Meta Knight|メタナイト

Early the next morning, I go to fetch Sakura, only to get to my secret library and quickly discover that she isn't there. Exhaling in frustration, I turn around and exit as speedily and determinedly as I entered, wondering just where in Dreamland she's gotten off to. Hopefully not too far off; the last thing I need is for Dreamland's newest foretold young hero to vanish off of the face of the planet. Rolling my eyes slightly as I exit the secret passage and begin to ponder where to go looking for her first, I find myself wondering once again how someone as qualified as myself to be the one to go around saving everybody has somehow ended up being the babysitter for all these less-qualified younglings who wind up saving everybody all the time all by themselves. Just for once, it'd be nice to get some recognition for being a hero of Dreamland myself. Most people think of me as being merely one of the King's lackeys (which I can assure you, I am not) or Kirby's mentor. No one ever thinks of me as being one of the soldiers who once defended this planet and the rest of the Galaxy. Then again, the war never came to this planet, so that's probably part of it. Popstar was very lucky— although honestly, its form of 'lucky' is the Fountain of Dreams. Nightmare always did fear it. At the time, no one ever knew why. Now, thanks to Kirby, a few do.

Pausing for a moment, I look incredulously out one of the castle windows at the sky outside. As soon as the sun began to rise, the storm gradually began to calm. While it is still very cloudy out, the clouds are now more of a normal gray, rather than the eerie black of yesterday. If I look out the windows at just the right angle, I can see the Star Warriors' Garden in the distance, where the Fountain of Dreams appears to be unharmed. Unfortunately, whether it looks fine or not, it certainly did not do its job last night. Both of the times I attempted to sleep for a short time, I quickly found myself awake again, shaking in terror from awful nightmares. I suppose the worst of it is that in my case, nightmares are always, always memories. Sighing, I turn back to my task of trying to find the Kirby Dee.

On a hunch, I return to my training room, wondering if perhaps she's woken at some point in the past half hour or so, wherever she was at, and gone there of her own accord. Sure enough, that's where I find her a few minutes later, pacing anxiously in front of my training room door.

Snapping up her gaze to me the second she can hear me approaching, she comments in mild frustration, "Well, there you are."

Mildly amused, I mutter quietly as I open the training room and go in, beckoning her to follow, "I could say the same thing to you, Sakura. Did you sleep well?"

Somewhat to my surprise, she shakes her head. "Not really. I grabbed a Maxim Tomato in the kitchen before heading here, so at least I've got energy, but last night was... a bad night for sleeping," she murmurs, nervously adjusting her sheathed sword at her side. "At first, I had a terrible nightmare before I woke up and came and found you last night. And then, even when I tried to sleep the rest of the night, I just kept tossing and turning. The few times I dozed off, the same nightmare started playing again, and I'd snap awake right away rather than go through it again."

Frowning to myself, I question her disbelievingly, "What in Dreamland would you have a nightmare about?"

Shuddering, she tells me quietly, "I'd really rather not talk about it." Before I can interject otherwise, she turns her eyes to me. "So. What now? The storm's over. What do we do?"

Giving her a dubious look, I assure her, "One storm is over. There will certainly be more."

"No, duh." She rolls her eyes, but the action is good natured. "Seriously, though. What do we do?"

Unsure of what to answer, having not had appropriate time to formulate a formal plan yet, I turn to a shelf of books and maps and busy myself working through them, giving an illusion of being in control of the situation. While I do that, apparently having satisfied her need to think I'm doing something, she wanders over to a shelf of 'souvenirs' from previous battles I've won sitting in one corner. The shelf bears, among other things, a jeweled bracelet from the friend whose life Galaxia claimed in one way, a locket from the friend who lost his life to my sword in another fashion, a plain, silver sword in a nondescript leather sheath, which belonged to an old friend whom I assume lost her life the same day most of my planet did, and a pink shield with a white cross emblazoned on it, which belonged to a foe I dueled once who claimed to be 'The Greatest Warrior in the Galaxy.' Kirby has since bested him as well.

After looking over the items respectfully, careful as always to not touch them, Sakura pauses, staring down at her reflection in the metallic, shiny surface of the shield. Suddenly making a face, she jerks away and wanders off, seeming to look for something to distract herself with. However, one glove reaches up and absentmindedly fiddles with the flower ribbon the Waddle Dees gifted her yesterday every so often.

Finally, I question, "What's wrong, young one? You're acting strangely."

Looking over at me in surprise, she pauses a second as if attempting to craft some white lie, but quickly realizes as I narrow my eyes slightly at her that I know that's exactly what she's doing. Sighing in exasperation, she turns away from me, seeming frustrated. "It's nothing. Just something Sword said last night."

Remembering that little standoff, which was rather out of character for both of them, despite the fact that they really do dislike each other for whatever reason, I comment, "Oh yes, your little unauthorized altercation in the hall. Might I ask what that was actually about?"

Turning back to my busywork, I wait for her to answer. Finally, she mutters, "He said I looked all girly and delicate. I was just proving that I'm not all weak and cute like he seems to think I am. I'm just as strong as any of the Meta-Knights."

Unable to help a chuckle to myself at that last remark (while she has killed, she has not experienced anything near the level of terrors I and my other squires have endured both on our own and together), I quickly straighten up, not wanting to make her think that I agree with Sword's statement either. Shaking my head, I muse in amusement, "You have quite the temper to you, Lady Dee. Someday, it's going to get you in real trouble, you know."

Glaring at my back, she mutters, "Says the guy who turns all red-eyed anytime someone says something he doesn't like about his boss."

Snapping a glare at her, I say in a warning tone, "Dedede is not my boss. I only take orders from him when they suit my own ends." Obviously, the lack of sleep has caused both of our tempers to wear short today.

Shrugging, she grunts, "Fine," but after a moment, adds under her breath, "So why don't you just off him and try being the King yourself if you don't care about his orders anyways?"

A shiver runs through me at that obviously-sarcastic suggestion, one that I've actually considered strongly myself many times and have even begun to act upon twice. Thankfully, both times Kirby stopped me before I got too carried away, but... the prospect is still truly tempting now and again. As my student has always suspected, I have no respect and very little patience for Dreamland's self-proclaimed King. As I just told her, I fill the role of his Captain of the Guard purely as a means to my own ends, but still...

Shaking the temptation off once again, I glare at her, letting her know I heard exactly what she said without saying anything myself. She flushes in guilty embarrassment, but both of us quickly let the subject slide.

For a few minutes, silence reigns as she leans against the wall in one corner and watches me dig through my books and maps, still hoping for me to find some clue of what to do. As the minutes go by, I can feel her irritable presence gradually change more and more into one of anxiety and almost-fear. Finally, she questions worriedly, "So what do we do about the storm monster?"

Slamming a book down as I give up paging through it, I turn to her to snap that I don't know yet and I'd appreciate it if she'd go back to being quiet so I can concentrate, but then pause as a new presence enters my range of sensation. This presence is filled with terror, and is quickly followed by a second, equally-frightened presence. Despite the fear being totally uncharacteristic of the first, I place both of them in my mind instantly. As Sakura narrows her eyes, obviously getting ready to ask me the same question yet again, I raise a glove in command for her to be silent. Well-trained squire that she is, she complies without question.

"Kirby and Bandanna Dee are coming, and fast. They're very afraid," I inform her quietly, puzzling through this occurrence in mild confusion. Kirby is never scared. Something must be dreadfully wrong.

Eyes widening, she steps out of the way of the training room door just in time to avoid getting flattened against the back wall as Kirby slams it open and dashes in. As soon as Bandanna Dee has followed in behind him, the two of them grab the door and slam it shut before falling back against it in unison. Breathing heavily, they stare at me as if they've just seen a ghost, eyes wide and bodies trembling.

Brow furrowed, Sakura questions them intently, "What's wrong?"

The two jump at first, evidently not having noticed her presence, but then both proceed to slam into her arms, almost knocking her over.

Face half-buried in her cape, Kirby shrills in a panicked, drawn-out manner, "Zombie alpaca-lips, poyo!!" Grabbing the fabric, he runs around behind her and hides under her cape, looking for all the world like an odd pink ghost himself. Bandanna Dee, meanwhile, steps away from her, trying to look mature and cool, but utterly failing since he can't stop shaking.

Looking over at Bandanna Dee in utter confusion, trying not to trip herself over the pink puffball that has all but attached himself to her back, she demands, "What is he talking about?" When Bandanna just shakes his head at first, she sighs and turns around suddenly, forcing Kirby out of his pink, silky haven. "You two have been reading way too many comic books, or something. Maybe you've been watching too many of the King's trashy TV shows he airs on that stupid channel of his. Whatever it is, there's no such thing as zombies, and you both know that."

Obviously not listening to her, Kirby chooses instead to dive underneath my bed next. An instant later, all that's left to be seen of him is two blue eyes peeking fearfully out.

Rolling my eyes, I begin to say something, only for Bandanna Dee to pull himself together and touch his head to Sakura's, which is the Waddle Dee's strange way of communicating with her. Frowning, Sakura 'listens' to him attentively, and then turns to me with a mixture of worry and confusion. "He says all the Waddle Dees are gone, and I think he's right. I can't feel any of them, now that I think about it. It's just... he also says that the King and Escargoon are zombies, and that doesn't make any sense at all."

Bandanna Dee crosses his paws and stamps his foot, clearly not appreciating her flippant assessment of his evidently-dire warning.

My first reaction is to want to assume that this is just another one of their pranks, but I've never seen Kirby manage to convincingly pretend to be afraid before. He's attempted it a couple of times before in order to pull whatever joke over on the King or his snail advisor, but he's never succeeded in convincing anybody besides his Majesty. Glancing over at the young Star Warrior again, I observe that he is still shivering under my bed, eyes wide in true terror.

If something can manage to scare Kirby, the practically-fearless Warrior of the Stars, then it is something truly awful indeed.

Turning my gaze to Sakura, I order, "Come with me, and be prepared to do battle." Turning to Kirby, I demand, "Where did you last see the King and Escargoon?"

"Throne room, poyo," Kirby whimpers, ducking farther back under my bed. "Was gonna play a trick on 'em, but they were too scary. Kirby no like zombies. Kirby don't want his brain t'get eated."

Bandanna Dee vigorously nods in earnest agreement, eyeing my bed as though he too wishes he were young enough to afford such luxuries as seeking shelter under someone else's bed.

Turning back to Sakura, I nod firmly once. "To the throne room, then."

Out of nowhere, Kirby dives back out from under my bed and latches onto one of my feet, howling all the way. "No! No go, poyo! They eat your brains!" Casting a pleading glance at Sakura, he adds, "Please, don't go!"

Seeming torn, Sakura glances between me and Kirby, but then draws her sword and throws open the training room door, waiting for me to lead her out. Shaking Kirby off, I head out of the room, and once I have entered the castle hall, snap my wings out and beat them down once, hard, easily lifting myself off the ground. Behind me, Sakura attempts to do the same, but takes off in a frantic, feather-fluttering display rather reminiscent of a chicken trying to take flight. Blushing in embarrassment at her own ineptitude, she quickly hurries to catch up with me.

As we soar down the hall, I can hear a mournful sigh of "Goodbye, poyo," in the distance, followed by the sound of my training room door being slammed shut and bolted. Sighing heavily, I hope to myself that the two children don't try to barricade themselves in or anything else equally inconvenient.

It only takes a few minutes to arrive in the throne room. Once there, I land gracefully and silently, turn my wings smoothly back into a cloak, and then go on to pull it around me in the way I always hold it, all in one fluid motion.

Just behind me, Sakura proceeds to begin another wing-beating chicken-like affair, somehow managing to land with nothing more than an awkward stumble. Panting, she turns her wings back into a cape and draws her sword. Sighing to myself, I scan the room, hoping she'll grow accustomed to her new wings much more quickly than it took her to be able to unsheathe a sword without snagging it on the sheath and tripping herself up. "Could you possibly do that any louder, Lady Dee?"

Making a face, she whispers with a blush, "Sorry, Sir Knight. I'm a student flier, alright?"

Smirking slightly to myself, I keep my eyes and attention on the throne room. It's much darker than normal, with only the one small lamp immediately above the King's throne switched on. This room is so tacky, what with its armchair-like throne with several rows of now-useless buttons which once controlled a monster-ordering system, one broken, giant old television screen which used to be part of the same setup seemingly-permanently stuck half-in and half-out of its old hiding place behind a wall panel, and the above-mentioned lamp, which looks more like it belongs in some shady pool hall than any regal throne room. Even in the dim light it produces, I can tell that there is nobody in this room. Besides that, I cannot feel the King or Escargoon's presence anywhere.

"Well," Sakura murmurs, in what I'm sure she probably thinks constitutes a quiet voice. "The Two Royal Stooges clearly aren't here. Were the two cream puffs just tricking us?"

Shaking my head slowly, I disagree under my breath, still suspicious of how dark the room is when typically, it's brightly-lit all day and night, "I have known Kirby for years, ever since his very first brief appearance in Dreamland. I can easily tell the difference between when he is miming fear and when he is truly terrified; he's never been a good actor. He wears his heart on his paw far too much to be anything even slightly resembling a good actor."

Sighing, she comments, louder now, "I'll take your word for it, I guess. Where should we go next?"

I turn to address her, but then jump in shock at what I see standing, gaping over her. The jump quickly turns into a freeze as fear that they might come after me instead settles in. Sakura's eyes widen, she trying to figure out what could possibly elicit such a response from me, but before she can get any sounds out, I order very, very quietly, "Without making any sudden movements, slowly move towards me."

Her expression changes to one of confusion as she struggles to process what I just said through her fear. Meanwhile, I keep my unblinking, worried gaze on the two creatures that stare down at her, jaws gaping open and eyes wide, seemingly frozen in a ghastly shocked expression. Every couple of seconds, a scattering of electricity goes snaking over both sets of eyes, which are white and pupil-less in their strange possession. In explanation, I tell my young friend softly, "I found the King and his advisor... the 'zombies.'"

Suddenly terrified, she snaps out her wings and starts beating them furiously, trying to take off. While she doesn't get off the ground, she manages to stun the 'zombies' enough to get them to go stumbling back from her, giving her time to dash over to me. Spreading my own wings, I launch myself off the ground, grabbing her by her wings on the way, making her give a yelp of discomfort. Trust me, I know from experience that being yanked around by your wings is hardly pleasant, but sometimes life must be preserved before comfort. Once we are far enough up into the air that neither of the taller-than-us beings can reach us, I let go of her wings. After dropping down a couple of feet, she is able to start flapping her wings hard enough to regain her altitude and begin treading the air next to me.

In the half-light, the 'zombies' take a position directly underneath the two of us, gaping up at us with that same disconcerting expression of shock still on their faces. Sakura shudders at them next to me as I draw my sword, clenching its hilt tightly.

Glancing over at me, Sakura questions, "Are they actually zombies?"

Shaking my head, I assure her, "Zombies have to have died and been reanimated by some form of dark magic. Since they're obviously not reanimated corpses, they can't technically be zombies. They're just something fairly reminiscent of them."

She nods slowly, breath shaking, accepting that answer. Suddenly, though, she snaps her gaze over to me again, eyes wide in horror. "So zombies are real, then?"

I allow myself a mirthless, rather dark chuckle at her naïveté. Oh, young one... I fought in an army pitted against a true Nightmare. Eventually you come to understand that all those monsters in your bad dreams and spooky stories are real, whether you want them to be or not.

For the first time, the 'zombies' show the first sign of motion other than stumbling back from Sakura a minute ago and then staggering into position under us. With a shudder, they both let out a grunt-like groan, still glaring up at us.

Suddenly shuddering much like they do, Sakura frantically flaps farther away from them. "Don't look at their eyes," she orders, quickly tearing her gaze to anywhere else in the room. "Whatever you do, don't look at their eyes."

That statement makes me frown, as I've been consistently switching back and forth between making eye contact with one or the other of the King and his advisor ever since taking to the air, and have noticed no ill effects. "Other than the fact that they are alarming, what is the matter with looking at their eyes?"

Staring over at me, she murmurs, voice shaking, "When I looked at them for too long, I could suddenly feel all of the Waddle Dees at once, but they don't feel right. They feel... scared. Trapped. Something's wrong with them, and somehow, these two are part of the One Mind. Just now, they tried to pull me in too."

"Because you're a Waddle Dee," I muse, still not experiencing any ill effects myself. Of course, this might be because they're both still staring at Sakura, probably hoping she'll start looking at them again. Directly addressing the two for the first time, I demand, "What are you, and what have you done with King Dedede and the Chief Advisor, Doctor Escargoon?"

They suddenly snap their eerie stares to me, mouths still hanging open. Jerking, Dedede shakes himself, and then suddenly closes his bill in deep thought. A moment later, words begin tumbling out. "Um, um, um, um, I'm Dedede. That slugatoid snail-bait is Escargoon. We are servants of da Magnanificentimous Monstrous Lightnin'."

Curious. Very curious. They are obviously not themselves at the moment, yet Dedede's 'charming' personality seems to still be wholly intact. Before I can ask anything else, the King sighs dreamily and drones, "Fried potato skins..."

Sakura's fear suddenly changes to disbelief. "He's under some form of nefarious possession, and still all he can think of is carb-y snack foods." Seeming to grow less afraid, she demands down to them, being careful not to meet their eyes, "How are you two part of the Waddle Dees' One Mind?"

Almost robotically, the King offers a shrug. "We just do what da Lightnin' orders; same with da Waddle Dees. Da Lightnin' is the new King of Dreamland. He will choke out da sun and strangle out all da light. All that will be left is darkness without stars or moon and storms without rain. Welcome to da brave new world, Dreamlanders." As quickly as he started speaking, he resumes gaping again, but now with the corners of his bill pulled up into a disturbing grin.

Having seen far more grotesque things many times before, I am hardly affected, but the sight makes Sakura shudder once again. "Since when can lightning monsters turn people into semi-zombie... things? That's not exactly part of the typical lightning monster modus operandi, right?"

Ignoring her, I stare at Escargoon, having noticed that he still hasn't said anything. Eyes narrowed, I question, "So. Escargoon. How do you and Dedede serve this... 'Monstrous Lightning?'"

Escargoon's mouth pulls into the same eerie grin as Dedede's for a moment before he begins to speak. "We guard this castle. Our only purpose is to kill the Hero of Dreamland, the pink child." Before I can react to this disarming message, he adds with a happy sigh, "Pretzel sticks."

"Morons," Sakura offers her disgusted commentary. Not giving up, she interrogates the snail, "Where are all the Waddle Dees?"

Staring straight at her, still trying to meet her eyes as she continues to avoid his gaze, Escargoon replies stiffly, "They're all over Dreamland, guarding. That's what Waddle Dees Waddle do, and what you should be Waddle doing, Waddle Dee. Join us..."

The King suddenly gives a thick, barking laugh in reply to that dumb joke, making me raise an eyebrow to myself. Again, it is strange that he can manage these little bursts of personality. Perhaps this possession is not perfect, which leads one to wonder just how powerful this Monstrous Lightning could realistically be.

My suspicion is quickly proven correct, as out of nowhere the King's eyes grow slightly more intelligent, regaining their pupils and partially losing the clockwork electrical spattering. Voice still sounding wrong, he pleads, "It's in our heads. It's in our heads! I don't know how, but I can hear all da Waddle Dees, and they're all just thinkin' about wanderin' around keepin' an eye out for you guys for da Lightnin'. This ain't right. You gotta help us. You gotta help us!" Dedede's voice grows desperate and almost normal at the end, but with a jerk, his eyes turn pupil-less once again. Voice back to being flat, robot-like, he informs us, "Ignore the last communication. I am error. Press any key to restart."

Sakura stares at him (but not his eyes) in something resembling pity before having her attention claimed by Escargoon once again when he ponders aloud, "What does the Lightning wish us to do with you?"

Dedede and Escargoon freeze for a second before shuddering. "Take us to the Hero, or die," the two of them order in unison.

Unafraid of them, since we are well out of their reach (Escargoon can't jump, and while Dedede used to be quite the jumper back in the days when he himself was constantly picking fights with Kirby, he quickly grew out of shape when he started relying on email-delivered monsters after Nightmare began sending him catalogs as a ploy to gain access to a planet he had long been magically banished from), I turn to Sakura. "Well, perhaps now I can understand why Kirby was so afraid, if these two have orders to kill him. I find it odd, though, that the Lightning knows to expect him, but knows nothing of you."

Shrugging, Sakura jerkily flaps out of the way of the King's hammer as it suddenly tumbles past. "I don't know; I don't seem to be on the top of their priority kill list, but I find them plenty concerning anyway."

Below, the court fools order in unison, "Surrender and take us to the Hero, or die."

Continuing to tune them out, I close my eyes. "This 'Monstrous Lightning' evidently has powers of possession. He knows of Kirby, but not of us. That might make our quest easier, or it might make it more difficult. I suppose it remains to be seen."

Her eyes light up at that declaration. "Finally. We have a plan, huh?"

"Of sorts," I agree, dodging another hammer throw from below. "Three companions are to accompany you. Obviously, I will be one of them, but the King will not."

Nodding, she agrees in all seriousness, "Obviously. The other two should be Kirby and Bandanna Dee."

For some reason, the suggestion, even though I knew it was coming, makes me angry. "They are children and will do no more than slow our progress. You are prophesied to aid in destroying this monster, not Kirby. It seems to me that he has more than enough glory already. We should take Sword and Blade."

Making a face at that suggestion, she disagrees vehemently, "Definitely not. Besides, so what if Kirby has a lot of glory? He's kinda the Hero of Dreamland. It's his thing." When I don't answer, scowling to myself, she questions slowly, "Sir, you aren't... jealous of Kirby, are you?"

Refusing to answer, I repeat, "We should take Sword and Blade."

"No," she maintains adamantly. "I'm taking Kirby and Bandanna Dee. I've trained with both of them for months; I can fight well with them, just like with you. Last night was the first time I've ever crossed swords with Sword, and I can't even understand anything Blade says. Taking them wouldn't make any sense."

Below, Escargoon deadpans, now throwing a stack of dirty plates he found in the corner one at a time, "No fair flying. Come fight like snails!"

Staring evenly back at Sakura, I growl, scraping the bottom of the barrel for objections to Kirby's coming along, "I have gone on a quest with Kirby before. It is very difficult to remain patient with him when he spends most of his time searching for 'snacks, poyo' rather than whatever villain it is that he is supposed to be facing. Kirby fights best alone, despite the fact that he is a child. There is no way I am ever going on another quest with him." More honestly, there's no way I am ever going to willingly allow myself to be put into a position where a preschooler beats me at my own game, slaying monsters. Kirby is a sweet child and makes for enjoyable company during peacetime, but when there are monsters to be dealt with, I'd much rather he took care of it on his own, rather than expecting me to help so that everyone can see how much better he is at it than me. Realizing I need to come up with a reason for Bandanna Dee's exclusion as well, since if he ends up coming, Kirby is sure to follow, I add lamely, "And Bandanna Dee is unable to fly. At least Kirby can float."

Rolling her eyes as she flies almost up against the ceiling, unable to fluidly dart out of the way of the flatware projectiles like I can, she points out, "He can hop through the air as quickly as Kirby can float. He just stays in mid-air by hopping over and over again rather than blowing himself up like a balloon; that's literally the only difference."

Realizing that I am quickly losing this logic war (since I am unwilling to share my actual jealous logic), I mutter in a tone of finality, "I don't want to bring the children with us."

Eyes narrowed, she delivers her ultimatum in return. "We can't leave Kirby here with no one but the Meta-Knights to protect him when this monster wants him dead, and Bandanna Dee goes wherever Kirby goes. The two are like brothers, just like Sword and Blade. We're not leaving them."

Grunting, I turn with a jerk and flap away from her, leaving the pathetic attacks of the possessed King and Chief Advisor behind. Not giving up, Sakura flies just behind me. Trying to lighten my mood, she wisecracks, "If those two idiots are the worst thing we have to put up with, this will be a piece of shortcake."

Utterly serious, I disagree flatly, "They will almost certainly be the easiest foes we face. No amount of possession can turn an out-of-shape penguin and his wimpy snail crony into too terrible of threats; not without commandeering some form of weapon more dangerous than a poorly-lobbed hammer and a stack of plates for them, at least." Making a running landing onto the hall floor just outside of my throne room, fully expecting her to gracelessly crash behind me and somehow slightly disappointed when she doesn't but instead flutters to an awkward landing once again, I muse aloud, "No doubt, this Monstrous Lightning has probably recruited all of the monster gangs that wander the planet. The little ones follow the bosses, and more than likely, he has converted them all to his cause either by possession or brute force. That's how it usually goes whenever some new villain shows up in Dreamland."

With wisdom beyond her years, she remarks, "So most evil villains are miserable cowards who enlist someone else to do their dirty work for them, only willing to battle the few pesky little flies who put up enough of a fight, huh?"

"Indeed," I mutter, unable to avoid feeling a tiny burst of pride at her insight, but quickly quash it immediately after. I am still mad at her, after all, even if I am giving in to her demands. After all, it is her foretold quest; there is little I can do in opposition. Reaching my training room door, I pound on it with one fist several times, slightly smug when it is opened by a meek Kirby and Bandanna Dee a moment later.

Marching in, I wordlessly grab a leather satchel and throw into it a blanket and some food from a cabinet of quest-friendly canned-or-boxed foods I keep in a corner. After shoving it not-at-all-gently at Sakura, I gather a few books and some more food and tuck them into my cape. When I turn to her again, prepared to start giving further orders, I am a bit surprised by the dubious look she gives me.

"Sir," she says carefully, still holding the satchel out of in front of herself with both gloves, "I have a cape too, now. I don't need a satchel to quest anymore."

"Transfer the supplies to your cape, then," I order in a growl, while Kirby and Bandanna Dee probably wonder why in Dreamland I've been so tense toward my newest pupil today.

Finally, Kirby speaks for the first time while Sakura quietly, irritably begins the process of following my orders. "Zombies scary, poyo." He gives a firm nod of affirmation.

Voice suddenly gentler, Sakura assures him with a fond glance cast his direction, "They're not actually zombies. They're being controlled by the Monstrous Lightning, the badguy we've gotta go face, and they're acting pretty weird because of that, but they're not zombies."

Kirby exhales a puff of air in relief, before suddenly lighting up like Christmas. "Kirby gets to go help fight the baddie too?!" Grabbing Bandanna Dee excitedly, he gives his friend a little shake. "Bandanna Dee come too!" Bandanna Dee 'smiles' excitedly, obviously glad to be included.

Glancing over at me cautiously, Sakura says slowly, "They are coming, right?"

Exhaling harshly in irritation, I pause in my cape-stocking for a minute and then nod once, offering no further answer. Somehow, Kirby's responding joy simultaneously both makes me more frustrated and yet also makes it so I can hardly stay mad at him. It's not really his fault he's always upstaging me. It's just his destiny, I suppose. That still doesn't mean I have to like it.

Moments later, I announce stiffly, "I am prepared to go."

Seeming determined, Sakura asks, "Okay. Where to first? For some reason, I don't think Dedede and Escargoon would be able to give us any helpful information, even if we tried asking."

Nodding once, refusing to allow her to cheer me up, I inform her, "Well, welcome to your introduction to the most irritating part of quests in Dreamland involving major villains, Sakura Dee. Villains are often not very good about letting us know exactly where they have set up shop, so it is up to us to scour the planet until we find them."

Enthusiastic, Kirby squeals, "Lesgo to Cookie Country, over on the other side'a Whispy Woods first, poyo!"

Part of me instantly, eagerly agrees with the idea, there being cookies involved, but the intellectual, less-puffball part of me vehemently vetoes betraying any sign of excitement. "Seems as good a place as any. The monster gangs there are typically not-well-organized and easily dealt with, anyway."

Meanwhile, only half-listening, Sakura offers Kirby a feather from one of her wings. When he frowns at her in confusion, lost, she explains good-naturedly, "Inhale it; it'll give you the Wing Copy Ability. Meta Knight doesn't want to be slow, so that'll help us go fast."

Giggling in understanding, Kirby does as she says, causing an Indian-style headdress to appear on his head with multicolored feathers all over it, matching the artificial wings that he now wears attached to his paws by loops. Grinning around the war-paint that's magically appeared on his cheeks, he declares with a giggle, "Kirby the birdie ready to go, poyo poyo-po!"

Unable to help a smile at his innocence, I walk over to one wall and take down a rather large map of Dreamland that I have tacked up there, rolling it up carefully and slipping it into my cloak. I have this planet memorized, in many respects, like the back of my glove, but it's always good to have a map on hand, especially considering that it's going to be very dark, very often, very soon.

Still, even with those dark thoughts in mind, I can't help but smile to myself again when Kirby starts flapping around the room, chanting "Kirby the birdie! Kirby the birdie!" over and over again. Whether I will ever admit it or not, Kirby really does have a way of sharing his infectious glee with everyone. In a way, it makes it that much harder to hate him, but in another way, it makes it all the easier. He has faced even worse monsters than I have a few times, and yet he still holds onto that innocence, that joy that I myself have long since lost all possession of. It hardly seems fair, but then again, when is life ever fair?

Offering Kirby and the Kirby Dee a scathing glance, I comment coldly, "The ability to easily give him the Wing Ability will likely come in handy later on... Assuming, of course, that you avoid giving him so many of your feathers in the meantime that you yourself are rendered incapable of flying."

Clearly confused by my undeserved coldness today, Sakura reassures me, "I'll be sure not to give him any primary feathers. Should we get going?"

With a single nod, I start to prepare to exit through the training room door, only to be met by the sound of plates crashing against it an instant later, making me give a small groan of disbelieving anger.

Just outside, Escargoon drones, "Come out, Hero. Process of elimination states that you are most likely in there. If not, please ignore us and tell us where you actually are."

For a long moment, Dedede stays silent, only to suddenly grunt, "Error 404: witty remark of agreement not found."

Teasing, Sakura comments to me with a smirk dancing through her eyes, "Those two are even more pathetic today than they usually are."

Giving in, I quit resisting the feeling of camaraderie shared among my three soon-to-be-constant companions. Allowing myself a tiny smirk underneath my mask, I agree quietly, "I definitely agree with that assessment, Lady Dee, but I will be forced to retaliate with violence if you ever tell either of them I said so." Eliciting a laugh from her, which is what I was hoping for, I throw open one of the large windows that runs along the wall opposite of the door. "Come on then, you three. We have a monster to deal with." As the last bit of sourness still clings on, though, I tell Sakura just a little bit tersely, "You get the privilege of carrying Bandanna Dee, at least until we have made sufficient progress to be able to slow down for awhile, whenever that may be."

At first, she narrows her eyes at me, and I do the same to her. Per the norm, though, our little staring contest quickly ends with her breaking and my victory. "Fair enough," she sighs in defeat, grabbing an exultant Bandanna Dee by the paws. The child's always loved flying; he often begged me for rides when he and the King came with Kirby and I on that quest a year or so ago.

Turning away from the memories of what was actually not a terribly unpleasant time, since they lead to one of the most irritating memories I have, albeit certainly not one of the most frightening, I take off, not waiting for the others to follow. Once again, I cannot help a small smirk to myself as I hear a frantic fluttering of chicken-wings taking off not far behind me, accompanied this time by the almost chopping-like sound of Wing Kirby smoothly taking off next to her. The pupil is still no more than the pupil, even if only in one respect, and only for now.

Setting a course for Cookie Country, I bank in the air outside of the castle walls and lead the group onward. Kirby stays respectfully just behind me and offers me a friendly grin, cheerfully letting me lead. Although I return the gesture with a nod of acknowledgement, I still feel bitter at the concept of him 'allowing' me to lead when he is just a child. Pushing the bitter emotions out of the way, I take a deep breath in and savor the sensation of my wings slicing through the air like Galaxia through whatever substance dares to come across its path of destruction.

I am Meta Knight. Victory is my destiny.

And nothing and nobody will ever be allowed to stand in my way.