The group hurried into the mess of the throne room, gathering around the throne as Meta Knight sat and pressed the buttons to summon the screen from the floor. He drummed his fingers on the opposite armrest as he waited for the machinery to stop whirring and moving.
A few presses later brought the screen to life. It was a messy spattering of static, a loud hiss escaping the speakers as the flickering lights filled the screen. Meta frowned, flipping the channels until something interrupted the static. The group held their breath. The new images on screen causing them some pause and concern.
The screen had a title card on it. Static and still. A ring of stars with a set of ominous hands cradling the bottom of it. The banner read a very simple message.
"Stay Tuned, We'll be right Back"
Lining the ring of stars was a repeating string of text.
"— Nightmare Enterprises — NME —"
"All of our other signals are jammed… this one must be for that satellite Dedede mentioned." Meta Knight mused aloud so the other's had insight into his thought process. Magolor gave a look of concern, his ear flicking as he turned his gaze aside. Meta attempted to search for any other clear channels, but the screen wouldn't change, remaining on the title card no matter what. The channel number increased and the screen remained.
"We only got static on Lor. I haven't seen this." Magolor shook his head.
Meta nodded absently, trying the other buttons now. Volume? Nothing. Menu? Nothing. Call? Nothing. Everything he tried led nowhere. He couldn't even get it to turn off.
"Great, well now it's broken." Dark huffed. He grimaced and folded his arms, but his levity went unheard. A slight tension pricked at the trio. Marx danced off on his own nearby, unfazed by the ordeal.
Finally, the screen flickered and the title card dropped. A face familiar to Meta took over, glasses glinting as he looked down at them, aware of their presence. Dark and Magolor stiffened, looking to Meta for direction.
"Well, well! I'm surprised to see your friendly face." The salesman chimed as charismatic as ever.
"I'm surprised you never checked in on your best customer." Meta Knight said. He used the word "best" loosely. If anything, NME was probably awaiting a loan payment from the king. All the more reason to reach out to them. He wasn't forgetting their refusal to answer them earlier before the evacuation.
"Speaking of, where is triple D?" He mimed looking through and around the edges of the screen. Meta narrowed his eyes.
"… out. How are you bypassing the signal interference?"
"How? Well, we'll call that a trade secret."
Magolor squinted as well and tapped Meta's shoulder before leaving the throne room. He had a plan and Meta understood what he needed from him. The salesman watched as Magolor wandered off, cocking a brow over his glasses.
"Trade secret? What the hell are you talking about?" Dark gestured to the screen, "who is this dork?"
"Just a humble salesman," he answered, a saccharin grin stretching across his lips, "you got quite the company, MK, what's the occasion?"
Meta hesitated to answer truthfully. He was never one to trust NME to begin with, and this situation was too suspicious for him to divulge too much information to the salesman.
"Hmph, living under a rock, huh?" Dark interjected, his tone crass and impatient.
"Dark," Meta shot him a stern look, then turned back to the screen, clearing his throat. He knew he needed to provide some explanation to keep the conversation going, especially since Magolor needed the line open. "Popstar was attacked," he began cautiously. "They're here as reinforcements. You're the only active signal right now, do you happen to know anything about someone called Arcta Knight?"
"Arcta Knight? Hm, that's not a name I'm familiar with," the salesman replied, his tone casual yet calculating. "Odd that you yourself wouldn't know of this Knight. I'd assume you know all Star Warriors." He shrugged, offering an insincere sympathetic grin. Meta tensed, his grip on the armrest of the throne tightening at the salesman's words.
"She's not a legitimate Star Warrior. She doesn't deserve the title of 'Knight,'" Meta growled, his voice low and controlled as he fought to maintain his composure. "But she's stronger than anticipated, and we need all the information we can get."
"Maybe a description will jog my memory," the salesman suggested, leaning back slightly in his chair, his gaze fixed intently on Meta Knight.
"Perhaps," Meta replied, his voice clipped. "She wore a harlequin mask with diamonds painted on it. Gold armor, a pale cape. White feather wings and violet eyes. Adept at ice magic." He described Arcta Knight as best he could, his expression grim as he recalled their encounters. A sting in his torso reminded him of her strange demeanor.
The salesman hummed in thought, tapping his chin and rolling his head from one side to the other, drawing out the tension with his deliberate movements. He took his sweet time considering Meta Knight's description, his gaze calculating as he weighed his next words carefully.
"That does sound familiar!" the salesman chimed in, his tone dripping with false enthusiasm. "You're a lucky bunch! You'll be our first esteemed customers to witness the might of our brand new monster. It called itself Arcta Knight, but it'll be in our catalog under AKU-V. Good luck! We have full faith that our product is unmatched."
"What!?" Meta Knight exclaimed, his voice sharp with disbelief. Dark stiffened as well, a rare severity in his widening eyes.
"Yes," the salesman continued smoothly, ignoring Meta Knight's reaction. "NME has decided to end King Dedede's account for good. Congratulations, MK. With any luck, we'll finally be rid of Kirby."
The salesman waved them off with a poisonous smile and the screen went black.
The static reclaimed the screen, casting the throne room in an eerie glow of flickering lights, leaving Dark and Meta frozen in shock. Marx's cackles echoed behind them, amused by their stunned reactions. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his side, Meta rose from the throne, absently wrapping his cape tighter around him.
"This is a bigger issue than... How does it keep getting worse?" Meta's voice was tight with concern, his brows furrowed in frustration. "NME is in league with Arcta Knight."
The gravity of the situation hung heavy in the air, a sense of foreboding settling over the group as they grappled with the revelation.
"What happened? I lost the connection," Magolor said, his voice breaking the tense silence as he entered the throne room. Meta wasted no time in recounting the events, his explanation laden with urgency. Magolor's expression shifted from curiosity to shock, his mouth falling agape and his ears flattening against his head in disbelief.
"NME created Arcta Knight?" he gasped, the weight of the revelation sinking in.
"Cahoots! The Knight and Nightmare are in Cahoots!" Marx's voice rang out from across the room, his tone a mixture of disbelief and indignation.
"That... explains the communication issues a little," Magolor muttered, his expression grim as he adjusted his hood. "I managed to connect to NME's signal, but it's the only active one in this solar system. I think they're the ones jamming all other signals. I couldn't verify that, though." The realization dawned on them with chilling clarity, each word spoken adding to the gravity of their situation.
"This is just great…" Dark grumbled, his voice heavy with frustration. He kept his gaze averted from the group, turning his back to them and bristling with agitation, "well, we can't sit here forever. Are we going to do something about it or what?"
"Right. We need a plan." Meta Knight replied, decisive and resolute. Their adversary wasn't the only one with allies, and Meta knew they needed to mobilize quickly. Though a part of him wanted to shield others from the danger, he understood that swift action was necessary to end the threat.
"First things first. We need to check on the Halberd. I want to ensure everyone there is safe. Kirby can handle a lot, but this is beyond his capabilities right now. Dark and I need to find NME. I'm sure Arcta will follow us wherever we go. That is, assuming she hasn't set her own priorities straight."
"We'll conduct a search for them while we're taking you where you need to go. Lor can take all the Cappies to my dimension where they should be safe," Magolor offered, his voice steady as he outlined the plan. "Marx, I think you should stay on the Halberd to teach Kirby a thing or two so he can join Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight."
"What about the king? He could train Kirby," Dark interjected, with a hint of skepticism.
"He could, but I don't know if he can set his hostility aside for long enough to do that," Magolor replied, his brow furrowing with concern.
"I'm sure Dedede can do it. He can be a decent leader when he tries," Meta Knight sighed, though doubt lingered in his voice as he considered their options. He had little faith in Marx's ability to mentor… well anyone. But putting an extra fighter on the Halberd would be better for their defenses. "I think Marx remaining on the Halberd is best. It's best to keep him in this dimension should we need a Nova."
"Nova? Galactic Nova. The wishing star, the fabulous comet grants milky way wishes." Marx began to sing with childlike enthusiasm as he balanced precariously on his colorful ball, swaying joyfully. Meta Knight's expression tightened at the mention of Nova. He should have known that bringing up such a powerful entity could complicate matters further.
"I'll get him calmed down, trust me, he can help us." Magolor assured as he moved swiftly to gather Marx and gently guide him back to reality. Despite his determination and assurance, Magolor's ears betrayed his concern, twitching with unease as he worked to settle Marx down.
Meta Knight released a heavy breath, the weight of their plan bearing down on him. With a wince, he sank into the throne, pulling tightly on his cape as if seeking solace in its familiar embrace. The ache of his bandaged wound throbbed beneath his touch, a painful reminder of the task ahead. His gaze drifted upward, fixating on the ornate ceilings of the castle.
This plan could work. It had to. He clenched his jaw against the discomfort, allowing the pain to pulse through his torso. It was a stark reminder of the urgency of their mission. Her actions remained a puzzle, their motives shrouded in mystery. But Meta Knight knew that unraveling the why was a luxury they couldn't afford. All that mattered was the end goal: she needed to be eliminated.