A/N: Hello once again! I'm back with another oneshot, this time not for any contest, but for a birthday! That's right, it's AnonymousNinjaWhale's birthday! ANW is a good friend of mine, and definitely deserves this story! Thanks for being such an awesome friend, ANW!

Disclaimer: I don't own Super Smash Bros or any of the characters mention in this fic.

The rays of the setting sun reflected off the mask of the solemn warrior. He sighed, wrapping his cape tightly around his body as his most prized possession fell slowly to the bottom of the ocean. Meta Knight heaved a sad sigh as the last of his beloved battleship, the Halberd, disappeared beneath the waves.

Marth observed this scene from a distance, deeply confused. What had the knight lost that contained so much value? Treasures? Pride? Memories? Marth didn't know, but he was determined to discover the cause of his friend's distress.

The prince of Altea walked up to the Star Warrior and sat down next to him. For what seemed like an eternity, neither said a word. Finally, the silence was shattered. "So, what's eating you?"

Meta Knight shifted uncomfortably. Despite having expected the question, the dark blue puffball found himself unable to answer. After yet another awkward silence, he muttered, "It's nothing."

Marth laughed. "MK, you are a horrible liar. I may have not known you for that long, but I can tell that something other than your ship is bothering you," he said. Meta Knight sighed. He viewed the Altean prince with great respect, but sometimes he could be quite persistent, something the knight didn't particularly enjoy.

"I really don't feel like talking about it," the masked knight said, trying hard to hide the emotion in his voice.

"HA! So there is something wrong!"

"N..No."

"Yes there is! You just said that you didn't feel like talking about it, so that means that there is something that's bothering you!" Marth had a confident smile on his face.

Meta Knight sighed. Sometimes he wished that Marth wasn't so intelligent; the prince of Altea could always see through his lies. "I don't really want to, but I'll probably feel better after telling someone..." The Star Warrior paused a moment before speaking again.

"It's true, the loss of the Halberd has taken its blow on me, but you were right. There is something else. Right before the ship was destroyed, when we evacuated, remember how I was in charge of making sure everyone escaped? Well, not everyone made it off. Someone was still on board."

"Who?" Marth whispered as he began to search through his memories. He knew all of the Smashers had made it back, so who could have been left behind?

"Do you recall seeing me with a small Waddle Dee donning a sailor cap?" Now that he thought about it, Marth could remember the timid Waddle Dee clinging to Meta Knight's dark purple cape. The prince nodded his head.

"His name was Sailor Dee. I rescued him from his village, which had been attacked by demon beasts. He was very young at the time, and having to witness the deaths of everyone he knew scarred him greatly. I found him, weak and helpless, and raised him in as my own." At this point Marth seemed slightly shocked at the thought of the serious knight caring for a child.

"Dee and I soon developed a relationship similar to that of a father and son. I cared for him with all of my heart and was willing to risk my life to protect him. He looked up to me, often mimicking what I did. In my attempts to conquer Dreamland, he stood by my side, even after I was defeated by Kirby."

"When the Halberd was captured by Tabuu's forces, I barely escaped their clutches; Dee, unfortunately, was soon overcome and yelled at me to go on without him. I obeyed, and eventually met you and Ike. After regaining my battleship, I couldn't have been more happy to see him. I swore that I would never let anything take him from me again. But, it seemed I had spoke to soon. There were so many people to keep track of when we evacuated that I completely forgot about Sailor Dee, so when Bowser and Ganondorf fired..." Meta Knight stopped, unable to go on. His eyes were shining a dark blue.

Marth opened and closed his mouth, trying to find the right words to say. "I know how you feel, Meta. But there wasn't anything you could have done."

"Yes, there was! It was my job to make sure everyone got out! If I had remembered, I could have saved him!" Meta Knight suddenly snapped, his eyes now a deep red.

"Meta Knight," Marth said calmly, "if you had gone to find Sailor Dee, you would have died as well."

Meta Knight's eyes slowly dulled back to their original yellow upon hearing the prince's words. "I..I apologize.. for acting that way," he murmured. "It's just, he was so young; he didn't deserve to die."

"Of course, only the purest of evil deserves to die," Marth said. The prince of Altea slowly stood up. "Well, I've got to go. I promised Red I'd watch his Pokemon. See ya!" And with that final note, he began to walk back to where the Smashers had set up camp.

"Marth, wait!" Meta Knight shouted.

Marth stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

"Thank you... for listening to me."

The prince smiled. "That's what friends are for."

The End