A/N: Another brain teaser here for you! Hopefully it's okay. The fact that I got this written at all is a miracle. Writers block hit me hard. This one is from Ted-Ed

So, there was a little mishap with chapter 12, Stones in a Bag, where a chunk of the story was cut off. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner, but I've fixed it if you wanted to go back and take a look. After you read this chapter, though. :) Anyway, enjoy!

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The Dark Coin

They heard the travelers' tales. They followed the crumbling maps. And now, after a long and dangerous quest, Meta Knight and King Dedede had entered the dreaded Nightmare's castle. The only problem was they had entered the dungeon.

It wasn't all bad. A mound of ancient Stygian coins glistened in the torchlight, and the knight and king stared at the hoard of coveted riches with admiration. But, the eccentric wizard guarding the treasure didn't get the same treatment. Especially after his most recent statement.

"What do ya mean ya won't let us leave?" Dedede raged. "You're gonna keep us locked up here? That's not fair!"

Meta Knight wisely kept silent. He knew the king had a short temper, and he'd rather not see it turned on him.

Nightmare's laughter echoed through the circular, stone room, seeming to come from an endless void. "Yes. You may keep all of my fabulous treasure, but first, some fun. You may not leave here unless you pass my test."

Meta Knight's hand flew to his sword, then he thought better of it and drew back. Even if he wanted to fight, he knew Galaxia would be no match for Nightmare's power. Not alone. "What kind of test?" he asked suspiciously.

Nightmare's eyes narrowed with pleasure and his mouth curled into an unpleasant smile. "it's quite simple actually." He picked up one of the coins beneath him and flipped it in the air. "Both faces of each coin bare the legendary Crest of Smash, one in silver, one in gold, and all you have to do is separate them into two piles so that each has the same number of coins facing silver side up."

King Dedede blinked in confusion. "Is that all?" he asked, his confidence growing. "That'll be a piece o' cake!" he then rounded on Meta Knight. "Well, get to it! I don't wanna spend all day in here!"

The warrior stepped forward and was about to start separating the coins when he caught a glimpse of Nightmare.

The wizard threw his bony arms out wide, and his purple robes billowed out in all directions. A vapor of darkness spread from Nightmare's body and all the torches in the room were snuffed out, plunging the king and his knight into total blackness.

"Hey! Where'd the lights go?" Dedede demanded.

"Good luck," an evil voice taunted, then faded away. The wizard was gone.

Gripped with true terror, Dedede shook from head to toe. "Help!" he screamed. He ran to the door and pounded it with his mallet, but though the giant wooden hammer was mechanized, it didn't make a dent in the stone. "What're we gonna do?" he whaled.

"We're going to escape," Meta Knight said in an effort to calm His Majesty. He had to make sure none of the coins were disturbed so he could solve Nightmare's riddle. Though the wizard had vanished in the darkness, Meta Knight could feel his presence. He knew Nightmare was still watching.

The king rushed to Meta Knight, having heard his voice in the dark. "You'd better get us out of here! I want that treasure, ya hear?"

"As you wish, Sire," the warrior answered calmly. He wanted those coins as much as the king did, but for entirely different reasons. For one, he had a ship to finish. And two, he had a sinking feeling that if the king got all that treasure, it would never see the light of day again once it was locked in his vault.

Meta Knight had to make sure he got at least part of the coin stash, but he'd worry about how to do that later. He had to ensure they'd make it out of Nightmare's clutches first.

The warrior fingered the cold, untarnished metal of one of the coins. There were hundreds in front of him, and each one felt the same on both sides. He racked his brain, trying to remember where the silver coins were, but it was hopeless. He had lost track.

But, he did know one thing for certain.

When there was still light, he counted exactly twenty coins silver-side-up in the pile, but he wasn't sure how that information could help him now.

Seconds past, but they felt like minutes. The cold darkness seemed to constrict around the warrior's heart like iron bands. Was it truly hopeless? What could he do? Were he and the king doomed to remain in the dungeon with their newfound treasure forever?

.

"That's it!" Meta Knight was yanked from his thoughts by the king's voice. "I knew coming here was a bad idea! It's all your fault!"

Dedede rushed forward and was about to swing his hammer at both his servant and the offending pile of treasure.

"No!" Meta Knight grabbed the king's hammer before it could scatter the coins. He just realized there was a surprisingly easy solution. "I have the answer."

"You do?" the king asked. "Well why didn't ya say so? Get us out of here!"

The warrior was relieved for now. He wasn't sure how long the king's cooperation would last, so he had to work fast.

A few tiny clinks sounded as he carefully moved aside twenty coins one by one. It didn't matter which ones. Any of them would do.

The king waited in silence as Meta Knight worked, but after about ten seconds, his patience had reached its end. "Well, don't leave me in the dark here! What are you doing?"

"What must be done," Meta Knight answered cryptically, trying not to lose his concentration.

"I don't get it!" the king waled. "You better explain yourself!"

The star warrior stopped what he was doing and slowly turned to face the king. "I'll tell you, but first we have some business to discuss."

"I'm not discussin' anything with ya!" Dedede thundered. "No way! Ya can't make me!"

"Then you'll never make it out of here," Meta Knight answered.

That changed the king's mind. "...Fine," he muttered. "What do ya want?"

"I want the twenty coins I've set aside here." Meta Knight said. "There are hundreds of coins remaining, and you can have them all. I only want these."

"No way! You're not getting any of my treasure!"

Meta Knight was expecting this, and was already prepared with a response of his own. "If I stop working, we don't get out of here."

Dedede gulped. He didn't much care if Meta Knight stayed locked up, but he wanted to make it out of here with his wealth. And twenty coins was nothing compared to the hundreds he'd be getting. Surely it was worth it to escape. And besides, he could always have his Waddle Dees steal them back anyway.

"All right! All right! Now get us out of here!" the king said, almost pleadingly.

"Excellent." Meta Knight nodded. He was quite pleased with how things turned out. After all, even twenty of those ancient coins, if sold to the right person, would earn him the funds he needed. And if the king did try anything, which he was prone to do, Meta Knight could call on the other star warriors for assistance if necessary.

He set aside the last few coins and stepped back. It was too dark to check his work, but he could at least answer the king's previous inquiry. "As Nightmare said, the solution was quite simple. I've merely flipped each coin over."

Dedede's mouth dropped in shock. "Your helmet must be on too tight. You're still making no sense! You don't even know how many coins there are!"

The star warrior shook his head, then proceeded to explain. "It doesn't matter how many coins we've started with. There were twenty coins silver-side-up in the stash, so I set twenty coins aside."

The king nodded. "Uh-huh?"

"I don't know how many of the silver-side coins I got in this pile, but say there are seven. That leaves thirteen in the original pile."

"Okay."

"It also means there are thirteen coins facing gold side up in the new pile. Flip all the coins in the new pile over, and you have seven gold facing coins, and thirteen silver to match the ones in the original pile. And that works no matter how many silver side coins you begin with."

"...You lost me," Dedede said, eyes half glazed over.

Meta Knight let out an exasperated sigh. He was about to run through it again for the king, but thankfully at that moment, the door to the dungeon swung open, and freedom's light shone in.

The star warrior smiled beneath his helmet. His hard work had paid off.

"Hey! What're we doing standing around here? Let's go!" Dedede cried.

They gathered up all of the Smash Coins -Meta Knight made sure to collect his twenty- and hurried away before Nightmare had a chance to change his mind.

"Well, that was a close one," Dedede remarked, hugging a bulging sack of treasure to his chest.

"Indeed," Meta Knight replied, leading the way back to the castle in Dream Land. At the next crossroads, he flipped one of his hard-earned coins to determine the way to his next adventure.

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A/N: Plenty more teasers where those came from. I just don't know when they'll be out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy future chapters.