Meta Knight had been telling the truth when he said the small ones would slow them down, she quickly discovered. They didn't cover nearly as much ground as they should have been able to. In Bandana Dee's case, it wasn't really his fault. Being just a Waddle Dee, he didn't walk very fast. Air-hopping, he could go much faster, but Kirby wandered off after another imaginary snack every few minutes, keeping them stuck on the ground.

Sakura sighed as the sun set lower in the sky. "We haven't even gone ten miles. We should've gone at least twice that, if we were flying. How long till we get to Cookie Country?"

Meta Knight's eyes had been an irritated orange since soon after they had left the castle. Now, he glared at her, and answered, "At this rate, three days. Are you sure you do not want to take the two small ones back to the castle and choose someone else to accompany you?"

She nodded firmly. "My mind is made up. The two mini-us have to come with us."

He sighed. "I can only be so long-suffering, my friend."

"You don't have any plans of abandoning us, do you?" she asked him, a bit anxiously.

His eyes softened to a normal yellow for a moment, then returned to orange. "Of course not," he huffed, drawing his cloak around himself.

Kirby walked past them and off the path toward a few tiny fruit bushes. "Strawberries, poyo..." he murmured, practically drooling.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Sakura moaned. Inhaling Kirby and picking up Bandana Dee, she plowed ahead as quickly as she could.

Meta Knight chuckled. "At least we are now making slightly better time." She glared at him, unable to answer.

Eventually, Kirby fought his way out of her face. "Yuck, poyo!" he groaned, making an awful face.

"Pay attention to what we're actually supposed to be doing," she ordered him. "Or I'll put you back in there."

Kirby stuck his tongue out at her and flew up into the air, putting as much distance between him and her as he could.

Shaking her head in frustration, she huffed, "No wonder Waddle Dee never take road trips. It's miserable."

Sighing, Meta Knight took the pack from Bandana Dee and took flight. "I am going to scout up ahead, catch up as quickly as is possible." She could've sworn she heard him add to himself before he flew away, "I will expect your arrival sometime tomorrow."

Thanks for nothing, Meta Bozo, she thought, offended. As soon as he had left, she set down Bandana Dee. How can I possibly make them go any faster? she thought, discouraged. Then, she got an idea.

"Hey, do you two want to hear a story?" she asked, cheerfully. If this doesn't work, my name is Blade, she thought to herself with a mental chuckle.

Kirby flew back eagerly, Bandana Dee nodded.

"All right, then," she started. "Once upon a time, there was a young Star Warrior and a Waddle Dee. They were a lot like you two, in fact. They were on a grand adventure, going to save the world." She paused. Already, the two little ones were riveted.

"To start their journey, they went and spoke to the wise old Cappy in town. They asked, 'What should we do first?'

"The Cappy answered, 'Go down the path that goes out of town. Now, be sure to go as fast as you can. There is a huge, hungry monster out on that road, and if you go too slow, it will catch up to you. Beware, for this is the biggest, scariest monster in all of Dreamland, and he has set many traps to slow travelers down all along the road.'

"Now, of course, the two companions weren't the least bit scared. They were strong, and a little bitty monster didn't mean a thing." Kirby and Bandana Dee looked at each other and nodded proudly.

'Smiling,' she continued, "They started out making very good time. If there actually were any monsters, they would have no way of catching up to them.

"But, after awhile, going fast quickly got harder. There seemed to be snacks and fun things to do all around them, appearing one after another.

"'It won't hurt to stop for just a few minutes,' the two thought. 'Besides, we've been walking all day, and we're hungry.'

"So the two stopped and ate some delicious strawberries. A Cappy walked by on his way home from work in the woods. 'You two need to keep moving, or the monster will catch up to you,' he warned, but they paid him no mind.

"After awhile, they finally decided to start moving again. But, lo and behold, soon they found some delicious, ripe tomatoes. 'It won't hurt to stop again,' they decided. And so they did.

"A Bronto Burt flew by. 'You little pipsqueaks better get a move on. The monster is not far behind you!' it warned. The Star Warrior just inhaled the annoying red bird along with another tomato or two. Eventually, they started going again.

"But not nearly fast enough. Although they couldn't see it, the monster was getting closer... and closer," she whispered. She looked at the two, who were both staring at her as they walked. She yawned and stopped talking for a while.

After just a few minutes, Kirby pleaded, "Well, poyo?!?"

She 'smiled' to herself. "They kept going for a while, but soon they saw a swing. 'It won't hurt to just take a few minutes to stop and play. Even heroes have to have fun sometimes, too,' they said. So, they stopped again.

"But after a few minutes, they heard a 'rustle... rustle...' coming from nearby woods." In real life, they walked by a patch of trees, and the wind obligingly rustled through the leaves. Kirby and Bandana Dee looked at each other nervously.

Sakura paused for a moment. "They both jumped up, ready to attack whatever it was. But it was dark, and they couldn't see where the monster was hiding." It really was getting dark, the two observed.

Continuing, she said, "They heard footsteps coming after them. The two of them started to run as fast as they could, but the footsteps were coming closer and closer. 'Oh, if only we had listened to the wise old Cappy!' they mourned.

"But after a few minutes, the sound of the footsteps disappeared." She paused yet again. "Thinking they were safe now, the two decided to stop for a rest."

"No, poyo!" Kirby yelled suddenly, upset. "No rest, poyo!" Bandana Dee nodded his head urgently in agreement.

"The monster came upon them and ate them all up while they were sitting there, and the two were never heard from again. From then on, whenever children had to walk that way, their families warned them, 'Be careful to go quickly on the roads outside of the castle and Cappy Town. Remember the Star Warrior and the Waddle Dee who went that way, never to return.'" She narrowed her eyes at them. "Some say you can still hear their ghosts in the woods, wishing they had gone quickly, like they were told to."

The wind blew helpfully past, making a perfect moaning sound. Sometimes nature provides the best sound effects, she thought.

"And if they catch up to you..." She chuckled darkly, then finished almost silently, "You'll become just... like... they are."

Kirby jumped as the wind moaned again, squeaking a bit in fear.

"Now, let's catch up to Meta Knight," she announced cheerfully, leaping up into the air and flying off, all traces of darkness disappearing from her voice. Kirby and Bandana Dee followed her, one flying, the other air-hopping.

As they flew, Bandana Dee came over and tried to touch his forehead to hers. Not having much luck, he managed to get out, "Story... true?"

She nodded, then muttered spookily, "Of course it's true. Would I lie to you?"

Bandana Dee gulped and hopped faster. Not much later, they reached Meta Knight, who was sitting on a rock, reading a book. When he saw them approaching, he quickly put his book back in his pack and flew up to join them.

"Doesn't scouting ahead also involve coming back and telling the rest of the party whether the way they are going is safe?" she asked, amused. "I don't think telling the others to catch up when they can is at all involved in an act of scouting ahead."

"I was not expecting you to catch up so quickly," he admitted, almost sheepishly. "Are you ready to stop for the night?"

Bandana Dee shook his head in fear, while Kirby squeaked, "No! No stop! No eat Kirby, poyo!"

"What?" Meta Knight asked in confusion.

"I told them the tale of the young Star Warrior, the Waddle Dee, and the monster," she explained.

"What?" he questioned again, now even more confused.

"Play along, I'll explain later," she whispered, flying right next to him.

"Oh, yes," he nodded, faking understanding, although his eyes were still green in confusion. "I know that story well."

She laughed. "Let's keep going, you two!" she called ahead. Unbelievably, the little guys had passed the older two. "There's a safe spot up ahead where we can rest for the night."

"No eat Kirby, poyo?" Kirby whimpered.

"Don't worry, the monster can't get you there. Besides," she added, "The monster is scared of Galaxia. So, as long as you can keep up with Meta Knight, you'll be fine." She turned to Meta Knight and said softly, "We can go as fast as you want now."

"I hardly find that believeable," he muttered back.

"Just set our speed," she rolled her eyes.

He shrugged, and did so, flying full speed ahead. It was as if he wanted them to be unable to keep up. To his surprise, however, the small ones actually kept up. "Hmm," he muttered, his eyes now green in amusement.

After dark, they finally stopped, landing in a tree for the night. As soon as the two small ones were asleep, (which wasn't long at all,) Meta Knight turned to her. "How did you get them to do this?" he asked in something resembling being impressed.

"I scared them with a ghost story," she laughed. "I told them about a young Star Warrior and a Waddle Dee who went off on an adventure. They were warned not to go slow, or a big hungry monster would catch up to them. Of course, they stopped and played and ate along the way, so the monster caught up to them and ate them. Now their ghosts haunt the roads throughout Dreamland. I think we won't have a problem with foot-dragging again anytime soon."

"You amaze me," he shook his head. "Your methods are creative, I will say."

She giggled, then sighed. "Isn't that another motherly instinct thing? Finding creative teaching methods?"

"Perhaps," he nodded. "I think you are definitely someone for those two to look up to."

"Thank you, Sir Knight," she 'smiled,' then fell asleep as well.

He couldn't sleep, so he flew to the bottom of the tree, wrapped himself in his cloak, and began to stand guard. He knew that probably nothing would bother them yet, but it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. "She will definitely become something special," he mused to himself as he paced back and forth a bit later, now sweeping his sword through an imaginary foe. "Time will tell."

After several hours, he heard something float down from the tree. "You need your rest too, Sir Knight," Sakura told him. "I can take a turn at watch."

"Very well," he agreed. He wouldn't admit it, but he was tired. He flew up into the tree and quickly fell asleep.

She sighed and looked up at the stars. "I'm glad my wish to speak came true, even with the going on a quest part," she sighed happily, then shivered a bit in the wind. "I just wish my cape actually provided some warmth. It's pretty, but useless on that count." She finally turned her cape into wings and wrapped them around herself, pacing under the tree thoughtfully until dawn.