodbye," the knight announced.
"You know that that thirty minute thing wasn't a time limit, right?" Siete remarked. "I'm sorry if I offended you with that 'sweet tooth' thing. I just wanted you to open up a little. "
"Don't give yourself so much credit: it's not that easy to offend me," Meta Knight said, after letting out a dry laugh. "I have to leave to make sure Kirby doesn't skip his dream because he is afraid of having another nightmare. He is still has a lot to grow up."
"Are you sure you're not his father?" the leader of the Eternals joked.
Meta Knight stopped to think about his answer for a few seconds.
Even if he was the closest thing his young friend had to a father figure, he didn't consider himself someone who could be a good father. After all, who would want a reckless father who is absent most of the time because he has gone to fight against monsters, villains, and cosmic horrors, either to protect the galaxy or simply to measure his strength? He knew that Kirby thought all of this was "cool", but "being cool" is not enough to be a father. Meta Knight considered that fathers should be the ones to protect their children from danger, and yet he had had to be saved by Kirby on way too many occasions.
"Yes, I would definitely be a disastrous father" he internally sentenced himself.
Meta Knight sighed and turned his thoughts back to Kirby. Despite everything, he and Dedede were the only adults that Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee usually had around, so the responsibility for those two growing up healthy and strong fell on them. In any case, it could be said that he and the king would be more like two older brothers to those little ones.
"I may not be his father, but his other friends and I are the closest thing he has to a family," he finally answered.
Ewiyar had decided that it was time to settle things with that being.
"How dare those mortals whom I have graced with my majestic presence cast me aside for a newcomer?" the emerald dragon grumbled internally. All the attention she used to receive was now on that pigment that had come from another world, and that was something she could not tolerate.
After all, being an object of adoration was the sole reason why she had decided to incarnate herself as a cat.
Ewiyar went straight to the cabin of the primal beast called Yuni, where she had heard that the damned anomaly rested. When she arrived, she meowed loudly at the door and scratched at it a bit, knowing that it always drew the attention of mortals.
A certain pink puffball was the one who opened the door for her.
"So this is the famous irregular pigment, the one that has robbed me of mortal worship," Ewiyar thought as she examined Kirby. "I don't know why everyone thinks he is so special. He doesn't seem like a big deal."
It was then when the pigment called Kirby noticed her. His face lit up as he exclaimed:
"Look, Yuni! A kitty!"
Ewiyar was suddenly seized by the irregular pigment, who carried her with him into the room, the door closing behind them.
"Put me down right now, you annoying anomaly!" Ewiyar demanded, indignant: she hadn't given him permission to grab her! But all that escaped from her mouth was an angry mewl as she struggled. She was then tempted to say that message telepathically, but she knew that the moment she used her dragon powers, her cover would be blown and she would not be able to continue enjoying all the advantages and comforts that came with being a cat.
"Ah, it's that weird cat," Yuni commented when she recognised Ewiyar as the fluffy cat that acted like it owned the whole ship.
"How dare this disrespectful child call me 'weird'? Didn't her creator teach her some manners?" Ewiyar angrily said in her mind.
"I think you should put her on the ground: she seems uncomfortable," the young primal beast told Kirby.
"Oh. I'm sorry, kitty," Kirby apologized as he released Ewiyar.
Ewiyar was going to hiss at the hero of Dreamland, but he suddenly began to pet her gently and tenderly.
"Oh, what a treat. There, there: that's the place. Nobody had told me that the irregular pigment knew how to pet so well! And Lu Woh wanted to kill him... what an idiot. Oh, this really is life!."
As Ewiyar thought that, she couldn't help but purr, forgetting her pride.
"It seems that she likes you,"Yuni pointed out with a smile.
"She is very soft. Why don't you try petting her too, poyo?" Kirby offered.
Yuni moved her hand closer to Ewiyar, but the dragon slapped it away roughly.
"Don't touch me, beast: you have offended me with your words," was what Ewiyar meant with that gesture, as she looked at Yuni apprehensively.
"Oh, she is angry with me..." the primal beast said, sad. "I'm sorry I called you weird."
Ewiyar kept looking at Yuni in a bad way, as she considered that such a weak apology wasn't enough for her.
"Come on, don't be mean to Yuni," the pigment asked the cat with pleading eyes.
"Those eyes... What kind of power is this? Why can't I resist it? I need to learn that skill! Teach me, oh great giver of amazing pats!"
Naturally, Ewiyar gave in to Kirby's gaze and let Yuni pet her. Cosmos' surrogate was good at it too, but the pigment was much better. Ewiyar began to rub against Kirby to signal to him that she wanted to be petted by him. The hero of Dreamland let out a giggle as Ewiyar's soft fur tickled him.
"Mmm... the eyes of this cat, for some reason, remind me of those of Wilnas and his friends," the hero of Dreamland commented looking straight into Ewiyar's eyes as he petted her.
"Do you mean the six dragons?" Yuni asked.
"Yes, poyo. It also makes me think of the spring breeze."
Ewiyar stiffened at that. "Well, that is my cue to leave. My identity must remain a secret!"
With superhuman speed, Ewiyar bolted towards Yuni's cabin door, leaving the two children stunned. But she had to stop short when she found out that the door was closed.
"Doors: my biggest enemy in this form. And with those suspicions upon me, I can't force it open with the power of the wind."
Luckily for the emerald dragon, someone opened the door for her from the outside. Ewiyar took the opportunity to run away, leaping over the newcomer's head.
"What was that?" Meta Knight said, looking confused at the fleeing cat. "Kirby, what were you doing to that poor animal?"
"I was just petting her, poyo" he replied, feeling a bit sad because the cat had left so suddenly.
"So it was just a cat being a cat" Meta Knight claimed. "By the way, it's time for you to sleep."
"The same for you, poyo" his friend retored, puffing out his cheeks in disagreement.
"I am an adult and I can live without a few hours of sleep. If you do not sleep at least eight hours, then tomorrow you will be tired and sulky all day. Not even Bandana Dee can stand you when you act like that."
A small sound of frustration escaped from Kirby's mouth. Meta Knight was right: when he was deprived of sleep or his food was stolen, he was very short-tempered.
"Kirby, you should listen to your friend," Yuni said. "Young mortals like you need to rest."
"I don't want to have another nightmare like the one from last night," the young puffball revealed.
"I was afraid of that," the knight told him, with a certain understanding in his tone. "But tell me: since when do you run away from things that scare you?"
"Since never, poyo!" Kirby replied with determination. "But, what if I get trapped in the nightmare and can't wake up? If that happens, I won't be able to help anyone."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'trapped'?"
Kirby proceeded to tell Meta Knight about the strange nightmare he had had, how he had almost fallen into despair and how Yuni had managed to wake him up and then push away the negative thoughts caused by the terrible dream.
"Gran and Djeeta also said the same thing about the first nightmare they had," Yuni recalled.
"I see..." Meta Knight said, trying to hide his concern so as not to alarm Kirby. That kind of nightmare could only mean one thing: Nightmare had directly attacked both him and the two captains of that ship. "What are you up to?" he added mentally, thinking of the villain with rage.
"Meta? Is something wrong, poyo?" Kirby asked his friend, feeling his tension.
"It's nothing. I was just thinking," the knight replied. Then, to reassure the young hero, he added: "Kirby, you don't have to worry about that dream. It's just one of Nightmare's tricks to make you fall into despair. And you've already defeated him once, right?"
"So, I'm not going to get stuck in an eternal bad dream?" questioned the young puffball after nodding.
"No: for that to happen, Nightmare would have had to cast a curse on you directly, and he hasn't had the opportunity to do so," Meta Knight informed him.
"And if I feel that something is wrong, I'll wake you up again," Yuni promised.
"Then I'll face every single nightmare that bad guy sends me, poyo!" Kirby exclaimed, in a livelier tone.
"That's the Kirby I know," Meta Knight said, smiling behind his mask.
Seeing that his friend was feeling better, Meta Knight prepared to leave. However, Kirby stopped him by softly tackling him.
"Hey, what is this about?" the warrior asked Kirby, a bit annoyed.
"If I'm going to sleep, you have to sleep too," Kirby replied.
"But I have my own room."
"Where I can't check that you're sleeping and not working! Sleep with us tonight!" the pink puffball demanded.
"I don't want to bother Yuni," Meta Knight refused. "She already has enough putting up with you and your snoring."
"My snoring is certified as a 'cute sound', poyo"
"I can confirm that. And I wouldn't mind if you spent the night here either," Yuni said with a smile. Then, she got closer to the knight and whispered to him: "Although if you really want to leave, I'll help you; no one should be forced to do anything against their will. If we can get him to fall asleep before you, he won't notice that you're gone."
Meta Knight looked curiously at the girl, wondering what she was planning.
"So Kirby, do you want me to read you two a bedtime story?" Yuni suggested.
"Yes! I want to hear some tales from this world" he replied, with enthusiasm.
"In that case, I'll go to get a children's book. I'll be right back!" Yuni exclaimed as she left the room.
Kirby jumped up on the bed and motioned for his friend to lie down with him. Meta Knight rolled his eyes, but he did it anyway.
"Kirby, is there any reason why you're insisting so much that I sleep here?" Meta Knight questioned the hero. Although Kirby was very stubborn, he normally respected his personal space and his need to be alone.
Kirby did not respond at first. He looked at Meta Knight with a thoughtful, worried face, unusual for him.
"Haltmann," the pink puffball finally said.
That took Meta Knight by surprise. He doubted Kirby was referring to the late owner of the Haltmann Works Company. And there was only one other person with that last name that they knew of (although Kirby had never shared how she had discovered such information).
"What does Susie have to do with this?" Meta Knight asked with a groan at the thought of her.
"I'm not talking about Susie," Kirby denied. "I'm talking about the company. I know you've dreamed about what they did to you during the invasion, poyo."
"Oh, so it's about that... Kirby: I'm over it," the knight assured him after understanding Kirby's intentions. "Otherwise, do you think I'd let Susie roam Dreamland every time you invite her to one of your picnics? While I must admit that those unpleasant memories cause me some stress, it is nothing that affects my performance or well-being nowadays."
Although Kirby seemed to believe him, he still looked at the knight with a pleading look that said "I will be more relieved if you stay, please".
"Nothing I say is going to make you let me go, right?" Meta Knight guessed, as he sat next to Kirby on the bed.
"That is right, poyo!" Kirby replied, smiling as he snuggled up against the knight's cloak.
"You're as stubborn as Dedede..." Meta Knight affirmed.
When Yuni returned, she found the two puffballs asleep, with Kirby still curled up in the knight's cloak. The Cosmos envoy smiled warmly at the adorable scene.
"Rest well, heroes of another world. I'll watch over you," she said as she covered them with a blanket.
When Kirby woke up in the morning, Meta Knight had already left the room. He knew that the knight had slept next to him all night because every time one of them woke up from a nightmare, the other would notice and soothe the one who had been disturbed. Thanks to that, they both managed to rest.
After thanking Yuni for taking care of the two of them during the night, the hero of Dreamland hurried to the kitchen to ask Wilnas for breakfast, but the dragon was not there. "Ah, that's right: he has to fix that island. He won't be back until lunch" the young hero recalled. "Well, I hope he doesn't mind if I prepare my own breakfast."
But he was not alone in the kitchen. Lyria was there, gorging herself on cream puffs. The blue-haired girl greeted him with her mouth full, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's. She offered him a tray that was also full of cream puffs. The two ate heartily, until Gran arrived accompanied by Vyrn.
"Lyria, please tell me that you two haven't eaten all of the one hundred cream puffs that we had stored," the captain asked his companion in an accusing tone, while he grabbed her cheeks. Lyria blushed with embarrassment. "They were supposed to be for Sandalphon's coffee room!"
"They were going to get musty! Throwing them away would have been a waste," she excused herself.
"Well, you will have to explain that to him when he comes back," Gran scolded her. "You are lucky he never gets mad at you."
"I hope he comes back soon. I can't wait to see his face when he meets Kirby and Edgy Blueberry," Vyrn commented, with an amused expression.
"Who is Sandalphon?" Kirby asked before putting another puff in his mouth.
"A friend of ours and the rightful owner of those cream puffs. He dislikes things that don't make sense in the concept of our world, so it's very likely that he has some sort of mental breakdown when he meets you," Gran explained.
"Rude, poyo. I'm not that weird," the little puffball complained.
"Anyway, Lyria: have you informed Kirby about your idea?" the captain asked.
"Nope. We were focused on eating," she replied. Kirby looked at her curiously, but he didn't say anything because his mouth was full. "When you're done, I'll show you."
Intrigued, Kirby quickly finished his breakfast and the four of them marched out onto the deck, where Meta Knight was talking with Djeeta about sword techniques.
Now that they were all together, Lyria announced:
"I think I've figured out how to find the shards of that wand you need to defeat Nightmare. I was wondering how we could track down Kirby's other friend, and I thought Kikuri might be able to help us."
The two little balls looked at her expectantly. The girl in blue raised her arms and summoned before them a structure that vaguely reminded them of a communications satellite, but made of threads of different colors.
"This is Kikuri: the primal beast of fated connections," she introduced the being. "It has the power to control the links of people, events, objects, and even places, as well as their destinies."
"So this primal beast will be able to locate both the king and Bandana, in case he is in this world, as well as the Star Rod shards" Meta Knight guessed. Lyria nodded.
Kirby happily greeted the thread-made beast, but it seemed to have no way of responding.
"Yes, but the thing is that I don't want to over-exploit the poor beast: even if it doesn't have the ability to communicate or reason, it still has emotions, and I don't want to treat it as an object. In addition, the integrity of the Dydroit Belt depends on it, and an excessive use of its power could put that belt of islands in danger, as we discovered in the past. So we'll search for one thing each time," Lyria stated in a serious tone as she caressed Kikuri's threads. "You guys understand it, right?"
Kirby and Meta Knight nodded in agreement. Despite its shape and its artificial origin, that creature was still a living being that should be respected.
"So, the choice is yours: what are we going to look for first?" Djeeta asked both puffballs.
"For Dedede" they both answered at the same time without even thinking about it.
"Oh? I was sure that you were going to say that we should go after the shards first," Kirby stated, surprised. Meta Knight usually chose duty over his feelings, so Kirby had initially thought that the most reasonable option in the knight's eyes was going to be to locate the shards.
"While fixing the Star Rod is important, I fear for King Dedede's safety. He took one of the shards, and I'm convinced that Nightmare dislikes our king enough to attack him. Furthermore, his appearance and manners draw a lot of attention, and that could get him in trouble."
"Well, if you both agree, then let's get started," Lyria said. "Kikuri, would you be so kind as to locate Kirby and Meta Knight's friend?" she asked the beast, gently. A few seconds after that, she nodded, as if she had received some sort of message that only she could hear. "Kikuri is willing to help you. It has said to me that you should touch one of the threads while thinking of Dedede."
The two puffballs followed Lyria's instructions. As soon as they had barely touche the surface of one of Kikuri's threads, those stretched out and dispersed at almost the speed of sound. Lyria kept her eyes closed, to receive the information that Kikuri transmitted to her.
"Wow: your connection with that guy must be really strong," Gran said, amazed.
"Of course it is, poyo. You're talking to Dedede's fated rival and best friend, and to his sworn partner," Kirby boasted proudly, pointing first to himself and then to Meta Knight.
"Oh, sworn partner? That sounds romantic," Djeeta commented, looking mischievously at Meta Knight. "Are you two married or something?"
"It's nothing like that," Meta Knight denied, hiding his embarrassment at that comment as best he could, and grateful that his mask hid his blush. "It's just that a couple of years ago we swore we'd fight together until the end."
"It still sounds romantic," Djeeta insisted, still with that smile.
Meta Knight was about to reply, but Lyria interrupted him by asking in a confused tone:
"Does your friend looks like a big blue penguin?"
"Yay, that must be him!" Kirby confirmed.
"I can see where he is: on the terrace of a vacation hut at the beach" Lyria informed.
"It seems that your friend is relaxing in Auguste," Vyrn commented, irritated. "Is he really that lazy?"
"I don't think he's on vacation" Meta Knight denied. It was true that the king of Dreamland was lazy, but he never sit idly when there was a threath. "I'm pretty sure he has a good reason to be there."
"Do you see anything else, Lyria?" Djeeta wanted to know.
"Uh, he has a very large bandage on one of his sides, but he seems to be fine," she reported.
"Did he get hurt too Oh, no... What did he fight against?" Kirby exclaimed, concerned.
"Wait, I see someone with him... It's Morphe! They are talking about something. How strange! Didn't he and Phoebe go to the dream world together? What is he doing in Auguste?"
Gran and Djeeta said nothing. They had long suspected that the two siblings had lied to them about their departure. After all, only their minds and souls traveled to the dream world. Their bodies were always been left behind, so it made no sense that they had disappeared from the real world.
"Is anyone else there?" Gran insisted.
"I don't see anything right now... Wait: something just flew towards Dedede at great speed," Lyria narrated. "It's Dyrn! Why is he bitting Dedede? Oh, and here comes Zooey has come to get rid of it."
"Zooey? Isn't that Yuni's big sis?" Kirby asked. His primal beast friend had mentioned Zooey a few times in their talks.
"In a way, you could say she is" Djeeta confirmed.
"So, your friend is not only with Morphe, but also with Zooey. And if those two left with Phoebe and Sandalphon respectively, we could assume that they must be around there too" Gran deduced.
Meta Knight blinked in bewilderment at the names, remembering that they had been mentioned in the conversation he had had at the Raduga. Siete had referred to Zooey as "one of the most important primal beasts in the world", and Ladiva had spoken about Sandalphon, who had the title of "Supreme Primarch" (which sounded quite important). They also talked about Phoebe and Morphe, the primal beast of dreams and her brother.
"Two beings of high titles and a creature that shares domain with Nightmare. And Dedede is hurt…" Meta Knight recapitulated in his mind. His instinct told him that this group had been involved in some kind of confrontation with the villain or one of his creations and had had to withdraw.
"Well, let's not waste any more time," exclaimed Djeeta. "Let's head straight to Auguste, because the people who are with your friend have a lot to explain."
I wanted to write some interactions between Meta Knight and some members of the Grandcypher's crew, as well as Kirby's encounter with yet another of the six dragons, so not much has happened plot wise this chapter. But hey, at least they got something done in the end and they now know where Dedede is. Also, Kikuri's power is very convenient for this fic, isn't it?
I haven't had time to get my hands on an Eshop card to buy Kirby's Dream Buffet, so I still haven't played it. I also had to sierotix Belial for a second time, and I haven't got a single summer unit this year except for a Hal and Mal Gold Moon x.x. At least I got two Wamdus.