Of The Stars

Chapter Ninteen: Galaxy Soldiers

It was difficult, but Meta Knight managed to get to his feet. The room spun around him, but he was able to climb a tall set of stairs and peek out of a small opening in the stone room. It wasn't difficult to recognize where he was. The creeping forest around the area was dark as the only thing illuminating them was the moon and the great fire that always burned in front of Kabu. Aside from the crackling of the fire, he also heard shouts and the clashing of swords. He had to squint to focus on the scene going on just beyond the fire.

Two armored strangers were fighting against a group of Atticus's guards. The one with blue armor was fighting directly with Atticus while the other soldier with green and purple armor and a bright red plume easily fought off several other guards on their own. Meta Knight recognized Grim and a white owl guard he saw once or twice in passing.

Meta Knight staggered a moment before putting his effort towards descend the steps that lead him towards the fight. He stepped with purpose, though all of his movements were agony. It took quite a bit of effort to keep his damaged wings from dragging along the ground.

"Sir Knight!" A whispered voice called to him.

He wobbled a bit and looked around before noticing Penelope at the bottom of the stairs. She was trying to hide in an overgrown bush, glancing between Meta Knight and the group of fighters.

"Hurry, come with me before they notice," She urged.

But he ignored her. Meta Knight continued on towards the fighting mess. It took a lot of focus to stay on his path, but he couldn't stop now. Penelope followed close behind, still trying to convince him to turn around and flee with her, but soon enough it was too late.

Atticus had been struggling somewhat to fight off his attacker. After his hand had been injured so badly during the Sir Kibble fight he struggled to hold the two blades he was used to fighting with. The grip on Atticus' blade was weak, as his wrist kept being knocked around with every hit he tried to block. The real kicker came when he noticed Meta Knight behind the blue soldier's shoulder and paused.The soldier took the moment of hesitation to kick Atticus to the ground but quickly whipped around to see what had caught his eye.

"Meta Knight!" The blue soldier shouted before rushing towards him. He held his sword high as he prepared to strike the completely unarmed Penelope.

She squeaked and cowered behind Meta Knight.

As the blue soldier swung his sword at her, Meta Knight caught his sword wrist, keeping Penelope from being hit. Meta Knight then punched him in the chest, pushing him to the ground and knocking the breath out of him. The green soldier, who had already been running their way, tried to skid to a stop. Pushed onward by momentum, however, he rocketed towards Meta Knight and Penelope. Meta Knight ushered Penelope aside and grabbed the red plume that shot out of the back of the soldier's helmet. With a grunt, Meta Knight swung the soldier around, crashing him into the other soldier.

Everyone paused. If it hadn't been clear to them before, it was now. Even among galaxy soldiers, Meta Knight was dangerous.

Taking advantage of the pause, Penelope scrambled to Atticus, hiding behind his wing. He was tense and ready to jump into action, but stood still for the moment. Meta Knight had easily neutralized the threat, but he wouldn't let his guard down.

"What do you think you are doing?" Meta Knight hissed.

The two soldiers groaned and untangled themselves in their heap on the ground.

"I told you two to wait back on Judipet, but what did you do? You came here anyways to fight. You could have been killed. You could have killed these innocent who have risked their lives to help me," Meta Knight went off.