Meta Knight stood in the shadows watching the kids play in the courtyard. It reminded him of when he was young and at the village with Brigade. There were some kids around his age in the area and they also played. Not the games the children here played but they did play. As he watched the children, Meta Knight made an effort to watch Kirby closely. The child was moving faster and thinking up ways to get out of situations instantly as they occur, even when he’s playing. It gave the old veteran relief that the boy was starting to mature in a way. Now if only he could talk, then Meta Knight would be able to train Kirby and answer any questions he would have. The dreams were giving Meta Knight an ill feeling. Were they omens of what was to come? The stakes were too high to dismiss the dreams with out concern.

"Tuff! That wasn’t funny!" Tiff complained. She put her fists on her hips and looked at her little brother in annoyance. Tuff was laughing like crazy with Kirby looking puzzled at him and his sister. The girl just groaned as she began to brush of the mud that Tuff had led her to while playing. Meta Knight chuckled a bit, remembering how it was like to be young. He wished he could go back to those days.

‘What am I thinking?’ the question popped up as if another person thought's came to him.

‘Why am I thinking about this now? What’s going on? I’ve been here for years now and not single thought of my past has come up…’ He leaned against the wall thinking. This wasn’t like him at all. A child like feeling was taking over Meta Knight. The fear he felt long ago slowly started to build until he tried shaking it off. What should he do? Should he try to train Kirby for what might come ahead? There were few options to choose from in this situation.

"Meta Knight! We have a problem!" Sword called to his leader with Blade close behind him. When they reached Meta Knight, the two subordinates struggled to regain their composure.

"What’s wrong? What happened?" Meta Knight threw his cape behind him. The situation must be terrible if his loyal followers were exhausted from having to look for him.

"There’s… *pant* a monster roaming the halls!" Blade huffed and puffed as he delivered the information.

"We’ve never seen anything like it before." Sword said with the sense of urgency in his voice.

"We must find it before it finds Kirby!" The old veteran pulled out his sword. Fear overwhelmed him when he saw Blade and Sword's expressions. Quickly turning to look towards the kids, Meta Knight saw the creature starring back at them. The children; however, never even noticed it. It had on a smirk on its face as if it knew their weakness. In one swift motion it attacked Kirby, imbedding a long, sword-like talon into the ground. The young boy squealed as he flew back a few feet.

"Kirby!" the group said in unison as they all ran over to their friend.

"Tiff! Tuff! Take Kirby and run! Go anywhere but here!" Meta Knight instructed as he got into his fighting stance. Sword and Blade unsheathed their own swords, prepared to attack the creature. The kids didn’t bother in answering their old friend but did as he told them. Tuff picked Kirby up and ran towards the castle gates with Tiff close behind.

Luka didn’t even bother trying to go after them. He knew he would eventually get them. Killing Star Warriors was his specialty and never failed on his missions. His muscles tensed as his enemies advanced at him. First Sword, who was easily swatted to the side by Luka’s claws, then Blade, catching at least his hand. Meta Knight made the last attack, lunging at the creature with his sword in the air. Luka blocked his attack then launched an attack of his own, nearly impaling the only experienced soldier to the ground.

Sword slashed at the beast, cutting its thigh making it very irritated at Swords presence. The assaults went on and on for almost an hour with neither of the three making any difference. They were by the drawbridge of the castle and slowly making away through as Luka kept pushing them back.

"Sword… Blade… Go find the kids! I’ll keep it busy!" Gripping the hilt of his sword Meta Knight charged it knowing that it would do no good. With out question or bothering to argue on how pointless it was, the young soldiers ran toward Whispy Woods where they believed the kids were. Meta Knight tried his best to keep the creature from going any further than it already had gone. Desperate, he leapt back and got ready for the one last trick up his sleeve, the Sword Beam.

Jumping into the air, the sword was emitting a bright glow before releasing the beam that could save Meta Knight's life. In one smooth motion, Luka dodged the one thing that could have defeated him. Meta Knights eyes widened as the beast smirked sinisterly at his opponent. What the monster didn’t know was that the beam had hit the castle and caused the walls to collapse. Just as Luka was about to attack it heard the debris falling. Looking up the debris coming towards him, he leapt out of the way.

The dirt cloud provided the necessary cover for Meta Knight to get away. Sheathing his sword, the brave warrior turned and ran like hell out of there. Luka didn’t see what direction his quarry ran off to but he didn’t worry. He never failed a mission and wasn’t going to fail now.

As Meta Knight ran, he tried to remember the last time he ran from a battle. No memories came to him, he was in a thought lock. All he wanted was to get to Whispy Woods before the creature did. Minutes felt like seconds as he ran to the woods. Turning his head to the direction he came in, Meta Knight made certain he wasn’t being followed, but than again, that creature showed considerable hunting skills, so he wouldn’t have to follow them. However, he kept looking back to make sure. All of a sudden, when he turned to see where he was going, he tripped over a familiar pink ball. He somersaulted through the group, hitting a tree. When it was over everything was upside down to him. The whole group just starred at the elder in a mixture of shock and amusement. It was a good thing that Meta Knight was wearing his mask so none of them were able to see how embarrassed he was.

"Are you all right Meta Knight?" Sword asked as he helped his leader to his feet.

"Yes, yes. I’m fine. Did everyone make out here all right?" the old veteran asked.

"Yeah. But that was before you ran into Kirby." Tuff pointed out. Kirby was walking around like he was drunk or dizzy. Eventually he lost his balance and fell on his rear.

"We can’t stay here," Meta Knight said, getting Kirby to his feet. "It will track us here and if it does, we won’t stand a chance," he finished.

"But where can we go? There’s not another village for miles," Blade said. Sword nodded in response.

"We have no choice. This is no ordinary Monster we’re dealing with. It’s most likely tracking us as we speak," Meta Knight quickly got the kids together. "We’ll figure out what we’ll do as we head to the next town."

"But what about our parents? They’ll get worried about us," Tiff pointed out. "We should try and tell them what’s going on."

"We’ll never make it back to the castle alive, Tiff." Meta Knight put his hand on her shoulder. "I’m afraid you’re in deeper than you think."

"Meta Knight…" Blade looked into the woods. There were sounds of over sized footsteps crushing twigs and leaves.

"Run! Hurry!" he ordered the group. Sword picked Kirby up and all ran like hell through the woods. Tiff and Tuff were ahead of Meta Knight and his followers.

"I don’t know how much more of this I can handle!" Tuff gasped for air as he ran. They had run out of the forest and were now running through the fields that marked the edge of King Dedede’s kingdom. Meta Knight looked behind him to see how far the creature was from them. The field was clear behind them and was getting smaller as they all retreated.

"It’s all right now! I don’t see it!" Slowing down to a stop, Meta Knight panted and tried to regain his breath. The rest of the group stopped not too far away from him doing the same thing. It was far too late to try and get back to the castle for supplies or let people know where they were. Tiff looked in the direction of her home and wished she could go back. She never thought she would want to go back to the castle so badly. The young girl began to think whether or not she would ever see it again.

"What a mess we’re in… huh Tuff." she said sadly as she looked over to her exhausted brother and Kirby. They didn’t say anything because of how hard they’re breathing.

"We better head to the village before that thing catches up with us…" Sword advised. Meta Knight nodded in agreement.

"You two carry the kids. They seem too tired to continue the journey." Taking Kirby in his arms, Meta Knight started to continue the journey. Sword and Blade picked up the two kids and let them ride on their backs. They marched across the fields and plains towards to the village that they thought would give them shelter. They walked for hour’s non-stop. Sword and Blade began to feel fatigued from walking. They pushed themselves to keep up with Meta Knight who didn’t show any signs of fatigue. After another hour Sword couldn’t take it.

"Meta Knight… we should stop…" He panted heavily as he stopped.

"We have no choice but to keep going Sword." Meta Knight insisted.

"You don’t have to carry us any more Sword. We can handle the rest of the journey." Tiff said in her soft gentle voice. The soldier nodded and gently let her slide off. Blade did the same thing, as did Meta Knight. With out a word Meta Knight continued towards the village. Sword stayed silent as they walked. As they walked, Sword retreated into his thoughts. He knew Meta Knight was older and wiser but even so, it was getting late and with out sleep, they won’t get too far the next day. He looked onward to see that they were going to be walking down a hill. Tuff ran ahead to see what they were going to find at the bottom.

"Look! It’s the next town!" Tuff said with pure joy. Tiff ran over to her brother smiling.

"Finally! We made it Meta Knight!" She cheered as the old war veteran walked up to them and looked downward. It was in view but something didn’t seem right. He had a bad feeling that they were in more trouble now then they were when in the forest. They cheered as they ran down the hill to the town with Meta Knight and the two knights following. Sword began to feel uneasy as they closed in on the town. He didn’t see any activity around it and it seemed odd.

"What’s wrong?" Blade walked over to where the kids had stopped in their tracks. They were staring into the village with horror all over their faces. Blade looked in the direction the kids were staring and gasped. The town was almost completely destroyed. From the hilltop they couldn’t see it but now since they were almost in town it was clear. Sword slowly walked to the entrance of the village. The fires were out but it still looked horrible.

"Horrible..." Meta Knight walked into the devastated town. There was nothing left

"So much for the next town..." Blade mumbled.

Turning to Sword, Meta Knight asked. "Where's the nearest town from here..."

"Tree Top Village..." Sword answered as he started to walk into town. He couldn’t get over what might have happened. It looked as if there was a battle but he didn’t remember there being any reports of a village being attacked.

After looking around, Meta Knight turned to the group that followed him. "We will stop for a short time, then we must get going again."

Blade followed with a frightened Kirby close behind. Tiff ran up to her friends as she followed them in the town with Tuff sticking close to his sister. Tiff looked around the town as they walked.

"This place... it's so creepy..." She said, hugging herself. Kirby mewed as he too looked around at the charred buildings.

"Meta Knight... We're all very tired. Maybe we should stay here for the night..." Sword said, stopping and looking at Meta Knight

"I understand you're all exhausted, but we need to get going. If we stay in one place too long that creature will be on us again," Meta Knight explained to the group. He didn’t want to risk their safety too long.

Tuff groaned and rubbed his feet "But we're so tired, Meta Knight...." the boy complained. The journey was long and had had nothing to eat since dinner.

Sword was silent. MK was right but he knew if that they came across the monster again they would have no strength to fight it.

"Sword is right. We can't keep carrying them when the kids get tired." Blade pointed out. "We need rest as much as they do," he sighed in exhaustion. Kirby sat down wherever he could find a place. He tried to rest as much as could from the journey.

"Sit down and rest up. In one hour we're heading off again." Meta Knight looked behind him to the kids. He was growing worried with each minute and really didn’t want to give he beast a chance to catch up. He began to look around his surroundings as if trying to get his bearings. Walking over to the nearest house that was still standing; Meta Knight climbed to the top and looked onward.

Tiff collapsed next to Kirby and sighed in relief that she could rest. She looked over next to her, setting her eyes on a very exhausted Kirby. Neither of them had ever been in this type of situation before. Turning to the other side, her brother was sprawled on the ground on his back. He seemed just as tired, as Kirby was which wasn’t anything different. Considering how much running around the kids did back home she wasn’t surprised that fatigue was overwhelming them.

Before sitting down himself, Sword glanced over at Meta Knight who was still keeping a look out. Sword didn’t understand why they couldn’t rest. They had some distance between them and the monster, Luka. Looking over across from where he was sitting was Blade who was leaned back and relaxed the best he could. The two long life friends looked at each other. Conflict filled both their eyes, as they both understood where the other was standing.

Sword was retaliating against Meta Knight for reasons that were logical. They were tired and must rest. They need sleep to regain their strength in case Luka decided to catch up with them. There was no way that they could fight in their present condition. However, Blade stood firm by Meta Knight, doing what he ordered without question. Sword felt it was best that Blade was staying on the sidelines on this. The two friends were like brothers, always wanting what was best for the other. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tiff watching Meta Knight. This would be the first time the kids really seeing Meta Knight in a defensive action.

Tiff watches the old knight with curiosity, she knew he had to sleep or get tired some time. Every one does at one point. Sighing, she shakes her head. "Doesn't he ever get tired...?"

"I don't know... And I really don't care..." Sword replied. He was obviously annoyed at his leader for ignoring his advised and insisting in moving forward.

There was a loud growl as Kirby rubbed his tummy indicating he was getting hungry. Normally he would just get up and look for food; however, in this case he didn’t want to. The atmosphere scared him and he didn’t want to leave the safety of the group. He knew danger all too well and having this knowledge, he knew going off on his own could mean life or death.

Upon hearing the growl, Tiff looked down at her friend. "C'mon Kirby, I'll help you find something to eat."

Tuff smiled at his sister and Kirby from where he was lying down.

"Maybe Meta-Knight has something to eat." the boy chuckled. Listening to his surroundings, Sword heard the children talk about food. He was getting hungry as well but the children needed to eat.

"You kids stay there... Me and Blade will go look." Sword said getting up.

"Poh-yo!" Kirby smiled. Sword headed over to the house MK was at. "Meta Knight!" he called to him. Meta Knight looked downward to Sword not leaving his perch.

"The next town is only a few hours away. We should be able to make it there by sunrise." Tiff sits back down in a different spot neat Meta Knight. The knight's presence made her feel safe despite the fact they were running. Kirby walks over to her and nuzzles her hand while the girl rested. Smiling, she rubs the little pink puffball's head.

"Well the kids are hungry. Me and Blade are going to look for some food." the young fighter told him. "We need to get them something to eat before we go."

"All right. I found some small animals roaming over there," pointing to a small field, Meta Knight continues, "Be back soon, because we need to head out." Silently Sword moves to the area Meta Knight had pointed. His loyal friend walked with his to the field. When Sword was sure they were out of site from Meta Knight, Sword pulled aside. "I'm going to try and find something the kids can have something to snack on..."

"Sword... Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean Me-" Blade began to say with concern but was cut off by Sword.

"You just get the animals..." Sword turned and headed into a building.

Picking up the hungry Kirby and putting him on her lap, Tiff looked around again. Tremors went down the small girl’s spine. The town was more than just a ghost town. It was bare as a skeleton. Frames of building were showing as well as the interior of houses and shops. No bodies were sighted but then again they could have been buried under the debris or maybe the people were able to escape.

"This place is so creepy... what happened here..?" her soft voice asked. Did the monster Luka attack this place? If not, than who? Kirby sat quietly on Tiffs lap as she thought. He had to admit this place was freaky. Glancing over to Tuff, Kirby noted how the boy was just too tired to care what was going on. This whole running around was beginning to be just too much. With a sigh the little puffball leaned back into Tiff extracting her from her thoughts. Smiling the little girl hugged her friend.

The old knight looked up to the stars, trying to figure out what course of action he should take next. Luka was closing in on them and he was on his way fast. His mind wandered back to the fight, the battle Luka had won. He never met a monster with so much swordsman talent. This fact was very troubling. This could be it for the group and Kirby.

The kids knew the old soldier as the best. They never knew a time where he had lost a fight to a monster, except to Wolfwrath. The war veteran closed his eyes as anxiety started to set into his system. The growing conflict with Sword was concerning him. The bond they had was starting to suffer and now the questioning of loyalty was growing in his mind. Meta Knight knew Sword's loyalty and didn’t question it. It was his own loyalty to Sword he was starting to question. The situation that the king had put them in had made Meta Knight think more about the safety of Kirby and the kids. He hadn't even paid attention to what his followers needed.

After awhile Blade came back with some animals in hand. It was a bit of a chore but he got it done. The animals weren’t that big nevertheless they were suitable for eating. He walked over towards where the kids were with dinner. Tiff gagged when she saw the state of the animals. To her, eating animals the way there were was disgusting. Tuff on the other hand watched with interest as Blade started to clean the carcasses.

"Tuff, do you think you can start the fire?" Blade asked the boy. Nodding, the child gathered wood and started to attempt to make a fire. Not so long after that, Sword came to the camp empty-handed.

Upon seeing the return of Sword, Meta Knight leapt down from the rooftop and landed softly on the ground. Walking over to the young fighters he looked at their accomplishments.

"Good job Blade. This should be enough to hold us over until we reach the next town." Meta Knight inspected the food as Blade was still cleaning. Turning to Sword. "And what did you catch?"

"I... seem to be lousy at hunting..." he said lowering his head as he lied to Meta Knight's face. He didn’t want to make things harder than it already was. However, he could see how Meta Knight saw of him. There they were, in danger of being killed and Sword was failing and complaining. Meta Knight shook his head with a sigh.

"We can’t a ford to fail in simple tasks. You must work harder if we all are going to survive," he explained to Sword. The young soldier’s eyes widened as he heard what Meta Knight told him. How can he say that to him? What makes him think he hasn’t been working hard? He had to get away and think. This was just too much for him to handle at that moment. Quickly, Sword walked past Meta Knight and to where Blade was starting to cook the food.

Kirby looked at Sword with a sign of sorrow on his face. He felt bad for the knight that was trying his best. Even at his young age, Kirby could sense what was going on. He may not understand it, but he knew though. Tiff also felt their friend was doing his best. There was just so much he can do and Tiff understood this.

"We will have to get going soon. We can’t let Luka gain too much ground." Looking into the direction of the town, the old knight sighed with both concern and relief. Once they were at the town Luka would have more trouble getting to them. It was getting there that concerned him.

"It’s almost done Meta Knight," Blade said. Sword watched Blade cook over the fire. The fire danced before him helping him retreat to his thoughts. The glow of the flames pranced around the armor of his friend and on him. He still wanted of leaving the group for awhile to calm down. He was still riled up from his predecessors. Turning around, he quietly left the group. Seeing this Meta Knight watched his follower walk away.

"Don't stray too far. We have to leave shortly," he reminded him. Sword responded with only a nod.

"Hey, that smells good, Blade!" Tuff said as he waited patiently for the food to be done.

"If Sword doesn't make it back in time to eat, save some for him," Meta Knight said, sitting down by the fire. After a few more minutes, Blade examined the food.

"It’s ready, dig in!" He grabbed a piece and started to eat. The kids followed him in eating while Meta Knight sat and watched. He never took off his mask. He would rather wait for them to sleep before eating.

Sword walked just outside of the village where there was a lake with clean fresh water. He had a cup in his hand, which he found in one of the houses he had searched earlier. Once at the lake his reflection showed how he looked and felt from the journey he was on. Putting the cup in the water to wash it off, the young knight thought about what’s been happening lately. It seemed Meta Knight was dismissing his advice and just had getting to safety on his mind instead of what would the logical thing to do. He took a sip of water from the now clean cup and tasted the sweet refreshing water.

"Sword wasn't looking for animals with you, was he?" Meta Knight finally asked. Blade froze for a few seconds before replying.

"He went into the houses to see if he could find some snacks for the kids while I went hunting'..." He said turning to MK

The old man shook his head. What was he thinking? Yes, he’s means well, but his actions got him nothing. This was getting worse than he originally thought. Suddenly, there was a sound of someone approaching. The knight sprung to his feet and spun around to see Sword returning with objects in his hand. They were canteens, filled with water. He brought one for everybody. Smiling under his mask, Meta Knight found contentment for the fact Sword just proved him wrong.

"Good job."

"Thanks..." Sword walked around giving his friends and partners a canteen.

"We should get going soon, we're still being hunted." Meta Knight wrapped his cape around himself. Kirby and children stretched and yawned. They looked and felt beat from the travel. Sword could feel for them. He felt exhausted from walking non-stop. However, there’s a difference. The kids could be carried. With out warning, Sword picked the little girl in his arms.

"You don’t have to carry me, Sword," Tiff said sleepily.

"Don’t worry about it, Tiff," he said in a soft voice.

"But... You’re tired to, if not more so." Her eyes were half-open from being so tired.

"Maybe so... But you need your strength in case Luka catches up to us."

"You... you won’t have enough strength to fight..." Tiff said with a yawn

"I know..." Sword said softly as he started to walk.

Tiff wraps her arms tenderly around his neck. "Yes but..." sighs softly. " Please try not to overexert yourself..."

"We won’t..."

Blade picked up Tuff who quickly fell asleep in his arms. Meta Knight had Kirby, also asleep. The group marched endlessly out of the village. Their feet ached with each step they took. Sword felt like he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

"I don't know how much longer I can take this..." Sword whispered to Blade as he walked. Blade nodded in agreement.

"I feel like I'm going to collapse..." Sword complained to Blade softly. The young adult puffed and forced his body to move, it was at the point where Sword didn’t care, and he just wanted rest. He looked onward to Meta Knight. The old coot marched on as if he was immune to fatigue. It wasn’t far what he was doing. Finally after an hour Sword called out to him.

"Meta Knight..." Sword called.

"Yes, Sword?" Looking back, the old veteran saw how exhausted Sword and Blade were.

"We need to rest..." he said panting like a mad man. Blade looked at Sword then back at Meta Knight.

"I know you're tired, but if we can just get to the next town the children will be safe." he turns and continues walking.

"Meta Knight you're going to kill us!" Sword’s voice rang out into the night.

"Sword..." Stopping at the sound of his friend’s voice, Meta Knight turned around to face Sword. The young soldier gasping for air as was his partner. They couldn’t keep going.

"What happens then when we stop, go to sleep, and get attacked in the middle of the night?" the older fighter asked.

"What happens if we get attacked in our present state?" Sword’s voice was shaky. Meta Knight looked at the ground; his follower made a good point. He looked over at Blade to hear any of his comments. There were none, Blade didn’t want to get involved with the conflict.

"All right, lets find somewhere safe to rest for the night. But we're heading off again first thing in the morning." Meta Knight finally said. He saw a spark of relief in Sword’s eyes.

"Thank you," he said with a small heave. Finally, they were going to rest. They were going to sleep. He quickly walked past his master to find a place they could rest.

Meta Knight watched Sword head towards a group of trees with rocks around them. Turning to Blade, he acted as if he were going to say something. Most likely about Sword and his attitude, but shook his head. He motioned for Blade to follow.

Sword found a small cave like lair in the roots of a tree surrounded by rocks. It looked good for shelter and for a hiding place.

"How about here?" glancing over his shoulder he saw Meta Knight approaching. The knight nodded in approval before he watched Sword climb in. Blade walked past him and into the sanctuary. Finally, Meta Knight climbed in, as he did he saw Sword lying on the ground already asleep. Tiff was sat down on the other side of the cave. Blade was putting Tuff down next to him then headed over to Sword and lay down next to him. The old soldier lay Kirby down with the rest of the kids before he took his place by the entrance. Sitting down and leaning against the wall, Meta Knight rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes.

The sky was shades of orange as the sun was setting. He could feel his feet hurting and the exhaustion that was invading him but pressed on. What the knight didn’t feel was the metal from his mask. It was a time before his mask made its appearance.

"Don’t you ever get tired? You keep this up you’ll have us both on our knees," a young female voice told him. It was so familiar to him that he spun around to face the one talking to him. It was a young girl about his height looking back. Her ears were lined with crystal white feathers and she wore a light green breastplate. The sword she was carrying was much similar to his sword, which told him right away that she was a Star Warrior.

"We can’t risk stopping. Those monsters could be following us and if they ever catch up, it could be the end for us," answer a young male. The girl shook her head in disagreement.

"If they catch us in our present state then we both will get killed. Neither of us is capable of fighting. We should rest somewhere, like in those trees." she said pointing to a dense leafed tree. The boy took her hand and started to continue his march.

"We have no time to rest. We ha-" he stopped short as soon as he saw the shadowed figure in front of them. It’s eyes were bloody red and starred straight at the small blue Star Warrior. The child starred back at it in fear, as he knew whom it was.

With a gasp, Meta Knight leapt to his feet and looked around frantically. He felt his mask sticking to his face as sweat ran off his body. It was a dream, his biggest mistake that coasted his face. His breathing calmed down as he leaned against the wall of the entrance. The memory of the girl came back to him as well as a bunch of others. The memory of her name finally reached him. Nina was her name; they grew up together as well as trained together. An overwhelming feeling covered his senses. It was grief; it finally reached him that he’ll never see her again. All this time of fighting and protecting Kirby, he was never really able to retreat to his memories.

It pained him to feel the grief now, after he remembered. He had forgotten her so easily that he felt ashamed. The knight looked outside of the entrance and watched the sun rise. The memory of Nina walking up behind him to rub his back relaxed him in some ways. He missed her touch, her voice. Meta Knight turned to look upon his followers and the kids. They still needed rest but they couldn’t stay there any more. Silently the war veteran walked to Sword and Blade. With a gentle nudge, Sword woke up.

"Is the sun up already?" Sword opened one eye and looked up at Meta Knight. His leader responded with a nod before he went and nudged Blade. The two sat up and stretched a bit before forcing themselves up to their feet.

"Don't wake the children. They still need to regain their energy." Picking up Kirby, Meta Knight walked over to the entrance. "Lets get going." Sword, still very tired, picked up Tiff and follows Meta Knight. Blade picked up Tuff in pursuit.

"We’ll rest more once we arrive. I’m sure the villagers won’t mind." The old veteran marched forward towards to the village. Hours passed as they marched endlessly across the field. On the way the kids woke up and decided to walk to help Blade and Sword get a load off. Soon they reached Timber Canyon. One of its purposes was to separate King Dedede’s kingdom from some of the monarch free lands. It was a steep and wide canyon, which would make it difficult to climb down and up it. This worried the old warrior greatly. How would they get the kids across?

"We’ll have to find away to get across. It’s too dangerous for the kids to climb down it." He brought his hand to his chin in thought.

"Meta Knight!" Sword cried out unsheathing his sword.

Luka was standing only a few feet behind them.

Meta Knight spun around to see Luka’s smirk. Quickly unsheathing his sword, the knight was prepared to fight. Blade stepped in front of the kids making sure Luka didn’t have a clear shot at them.

"We must protect the children!" he called out, charging. Meta Knight threw everything he had at the beast. None were effective against it, and he didn’t understand why. Then it hit him; he was still exhausted and didn’t have the energy to fight. The dream was a warning from his past.

The kids stood back as Meta Knight struggled with Luka. What could they do? They couldn’t fight it without Meta Knight. Tiff gasped as she saw Kirby about to dash toward the fight. Before he had a chance though, Tiff grabbed him and picked him up.

"No Kirby! It’s too dangerous for you!"

"Sword what should we do?" Tuff asked the young knight.

"Run! Get out of here before he decides to come after you!" Sword said as he got ready to aid his master.

"But where should we go?" Fear and worry shook Tiff’s voice.

"Anywhere but here!" Sword cried out as he advanced towards Luka. The kids didn’t have time to rebel or to argue. They ran as fast as their little feet could carry them along the canyon’s edge.

Luka was attacking hard at Meta Knight. The poor knight couldn’t even use Sword Beam. Sword was right; Meta Knight’s choice was a horrible mistake just like in the past. What will the cost be now? Would it be his life? The knight didn’t care, as long as Kirby and the kids were safe. Meta Knight leapt into the air and brought his sword down on Luka; however, it never reached the creature. Luka swung his huge talon as a bat and swatted the war veteran against a tree.

The two followers only heard the bark crack and shatter as Meta Knight’s body struck it. They watched his body fall in slow motion to the ground. The soldier struggled to his feet and exhaustedly held up his sword a few inches in the air. The glow in his eyes faded as the whole world spun and finally went dark. His body fell face first into the ground.