Nonsurat's POV:

It's late, after nightfall. The moon is new, the only light comes from the stars. I've always liked the nighttime. Not just because of the stars, although I do love them, like any Star Warrior does. It's also because I've always found darkness to be... calming, somehow. Not in an evil way, just... restful.

Walking through the castle, I suddenly hear the sound of a couple of someones dueling. With a frown, I walk into the courtyard to find Dragato and Magolor both holding swords, Magolor lying on the ground and panting, Dragato standing nearby, seeming a bit amused.

"Well, well, well. Magolor challenged you to a duel, huh?" I laugh, setting my axe down and sitting down beside it. "What on Star World got into him?"

Shaking his head, Dragato corrects me, "It's not a duel. He's asked me to train him."

Growing even more amused, I look at Magolor and ask, "Well, why's that?"

After breathing heavily for another moment, he forces himself to float back up and pick up his sword. "Because. I've got magic, which is pretty helpful, but I also wanna be able to wield a sword like you SW's. I wanna be able to help in the final battle. Also, someday, I want to duel Meta-Not again."

Snorting, I snigger, "You really think you'd ever be able to beat Meta Knight in a duel? Maybe if you had a couple thousand years to train."

"Don't discourage him," Dragato glares at me, then orders Magolor, "Take a basic stance."

Nodding, Magolor does so the best he can. I can imagine that'd be a bit difficult, seeing as how he floats. Glancing over at me for just a split second before he begins dodging and blocking Dragato's attacks, he explains, "I don't want to beat him. I just wanna last against him more than five seconds."

"When did you duel him before?" I wonder with a frown to myself. "You mean when he, Kirby, and the others had to take the Master Crown from you?"

Rolling his eyes as he barely avoids a swing from Dragato's sword by floating right over the strike, he explains, "White Wafers, several years ago, after the Monstrous Lightning sent me to destroy Princess, Meta-Not, Kirby and Bandana Dee. I had no interest in destroying them, I was trying to bargain with them. I wanted my ship, I'd tell them where the ML was hiding in return. Sounds good, right? 'Cept Meta-Not didn't think so. So, after I was an idiot and taunted him a bit, he told Princess (who was a Waddle Dee then) to give me her sword. Well, she did so, then quit watching. Meta-Not was all vampire eyes, and I think me and Princess both thought I wasn't gonna make it. I just basically cowered and let the sword get knocked from my hands, and then got a death threat from Meta-Not even after I told them where they needed to go. Then I floated off as fast as I could. But next time, I'm gonna last at least a couple of minutes. I don't have a grudge against him or anything, I just wanna show that I'm not weak or cowardly. I wanna show that I can be a hero, too."

After not replying to him for a moment, I laugh and say, "That's kind of a silly reason to learn the sword."

"Ignore him," Dragato commands, giving me another glare. "It's not his only reason. Now, you may observe if you're quiet, Sir."

Chuckling, I settle more comfortably into my spot and let my thoughts drift elsewhere and elsewhen.

I used to be sort of like Magolor was that one time. I loved taunting people and getting into fights, just so long as I was sure I could win. But that wasn't until I was a teen.

Well, I might as well tell you the whole story.

Knowledge Province is a warm, tropical forest-y type area. Hot and muggy for much of the year, close to one of Star World's oceans. I was born in the province capitol, a big city called Estrella City. Estrella City was the second biggest city on the planet, second only to Startropolis itself. The main difference was Startropolis had all sorts of Star Warriors, but Estrella City was where the rich ones lived in luxury, ignorant of everyone else in the cities and towns around them.

 That's where I was born, like I said before. My father owned a big company that made toys, and my mother stayed home with us children. There were three of us, my big sister, me, and my little brother. Just like the other two, I was spoiled, but kind of ignored. My sister was a lovely singer, popular with everyone, and my little brother was better at Warp Star racing than anyone else I've ever seen, but I was just Nathan. Just Nathan.

Cora was good at school. Nathan wasn't.

Jacques was a good piano player. Nathan wasn't.

Cora could cook anything (only ever for fun, of course. The cook did most of the cooking.) Nathan could burn water.

Jacques was the most popular kid in his class. Nathan wasn't.

Cora and Jacques were both the perfect height, both such a pretty shade of pure white, both had bright blue eyes. Nathan was turquoise and too tall for his age, with yellow eyes that didn't match his color at all and too-big blue feet.

They were better than me at everything, and they made sure that I knew about it. Boy, did they make sure I knew about it. Bullying, teasing, breaking my things. They never acted that way in front of my parents, of course. I tried to tell on them a few times, only to earn myself a scolding for lying. No firmer discipline was ever used in our house, but being scolded in front of your siblings is bad enough when you're a kid with an ego as big as you are. So they got away with it, because I got tired of getting in trouble whenever I said they had done anything wrong. They were Mom's angels, and I was her... I don't know, awkward parrot, maybe?

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find my niche, my place to fit in. Then one day when I was about eight, I heard a story about a great hero who went out into the world, who started out rich but made himself poor on purpose. He helped everyone, no matter who they were. It was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard. Why on earth would anyone do that, give a life like his up, to just go help some poor brats who could probably have taken care of themselves?

Eventually, though, I could understand some of his actions, (although I still thought the story was dumb,) so I ran away from home. I was out in the real world for the first time, away from my big house and all my toys and fancy things, away from my doting yet distant parents and bullying siblings. I was free, absolutely free. No school, no parents telling me how to behave, no stupid stuffy playrooms, no jerky brothers and sisters! It was awesome!

Somehow, I managed to find my way into the rainforest and saw some guys chopping down a few trees. For some reason, (I'm still not sure what got into me,) I grabbed an axe and started to help. Of course, having never worked a day in my life, I just made a fool of myself. But one of the guys working offered to help me learn how to use it, saying he'd teach me how to use an axe for more than just cutting down trees. Not sure what he meant, having been overprotectively sheltered from practically everything, I eagerly agreed, just wanting something to do that my parents would hate.

Well, the guy taught me how to use an axe, all right, and also got me into stealing stuff with him and a few other kids he had recruited and taught how to fight with various weapons. I don't even remember his name, or if he ever even told me what it was. I just remember he was a crimson-red Star Warrior with black eyes and a dark red scar along his left cheek, and that he always wore a crimson top hat.

He had no idea that I had come from a rich family, and I never told him. Our gang of runaway boys grew bigger and bigger. We stole more and more things, growing braver and braver in our heists. I wore a light blue helmet that covered almost my whole body so that I'd never be recognized, never have to go home. 

Well, eventually the police figured out where our hideout was. The night before they came, our leader picked his favorites and ran off to become a space pirate, leaving. I never saw them again, but I've heard that after they robbed a planet populated by fairies, they were all cursed and turned into mice and rats. Served them all right, in my opinion, leaving the rest of us to be yelled at by the police and taken home to our parents.

Most of the boys' families were just relieved to see them again, but not mine. My parents were furious. 'What was I thinking, running off like that?' 'Did I even think for a minute about how that would make them look?' 'Did I know how this could hurt Dad's business?' 'Is the sort of thanks for get for all we've done for you?' Never once did they say anything like 'We're glad you're back, Nathan,' or 'We're so happy you aren't hurt.' It wasn't me they cared about. After all, I was just Nathan.

Just Nathan.

Just Nathan didn't get any better. He kept hanging out with the 'bad' kids, being a bully to everyone at school. I found an axe and my helmet again eventually, and went out and started robbing people on my own. Anything to make my parents mad, because that was the only time they even acted like I existed.

About the time I turned twelve, Dad decided he had had enough and told me I could take a hike, that I was never allowed under his roof again. I was all too happy to oblige. Now they'd only have their two pretty, talented kids that actually looked like they belonged. And I could be free, I could live my life my own way. And that's exactly what I did.

Time passed. Everyone grew to hate me. I was a jerk to everyone I met. Thievery was my main occupation, and I enjoyed it. I wandered the whole planet, bothering everyone I could. I wanted everyone to be miserable like I was.

You're probably wondering, when did I take a turn for the better? Not for quite a while.

I remember one of my attempted robberies better than most of them. I was thirteen, and I had found my way to a place called River Village in Chivalry Province, clear on the other side of the planet from where I had started. There, I held up a restaurant, (not wearing my helmet,) and was going to take all of the money, just because I could. But then, a little dark blue kid stood up from the table where he was sitting with his parents and declared, "You can't do that, ooyo."

Snickering, I turned to him. "Who says I can't, brat?"

Drawing a sword that I hadn't even noticed he carried until then, the kid (who couldn't have been a day over seven) answered, "I say you can't, ooyo. Stealing stuff is wrong, mister."

"Blue, sit down and stay out of it," his mother warned him urgently, but he didn't listen to her.

"I'm gonna be a hero, Mom, ooyo. Might as well start now, right?" the kid glanced at her for a second, then turned his gaze evenly back to me.

Snorting, I gave the little twerp a dubious and mocking glare. "You're really challenging me to a duel, pipsqueak? I'll tell you now, I've beat grownups before. You don't stand a chance against me."

Sounding wise far beyond his years, he gave me the sort of look that makes you nervous, makes you feel like the other person can see beyond the surface, can see you for who you really are. "Neither size nor age decides a battle, ooyo. It comes down to talent, strength, concentration, and the will of the Star Power." Walking right up to me, small, steel sword still drawn, he announced, "I hereby challenge you to an honorable duel, according to the guidelines laid down in the code of honor, ooyo. If I win, you have to leave the restaurant without taking any money. If you win, ooyo, then you can go back to stealing the stuff."

"Whatever, twerp. It's your funeral," I laughed mirthlessly, then strutted outside, him following just behind me.

Several people came out to watch, including his parents, his mother muttering the whole time about what a bad influence 'Blossom' was. Blue ignored them all, paying attention only to me. Still, he remained perfectly calm, just meeting my sneer with an even gaze.

"Go," someone said helpfully as soon as we had both taken our stances. I rushed at the kid. He fought fair, by all the rules of chivalry, but I didn't. I cheated every chance I got. Still, the kid was doing really well and holding his own. I couldn't believe what a run for my money this little brat was giving me, a thief who had beaten grownups, tough guys, many people.

Finally, I managed to knock his sword away and heaved my axe up. I had never killed anyone before, but this kid had made me so mad that I was going to change that right then and there. He had made a fool of me, nearly beating me when I was using every dirty trick I could think of, while he was being fair, making sure to follow all of the rules.

I expected him to start crying, or act scared, or anything, but he didn't. He just looked up at me steadily, not moving to run away, just looking at me stoically as if to say, 'Well, get on with it. Don't keep me waiting all day.'

It made me hesitate just a second, to see such bravery in someone so small. He couldn't have been any taller than a foot and a quarter, maybe even less. I had never been brave, myself. If I actually thought someone was stronger than me, that there was any chance I wouldn't be able to beat them, I refused to fight them. I'd run instead. And seeing that he was brave when all the odds were against him... it made me pause.

Suddenly, I started to bring my axe down again, only to have it met and blocked by a golden sword. Angry, I turned to see who had stopped me. "Run, son," he ordered the kid, who hopped up immediately and ran off, grabbing his sword on the way. He then disappeared out of town, running full speed ahead towards the woods.

"That was his fight. You should've stayed out of it," I growled at the newcomer, a light green Star Warrior with bluish-grayish eyes and a golden Dimensional Cape but no armor of any sort. "If he's stupid enough to challenge someone bigger and stronger than him to a duel, then he should have to stay and see it through to the end."

Giving me an angry look, he disagreed, "He was a child, and nowhere in the code of honor does it say that an honorable duel may end the way you were going to end this one. I can tell just by looking at the two of you that he is far braver. Get out of this town, and do not come back."

Growling at him, I swung my axe out from being blocked by his sword and stalked off. Indeed, I never went back to River Village again.

Why do I remember that particular trip so well? Because of how important that light green Star Warrior turned out to be later on.

Several years later, when I was twenty, I was in Startropolis, doing what I did best: Making everyone miserable. No one in Startropolis knew how to wield a sword or protect themselves in any other fashion, so I never even had to fight anyone. I just walked in holding my axe and got whatever I wanted.

But one day, it went differently.

One day, I waltzed into a store, ready to rob them of their money and some food. (This time, I had my helmet on.) But just like the day in River Village, someone stood up and said, "You can't do that."

This time, it wasn't a kid. This time, it was someone dressed in a golden helmet, shoulder pads, and boots, with a matching golden cape, and a silver mask across the lower part of his face that was held on by the helmet. His armor was built so that the whole set together looked star-shaped. I immediately got a bad feeling when I looked at him. He seemed familiar, whoever he was.

As he drew a golden sword, I immediately recognized who he was: the one who had stopped me from dealing with that kid all those years before.

"So. You still follow the path of evil," he mused, sounding disappointed. "When do you plan on changing your ways, Nathan?"

"How do you know my name, old man?" I growled back, gripping my axe tighter. I didn't want to get in a fight with him, I knew that he'd win.

Laughing, not derisively, he told me, "I know many, many things, son."

"So, you're gonna try and stop me?" I sneered. "Good luck with that, Grandpa."

Shaking his head at me, he beckoned me to follow him outside. Without waiting for 'go,' he rushed at me. He cheated, he used every trick in the book. He was stronger, he was quicker, he had had formal training, you could tell by the way he fought. And yet, he cheated. It wasn't fair. He would've been able to beat me quiet easily without cheating, so why did he cheat?

I was beaten quickly, very quickly. Backed against the side of a building, my axe having been knocked from my hands and a good part of a block down the street, I shuddered as he pointed the tip of his sword at the eyepiece of my helmet.

"It's overwhelming, isn't it, son? When someone who you already knew could beat you cheats," he muttered, staring at me the whole time. I gulped. He continued, "Nightmare's monsters are going to cheat. They're never going to play fair. And sloppy fighting like you've had both times I've watched you, Nathan, is never going to save you. It is easy to defeat an ignorant populace who has disarmed itself, isn't it? When the badguys have weapons but the goodguys don't, badguys get whatever they want. But if you have even one goodguy with a weapon who knows how to use it, the tides quickly turn, don't they, Nathan?"

Going on, he added, "Nightmare's monsters and badguys both, they don't listen if you say 'you can't do that,' unless you have something to back you up. When the goodguys don't have any weapons, if they just say 'you can't do that,' nothing's going to change. The badguys aren't going to listen to them, are they, Nathan?"

"What does Nightmare have to do with any of this?" I snorted, pretending to not be bothered by the sword that was still just in front of my eyes, so close that it was hard to focus on. "Aren't you just going to kill me, and get it over with? A whole lot of people would be happier if I was gone."

"I wouldn't be," he disagreed, shaking his head firmly. "Your parents probably never even mentioned it, probably never even cared about the clan they were from, but you, son, are of the clan of Courage. You don't reflect that well, do you? Always going around, being a coward, only fighting those who are weaker than you."

Growing angrier and angrier, I shouted at him, "Shut up, Gramps. Maybe if they had cared about anything but money, maybe if I hadn't always been just Nathan, maybe we wouldn't be here now. Maybe I'd be getting a job and starting out on my own like a normal citizen. Well, you know what? Maybe never helped anyone, ever."

"Maybe 'normal' is overrated," he chuckled. "It's not the 'normal' people you hear about in legends. It's not the 'normal' people who are remembered. You're definitely not 'normal,' Nathan. You're something extraordinary, if you'll allow yourself to be."

"And just how do you know that? Why do you care about me? Why can't you just go find someone else to bother?" I muttered, narrowing my eyes at him.

Narrowing his eyes right back, he told me, "Because I can't just let the grandson of a hero go on like this. Nonsurat, the hero who abandoned fortune, abandoned family, and went out to save the weak and the innocent. He was your grandfather. I fought alongside him in the First Star Warriors' War, he was a lieutenant general just as I was. What do you think he would think of you, if he saw you? Do you think he would be proud to know that his grandson was a spoiled, cowardly thief?"

Rolling my eyes, I laughed, "I don't care what he thinks of me, and I don't care what you think of me. I don't care what anyone thinks."

Gaze growing even more steely, he suddenly grabbed the corner of his cape and threw it towards me, a cloud of Darkness coming out of it and surrounding me. The Darkness attack that every Dimensional Cape or Cloak can use, a Dark move that only the strongest warriors are able to control. Oftentimes, a warrior calls their Darkness attack after their sword, such as Meta Knight calling his 'Galaxia Darkness.'

But at this moment, my opponent murmured, "Behold the power of Caelestis Darkness." As the Darkness surrounded me, I suddenly found myself trapped in a nightmare, surrounded by monsters of the most horrific sorts.

My axe reappeared, and desperately, I tried to beat them off, but failed. I had no great training with my axe, I just attacked however I wanted to, and these monsters could see that. They were attacking me... They were winning... I was going to be destroyed... They weren't playing fair... I didn't have a chance...

Just as suddenly as the horrid vision had started, it ceased. Gasping for breath, I fell forward onto my hands and feet, my axe gone again.

My starry opponent reached out to me, and I winced away from him. But he was gentle, kind. "That is what is coming, son. Everyone says it's not. Everyone says Nightmare is only a bad dream, but none of them speak the truth. That is going to be upon us before you know it. Are you ready for that? I do not think you are."

Still breathing heavily, I looked up at him. His gaze was kind, calming. "What do I do, sir? How do I change?"

Nodding at me, he explained, "My name is Arthur. I am gathering an army of all of the brave souls I can find so that we might resist Nightmare when he returns on a day that draws ever closer. I'm going to need a few brave lads to help me lead it. Would you be willing to learn to be brave, Nathan of Courage clan? Would you be willing to let me teach you how to truly wield that axe, how to be a true warrior?"

For a long moment, I looked back down at the ground and thought. My grandfather had started out the same way I did, unloved and uncared for. But instead of becoming terrible and living in misery, he had gone out and made a difference. Could I do that? Could I learn to be brave? Could I help to try to stop Nightmare?

Finally, I looked back up at him. "If you'll take me, sir, I will follow you anywhere. You've spared me when I haven't at all deserved it."

Sounding proud, he nodded at me once. "Your grandfather would be proud. Come now."

Standing up and following him, I walked after him for several miles in silence. Suddenly, I spoke. "Sir Arthur? I don't want to be just Nathan anymore. I want to be known as Nonsurat, like my grandfather."

Turning towards me, he nodded, "That sounds like a brilliant idea to me, Nonsurat. Come, the Star Warrior Academy awaits you."

And, of course, the rest is history. I learned how to be a true warrior, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't miserable. For the first time, I actually felt like I had found a place where I belonged.

A month or two later, Dragato showed up, and not too much longer after that, along came Falspar. The three of us became the best of friends and did everything together: dueling, training, flirting with girls, studying for our non-fighting classes, everything. A couple of years later, we all three earned the title of 'Sir' on the same day.

Eventually, Meta Knight showed up and sort of became a part of the group. He spent a lot of time with us, but he never seemed to be as much a part of the group as the other three of us did. He was always far more serious, far more quiet. The way he always had that steady look, that unbelievable courage in the face of any trial, it reminded me so strongly of someone else. Who, I've never figured out.

The war wasn't anywhere near as hard for me as it was for everyone else. Aside from these four Star Warriors, there wasn't a single person in the Galaxy that I cared about. I know that sounds cold, but there was no one that I loved, no one who loved me.

After the war, Meta Knight went to Popstar, the rest of us never contacting him, per Sir Arthur's orders. Why he made us do that, I'll never know. But he's Sir Arthur, he always has a plan, always has his reasons. He just doesn't always explain everything.

My attention is suddenly brought back to the present by Magolor cheering. "Did you see that, Non? Did ya? I just knocked Drags' sword away! I'm getting better!"

Dragato winks at me, letting me know he did it on purpose. He reminds me of Sir Arthur more than any of the rest of us except Meta Knight. The way he's training Magolor is much like how Sir Arthur taught us, letting us see that we were improving, but always pushing us to do better.

"Here, Dragato. Let me take a turn against him. You're probably tired," I laugh, getting up and picking up my axe. "Besides, he needs to know how to fight against more than just another sword."

"You're right," Dragato nods, then chuckles, "Have fun, you two. I'm going to bed."

Turning to Magolor, I notice that he's looking at me with the same steady gaze Meta Knight always has. I wonder if either of them realizes how alike they are in personality. The only real difference I can think of off of the top of my head is that Meta Knight is dignified and stoic, while Magolor is free-spirited and cheerful.

"Well, Maggy. Let's do this," I tell him, smiling to myself. "Take a basic stance."

(A.N.: 'Caelestis,' what I've dubbed Sir Arthur's sword, is Latin for 'Celestial.' Latin is good for naming swords.)