A/N: Hey guys! I hope ya'll had a wonderful start to the new year...shoot, I can't believe it's 2016 already! I feel old...

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own the Kirby series? Because I wouldn't be here if I did, so yeah...still don't have the rights..

The landscape was barren, devoid of any life for miles. No matter where he looked, the masked warrior simply couldn't find anything or could he feel the wind. It was an eerie place, but luckily he was one that didn't allow his fear to consume him. It was the same nightmare that he has been experiencing for a week now, and it hasn't changed...until now, that is.

Blinking, Meta Knight wasn't shocked to see someone. That creature was his friend, Jecra. The father to Knuckle Joe, and a well known Star Warrior. The major difference in the warrior's appearance was his eyes; instead of the color that he was used to looking into, he looked into a cold pair of scarlet eyes.

The nightmare continued like it normally did, with the only way to free his best friend was to impale him with Galaxia. However, when he looked into the eyes of his friend they weren't red, they were blue! His stomach threatening to make him lose his breakfast, he realized that it wasn't Jercra...no, it was someone most precious to him. The pink child gagged as he vomited up blood, sinking to the ground with the golden sword straight through him. "Why? Why couldn't you save me, daddy? I'm going to die, just like your best friend did!" He sobbed, trying to hold on.

The Star Warrior staggered back, his gloves stained with Kirby's blood. "N-No! No!" He shouted as the life left his son's eyes. It was all his fault! He couldn't save him! Shaking, he could feel his eyes burning with unshed tears no matter how hard he tried to fight it. The last thing he heard before he woke up was the sinister laughing of an unknown figure.

"NO!" The masked warrior shouted as he shot up in bed, gasping for air. Underneath his mask, he felt tears run down his face. Oh dear Nova! Suddenly, his stomach lurched causing him to dive for the trash can next to his bed. Pausing only briefly to push his mask up that was over his mouth, he then violently retched.

After he emptied the contents of his stomach, he leaned back and pushed the mask back down. 'By the grace of Nova, it has been years since a nightmare has affected me this badly!' He thought, trying to get that gruesome image of Kirby out of his mind. It has been a surprisingly peaceful couple of weeks since Dedede ordered his last Demon Beast, which was of course destroyed by Kirby. "I believe it's time for a training lesson." He mused, since he has let Kirby be...well...a child. And not only that, he needed to distract himself from that awful nightmare.

Clearing his throat, he jumped off his bed and walked towards the door. He had the feeling Kirby would be outside, for the sunlight was already streaming through the castle windows. Huh, it was very unusual for him to sleep in so late. He was up before the sun, but maybe he was more tired than he thought.

Making his way through the castle, he mentally sighed at the obnoxious voice of the king while he nagged at the Cappies as usual. Honestly, he was amazed none of the Demon Beasts sent from Nightmare himself hasn't eaten the king yet...maybe he would taste bad? Although things would be much quieter, but the king might still have some use living after all.

He quickly made his way out of the castle, and soon enough he was in the field where the children were playing. With speed that would surprise you for one his age, he made it to a branch and hid in the shadows.

"Hey Kirby! Here it comes!" Tuff shouted, kicking the soccer ball towards the child. With a shout of happiness, the child kicked it a little but kept on running. Unaware of the knight above him, he kicked the ball towards another child. However, the kick was a little too rough since it sailed past Tuff and nearly slammed into his sister.

With a yelp, the female Cappy nearly threw her book in the air. Her green eyes were huge, but she glared at the other children. "Honestly, can't you guys play without trying to knock each other's brains out?" She huffed, crossing her arms. Kirby smiled sheepishly at this, while Tuff just rolled his eyes at her. Meta Knight mentally chuckled to himself, for these kids are still the same even though the town is attacked very often.

"Yeah, yeah...I hear you Queen Nag...I swear, you and Meta Knight would be a good couple when you get old enough to date." He laughed at the look on her face, but he quickly yelled as she started to chase after him. "Oh crud!" Would she hit him with that heavy book? He honestly didn't want to find out, so he kept on booking it. After an hour, it began to get cloudy.

As the other children left due to the threat of rain, Kirby turned around and walked while humming a cheerful tune to himself. "Hmm...I wonder what Meta Knight's up to?" The child thought out loud to himself, still not aware of the knight following him. He nearly fell over from fright as the familiar voice spoke to him from behind.

"We're going to train, Kirby." He rumbled with amusement, the emotion shining in his eyes as Kirby struggled to not fall over. Being aware of his surroundings was something the boy needed to brush up on, otherwise he would get killed in battle. Even though the child fought Demon Beasts, he was glad Kirby wasn't around during the war...he surely would've lost every scrap of innocence if he had. Shaking himself out of those thoughts was the best thing, for it was painful to remember how he was like Kirby once upon a time...carefree and innocent with no worries of not living to see the next day.

"Hmm? What was that?" He asked, realizing that his son had asked a question but he was too deep in thought to have known what he had asked him.

"I was asking what kind of training we're going to do today." He replied, wondering why he had to repeat himself. Usually he didn't, but it almost seemed like...the knight was worried about something. "Is it a Demon Beast you're worried about? There's no reason, since I'll destroy it anyways." He said quite causally, knowing that anything sent from Nightmare himself wouldn't stand a chance.

Meta Knight's eyes flashed at this, and he rumbled "And that's why we must keep your skills sharp Kirby. Yes, you may be a powerful Star Warrior for your age, but even full grown Star Warriors during the war had a whale of a time against them. Remember, most of them weren't lucky enough to be able to inhale things like you can." He hurried with his walking, soon passing the boy. Kirby blinked as he rushed after the older knight, but he had to admit he was right about that.

The duo finally made it to an area away from the castle, and it was dotted with trees. Feeling that this was a good place to practice, the knight then turned towards the boy. "Now Kirby, we're going to see how well you can detect something in an area such as this. Keep your eyes peeled, for being cautious is just as good as being a fighter." Kirby nodded at his father figure and the two males walked into the forest, ready for training.

What they failed to see was that the king was spying on them. "Hmph, training that little punk...I think it's about time for another Demon Beast, since the brat's kinda rusty." The large penguin smirked, soon waddling over to his throne and sitting down.

"Honestly sire, Nightmare is going to run out of the strong ones if you keep on sending the boy those. Why not a weak one?" Escargon asked, but he yelped as the king's mallet smashed into his skull. The said penguin looked ticked, and he snorted at the snail.

"Who asked you to say anything? I'm the king, so keep yer trap shut." He scoffed, soon pressing the button on his throne that would let him speak to Customer Service. After a bit, the giant screen appeared and the one he was going to speak to appeared.

"Ah yes, hello there King Dedede. It's been two weeks since you ordered something." He said, slightly surprised. Usually he would order a Demon Beast either every day or every other day.

"Yeah well, I think it's about time for that little brat to be sent packing." He snorted. "What kind of Demon Beast do ya have anyways? Don't tell me ya'll ran out!"

The figure on the screen laughed and replied "No worries, I'll be sending one-" He was cut off as he heard a voice, then he smirked. "Well, someone has decided he wants a rematch with Kirby." Dedede looked confused, then he smirked as the figure appeared on the platform.

"Hey, it's the potato ninja guy!" He snickered, but he cringed at the cold look he gave him.

"I have no desire to listen to your babbling, you buffoon." He icily replied, soon rushing towards the window. Once he jumped out, he landed onto the grass and faded into the shadows. He smiled coldly at the thought of finding the child, since he knew the only reason Dedede asked for a Demon Beast was to do away with the Star Warrior.

But, on the other hand he was also looking for his ex-comrade as well and he wondered what was the best way to bring him to his location. He then paused, looking down and seeing two sets of footprints. Following them, he soon found himself in the forest. Blending into the shadows, he smirked as he watched the touching scene in front of him. Oh, Meta Knight was an old fool, allowing him to see just how strongly he cared for that pink child.

"That's enough training for the day Kirby, but you did a fine job." The knight praised, and the boy beamed at him. Smiling softly underneath his mask, he wasn't surprised that he was hugged. After a bit, he let go and rumbled "Let's go back, it's starting to rain a little bit." True to his word, it started to sprinkle while he could hear the slight rumble of thunder out in the distance. Kirby nodded and rubbed his eyes, the weather was making him sleepy. As he was lead back to the castle, Meta Knight turned around and frowned. He had the bad feeling that he was being watched, but he didn't see anything. After a while, he turned back around and followed Kirby towards the castle.

"My goodness, such love you have for that boy. It's almost a shame I'll have to take him from you." He muttered to himself, his mouth curling into a cruel smirk. Oh, he was going to enjoy this immensely.

Meta Knight wouldn't know what will happen to his son until it was too late, and the ninja knew it was going to eat him alive. He couldn't wait to see that suffering, for he had already lost everyone he cared about during the war. What was one more to the body count?

Almost if the weather had matched his mood, it started to rain. The wind began to pick up, and everyone would be able to hear the crackle of thunder. The storm was just beginning, and it was unknown how long it would last.