Chapter Text
The sunlight shone warmly on the stone floors, filtering in through the gaps between the pillars as Meta Knight walked the damaged halls of the castle, lost in thought.
The days after Nightmare’s defeat had been busy. While Cappy Town was mostly restored, there was still work to be done. The Cappies had since busied themselves with finishing up the last of the rebuilding and carefully adding those small touches to make the town feel more like home again.
The castle, on the other hand, still needed extensive repairs. The damage had been widespread, hits done to most of the hallways made them unusable and two of the towers were on the verge of collapse. In most cases, the Waddle Dees would’ve had a decent head start on the repairs, but with the King’s absence, Lady Like had convinced Waddle Doo to let his troops help the townsfolk first. Once he’d returned, King Dedede took to his usual ordering about of the Waddle Dees and recalled them to their stations as they finally began the process of rebuilding the castle.
Of course, the king himself wasn’t being productive. With no way to order monsters, he’d been switching between slinking away to wallow in his own self-pity and yelling at Escargoon for one reason or another. He’d even taken to tracking the snail down in his workshop, loudly making demands for outlandish ideas he’d dreamt up to be built. Meanwhile, when he wasn’t dealing with King Dedede’s pestering, Escargoon had been making himself useful by overseeing the reconstruction and drawing up new plans to reinforce the castle.
Then there were the knights. For the most part, the king left the knights to do as they pleased, so long as they stayed out of his way when he was on one of his usual tirades. Due to this, they spent their time pitching in to help the Cappies rebuild the town, keeping an eye on Kirby, and patrolling the castle.
Currently, Meta Knight was on one such patrol. While they didn’t have to worry about the king ordering any more demon beasts, patrolling the castle was still part of their duty as knights. Additionally, it was important that they not get complacent. At least, those were the reasons he gave Sword and Blade. The other reason being he’d been using it as an excuse to slip away. He needed time to himself. It helped him think.
After Dreamland had settled down, Meta Knight was finally processing everything. Nightmare was gone. He’d sensed it instantly on the ship, the dark mage’s presence fizzling out until no trace remained. The weight that had been suffocating him finally slipping from his shoulders. He hoped Nightmare’s death was painful. He deserved it after all the destruction he’d caused. Too many comrades fallen. So many stars extinguished.
Then there was the other miracle.
Arthur was alive.
Not just Arthur, but Nonsurat, Dragato, and Falspar were all alive. He’d seen them, displayed in full across the communications screen on the Halberd. Arthur had spoken to him. And yet… it still didn’t feel real. Years of searching, of turning up nothing, of believing he was the sole survival of the GSA’s slaughter. It was hard to believe they were really there, and not just his mind bringing back ghosts from the past.
In truth, everything about the attack on Nightmare’s fortress felt surreal. Too good to be true. After the return to Dreamland, that wave of peace he'd first felt quickly crumbled into anxiety. He craved a way to make it feel real. To see those he believed dead for so long.
But now that The Halberd was gone, an unfortunate casualty, that left him limited options for space travel. He could always try to fix up his old starship from the basement, though it was worse for wear ever since Kirby’s driving practice… The knight shook his head, muttering to himself and briefly catching the attention of a passing pack of Waddle Dees, “That would never work.”
Even if he did manage to get it space-ready, it was only built for one pilot, and Sword and Blade would never let him go alone. His proteges had been even more attached to him ever since Nightmare’s defeat. Maybe they could sense his restlessness, or the unsettled tension that was eating away at him. Whatever the case, he could feel them keeping an eye on him.
Suddenly, he heard Tiff calling for him in the distance and pushed aside his worries. They would have to wait. If he still knew them at all, Arthur and the others would come of their own accord, if only to meet Kirby. He could decide what to do then. For now, it was enough to know they were alive.
It was less than a week later when Sirica flew in on her ship with Knuckle Joe in tow and landed in Dreamland once again. It was a joyful reunion, with congratulations and celebrations all around. The Cappies threw a party, and Sirica and Knuckle Joe boasted of their successful infiltration of the Destroya ships, and tales of the demon beasts that they’d defeated.
Meta Knight praised the two warriors, feelings of pride bubbling up for their success on the battlefield. He was sure to tell them their parents would’ve been proud, as he knew they would have been. As the party continued on, the two young warriors announced their plans to travel the galaxy to wipe out the rest of the remaining demon beasts. A toast was had to that.
Eager to get back to their mission, Sirica and Knuckle Joe didn’t stay for long. Before the two spacefarers left, Sirica told the knights that Sir Arthur and his crew were planning to arrive within the next few weeks to congratulate Kirby. Confirming Meta Knight’s prediction. The Dreamlanders bid farewell to their friends, and the next few hours were full of excited chatter about what the visiting Star Warriors would be like.
Despite the excitement that surrounded him, Meta Knight dismissed himself from the party early before anyone could corner him. A hesitant feeling tightening in his chest. Why was it that the confirmation that they would be coming was almost worse than being left in the dark?
The anxiety of it was more intense than facing down hordes of demon beasts. There hadn’t been time for long goodbyes—or any for that matter—during Nightmare’s final raid that ultimately decimated the GSA. Their relationship had already become strained before that, as it had been increasingly tense ever since Jecra’s death. Old regrets started to gnaw deeper into his mind. Would they even want to see him?
The thought lingered uneasily at the back of his mind as he disappeared back into the depths of the castle.