The Dream Palace had once again summoned another questionable Dream Friend. And this one hadn't known what it was like to feel at ease in a while.
“So, wait, let me get this straight, Kirby,” Adeleine said. “The Dream Palace summoned a copy of Meta Knight that… lived in a mirror?”
“Yeah.”
“And this copy of Meta Knight is… really angry.”
“Yeah.”
“And he wanted to kill you?”
“I think he still does.”
Adeleine let out some confused sputtering as she put her hands to her temples.
“I’m right here.”
Adeleine, Ribbon, Kirby and Daroach turned to look at Dark Meta Knight, who did not look very impressed.
After Kirby and his friends had defeated King Dedede, who was once again possessed, Kirby made his way onto the rest of Popstar to look for more of the dark hearts that had fallen to the ground. But of course, he had to summon some more Dream Friends first.
Daroach was one of the new friends, and the rest of the Squeak Squad had all come along too. The gang was inseparable.
Adeleine and Ribbon were the most recently summoned. They were delighted to see Kirby again, especially Ribbon. They hadn’t caught up in ages!
So who was the Dream Friend summoned in between those three? Well, it was someone no one was expecting, and not someone most people were glad to see.
Dark Meta Knight.
The group had been making their way through Friendly Fields again to look for any hidden extras in the area. Kirby was adamant there was something else there, and he also took the opportunity for the new Dream Friends to get to know each other. It was a bit tense after Dark Meta Knight had tried to kill everyone earlier that day.
“And he’s right. About the wanting to kill him part.”
Daroach clapped his hands together nervously.
“But why?” Ribbon asked.
“Because he… He tried to, uh… destroy the Mirror World!” Dark Meta Knight stammered.
Kirby giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Dark Meta Knight growled.
“You’re forgetful just like Dad!” Kirby smiled.
“...Since when was Meta Knight your dad?” Adeleine asked.
“Since after the time I went in sock,” Kirby replied. “Daroach knows about that one!”
“I sure do!”
“I’ll have to tell you guys about that one later,” Kirby said.
Ribbon zipped over to Kirby’s side and whispered, “Did you actually try to destroy the Mirror World.”
“Nah, I was trying to save it. Dark Mind was the one who tried to destroy it,” Kirby replied in an equally hushed voice.
Even though they didn’t think it, Dark Meta Knight could hear them. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword as he continued following the rest of the group.
Night had fallen, and Kirby and his friends had returned to the Popstar Dream Palace (which Kirby had found the Big Switch for to unlock during the day) for the night. All of the Dream Friends resided there when kirby was away, unless they went with him, of course. At night, they all slept under the same roof. It filled Kirby with a sense of family. It was nice.
A clicking against the floor woke Kirby from his slumber. He looked around briefly. Only one other person was awake - Marx. But he had come to expect that.
“Marx?” Kirby mumbled.
“Yeah?” Marx replied in a whisper.
“Did someone leave?”
“Dark Meta, I’m pretty sure. Don’t think it could have been anyone else,” Marx said.
Kirby nodded, and got to his feet. He tiptoed out of the Dream Palace, hopping over Gooey, and went outside. And sure enough, Dark Meta Knight was outside. He stood with his wings outstretched, and had his sword stuck in the ground next to him.
Kirby ran over to him and asked, “Are you alright?”
Dark Meta Knight pulled his sword out of the ground as he jumped, then pointed it at him. After a beat or two, Dark Meta Knight sighed and stuck his sword back into the ground. He then sat down the ground with a huff.
Kirby cautiously sat down next to him.
There was a heavy silence between the two of them before Dark Meta Knight growled, “Why am I here? You summoned me here, surely you must know.”
“Well, I think it was the Dream Palace that decided to bring you here,” Kirby said. “I kinda just grab the Dream Rod and see who comes! It’s always great to see old faces!”
Dark Meta Knight squinted at Kirby, who simply smiled back.
Dark Meta Knight sighed and looked up at the sky.
“This isn’t where I belong,” he said.
“‘Cause the Mirror World’s your home, right?” Kirby asked.
Dark Meta Knight was silent for a moment before replying, “No.”
Kirby blinked with confusion, then asked, “Then where is your home?”
“I don’t know,” Dark Meta Knight said. “I don’t belong there, I don’t belong here, I have no control over my emotions, I don’t belong anywhere!”
Dark Meta Knight stood up and outstretched his wings. He yanked his sword out of the ground. Kirby scrambled to his feet, and Dark Meta Knight took off into the sky.
“Dark Meta Knight, wait!”
Dark Meta Knight halted, and slowly turned to face Kirby.
“We can talk about it, if you want! Talking about what’s bothering me makes me feel better, maybe it’ll make you feel better too!” Kirby told him.
Dark Meta Knight hesitated for a moment, before slowly returning to the ground and sitting down, placing his sword in the ground next to him. Kirby sat down next to him.
“So what’s up?” he asked.
Dark Meta Knight took a breath in and let it out wearily. “I have no control over my emotions anymore and it’s all because of that.... that…”
“Dark Mind?” Kirby inquired.
“YES! Because of him!” Dark Meta Knight shouted, standing up in a burst of anger.
Kirby let out a shh, and whispered, “The others are sleeping.”
“Oh. Right.” Dark Meta Knight sat back down.
“So what did Dark Mind do?” Kirby asked.
“He ruined everything. He made it even more difficult to navigate the Mirror World, and like it was all some sort of sick game, he made us all look like…” he gestured to himself, “this.”
Kirby had no words, so he continued to listen intently.
“He also made our very personalities worse for us all,” Dark Meta Knight continued. He looked down at his gloved hands as he said, “I only barely remember what I was like before the incident.”
“Dark Mind is so mean! Way meaner than I thought he’d be!” Kirby exclaimed, a frown on his face.
“Nobody likes Dark Mind,” Dark Meta Knight said.
“Well I don’t like him either!” Kirby said, standing up with hands raised above his head. “This is a Dark Mind riot! RAHHHH!!”
Dark Meta Knight chuckled to himself as Kirby continued his little riot against Dark Mind, completely ignoring what he said to Dark Meta Knight earlier about being quiet. It was amusing to watch the young puffball jump about and roar. And it wouldn’t hurt to join in, would it?