A Shooting Star ~Kirby and Sonic crossover~

Chapter 16: Remember

As Sonic berated Shadow ("No more cooking for you!" Sonic scolded the crestfallen black hedgehog. "At this rate, my kitchen will become a war zone!"), Meta Knight decided to go back into his thoughts all the while keeping a protective eye on Kirby. Ever since his kidnapping, Meta Knight scolded himself as Kirby's... mentor, that he would watch over the pink puffball.

He knew Sonic was hiding something, and for the second time of his life, wished he had Kirby's power of emotion detecting. He could at least find out something about Sonic and what was troubling him.

However, luck was not on his side. He sadly did not possess these powers, and even if he asked Kirby, his reply would only be 'chicken, chicken', and that was no help either. Sighing, the veteran warrior adjusted his heavy mask, with his shoulder plates clanking loudly as he fidgeted around.

And his wings...

Meta Knight could feeling them itching his back, longing to be free. After all these times Meta Knight had kept them underneath his cape, yesterday he had been forced to use those accursed wings of his.

Stealing a glance towards Dedede, Meta Knight frowned from underneath his mask. He was only lucky that Dedede had totally forgotten of the whole incident. After all, Dedede wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

In fact, he was a blunt as a spoon.

At that thought, Meta Knight gave out a silent chuckle, his eyes glimmering with amusement. From beside him, Kirby produced a small giggle, obviously sensing Meta Knight's mirth, despite not knowing why Meta Knight was laughing.

Dedede groaned, rubbing his eyes. Meta Knight, curious, peered at the opposing Dreamlander.

Now that Meta Knight looked more carefully, the blue penguin king looked worn out, as if he had fought ten of Nightmares' strongest monsters with one finger all in a single minute. Meta Knight blinked, feeling an odd sense of worry for the king. Did he not sleep through the night?

Amy seemed to catch on as well, for she tipped her head, looking at Dedede with wide, anxious eyes. "Dedede? What's wrong?" The pink hedgehog asked, her question now heavy with sleep. The urgency that the others had all reacted to when Shadow blew up Sonic's stove was now replaced with exhaustion (except for Meta Knight and Sonic [Kirby and Shadow had already been awake, however they, too, looked worn out]).

Dedede stifled a yawn. "Jus'... exhausted. Haven't slep' so badly for... a lon' time..."

Amy looked at Dedede incredulously, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What are you talking about? You were sleeping like a hoglet yesterday!"

Tiff rolled her eyes, putting a hand on her chin. "Dedede sleeps a lot throughout the day. To him, twelve hours of sleep is minimal."

Dedede shot her an angered look, his mouth curled into a furious snarl. "I do not!" he protested, his voice raised in his haste of displeasure. "I only sleep eleven hours a day, thank you!"

Meta Knight suppressed his temptation to shake his head in embarrassment, wounded on how stupid his own king was. After all, if the king was dumb, he could only wonder how the unfortunate kingdom was doing.

Thankfully, Escargoon had been by Dedede's side (including Meta Knight, although he operated in the shadows) to prevent him in screwing things up for Dreamland, which was a great relief for the residents of Cappy Town.

Tiff and Tuff, however, smacked their faces with their hands, both sighing at Dedede's stupid reply. Dedede took this as a sign of defeat as he puffed his chest out, grinning stupidly, not knowing the real reason for these actions. Kirby, noticing the mixed tension in the room, gave out a confused whine, scratching his head in confusion.