Origin of the Dark Knight

By: JadeDragonKnight

Chapter 9: Last Good-bye

Everything was pit black for a long time. Meta Knight couldn't see anything or move. Was this his final stop or has he been caught between heaven and hell? All was silent in the darkness. It was almost too much to bear. Then, he heard a voice. "Meta Knight…" 'Huh?' Suddenly, light began to fill the darkness. He started to move. When he opened his eyes again, he had broken through the stone that encased him. What just happened? Was it the power of Arseus, or something more? He looked around and saw a golden ring had passed over the others and had freed them. He looked in the direction the ring was going, and then he saw her. Jade. She was hovering over a large crater. How the crater got there, he'll have to find out later. Jade looked at the others then at him. What was she doing? Did she free everyone? Finally, the ring had reached her. Light encased her body. She looked like the star that formed above the sea after their victory against Tabuu. When the light faded, she was not a trophy. She was stone. Jade fell into the crater, unmoving.

Meta Knight stood there and watched her fall. He couldn't believe what just happened. Just as he sacrificed himself to protect her, Jade removed the bonds of the team and took it herself. He had to see for himself if she was really gone. He flew to the crater. What only took about a minute felt like an hour to him. When he reached the outer rim, he saw that Jade was still in one piece. It didn't make much difference. He jumped down to the bottom and stood over the stone figure. All he could do was stare at it. He wished he could do something, anything, to help. He heard the others come down in the hole as well. Lucario walked up to the stone. He closed his eyes and searched for Jade's aura. He opened his eyes again and looked at Meta Knight. He turned his head toward the Pokémon. Lucario slowly shook his head. Sadness fell over the team. Everyone left and headed for the cliffs.

Just like that, Meta Knight was alone. He looked back at the stone. He had to convince himself that she was gone and he couldn't do anything about it. He slowly turned his back and flew out of the crater.

Meta Knight walked through the woods in search of his destroyed ship. 'What now? Do I just rebuild the Halberd and forget about everything?' He moved some branches out of the way and stepped out to the clearing that housed his ship, and another surprise. Some members of the team were standing in front of the ship. They looked at him as if they were waiting for him. "Why are you all still here?" He asked them. Samus stepped up and said, "We just wanted to help rebuild your ship." "Yeah, and we need a ride," Sonic said after her. One of the members elbowed him in the stomach. Meta Knight looked over all of them. All he wanted was to be alone for awhile, but what was the point in refusing? He sighed and said, "Alright."

Reconstruction took place immediately. The few members of the team that were there all felt the same feeling they did when they saw Jade turn to stone just a few hours ago, especially Meta Knight. Zelda was carrying some supplies. She walked up to Link, who was busily fusing some metal together. Zelda set the supplies next to Link and wiped her forehead. She watched Meta Knight walk by as he inspected the ship. She turned to Link and said, "Link, doesn't he look a little 'sad' to you?"

Link stopped what he was doing and said, "Who, Meta Knight? He always looks angry to me."

"I know, but there's something different about him. Don't you think so?"

Link looked over at Meta Knight. He was hammering a bolt into place when he accidentally hit his thumb. He held his tongue to keep from shouting out some 'colorful' words and shook his hand.

"Yeah, he does look kind of upset," Link said and continued to work.

Zelda sighed and said, "I wish we could do something."

It was a little past midnight. The members that were helping rebuild the Halberd were fast asleep on the ground. Most of them were used to sleeping outdoors. Meta Knight couldn't sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened the other day. He stood on the ship's deck, or what's left of it, and looked over the trees to where Arseus's castle used to be. It wasn't the death of the dark king Arseus that kept him up. It was… something else. He stood there for a while, thinking. Then, he saw a light in the horizon. He looked at the unnatural light. 'Wait. It can't be morning yet.' He flew up to the highest point on the ship. He examined the light again. This time, it wasn't on the horizon. It was coming from the large crater. 'It can't be…' Meta Knight jumped off the ship and flew over the trees toward the light.

Meta Knight passed the cliffs and hurried to the crater. He stopped right before he hit the rim. The light was definitely coming from the bottom. He slowly walked to the outer rim. He shielded his eyes from the bright light. Suddenly, the light dimmed. He jumped down to the bottom and saw the source of the light. It was the stone figure of Jade. The light became bright again then faded away all together. The stone turned into Jade's trophy form.

Meta Knight looked at the trophy and remembered the day on the cliff. When the others gazed at the star, he looked to the ocean where his ship was shot down. Then, he noticed the star fade and a trophy fell into the ocean. He knew everyone was there, so who fell into the water just now? He flew above the water in search of the mystery person. Some of the others followed him. Olimar, Samus, Captain Falcon, and Squirtle lifted the person out of the water. Pit and Charizard helped him carry it back to the cliff. As they set it down, Meta Knight wanted to see who it really was. He reached for the base, but then Mario beat him to it. A girl came out of the light and looked deep into his eyes. 'Why is she looking at me like that?' He thought at the time. When she turned to the others, he figured she was alright and that his job was done. Without another word, he left.

Now, there was no one else around, no one to free Jade before he did, and no reason for him to leave. Meta Knight slowly reached for the base of the trophy. He held his breathe as he touched the golden base. A burst of light came from the trophy. As the light faded, he saw Jade lying on the ground. Then, she opened her eyes.

To tell you the truth, I was afraid to die. When I freed the team, I knew that I had to take the heat or the cold of the stone in this case. After the energy from the ring turned me to stone I couldn't see, touch, or hear anything. It was a never ending darkness just like subspace except more… frightening. I tried to break free with my powers, but it didn't work. All I could do was remember what happened over the past few weeks. I wondered what the team did after I freed them. Then, I thought about Meta Knight. I thought about the first time I saw him, what we've been through, when he told me who he really was, the many times he saved my life, and what he might be doing now. As I thought about him, I started to glow. I didn't notice it right away. I thought about these things over and over again. All other memories faded away. I could feel myself getting weaker and weaker. I knew my time was almost upon me. I closed my eyes and felt a tear stream down my face. Then suddenly, I was blinded by light. Was I about to reach heaven? I kept my eyes closed. Then, I thought I felt the ground. Was this it? I opened my eyes and saw someone standing over me. It was Meta Knight.

The first things that went through my mind were 'is this for real? Am I in heaven? Did I accidentally kill him?' All Meta Knight did was stare at me. That's all I could do as well. I sat up and noticed that I was in a crater. Was it the one I made? I looked at him and asked, "Where are we?" He swallowed. "We're in the crater you fell into." I looked down at the ground. I started to feel the dirt through my fingers. I gazed back at him and asked, "Am I dead?" He slowly shook his head. My eyes widened and I looked up at the sky. Then, I smiled and started to laugh. I jumped up and said, "I can't believe it!" Meta Knight watched me jump with joy. Then, I turned to him and said, "You brought me back. Thank you." He started to say something, but he didn't. He just nodded.

When we left the hole behind us, the sun started to come out. I stopped walking and watched it rise up without blinding myself of course. Meta Knight stopped and waited for me.

"How did you do it," I asked him.

"Do what?"

"How did you free me?"

He looked at the horizon and said, "You called me."

I turned to him and asked, "What?"

"You turned yourself into a trophy. All I did was come and restore you."

"Why?"

He looked at me and said, "Because I couldn't leave you."

He turned and walked away. I watched him go for a while. 'What if he… nah.' I ran to catch up with him.

It took us about a week to rebuild the ship. Of course, everyone was happy to see me walking around again and most of them thanked me for restoring them. After the ship was rebuilt, everyone left except me and Meta Knight. I sat on the edge of the cliff while he stood next to me. We were watching the sunset.

"Hey, Meta Knight," I said while still watching the sun go down.

He looked over at me and said, "Yes?"

"I thought about what you said after you freed me. Did you really mean that?"

He paused for a second. "Of course, you saved my life. I had to repay you."

I looked up at him and said, "Oh really? You already saved my life," I started to count with my fingers, "six times before you freed me!"

"Really?" He turned his head back to the sunset and chuckled a bit. "You get in trouble too much."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

I turned back to the sunset. We watched it go down until it disappeared in the horizon. Meta Knight started to walk back to his ship. I stood up. I knew he was leaving, and I wasn't going with him. "Meta Knight," I called after him. He turned around. "Will we ever see each other again," I asked. He paused for a moment. Then, he nodded and said, "Someday."

The ship started to rise in the air. I stood there and felt the wind rush past me. The wings came out and the ship charged its engines. I waved to it. I could just see Meta Knight in the bridge. He held up his hand. Then, the ship flew away leaving me alone. I fixed my hair and watched it go. I felt kind of sad, but happy at the same time. I gradually changed into my light form and flew away.