Meta Knight's frantic flapping alerted the villagers to his return. Most were confused by his anxious mannerisms, the rest greeted him as if there was nothing wrong. Right on cue, Tiff and Tuff ran out to greet him from where they stayed put in the square by the fountain. Tiff's bright, relieved smile faded slowly as she and her brother approached Meta Knight. He acknowledged them with a silent nod but he didn't slow down to speak with them, hurrying into Castle Dedede to speak with the king himself. The noble children followed close behind him to hear what was going on.
Dedede and Escargoon were plotting away again, practically ignoring Meta Knight's approach and curt bow to get the formalities out of the way.
"My King." Meta Knight attempted to get Dedede's attention respectfully, but the rotund man ignored him in favor of discussing some scheme against the innocent to increase his own power. The situation was far too dire for Meta Knight to stand aside while they ignored him. He stood and cleared his throat, speaking louder.
"There is a situation we need to confront, King Dedede."
"Ohoho! Did Kirby finally do something to get you on our side?"
"No that's not w-"
"Escargoon, call NME. We could get Meta to pitch in with us and get an insane monster to pit against Kirby!" Dedede was exceedingly excited at the prospect of Meta Knight scheming with them, but this wasn't that day. Nor would it ever be. Meta Knight shook his head and attempted to recapture Dedede's attention to no avail. The king and the advisor turned to the large screen that rose from the floor, reaching out to the NME representative they contacted far too often. It rang and rang but no one responded. Escargoon's devious smile fell, but Dedede continued his attempt only to receive the low dial tone and a "service not available" screen.
"You think they'd have better customer service…" Escargoon joked rather unenthused.
"Yeah! I am their best customer. I have brand loyalty!" Dedede complained.
"And you think a brand would care about you?" Escargoon snickered. They bickered and jeered with each other. Meta Knight was beginning to lose his cool. He just wanted to protect the people of Dreamland, but the King wasn't listening to him. The people had little time. Arcta Knight had already gotten so close and they were lucky she was called away. Who was to say she would be called away again? She wiped out the whole guard in a night; it wouldn't take long to demolish an untrained city of civilians. His grip tightened. His gauntlet creaking with force.
"Dedede!"
The pair fell silent and looked back at the fed up star warrior. He finally had their full attention. He tried being respectful, but now was not the time to let himself be walked over.
"I will not stand idly by while Cappy Town and all of Dreamland is threatened. Your entire guard is gone. Dead. And the Knight responsible will return to finish the job. We need to evacuate," Meta Knight placed himself in front of the screen to keep them from getting back to it, "the Halberd can carry nearly every citizen here and we can head to a nearby planet. I don't know how long we would have to stay there, but the remaining Star Warriors could attempt to drive her away." The entire room watched him intently as he spoke. Dedede and his advisor murmured quietly, realizing the severity of the situation. This wasn't some play-fight like the ones they usually encountered. Renting some two bit creatures to train and tease Kirby with. No, they didn't summon this thing and now there was more than a little Warrior in training could handle. There was blood, death. This was serious.
"Escargoon, take the soldier in recovery and get some images of the Knight he encountered drawn. We'll contact the bounty hunters to hold them back as long as we can. Meta Knight, can I trust you to get everyone on your ship?" Dedede almost never had to whip out his "true ruler" face, but he knew how to use it. Escargoon nodded and hurried down the hall to infirm. Meta Knight bowed and stepped past the throne to the hangar. Tiff and Tuff came out of their hiding place to join the conversation, racing after Meta Knight before he could leave.
"Wait! What about us? We could go grab Kirby and he c-"
"Kirby is a child, Lady Tiff. I don't think I could forgive myself if he became a part of this. Just grab your parents and bring them to the hangar. We need to get everyone on board." Meta Knight spoke sternly with the noble children. They seemed disheartened, trying to argue their point. Meta Knight's solid gaze silenced them and urged them to follow his advice.
The bounty was announced in the back channels and the town was quickly informed of the situation at hand. They ushered the townspeople into the Halberd under the supervision of Escargoon and Captain Vul. King Dedede grimaced as he looked out from the castle tower at the dead, gray, frosted forest at the edge of Dreamland. Meta Knight stood beside him, his cape clasped around him and fluttering in the wind. They were quiet, studying the damage at their safe distance. It seemed this was starting to sink in for the King.
"All of that from one person?" Dedede asked, folding his arms with a slight groan.
"A single Knight," Meta Knight nodded solemnly, "I don't believe she is a true Star Warrior though." That didn't sit well with either of them, but it also seemed that Dedede didn't quite understand.
"Do you think you can handle her?" He looked down at Meta Knight with genuine concern in his eyes. Meta Knight shook his head. He wasn't going to lie. He was disciplined and skilled, but this power Arcta had was unnatural. He would have to find out where she got it before he could hope to best her. Though that did give him an idea.
"Do you know where NME is located?" The question came, seemingly, out of nowhere. Dedede was taken aback by it before he looked aside in thought and tried to recall any information he might have.
"The monsters don't exactly come with return labels…"
"How did you hear about them?"
"Well… we hacked into a nearby satellite to get movies," Dedede laughed nervously at that admission, "they just kinda broadcasted their services during the commercials and we let them set up shop in the castle. Escargoon suggested it would help supplement our army on any short notice, I think. I'm sure that's why we started working with them." King Dedede explained. He had lost a lot of the reasons and details to time and didn't worry about keeping receipts at the beginning. Meta Knight grimaced and shook his head. If that's all he had to work on, then it was what he'd take.
"Try to stay alive." Dedede grumbled as he turned away and descended from the tower. Meta Knight glanced over his shoulder after him. He would remain in the tower while the town filled his ship and prepared to leave. He felt he couldn't step down until they were safely gone. Just in case Arcta decided to show up.
The air was thick with foreboding and Cappy Town was so empty. The Knight's voice echoed in Meta's head as he stared off towards the horizon. Why was it so familiar? She couldn't have been a Knight he had met before because she named herself right there. There was something he just couldn't put his finger on. Something that made his chest tighten with sadness.
He just wanted to know why.
He would have to fight her properly. To break that mask and see who he was really dealing with. So many steps needed to be dealt with before he could even get to that point. Meta's gaze started to drift downward to the town, to the empty streets.
Putting a bounty out will only get more people killed. Not every hunter is particularly trained and they might get cocky enough to try and deal with her themselves. He wanted to limit her body count. That added an urgency to his series of tasks.
That did remind him of the other corrupted warriors he and Kirby had come across before. If he posed Arcta as some kind of challenge he could probably get them to join this cause despite not having a stake in it. Kirby's connections would be very helpful there. As far as Meta knew, he was the only one that could contact distant enemies like that.
Would Dark Meta still be alive? Could he trust Marx or Magolor at all?
"Meta Knight?" There was a tug on his cape that took him out of his thoughts. He turned slightly and looked down at Tiff and Tuff. They appeared close to crying, their eyes big and watery. Sighing and kneeling to meet their eye levels, Meta Knight spared some time for them before their escape.
"We'll see you again, right?" Tuff asked.
"You'll stay safe?" Tiff asked. Meta Knight frowned. He didn't want to lie to them, but there was no way he could possibly guarantee either of those. He took a moment to figure out his words. A pause that Tiff picked up on and visibly wilted towards.
"I'll try to. I promise." Meta Knight said, nodding to them. That was the best he could offer them. The pair looked at each other, tears beginning to spill down their cheeks. They were losing their home and their entire planet. Meta was surprised they were strong enough to hold back for this long.
The twins threw their arms around Meta's neck and pleaded for him to go with them. He assumed they were scared to leave and wanted the last soldier in the kingdom to escort them to their new home and comfort them. Normally he would. But he couldn't do that. He wasn't exactly sure what to do. Removing them would only make their anxiety worse but letting them stay would hinder their evacuation. He returned their embrace, holding them while their pleas and sobs quieted into small whimpers and sniffles.
"You two won't be alone. You have your parents. You have your friends. You'll have Kirby too." Meta Knight said, his voice soft and sweet. He patted their backs and attempted to stand, but they weren't ready to let go yet.
"We don't want to leave you behind." Tiff sniffed.
"Everyone's safety is more important to me. I'm sorry. But it's time for you two to go." Meta Knight picked them up despite their protests and unfurled his wings from his cape. He stepped off the tower and carried them gently to the hangar floor where their parents were worriedly looking for them.
They clung slightly and argued but they eventually let go and clung instead to their parents. Sir Ebrum offered a quiet thanks and farewell, Lady Like giving him an apologetic look. Both stepped into the Halberd with the final stragglers before the door slid shut.