A/N: Hello everybody! It's me again! Here's another Kirby and Meta Knight father/son fanfic. Man, I just love the potential for father and son bonding, and with these two...it's just too darn adorable! This one shot takes place after Kirby's Return to Dream Land, so it's kinda a contrast from the other fic Guardian Angel. Alright, I've blabbed enough so I'll shut up and let ya'll read. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Like in my other fanfic, I don't own Kirby or the cover art people. They belong to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory respectively.

It was a warm night as the wind blew and the crickets chirped. Everyone in Dream Land from the Waddle Dees to the self proclaimed king were asleep in their beds, all but a certain duo. Kirby, the young pink hero had once again saved his home from a sinister villain. However, this villain had really torn the child up on the inside and is the cause of his troubled state. Magolor. The very name sent pain, anger and confusion through Kirby's veins as he remembered the alien that had befriended and later betrayed him and his friends. "Why...poyo? How could you?! I...I thought you were my friend!"

Sitting down, he began to grab pieces of grass and tear them up. He was so absorbed in what he was doing, he didn't hear the masked knight walk up behind him. "Kirby? You're up very late." He rumbled, causing the boy to jump in fright.

"M-Meta Knight! D-Don't do that!" He gasped, grabbing at his chest.

"Then you need to pay more attention to your surroundings, young one." He replied, now standing next to him. Taking a good look at him, the winged warrior noticed that his right eye had a nasty bruise that reached down to the side of his face like he had been slapped. Remembering how Kirby had received that injury during that gruesome battle made his blood boil, but he took a deep breath to calm himself. That traitorous being from Halcandra was gone now, and he wouldn't be coming back.

"It seems like something is troubling you Kirby." He observed, his amber eyes piercing into the boy's blue ones.

He looked down, swallowed and mumbled "Yes..poyo...Meta...why did Magolor use us?! I..just wanted to help him with his ship...I didn't know he wanted to rule the universe and...get rid of us afterwards!" The young child broke down into angry tears, shuddering as the wind blew. He grabbed onto the masked being, and the knight wrapped his cape around him. "I-It hurts so badly...poyo! L-like when Marx betrayed me too! A-And I had to ask the same q-question...and...and..." He trailed off as he bawled, letting out his sorrow, anger, hurt and confusion.

After he was finished crying, he sniffled at the older male. "I-I'm sorry..poyo.." Using the edge of his cape, he wiped the tears from his face. He blinked in surprise as Meta Knight began to rub his forehead.

"It's alright Kirby, but I had my suspicions about the magic user ever since we first saw him." If the knight had them, then why didn't he tell him? That confused the young child, but he was starting to get tired since he hadn't slept at all. They had returned to Dream Land in the early hours of the afternoon, and usually he was in bed at an early time.

"A-Are you okay, poyo? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Kirby stared at his father figure in worry, and the older warrior softly chuckled in amusement.

"No, I'm alright." He pulled his hand off of his forehead and sat down next to him. Looking up into the sky he could see many stars and it seems like they were in in luck, for it was a full moon tonight.

"Even though we were betrayed, the adventure was quite fun...well...for you and King Dedede the best thing about it was you two got to beat the stuffing out of everything. Bandanna Dee and I liked the different sights ,sounds and smells." The boy had calmed down a bit as he talked, and he had a small smile on his face.

"Along with the food. You and Dedede were living vacuums, chowing down on any health items you can find. Bandanna Dee and I were lucky to find anything first." He rumbled, in which Kirby turned dark red in embarrassment while smiling sheepishly. The younger one of the duo looked up into the sky, and gasped in shock.

"Wow! It's so pretty, poyo! I love looking up at the stars and trying to count every one of them!" He looked over at Meta Knight, and while pointing at the stars he began to try to count them all. After a while, the child began to get drowsy and he snuggled up to the knight's side. Leaning back onto the tree bark, he wrapped the child tighter in his cape and began to drift off himself.

With a crash, the four smaller dragons that made up Landia collapsed to the ground in a unconscious heap. "We did it, poyo! We defeated Landia!" Kirby cheered, then frowned in confusion as he heard slow clapping. Looking up, he gasped as Magolor floated down to the group of four.

"Bravo, Kirby. You've truly earned your reputation as a hero. Your help in defeating Landia was invaluable." He said with a sinister sneer, his gold eyes gleaming madly as he picked up the Master Crown and held it in his hands. "Ah, at long last...it's mine!" It floated with an eerie light to land upon the Halcandran's head, and he gasped out in sinister glee "The source of limitless power...The Master Crown!"

Crossing his hands across his body, a whirlpool of crackling energy swirled around the traitor and he now appeared as an even more evil form, his red eyes glowing while he threw his hands up into the air. He let out a cackle that chilled Kirby's blood before he hissed "Obtaining this crown has been my ultimate goal all along!" Cocking his head to the side, he smiled coldly before he replied "Why the horrified look little boy? Hmm...as repayment for all the wonderful work you did for me, I suppose I could explain everything." Shaking with pain and anger, Kirby had no choice but to listen to the alien as he gloated.

Once the Halcandran went through the portal to destroy the planet he lived on, Kirby could only stand there in stunned disbelief. He couldn't believe it...he had been used, and like a piece of trash he was now going to be thrown away! Gulping, he struggled not to cry in front of the others. "Why? How could you have thrown my friendship away like that, poyo?" He whimpered, then with a jolt he quickly realized the traitor never truly cared for Kirby at all;he had used him as a means to the end. He jerked in shock as the scene quickly faded, and he found himself in pure darkness.

Darkness. That's all Kirby was able to see as he looked around. Up, down, left, and right. No matter where he turned, it was around him. "H-Hello? Is anyone there, poyo?" His words echoed back to him, and he could also hear his breathing. He was beginning to get frightened, until he could see light. Oh, thank Nova! He could see! But what he saw made him freeze in shock, for he was back in that battlefield with Meta Knight and the others. He then saw a huge figure, and it was Magolor with a rather large smirk on his face.

"So, you four have decided to follow me to save your precious planet hmm? How...noble of you indeed." The alien mocked, his eyes gleaming cruelly as they fell upon Kirby. "Oh, are you still hurting little boy? You poor, stupidly naive, innocent little fool! You should've known better than to have trusted me." Then he jeered "My, isn't this familiar? Reminds you...of Marx doesn't it?" He chuckled rather darkly, his grin becoming bigger and more feral as Kirby's eyes filled with tears. Not wanting to hear any more of him talking, King Dedede started the battle off with a war cry. He charged at Magolor with his hammer raised high, with Bandanna Dee quickly running after him. With a flap of his wings, Meta Knight soon joined the fray with Galaxia held with the confidence that this battle would be won. Shaking himself off, the child tried to ignore those hurtful and awful words as he followed the other three into the fight that would decide the fate of the universe.

Blue eyes shot open as Kirby awoke with a gasp, and he had to quickly rub them since it was now daylight. Looking to his right, he noticed that Meta Knight wasn't sitting next to him like he was last night. The young boy was confused, but he was getting pretty hungry at the moment. Walking over to another tree, he inhaled then held his breath so he could began to slowly fly towards a tree branch that had apples on it. Once he had his fill of the crunchy, tasty fruits he looked out at the ocean. The ocean was a beautiful place, and the area of the ocean he and the others were in was like paradise. Hopefully he and Meta Knight would visit that section in the future, maybe as a vacation? Hearing the rustle of wings, Kirby looked and what do you know...there he was!

Quickly landing on the tree branch, he noticed that Kirby looked troubled once more. He wouldn't say anything like he did last night, since the boy was now more rested he would be more guarded in his answers. To his surprise, he didn't have to since the child was about to say what was wrong. The boy swallowed, and looked over at him. "I...had a nightmare...poyo. It was when we were fighting...him, and he said those awful things to me." His voice broke, and he let out a choked whimper. Hastily wiping his eyes, he took a breath and said "I-I can't believe that we helped him, and he stabbed us in the back! Maybe I shouldn't be such a fool-"

He was cut off as the knight pressed a gloved stub to the boy's forehead, and he rumbled "No, don't you finish that sentence Kirby. I'd rather you be naive, innocent, and have a good heart then to become a monster. Never allow the actions of a villain to tempt you into changing into something you're not, or to make you think you have to because you're too much of a hero. Do you understand me?"

He looked slightly shocked at his sharp tone, but quickly nodded and mumbled "Yes sir, I'll remember your words..poyo."

Meta Knight seemed to relax a bit as he let him go, and he said "Come now Kirby, I believe you wanted to check out that section of the ocean we couldn't get to before?"

After the duo landed on the beach, Kirby let the words of the knight go through his mind. It may take a long while to forgive Magolor for what he had done, but he had done the same with Marx. Forgiveness isn't easy, but it helps to bring you peace with yourself and that person. As the hero of Dream Land listened to the waves on the sand, he knew he would be able to get back to being his normal self. It may not be soon, but he knew with the help of the blue knight...anything was possible with one having the will to forgive.