Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ringing.

That was all Meta Knight could hear.

Even after the explosion died out.

Despite his damaged hearing, Meta Knight could still feel the scattered wounds on his body from the aftermath of the fight. Warm blood was dripping from his side, which he was trying to cover up… to no avail.

His wings were the only thing keeping him away from the icy cold water below, as they slowly flapped him back to shore. But dear Nova, was it painful to even move, let alone fly.

But he had to get back. He had to get back. Dreamland was still in danger, he couldn't just die and let it be conquered by-

Meta Knight collapsed on the sandy beach. The pain was becoming too much to bear… he shakily lifted his head up, and saw the quiet grassy fields beyond him. Meta’s eyes darted around to try and find someone, anyone.

But there was no one in sight.

Not his crew, not Dedede, or even Kirby himself.

Kirby…

Meta knew Kirby would be alright. Kirby always seemed to be alright in the end, the question is how he was going to survive.

As he thought that, Meta Knight felt something crawl up his throat. He started to cough, trying to get it out. Coughing, wheezing. When he finally felt that lump leave his throat, he opened his eyes to see a reddish stain on the grass below.

Blood.

Apparently that gash went deeper than he thought.

Meta looked back up to the grassy fields. They seem endless now… Meta’s mind wandered to his crew. Were they able to evacuate safely? Were they even alive…?

Those thoughts kept circling through his head as his vision started to blur. He never should’ve yelled at them… The Halberd was going to sink at that point, but no, instead of helping the crew that gladly helped him build the damn thing, he decided to try and fight Kirby.

Maybe Meta Knight deserved to die like this…

If he had tried to tell Dedede about the real reason he built the Halberd, maybe Dedede could’ve helped. He could have trained the Dreamland residents to fight instead. Maybe he could’ve just gone to Kirby himself…

If he had just reached out…none of this would have happened.

But it did.

All because of his stupid pride.

And he was going to die alone because of it.

Meta’s arms gave out beneath him, giving the knight a side view of the orange sky. He could feel the blood pooling below him. It would be so easy to just give up here… to leave it all behind…

But…

In the corner of Meta’s vision, he could spot the shape of someone. The shape soon ran to his side, shaking the knight to try and keep him conscious.

It was Sailor Waddle Dee.

He was bruised, but he was alive. Tears were running down the boy’s cheeks, trying to keep the closest thing he had to a father with him.

But Meta didn’t see the point anymore.

Tilting his head to the Waddle Dee, Meta Knight said what he assumed to be his last words.

“I’m proud of you… and I’m… sorry for…putting you…through… this…”

And with that, his eyes shut.

Chapter Text

Who knew how long Dedede had been walking? Not him, that’s for sure.

He’d been reflecting on…well, everything he knew for what felt like hours, his eyes only focused on the road below him.

Dedede felt a small tug on the sleeve of his robe, looking over to see one of his Waddle Dees, named Healer Dee if he remembered correctly, looking concerned.

“Pardon me, great king, but may I ask where we’re heading?”

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it a second later. He was, quite literally, kicked out of his own castle in his last fight with Kirby and felt too embarrassed to go back.

Dedede gave everything he had to try and beat Kirby, and it still wasn’t enough. If he couldn’t defeat a literal puffball, then what did his title even mean?

Nothing . Just like him.

Dedede sighed and looked to the sunset above him.

“Not back to the mountain, that’s for sure. I’m not fit to be king of Dreamland.”

“B-but great king, of course you are!”

“No, I’m not . I stole all the food in Dreamland, I was used as a pawn when that demon showed up, and even even after I doing everything I-“

Dedede stopped himself. Now he was just ranting. A lot of good that’ll do , he told himself.

“…I’m just not fit to rule.”

“What about Kirby? Or Meta Knight?”

Dedede’s head shot up at the mention of Meta Knight. Would he be fine if Dedede just left ? Granted, he didn’t know the knight very well, but…

The king shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his mind. Meta didn’t need him, Dedede had been nothing but trouble for him since they met! He would’ve been better off if they’d just went their separate ways.

And that’s exactly what Dedede was going to do.

Dedede lifted his head up to the orange sky, a look of sorrow clear on his face.

“They’ll be fine without me. Just like Dreamland…”

In the corner of his eye, Dedede could vaguely spot a smoke trail. He turned to where it came from, only to spot it coming from the sea.

“What in the…?”

The king stopped in his tracks, making some of the Waddle Dees stumble onto each other. A bandanna-wearing Waddle Dee made his way to Dedede’s side with a look of concern.

“Great king…? What’s wrong?”

“There’s a smoke trail in the middle of the water…”

“Do you think there could’ve been an accident?”

“Maybe…”

“Should we investigate?”

Dedede was quiet for a moment. What if it was something dangerous? Most of his Waddle Dees were not only tuckered out from trying to defeat Kirby, but as Dedede looked at them now, they looked even more tired from walking.

He probably should’ve thought the whole ‘walking into the sunset’ thing through…

“META KNIGHT!!”

There was a shocking silence.

The king looked to Bandee, both sharing horrified expressions.

“Check the perimeter over there, see if you can find anyone.”

Bandee was surprised by Dedede’s sudden tone, but he didn’t question his king.

The Waddle Dee gave a quick salute before signaling the ones behind to follow him.

As the Waddle Dees marched into the grassy fields, king Dedede looks onto the field before him, gripping his fists and muttering something.

“You better be alright, you big oaf…”

Chapter Text

He can’t be dead.

He can’t be .

That’s what Sailor Dee kept telling himself.

And that’s why he couldn’t let go.

Sailor Dee was hanging onto Meta Knight like his life depended on it, the only father figure he ever had. He was too scared to look at Meta’s face, to see the light already gone in his eyes, to know that it was his fault …

Because he was useless.

“Just let this be a bad dream…” Sailor Dee sobbed.

“ Please… ”

…

…

…

But he couldn’t wake up.

But in the distance…

…he could hear a faint voice.

“Hey! I see someone!”

As Sailor Dee listened, more voices followed.

“Is that Meta Knight?”

“What the heck happened here?!”

“He’s bleeding out!”

Sailor Dee’s head shot up, clinging onto Meta Knight. Around him was practically an army of Waddle Dees, some of them as vibrant orange as the sunset above him.

His brain shot into panic mode, frantically stumbling back with Meta Knight in tow.

“N-no! Stay away from him!”

A bandanna wearing Waddle Dee stepped out of the crowd.

“Sailor Dee..? What happened to Meta Knight?”

Sailor looked back at Bandee, his face still covered in tears.

“I…” Sailor Dee sniffled, glancing back at Meta Knight.

“I don’t know…I.. *sniff* I just found him here! I-I don’t know what to do!!”

Sailor watched as Bandee ran over to Meta Knight, who rolled him onto his back. There were many scratches on him, but the most noticeable thing was the large gash on his side, pouring blood onto the ground.

Both Waddle Dees gasped at the sight. “We need a medic, stat!” Bandee yelled.

As soon as he said that, 3 light orange Waddle Dees had made it to the front of the crowd, carrying medical equipment.

“Out of the way!” one of them exclaimed.

As the two Waddle Dees backed up to let the medics do their work, Sailor looked back to Bandee.

“Is… Meta K-Knight *sniff* gonna be *hic* …okay?”

Bandanna Dee looked away to a nearby road, spotting the silhouette of Dedede. A second later, he gave a resounding sigh and looked back to Sailor Dee.

“I don’t know, but we need to make sure you’re okay as well.” As he said that, the Waddle Dee removed his bandanna and handed it to Sailor.

Sailor Dee stared at the dark blue cloth for a moment, but then grabbed it to dry off his eyes.

“T-thank you…”

“Don’t mention it.”

There was a moment of silence, neither of the two kids sure what else to stay.

Bandee looked over to Sailor, who was staring at the tear stained cloth in his hands.

He really didn’t want to make him upset again, considering all that he was going through right now, but…

It might give a clue to what happened.

So, letting out another sigh, Bandee turned to Sailor Dee, asking one simple question that scared both of them….

“What happened?”

Chapter Text

Axe Knight wanted to stay with Meta.

He really did, trust him.

But he just got too scared.

But that’s okay! Axe was sure that Meta Knight would be fine. He was the Meta Knight after all, surviving the Halberd crashing was probably easy as pie for him! 

But…

The Halberd…

He didn’t want to think about it.

Axe took off his hat, patting the top of it to get the remaining water out. The evacuation was not pretty. He was slightly shaking from swimming through the icy water.

Maybe Meta…

No, he shouldn’t think that way. He was fine.

He had to be.

Speaking of Meta Knight, he should probably start looking for him. Sailor Dee too, he could be hurt… 

Or maybe…

“Rrrrgh!” Axe Knight growled to himself, bonking his head. He shouldn’t be thinking like that! They’re both fine, Axe was sure of it.

“Axe? You doing okay?”

Axe looked behind him, seeing Mace Knight sitting against a tree. He had a couple marks from fighting Kirby and was pretty wet, rubbing his hands on his arms to keep warm. The other members of the Halberd crew were busy drying themselves off.

“No! I’m not okay!” Axe snapped. “I’m not gonna be ‘okay’ until we find Meta Knight and Sailor Dee!!”

Axe Knight turned to the rest of the crew. “So let’s look now!!”

Vul gave Axe Knight an annoyed look. “Now hold on there, mister! We just swam from the middle of that lake to here. We’re not doing anything until we get dried off.”

Axe Knight turned around, facing the orange-like water again while muttering.

“Stupid captain…”

"What'd ya say, boy?!"

"... I said. You are a STUPID FUCKING CAPTAIN! You didn't do ANYTHING useful when all of that bullshit was happening! While ALL of us were trying to fight off Kirby you were just YELLING at everybody around you, at least Meta Knight's ideas worked better since he's a lot better than you'll EVER be as a leader, all you did was scream like a FUCKING BABY and throw heavy lobsters at anyone that looked you in the eyes weird, YOU DIDN'T DO SHIT FOR US YOU BIG IDIOT!"

Vul stared in shock while Axe was seething with rage, panting from finally saying what was building up in his mind ever since he met that piece of shit bird.

After a moment, Vul’s face switched from shock to anger.

“Did you forget who you’re talking to?!”

“What, a USELESS PIECE OF-”

Before the argument could continue further, a golden trident cut between the two hotheads.

 "You two stop fighting! Nobody here wants to hear you both screaming at each other, less noting the fact that no one knows where Meta knight is."

Vul and Axe Knight turned to see Trident Knight, their red eyes nearly visible under their helmet.

Trident retracted his weapon back to their side, letting out a sigh.

"Listen, Axe is right. Vul's decisions weren't the best during the invasion, but there's nothing we can do right now. The halberd sunk, it's unreachable, gone forever, but right now the most important thing is to find sir Meta knight and Sailor."

Axe turned back to the water, the smoke trail from the Halberd barely visible now. As much as he wanted to be angry and ignore the problem now, he needed to find them before it was too late.

‘Too late’. Those words kept poking at him.

Over and over.

The more it replayed, the more anxious Axe became.

But before it could repeat again…

"Wanya! Wanya! Wanya!"

Everyone heard the sounds of various Waddle Dees in the distance, which was fairly weird... 

… Wait .

‘What if they found Meta knight and Sailor first?’ That was the first thing that came into Axe's mind after hearing those sounds.

"What's happening over there?" Said Mace. Before he could stand up and get a better look, Axe quickly looked back to the others.

"We have to go investigate, now . What if they found Meta knight and Sailor first!? We need to go there!"

"Woah, woah, don't jump to assumptions like that, bud."

"Shut up Vul, I feel something happening over there. We have to investigate."

Before the tension rose any higher, Mace Knight piped up in agreement.

"I... I agree with Axe here. Besides, a lot of the Waddle Dees work for King Dedede. We can get him to help us find Meta and Sailor if they haven’t already."

Vul looked like he wanted to interject, but the feeling of nearby glares from Axe and Trident Knight startled him into submission, letting out a sigh.

“ Alright , lead the way, lads.”

And to investigate they went… maybe Axe was right, maybe Meta knight was there. Maybe him and Sailor Dee were okay…

There's only one way to find out.

Chapter Text

Two hours... two exhausting hours of work.

Finally.

It was done.

The worrying part was over.

Healer Dee sighed, stepping away from their most recent patient, Meta Knight. That was probably the most bloody they had ever gotten while doing their job.

Well to be fair, most of their job involved bandaging up their king from petty fights-

Healer slapped themself. "Focus," Healer said. "You already finished the hard part.."

"The next part is getting him somewhere where he can recover."

“Healer! Healer Dee!”

At the sound of their voice, HD Immediately turned around to see who said it. In the distance, their two assistants were trying to get HD’s attention, right in front of a rectangular sized tent with a Red Cross perched at the entrance of it.

“We’re finished with the tents! Is Meta Knight okay?”

“He’s fine now, don’t worry! Help me get him in there!” Healer shouted.

The two Waddle Dees nodded before quickly grabbing a stretcher from inside and rushing over to the scene.

As the 2 assistants carried the knight away, Healer breathed out a sigh of relief and looked back to the ground. Medical tools were scattered everywhere, but the one thing that stood out was the silvery mask at the far edge from the small pool of blood…

Meta Knight’s mask.

"Dear nova," Healer said, looking at the mask with tired eyes.

"That was way harder than I expected... I have never seen so much blood coming out of someone."

"It was like an infinite fountain of blood..."

~~~~~~~~~

. . .

“Meta…”

 Meta knight…!”

“META KNIGHT!”

Meta Knight jolted awake by the sound of the familiar voice. He looked around to see who was calling him, but just found himself floating in a dark void...

This… this didn’t make sense. Everything felt like one giant blur. 

Meta tried to think back, to figure out what happened…

But all that came up in his mind was static.

So, he turned to presumably the only one with him.

"Who are you!? Show yourself!"

He said, his eyes darting around, to no response.

At least, he thought there wouldn’t be a response. But that was immediately abolished when a small laugh echoed through his ears.

"Oh Meta knight... do you really not remember what you did?"

The knight tensed up. "Huh?"

Before Meta Knight could ask the voice what they were talking about, a short figure stepped out of the inky darkness in front of him, facing the invisible floor beneath them and their prisoner, finally giving form to this mysterious voice.

When they looked at the startled puffball, Meta Knight felt like all the air just left from his lungs.

“...Or do you just not care about the lives you’ve ruined?”

It was Sailor Dee.

With half of his head missing.

He couldn’t process it. Meta had no idea what was going on, where he was, but staring at the hole in the boy's head gave him an idea of where he was.

A horrible, horrible idea.

"Are we...dead...?"

“...”

“...I should’ve known you wouldn’t care.” The Waddle Dee said as he turned his back to the knight, his tone tired and empty.

“No, I-”

Meta Knight took a step forward, reaching a hand out to him, but before he could get any more words out, a much larger hand made of bones formed from the darkness, using two fingers to pat the young Waddle Dee’s head.

“Do not listen to him, child. He has filled your head with lies for too long.”

Meta’s eyes widened in shock. It couldn’t be him .

But to his dismay, a dark blue cloak coated with stars faded into existence in front of the somber Waddle Dee.

Meta Knight slowly looked up, backing away from the ominous shadow.

And then he saw the face of Nightmare himself.

"Hello meta knight, long time no see."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Healer snapped out of their thoughts and then quickly started picking up their tools, then the mask.

Meta Knight would want this back.

 They knew he would.

They were just surprised how badly injured the other was.

Healer knew that just one person couldn't do that much damage to Meta Knight. He was the strongest knight in the castle ranks.

Unless... Maybe it wasn't done by just a person?

Maybe he was caught in...

...Wait.

Healer quickly looked to where the smoke trail used to be.

Was it possible...?

Healer grabbed the mask once again and quickly ran toward the medical tent.

Meta Knight was going to give answers when he woke up.

They had to make sure.

But before Healer could reach the tent, an unfamiliar voice called out to them.

"Hey, you!"

The Waddle Dee nearly tripped when the voice shouted out, but quickly turned to see who it was.

Healer could see someone wearing a skull mask and a red and gold Viking hat. They looked about Healer's height. Behind them were a handful of other people who wore similar shiny armor.

Ah, Healer remembered them. The Meta-Knights, who all looked up to Meta Knight as a leader and helped him build the Halberd in the first place. They seemed to be in a hurry.

The knights stopped in front of the Waddle Dee, looking disheveled.

"Where is he!?" Asked the one with the skull mask. “Excuse me?” Said Healer Dee with a confused expression.

"Where is Meta Knight?!” The helmeted knight yelled, making Healer flinch.

"Axe, calm down!" Said one of the helmeted knights. Mace Knight was their name, if Healer Dee remembered correctly.

"Don't yell at him like that! You'll scare the poor guy away!"

"Well, excuse me for being a little concerned! We don't know if he's dead or not!!"

"I'm sure he's fine, just..take a step back, okay?" Mace asked.

Axe relaxed their posture, stepping aside from Healer. Instead, Trident Knight sighed and approached the shaken Waddle Dee.

“Apologies for him. Are you alright?”

Healer couldn’t help but feel a little shaken by Trident’s gaze.

Though his eyes weren’t completely visible, the low lidded look from them sent shivers down Healer’s spine.

The knight’s words also seemed jagged, as if his throat was nearly cut.

But why did that stuff matter?

‘Just answer his question, dummy,’ Healer thought to themself.

“Y...Yes. I’m okay.. Thank you for asking though. I’m Healer Dee.”

Trident hummed and nodded his head before he spoke. “Ah. Thank you, Healer Dee. Could you inform us of what happened and why you have that mask?”

“Of course! Um....I don't know all the details, but I can tell you some things.”

They began recounting everything that had transpired in the last two hours. By the end of it, the Meta-Knights were wide eyed hearing about Meta Knight's condition.

"He's not dead, don't worry." Healer assured them. "He just has internal bleeding near his lungs, but he's recovering smoothly. But... He hasn't woken up since we found him."

"...Is there anything we can do?" Javelin Knight asked, floating next to Trident Knight.

“I don’t think so, sadly…” Healer responded. “The best we can do for now is wait for him to wake up.”

The Meta-Knights looked to each other in defeat. Healer wasn’t sure what to do…

Until they remembered something.

Or rather, some one .

~~~~~~~~

The sound of fighting echoed through the seemingly infinite void.

Meta knight was fighting for his life, even though he didn't seem to have any.

He was so… so tired.

But he couldn't stop.

He couldn't let nightmare win this fight.

He couldn't .

It had probably been hours already…maybe days? Meta had no idea, but Nightmare didn't seem that he was going to stop anytime soon.

"JUST DIE ALREADY!!" The knight screamed in anger, which instantly turned into agony when he was flicked by Nightmare’s hand in the chest, leaving him out of breath and tumbling onto the floor.

Even while writhing in pain and his heartbeat tuning out his surroundings, Nightmare’s laugh still echoed through his ears.

"Oh, Meta Knight... don’t you understand? I cannot die. Not here. And neither can you. You’re trapped here with us .”

His haunting silhouette hung over Meta Knight’s defeated form, as if it was mocking him.

“ Forever .”

Meta tried lifting himself up, turning his head to see the end of Nightmare’s cape a couple feet from him.

"Us...?"

As soon as he said that, Nightmare disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He was now alone again... or was he? He was on high alert, with the little energy he had he looked around to see if something was lurking in the shadows.

Nothing.

Just an empty void.

Again.

...

Meta knight was left with his thoughts... processing what had happened "What…?" He said under his breath...

Fear, anger, sadness...

Death...? He's dead?...

As much as meta knight tried to make sense of this situation, he just found himself thinking gibberish, repeating the same thing he thinked of before again and again like some sort of madman.

He's dead? He can’t be dead... why did he do all of that!? If he wouldn't have been so stupid he wouldn't be in this-

…Wait.

If he's dead…

What about...

Oh. Oh god.

The others.

If Sailor is here, are the others...

No.

No no no no no no nonononononono NO NO NO…!

They aren't... dead aren't they? They, they can't be... oh god…

What had he done…

What had he done?

What had he done?...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group of knights (and Healer) walked through the camp, trying to find Sailor 

Though, when you’re in a place with nearly identical Waddle Dees, it’s certainly a challenge. Especially considering how fast the group moved.

After walking for several minutes the knights finally spotted a familiar figure sitting with Bandanna Dee, chatting over a Maxim Tomato.

“Sailor Dee! Over here!” yelled Sword Knight. As Sailor Dee heard his friend’s call he immediately turned his head.

"Over here!!!"

Bandanna Dee stood from his seat and waved his hands frantically behind him to get everyone’s attention.

Everyone followed Sword Knight, running as fast as they could to get there.

The group of knights ran to Sailor Dee and hugged him tightly. None of them could help but cry to see each other again.

"You're okay!" Mace Knight squeaked out excitedly.

"We were so worried!" Blade Knight said, tightening his grip.

"Haha! I was scared too!" Sailor replied, who couldn't help but laugh at his own worries.

Healer walked to the group with an amused look. The scene was adorable and funny, honestly, but it wasn't helping the fact they still needed answers.

But for now, Healer thought it'd be best to give the Meta-Knights some space.

"Alright, I'll give you guys your moment," Healer said, adjusting their bag.

"I need to report to Dedede. After that, you all can visit Meta Knight. Got it?"

"Okay!" Sailor cheered innocently, causing everyone to laugh at his enthusiasm.

"I'm gonna join them," Bandee piped up. "The king's probably wondering through the camp anyways. You guys have fun! With that, Bandee quickly ran off to catch up to Healer Dee.

Thankfully, they didn't have to look for long, as he was talking with some other Waddle Dees.

"Great king!" Bandee yelled, running to Dedede's side and waving his arms I'm the ai

"Bandee?!" Dedede turned to face his apprentice and smiled.

"Hey, buddy!" The penguin exclaimed enthusiastically. He reached out towards Bandee. "How are ya doing?"

Bandee returned the gesture with one of his own.

"Okay! How are you?"

"Heh, I've been better..." he responded, looking to the side.

"But enough about me. Is Meta Knight fine? Did you figure out what happened to him or the Meta-Knights?" The king asked, his smile fading while his stance changed to something more tense.

He grabbed Bandee by the shoulders, forcing him to look him right in the eyes.

"Uh.. yeah. He should be fine. He just needs time to heal and stuff. The Meta-Knights are okay, too."

"That's good..." Dedede whispered, breathing a sigh of relief. He let go of Bandee's shoulders, letting his apprentice relax before turning back to Healer Dee.

"Yes! Er...please." The king responded, a bit more urgent than he had meant to.

Healer Dee silently chuckled to themself before responding.

"Alright, follow me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh god oh dear god…

They're dead .

What had he done ?

Those were the words constantly playing on Meta knight's head.

It was all his fault, all because he didn't like Dreamland’s lifestyle. All his crew was now dead all because of his own fucking selfishness.

His breath started to speed up just by the thought of it all.

His crew... all of them... probably trapped in a similar place to him. And Sailor…

Oh, poor Sailor…

His poor sailor... so young and now having to live in the hell he set up for them.

"My crew... my... friends. My son..." he said on the brink of breaking down.

"My... family …"

He couldn’t help but burst into tears, tears of pain, regret, shame, anger... breaking down as he cried, they didn't deserve this, they didn't deserve to be in this place of torture, they didn't.

But he still brought them to their demise with him.

The closest thing he could call a family, he killed all of them.

He was grabbing onto himself, hugging his body in an attempt of consolation.

Nova knows what they're going through.

Nova knows the pain they have to suffer because of him.

Nova...

Nova...

...

"Dear Nova... I don't know if you can even h-hear me, but... please. Save them, save my cr-... my... f-family…"

He started to pray to the closest thing he could think of to a god for the people who resided in Dreamland, Nova.

A sentient clock in the middle of space that can grant wishes to the people that come in front of it, that can work… right?

The only thing he wanted was for something to answer, something that can at least save the people he put in danger...anything…

…But his prayers were met with deaf ears.

Nobody was there to save them.

To save him .

……

Meta knight was in a fetal position, crying tears of agony, screaming all his distress to the void.

"Oh, Meta Knight..."

He heard a familiar voice.

Sailor...?

He stopped crying when he heard that, looking around for his son.

He was horrified when he was met with not just Sailor Dee, but all of his crew by his side, and the injuries they sustained were horrifying.

Trident had a giant scar that cut through his armor, Axe had his skull cracked and covered with ash, Javelin Knight’s own spear was stabbed into him and Mace Knight, Vul’s feathers were wet with multiple cuts on his body, the list of injuries went on…

And they looked at their leader with hatred .

"Just look at what you've done." said the young Waddle Dee.

"You killed everyone..." said the viking hat wearing knight.

"All of this just because you declared war on a lifestyle that wasn't hurting you..."

"Now..." said Trident Knight, stepping towards Meta.

"You're coming with us."

In that moment they all charged towards him, and Meta reflexively revealed his wings and flapped away from them.

He tried to fly higher into the air, but the exhaustion from crying and the earlier fight was catching up to him.

A millisecond later, he felt multiple hands grabbing his foot.

The knight was slammed onto the ground face first, breaking his mask.

The pain was excruciating .

They started to drag him down, down to hell, where he belonged.

He tried to claw at the floor, to say he was sorry, but Meta was long out of breath, frantically gasping.

He was reaching for the surface, arms getting weaker as they were being pulled into the darkness.

Meta was trying so hard to get away from them, screaming for forgiveness, but more and more hands latched onto the blue puffball, covering his mouth, making him not be able to breathe.

He was gonna be dragged to the deepest pits of hell, all because of him, he was going to pay for his sins..!

He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe-

His vision was swimming.

A black void, the middle of the grass, on the Halberd-

Where the hell was he!?

He felt like he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t, he couldn’t, he couldn’t-!

Then he felt a warm pair of arms wrap around him.

He was pulled into…something, but he couldn’t tell what.

Meta started to thrash, to try and pull away from whatever was holding him, but the person just squeezed tighter.

Eventually, Meta Knight gave up and clung to the red fabric that surrounded him, not being able to hold back his sobs.

He could barely hear anything, just the ringing, that cursed ringing-

“Meta, it’s okay, everyone’s okay…”

…A voice?

“Just breathe, okay? Breathe.”

‘Right…breathe..’ the knight reassured himself. He needed to breathe, to calm down…

Just breathe…

Just…

After a couple minutes, Meta finally steadied his breathing.

“See? You’re okay.”

Now that Meta Knight could finally focus on what was around him, the first thing he turned to was the inhibitor of the familiar voice.

“…Dedede? Is that you?” He asked, somewhat confused.

“Heheh, yea, it’s me bud.” The king replied with a sniffle, finally pulling away from the hug.

He was wearing a goofy smile on his face with a couple tears streaming down his face.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I…what happened?” The knight asked.

“Is he okay?” Another voice popped up.

The knight quickly looked around to find where it was coming from, until he followed Dedede’s line of vision.

It was Sailor Dee.