Chapter Text
"You can't, Meta Knight, you'll get hurt again!!" Tiff called out, as her and her siblings exited the temple. The knight didn't even turn around.
Sword and Blade emerged from the rubble they were buried under, just as against this as she was. "Meta Knight! No!" The former yelled.
"Please, Meta, be rational! You shouldn't be doing this- not when you're still recovering!" Kitsune urged, leaning against the wall so she wouldn't put so much strain on the leg that had a bullet graze it. She'd really have to tend to it soon, though thankfully, no one seemed to notice. Not yet. She could handle it.
"Do not interfere." Meta Knight responded cooly, grabbing the handle of his sword and pulling it out. Lightning sparks lit up before ultimately forming into the familiar golden blade. The sparks faded just as quickly as they appeared. The steel of the weapon glowed dimly in the moonlight.
Sirica smirked slightly. "I've waited a long time for this." She stated, as a blade came out of her pistol, now making it more akin to a sword. She let out a battle cry as she charged the knight, filled with the intent to avenge her late mother.
And like that, their swords clashed. Despite his injuries, Meta Knight managed to hold his own pretty well. Though he was also noticeably hindered, as his movements still seemed somewhat strained. He swung at Sirica, but she merely backflipped out of the way. The knight stepped back, grunting a bit as the pain in his left arm started flaring up again.
Sirica charged him again, forcing him to back up with each swing of her sword. And while Meta Knight was able to block each attack, it was clear he was still weak. He gritted his teeth with each swing of the tween's blade. This wasn't good. With one more, strong swing, Galaxia was smacked out of Meta Knight's hand, as it stabbed into the earth behind them.
Sirica quickly turned, making a run for the legendary blade. "The sword is mine!" She claimed, reaching her hand out to grab it.
Meta Knight's eyes widened a bit, and though while no one could see it from the angle they were at, they briefly flickered to white before returning to their usual yellow. "Sirica! Wait!" He tried to call, reaching his uninjured arm out to dissuade the young girl.
Sirica skidded to a halt as she turned, glaring at the knight. "Enough! Galaxia belongs to me, Meta Knight, and you know it!" She stated.
"I warn you..." Was all the knight responded with, as the tween's hand grew closer and closer to the handle of the legendary sword.
She very much should have listened, as it turned out.
The very moment her gloved hand gripped onto the weapon, she felt a strong, painful shock course through her entire body. It was so intense, and stung like nothing she had ever experienced in her young life. It was agony, and her screams clearly showed as much.
Kitsune, her siblings, and the other two knights present gasped in a mixture of horror and shock. So that's what made Galaxia so special, Kitsune realized. You don't choose Galaxia. Galaxia chooses you. And if it doesn't... it'll make sure you don't make the same mistake again, to put it lightly.
After a few, painful second, Sirica finally let go- falling back into the dirt. She let out a few pained whimpers and grunts, struggling to push herself back up. Galaxia still sat embedded in the ground, a few sparks coming off of it- almost as if it were displeased with Sirica's attempt.
"Only those who possess the power may claim the Galaxia sword as their own." Meta Knight explained, as Sirica turned to finally look back at him.
The knight continued. "Those who are not chosen will only bring evil upon themselves." He added.
Before anyone could say anything else, however, they heard a snarling coming from nearby. They all jolted, turning towards the entrance of the cavern they all were currently in. Running at them at a rather fast pace for its size was the same beast that they all had seen in the vision that Kabu had given them all. It roared viciously as it charged, clearly intent on doing some harm, as well as stealing the sacred sword.
"This can't be..." Sirica muttered. "It's Kirisakin, the great monster!"
"Kirisakin is coming to reclaim the sword! We must stop it!" Meta Knight stated.
Seeming to heed his advice, Sirica shot at the monster- first with two missiles, then with glowing bullets. Unfortunately, Kirisakin dodged these with seemingly no effort. It tried to strike the tween, though she acted fast- jumping up onto its back and piercing into its back with her own blade. The monster let out a roar, both out of irritation and pain before flinging Sirica to the ground.
Sword and Blade were next to charge. They put up a decent fight at first, but of course, it wasn't that easy. They were swatted away like flies, and they tumbled to the ground. During their fall, Sword had released his weapon- with it flying up into the air.
Had Kitsune brought one of her own weapons, perhaps she could do something. But then again, whip or not, she supposed she couldn't be of much help with an injured leg. As much as she hated it, she had no choice but to stay put.
"Kirby! Suck it up!" Tiff had ordered, prompting her older sister to turn to her in confusion. Quickly turning her confusion into shock, Kirby nodded- opening his mouth to an almost scary degree. He inhaled with a very surprising amount of force, sending the sword flying into his mouth and down his throat.
"What-" Kitsune tried to speak up, but was quickly stunned into silence as she watched the child jump up- a white light enveloping him. When he came back down, he had a green hat with a yellow base, a sword in his little hand.
"How on Popstar..." The redhead muttered in awe, turning to her siblings who respond very positively to the situation.
"Yeah!" Tuff cheered.
"Sword Kirby!!" Tiff chimed in.
"Sword Kirby?" The eldest sister echoes.
"Yeah, Kirby can copy his enemies abilities, and use them against them!" Tiff explained.
Kitsune looked back to the fight, watching as Kirby fearlessly charged at the beast. "Incredible..." She breathed out, wincing as the wound on her leg started flaring up yet again. "Ow.." She hissed.
"Are you alright, Kitsune?" Tiff questioned, looking over at her. That seemed to catch Meta Knight's attention, as he looked over as well.
"Oh- yes, I'm alright! Just need to patch myself up when we get home."
Meta Knight wanted to speak up, but he couldn't. Not yet. For the time being, he returned his attention to Kirby. He couldn't stand to let thoughts of self-blame enter his head, knowing that Kitsune had gotten hurt.
He didn't get her out in time.
Looking back to the fight, he noticed that Kirby had managed to slice off one of Kirsakin's claws. The monster looked back at the child, the blade-like appendage growing back in mere seconds. It was almost as if it was taunting the young Star Warrior. It didn't help that the monster seemed to actually smirk.
Kirby, understandably, freaked out some before jumping out of the way of one of the monster's attacks- which cut through the rock he was standing on like a hot knife through butter. Kirby managed to dodge some more attacks, albeit some came really close to actually hitting the young child- which made Kitsune even more nervous as she watched on helplessly.
Sirica had finally snapped back to reality. She pushed herself up with a groan, noticing that Kirby was just barely managing to stay on his feet with Kirisakin's relentless attacks. She gritted her teeth as she stood up but soon grunted in pain, holding her arm. It appears Galaxia's little zap treatment did a lot more than she had anticipated.
'Now is my only chance. That sword is mine.' She thought to herself, quickly attempting to run to finally obtain the magical sword. While Kirisakin was distracted with Kirby, she, very steadily, went to pick up Galaxia again. And again, she was punished- the same painful rush of electricity going through her small body.
Kitsune winced as she watched on. Though, Sirica seemed to be holding on to the sword for a good minute. With a fierce yell, the tween pulled the sword out of the ground, holding it in the air before tossing it to Kirby. Just in time, too, as Kirisakin had broken the sword the young warrior had been using.
"Oh my.." Kitsune covered her mouth, glancing at Meta Knight. She couldn't see his eyes from where she was standing, but she could see the way his shoulders tensed. Was something about this... familiar to him somehow. She hummed in concern, making a mental note to check in on him tomorrow when all of this was said and done.
Kirisakin bumped Kirby out of the way, catching Galaxia in its mouth. Before it could run away, however, Meta Knight seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in; picking up the multi-weapon Sirica had brought along. He ignored the painfully familiar logo on it, firing a missile at the monster- prompting it to drop the sword. Kirby took his chance, holding Galaxia up in his small hands.
He jumped into the air, holding the sword high above his head. When he finally swung down, a great beam of energy was shot from the sword. Kirisakin tried to block it, but it was of no use. It was doomed, and the beam cut through the monster with very little effort. And like that, the monster exploded.
"Galaxia... Now I know my mother remained a true warrior to the end..." Sirica said, smiling to herself- finally at peace now that she seemed to know the truth about what happened with Garlude.
Meta Knight quietly approached. "Sirica.. She would have been very proud of you." Sirica nodded in response.
---
As Sirica was fixing up her ship, Meta Knight glanced over at Kitsune. Since the sun had finally started to rise, it was much easier to see the injury she got from the bullet grazing her leg. "You're injured." He simply stated, making the redhead jump.
"Oh, uh, heh, yeah.. It's alright though- I can patch it up when I get home." She yawned. "Then I'll get some rest... I'm absolutely exhausted."
"That is definitely no surprise." Meta Knight responded, a more solemn expression appearing on his face.
Kitsune hummed. She'd definitely have to check on him later after a nice nap. She looked back to Sirica, who managed to get her ship in the air. Her and her siblings all waved goodbye as she flew away.
"C'mon, Kitsune! Let's get back to the castle!" Tiff called.
Tuff smiled a bit sheepishly. "We'll help you explain the dress and the injury."
"Thanks, guys." Kitsune smiled, turning her attention to Meta Knight again. She gently tapped his shoulder as she passed by him. "...See you later, Meta Knight." She whispered, following her siblings back to the castle.
Honestly, she was just excited to finally get some rest after her first full day in Dreamland.