Bleary eyes slowly opened, a fuzzy pastel colored haze fading into view of a soft, rainbow field. The gentle, shimmering grass glinted, softly changing color with each light stir of the breeze. The grass stopped abruptly at an earthy field. On every inch of the tilled dirt were plants that rose to the sky in silky vines peppered by bright red orbs. Tomatoes! Tomatoes as far as the eye could see, each one perfectly round and soft. There were big tomatoes, small cherry tomatoes, medium ones that would perfectly fit in the palm of one's hand. The faint, mouth-watering smell hung in the air as each one beckoned to be tasted, to be released from their protective nests of leafy vines. One in particular called the loudest. Dewdrops rolled down the side of its merry red skin, inviting one to come closer...closer...

"Kirby!" the tomato screamed.

"POYAAAAAHH!" Kirby screamed, flailing wildly as his eyes shot open, falling out of bed.

"Poyaiu...eggh.." he groaned, a thin slime trail of spit following from the bed down the rumpled sheets to his mouth.

Sword Knight paused for a second to gape at the scene - although he had first felt incredibly guilty about bursting through the door to bother Kirby, at this rate he might of eaten his pillow if undisturbed.

"Knowing Kirby," Sword thought, "Maybe even the entire bed. No wonder he doesn't have much furniture."

Sword helped Kirby to his feet, kicking the blanket aside.

"Sorry to disturb you but Fumu, Bun, Sir Meta Knight and the entire castle's in trouble! We didn't get the chance to come get you earlier, everything happened so fast, the village is in ruin and we had to take shelter..."

"Poyo?" The sleepy mist in Kirby's eyes vanished. Swiping at at his still drooling mouth he wormed his way out of the blankets and cast aside his nap hat. The pink creature dashed out of his house, running towards the castle at a speed that Sword Knight couldn't hope to keep up with. The green-armored warrior ran after him, panting as all sorts of horrible images played in his head; Meta Knight being defeated and killed, Galacta Knight turning on Blade and Parm's family to satiate his bloodlust…

Minutes later Tokkori came flapping up, gasping from the effort of flying top speed to the little round house.

"Kirby! KIRBY! Wake up, you slob! I went out to catch the earliest worm in Whispy Woods and heard the buzz from the other animals. And then from the distance I saw smoke and flew to the village, only to see it had been destroyed! And then I went to the castle and found that all blown up, too! I can't find Fumu or Bun or anybody! Wake up, wake up, wake uuu-huh?"

The bird landed with a flit of his wing at the entrance to Kirby's house, the round door still open and creaking lightly from a breeze. Tokkori hopped around the perimeter. He stuck his neck out slightly to peer inside the door before hopping up to the window to look in there, too.

"Pfah! Not here. It figures. Even when he sleeps in, I can't catch him."

Tokkori spread his little wings before flying back towards the castle, hoping that Kirby would have been observant enough to examine the source of trouble rather than raid the melon fields again. He flew low to the ground in an erratic pattern, wings beating without rest as he cursed to himself the entire way.

CRACK!

The sound reverberated through the field as Meta Knight smashed into the rocky outcropping. Thrown there by a well-aimed Sword Beam, the knight was hit in the back and fell over with a soft rustle of cloth and armor.

"Noo!" Blade Knight cried, holding out a gloved hand to reach towards his mentor as he stayed dutifully close to his charges.

The limp blue form quaked, gloved fist grabbing the ground and driving light furrows into the dirt as the body it was connected to righted itself. Meta Knight stumbled to his feet, swaying lightly as if he had been drinking. The Star Warrior peered out at his enemy through a deeply cracked mask, yellow eye flashing in and out as he blinked away blood.

"Stay out of this", he shouted to Blade before turning to run, Galacta Knight in hot pursuit behind him.

Meta Knight had put up a good fight for a long time but had been finally worn down; his armor was cracked, and his senses were still reeling from the fall earlier. His cape was far too torn to be used in flight. Meta Knight soon found himself out of room to run; behind him was nothing but rock, and in front of him was nothing but Galacta.

"All of the power that sword wields and it goes to waste", Galacta Knight sneered as he faced the bleeding warrior. With a flick of his wrist he sent forth a powerful sword beam from his lance, hitting Meta Knight again. Meta Knight weakly parried the blow, falling forward onto his gloved arms from the effort.

"You should stop fighting and make this easier for both of us." The demonic warrior stated flatly. "You know that it's over."

"Not...yet." Meta Knight said, summoning up his strength and leaping into the air to do a drill move. Without the momentum of his cape as wings, however, the move was far slower and more easily telegraphed. Galacta Knight waited until he came close, sidestepped him, and hit him hard with a shield bash in the side as Meta Knight glanced him. His arm smashed under his shoulder armor, Meta Knight lost balance and fell in a heap to the ground.

"POYO!" a high pitched cry rang through the rocks. Both knights paused.

"Kirby...Kirby! It's Kirby! Sword did it!" Fumu cried.

Bun and the family began to cheer. Kirby ran over to stand between Meta Knight and Galacta Knight, tiny arms outstretched in a blocking gesture. Meta Knight 's bleary vision opened in surprise to see the corner of a red shoe. Despite everything, his heart sank to the floor. He felt something well up inside him, something he had not felt for more years than he could remember. The battered veteran pawed at the ground, trying to reach out to Kirby as he weakly pleaded for him to stand down.

"This is not your fight. Don't do it."

Both fighters ignored him.

"This?" Galacta Knight boomed at the tiny, unarmed creature that stood before him, "This is your protection? Your savior? Why, it's just a boy!" His glowing eyes hardened as he stared at him, red orbs tracing his figure. This had to be some kind of trick. This was ridiculous. Insulting.

"He needs a sword" Blade commented.

"He needs Warp Star!" Fumu added.

The young girl clasped her hands together quietly, sending a loud prayer to Kabu to release the lightning fast vehicle that would aid Kirby in his battle. Her eyes squeezed shut, brimming with tears as she thought about Meta Knight lying defeated in the battleground, of Kirby quite possibly ending up the same way or worse. If there was any time she and the others ever needed him, ever needed the aide of Warp Star, the time was now.

Kirby struck a fighting pose as Galacta Knight's wings flared, lance rising. The two stayed completely still, the horned knight 's stance coiling back like a snake. At once, he struck with a jab so lightning fast no one else even registered it. Kirby dodged it, standing on one foot. Piercing blue eyes never left his opponent as he slowly settled back into a fighting ready position. Galacta Knight was taken aback; that was a test of his ability and nothing more, and he had passed. If nothing else, he thought, the kid was VERY fast.

Galacta Knight jabbed at him again, again, each time from different angles to try and land a hit. Kirby dodged each one with ease, moving with an almost unnatural fluidity. All at once, he jumped into the air and delivered a kick to Galacta Knight right in the middle of his cross-shaped visor.

With a curse Galacta Knight stumbled back, his mask vibrating rapidly and ringing in his earholes. He looked up with eyes darkening; he could now see that this new kid wasn't meant to be a joke or distraction. He was serious. His fighting style reminded him of the Galaxy's most renowned Suplex wrestlers and martial artists, his speed of the highest-ranked Biospark ninjas. But how? He was so young, younger than the youngest soldier he had ever seen. Those of his age couldn't even entertain the idea of fighting, let alone display any form of expertise.

Meanwhile, Blade Knight unsheathed his sword. He carefully turned it around to hold his own weapon blade first, the hilt aimed at Kirby.

"Hey, Kirby! Catch!"

Kirby saw what he was doing over Galacta Knight's shoulder and gave a tiny, barely perceptible nod. Seeing the signal Blade threw the sword, weapon spinning into a high arc over towards the two. Galacta Knight thought it was a surprise attack from behind and darted out of the way; his eyes grew round as saucers as he watched Kirby not only stand his ground, but open his mouth and swallow the blade whole. The transformation was instantaneous; the sword appeared in Kirby's hand, and a small green cloth hat materialized onto his head. All at once, he was armed.

Meta Knight, who was still watching what he could from his prone position, managed to smile through his cracked mask.

"S...Sword Kirby."

Galacta Knight stood, jaw dropped, as Kirby lowered his sword into a perfect defensive position. The ability to transform was fabled amongst his people, but it was considered the stuff of myth and legends; while agile and adaptable, intelligent, and even able to wield magic or learn to fly, no one being could master everything at once. It was impossible. And yet this young boy had displayed near perfect fighting, immense strength and agility, and the ability to wield a sword all within the span of a few minutes. Galacta Knight peered into those deep blue eyes again, his own gaze narrowed into slits. There was something about this boy that he found unsettling other than his legendary fighting skills, something deeply wrong.

Kirby leapt forward, slicing his sword in several deep strikes as he closed the distance. Galacta Knight anticipated his slower movements and attempted to charge into him, swerving at the last second to hit his side. However, Kirby predicted it far in advance. The veteran's pink lance clashed with the small blade, its wielder using the momentum to propel himself backwards and land on his feet.

Kirby wasted no time, diving back in with a series of rapid sword jabs. Galacta Knight blocked one, another, another; they were coming from all directions, too many to predict. He felt them pelt his mask, his sabatons, his shield and spaulders. He hissed in pain as the sword cut flesh, hitting him with several rapid jabs to his arm. The blood flew across his mask like spilled paint, whipping out of fresh wounds and across Kirby's sword as he continued to strike relentlessly. The Star Warrior shook under the barrage, being forced to block every single blow rather than retaliate before he got away. His white wings spread as he took into the air, panting.

Fighting this boy head on would be dangerous and unpredictable; he had a solution for getting rid of him quickly that wouldn't get his hands dirty. A white blur descended from the skies upon Kirby, who held up his sword in preparation. What he wasn't expecting was Galacta Knight to simply knock him off balance by holding his buckler out, dazing Kirby for the few precious seconds he needed for his next move. Wheeling around, Galacta Knight dove at Kirby with a flurry of feathers. He aimed low, so low that his gloved hands were outstretched and ready to pick Kirby up. Before Kirby knew it he was snatched up feet first and sailing up into the air upside down. In surprise he dropped his sword, his hat flying off into the clear blue sky seconds later.

"His sword!" Bun gasped. "He's not Sword Kirby anymore!"

"Kabu..come on!" Fumu begged silently.

The castle of Dreamland became smaller and smaller as Galacta Knight flew straight upward, the merry land spread out beneath them like a patchwork quilt. From their distance, it looked deceptively peaceful. Kirby had been flailing uselessly before he went limp, very slowly and quietly sucking in air through his open mouth. Galacta Knight hardly noticed it in his haste; if anything, his burden kept feeling lighter.

Finally, he felt that the height was good enough to ensure certain death. Galacta Knight threw Kirby, flying away with a cackle. Kirby was thrown forward from the momentum, spun…and hung there. Galacta Knight paused to hover, eyes drained of color as he stared in pure shock.

Kirby was floating like a balloon, drifting downward slowly and steering with his stubby arms.

Upon seeing this, Galacta Knight grew furious. He flew higher into the sky until he was above Kirby and out of his line of vision. Kirby glanced upward, torn between keeping an eye on the flying enemy above him and the advancing ground below him. For a few moments, everything felt peaceful - he was below the clouds, drifting slowly while the breeze comfortably blew him this way and that. Suddenly things seemed darker, as if he was in the shade. Squinting, Kirby looked up to see the dark spot grow into a full shadow. Galacta Knight was descending at the breakneck speed of a diving falcon, lance pointing downward.

Kirby was not moving anywhere near fast enough to get out of Galacta Knight's way, but he was still far too high to let go of his breath safely. He tried in vain to fly away, arms flapping as fast as they could, but there was no way to get out from under the attack radius at his pace.

At the last second, Kirby spat out his air with all the force he could muster. The act of spitting propelled him a few feet to the right - just enough to dodge the plummeting attack that streaked past him. However, without his air he had no flight. Kirby plummeted like a rock. Desperate, he panted and tried to suck in air again, but the air was rushing by too fast for him to inflate enough to save himself. He watched Galacta Knight plummet as well, the momentum of his dive being too severe for him to quickly pull out of. Kirby watched the ground get closer, closer-

Thud.

The wind was suddenly knocked out of him as he landed on something oddly smooth. Scrabbling to hold on, he managed to grasp tightly at the crook of two sharp angles. Kirby soon realized that he had been swept away by Warp Star. He focused hard on the shaky object beneath him, projecting as much control as he could. Warp Star reacted immediately. The ride slowed, easing up enough for Kirby to get on his feet. Now the pilot, he angled the rocketing star down towards the earth at an incredible speed.

Kirby only had one thing in mind - getting his sword back. The star went closer to the ground until the earth sped by rapidly underneath him, a mess of colors and shrubbery that was spinning by too fast for his eyes to register. He crouched low, one arm bracing himself as the other hung off the Warp Star at an angle. Among the chaotic sea of green and brown he made out a faint glint of silver; his sword! However, he realized that his arm wouldn't be able to reach it. Holding onto the Warp Star as he slowed it down further, Kirby braced himself and opened his mouth.

The mixture of whizzing by the sword and Kirby's already powerful suction power caused the sword to go flying right back into Kirby's stomach. Once again it appeared in his hand, its wielder holding extra tight to it this time as his Warp Star climbed back into the sky.

Meanwhile, Galacta Knight had finished his dive and peeled out if it, using the Warp Star's drop in speed to his advantage. He angled himself carefully, wings adjusting in the air until he was directly behind Warp Star. Once in position, his lance glowed eerily; he swung his arm, lashing the air violently to produce sword beams. The blasts caught Kirby by surprise at first, causing his lightweight Star to wobble erratically as if it were a surfboard in choppy waters. Kirby responded to the threat by turning around, ready to face Galacta Knight this time with his sword glinting in the sun. He flew up into the old warrior's face, slashing rapidly.

Galacta Knight immediately wheeled backward with his wings, not willing to get into close aerial combat with one perched on a state of the art vehicle such as the Warp Star. He fired sword beams from his lance as he retreated, each beam from the glowing lance causing a thunderous crack in the air as they hit Warp Star. Kirby could see that Galacta Knight was trying trap him, leading him around in circles while slowly wearing down Kirby and his Warp Star through the superior range of his longer sword beams.

Kirby's frown deepened. He pushed his Warp Star for a burst of speed, flying dead center at Galacta Knight before firing off a single, precisely aimed sword beam. The beam flew through the air, nearly invisible except as a faint, white crescent of energy. Galacta Knight made a sharp right to dodge the beam but he was too late, Kirby was too close. His strategy of tailgating the Warp Star had backfired.

Galacta Knight suddenly felt an unimaginable pain, felt his world begin to spin as he plummeted through the air with a good chunk of his bloodied, severed wing falling lifelessly below him. He screamed soundlessly as the wind rushed into his lungs, eyes blind and brain unable to process what had just happened. His remaining intact wing flapped instinctively, forcing him into a rapid 360 spin of feathers and blood.

Kirby didn't flinch.

His star flew straight downwards, keeping itself horizontal as he kept pace with the falling ex-Star Warrior. The momentum was too much to move, nearly forcing him to lose his grip on the star as it plummeted like a broken elevator. He crawled to the tapered front end of the Warp Star before leaping off the tip, launching himself into the air with his sword held in both hands.

Both warriors were roughly 10 seconds from the ground.

Kirby used the momentum of tipping off the star tip to break into a spin, as perfectly symmetrical as a gymnast as he held out his sword in front of him. He was barely able to see anything past his whirling blade, falling as fast as his opponent. He aimed dead center for the spherical magenta form, ignoring the flailing and blood, ignoring everything.

The sword hit him. The momentum of the fall coupled with the force of Kirby's sword hitting him in the back struck him with tremendous force. Galacta Knight plummeted to the ground even faster, the blade cutting a single, deep cut in him from above his right eye to his left foot. His mask was cleanly sliced in half, falling away and spinning off into the sky.

Galacta Knight fell, fell...

The knight hit the earth with a sickening thud and the light squish of crunching cartilage and armor. A grisly rain of his own blood poured around him not a second later, his one remaining wing broken and mashed flat against his back. Kirby landed a few seconds later, having been given a gentle if not dizzying last-minute save from Warp Star.

Kirby cautiously approached Galacta Knight, blade still out and ready for more. Galacta Knight was still breathing, each breath ragged, uneven, his lungs crushed into themselves by the impact. He managed to open his bleary eyes which were beginning to dim out behind the lens, peering up at the face of he who had sealed his fate. It was then that he truly saw Kirby as he was: devoid of malice, curious, ready to fight but only if he had to. He looked into his eyes, studying them, and it was then that he realized what had truly bothered him.

Kirby looked EXACTLY like him at that age. The only difference was the color of their eyes - his skin was even the same shade of pale pink until it had darkened with age. However, there had been no new births on record for his people in a very long time. Each new spawn had a decades-long incubation period to begin with, despite having incredibly long life spans, and that combined with the population's low replenishing rate could not handle the pressures of war. His species was effectively extinct. And yet, here Kirby was, the single face of the next generation.

How...?

Suddenly, everything clicked; the resemblance, the uncanny and unnatural abilities, the age and naiveté. He thought about how old Kirby looked, a little over 100 years, and realized that that was not long after the time T.A.C had taken the lollipop stick from him. He remembered seeing things grow in those canisters as the pair passed by, countless experiments, one small and round, with beady oval eyes. In hindsight he realized that T.A.C wasn't a neat freak in a lab coat. He was a genetics specialist who wanted his DNA.

In a twisted, indirect and unnatural way...Kirby was his son.

Galacta Knight looked at Kirby in a new light. His eyes reverted to their natural cyan shade as he gazed at the boy with tenderness, the sorrow of over a millennia etched into his pained features. He and others of his kind had long since resigned themselves to never having a normal life, to not growing up and having a family; yet here he was, one of the last of his species, with a son! His very own son

Kirby's stern expression melted into one of confusion.

Galacta Knight had no strength left in his body; he was beyond pain, his eyes becoming more dim and beginning to glaze over. The fog was coming in, entering his mind, confusing his thoughts; but the one remaining thought he had was that despite his massive failures, despite his betrayal, he somehow managed to do the one thing he vowed to do on the day of his induction into the Galaxy Soldier Army; to bring some good into the world.

He then realized that while this child had been growing he had been off fighting, pursuing revenge, power. All pointless. Barely able to breathe to begin with, the tears choked him further. He was too weak to speak. Already inside he could hear the odd echoing pop-pop-pop resonating within his mind and body as it began to implode. It was his time to rejoin the stars.

His trembling increasing, he reached out to Kirby with an outstretched hand, gloved palm out. Bare face contorted with a remorse he could never begin to express, he gasped "…Son…", his final word fading into a soft sigh as his body went limp.

Kirby's eyes widened. He tilted his own body slightly at Galacta Knight, first one direction, then the other. The battered corpse continued to twitch and convulse, the popping growing louder as Galacta Knight's limbs began to darken to red.

Meta Knight screamed "Kirby, get away!"

Fumu, who had been watching in transfixed silence, came to her senses and ran over to snatch Kirby up. She ran away as fast as she could, managing to make it a few feet away right as Galacta Knight's body exploded. The blast knocked she and Kirby into the air about a dozen feet, the pair tumbling onto the soft grass a few feet away.

"Kirby, are you okay?" Fumu asked Kirby, but he didn't respond; he was turned to face the area where the body once was, eyes wide.

The remaining particles in the space where Galacta Knight's bloody body was began to gently rise, twinkling like tiny stars as they floated into the sky. The tiny flickering lights went higher and higher before drifting off into the stratosphere, never to be seen again.

Kirby looked at Fumu, the same quizzical expression on his face. He pointed to the sky and said "Saaaan?"

"Uh..." Fumu muttered, eyes darting to her parents and Bun as she tried to think of what to say. She knew Kirby was young and probably not quite ready to handle what had just happened. She wasn't even sure that was really what she heard.

"Yeah, he was just saying it's a bright sunny day!" Memu piped up. She had dealt with enough iffy questions from her own children to know how to cover up just about anything.

The others all began to nod in steady unison. "Yeah, that's it!" Fumu agreed hastily. "It's sunny!"

Sword said "I'll go let the others in the cellar know that it's safe to come out now."

Blade nodded, interjecting "And I'll go tell the village."

"Kiiirby… I bet you sure are hungry after all of that" Fumu said slyly.

Kirby's eyes widened, forgetting about what just happened altogether – his dream of lovely tomatoes came back to haunt him all at once, and he could think of nothing else. He nodded enthusiastically.

"All of WHAT? Did I miss that too? Mother of Dynablade, what else am I going to miss today?" A raspy voice chimed in.

Tokkori flew over, landing on Kirby's head. Kirby blew Tokkori's yellow tail feathers out of his face, causing the bird to screech in surprise. Fumu smirked at the little bird's fashionably late entrance.

"Well Tokkori, at least you didn't miss brunch! Or is it lunchtime by now? Whatever. Let's eat."

"I concur!" Parm shouted, and the group began to file out of the clearing with Kirby far in front.

Fumu's mind was full. With all that had taken place on that day, from the destruction of the village to Galacta Knight's last cryptic word, she felt overwhelmed. She knew that despite their victory that day, both the castle and village had a lot of rebuilding to do. The girl jogged behind Kirby, trying to keep up, before she slowed to a stop. She paused, looking over at Meta Knight. The caped swordsman was still bashed up from his encounter, and had remained silent.

"…Sir? Are you okay?" Fumu asked.

"I will be fine" Meta Knight replied in a level voice. "Go on. I'll see you later."

Fumu shrugged and took off, breaking into a run to catch up with Bun and Kirby.

Meta Knight had his back to the entire group, staring at the spot of dried, vaporized blood where Galacta Knight once was. He stood still, silent, for a long time. Slowly the veteran warrior looked to the sky, softly murmuring something in his old language.

His eyes were gray.