Part 4
Before dawn Sailor Dee awoke, put his hat back on and ran out to the castle grounds where he sat and waited for Meta Knight. At sunrise he heard footsteps echoing down the corridor and out into the sunrise stepped Meta Knight. Sailor Dee rose and gave him a quick salute. “Good morning, Sailor Dee. At ease. I would merely like a talk with you. Please follow me.” He obeyed and together they walked out to the cliff behind the castle. Meta Knight walked right up to the edge and motioned for Sailor Dee to follow him. The Waddle Dee followed and together they watched the night sky give way to day as the sun slowly rose behind them. Meta Knight watched out over the ocean for a long time, but Sailor Dee knew that he was lost in thought and patiently waited for him to speak. He finally did, still looking out over the ocean and not even acknowledging the Waddle Dee next to him. “I am amazed that you and I arrived on the same planet. I would love to hear your adventure from the sinking Halberd to Castle Dedede, however I am aware that you cannot talk. The past matters not now, the future and the fate of Dreamland is. As I speak, forces more powerful than myself are trying to take over the galaxies. So many stars have gone out, yet for them it is not enough. And this planet is one of the ones they have targeted. Yet I speak of events irrelevant to this time, this dawn. I did not ask you to come with me so I may talk with you about wars waging in other galaxies. No, I asked you here for a different reason.” At this point the turned to look at Sailor Dee, who in turn looked back at him. He continued “I must say I am overjoyed to have found you again. However, the days of the Halberd and the old crew are gone. You may stay with me if you wish, however I will not hold it against you if you decide to stay with your own kind. Sailor Dee, make your choice.”
The Waddle Dee looked back toward the castle where the others were still asleep, then back to Meta Knight who patiently waited for his answer. He faced Meta Knight and knelt before him yet again. “Very well,” Meta Knight replied and Sailor Dee stood as he continued “now that you have chosen, it is time you learned of my plans. Come.” He walked back to the castle, Sailor Dee close behind, until they arrived at the fountain. Meta Knight brought out a remote control and pushed a button on it. The fountain slid backwards to reveal a staircase. Meta Knight and Sailor Dee went down under the courtyard and followed the steps until they came to a ground floor. Meta Knight headed off to the right while Sailor Dee stayed where he was. Something straight ahead caught his eye. It looked oddly familiar, yet it was hard to see in the dark. He began to walk towards it when Meta Knight flicked a light switch enveloping the room in light. Sailor Dee shielded his eyes momentarily and when he looked again he was shocked the find the Halberd. “Sword Knight, Blade Knight and myself have been working on this for some time know; however this one will have a different purpose than the first one,” Meta Knight said, walking over to Sailor Dee, “can you help us build it?” The Waddle Dee looked at Meta Knight and nodded. “Good. Now, perhaps would be a good time for breakfast.” Sailor Dee saluted Meta Knight and began to head towards the stairs when Meta Knight called out “halt!” and Sailor Dee stopped in his tracks. Meta Knight approached him “you no longer have to serve others, Sailor Dee. Come, we shall have breakfast together.” He headed up the stairs and Sailor Dee followed.
When they got back to the surface Meta Knight closed the entrance and headed towards the castle, Sailor Dee right behind. They headed towards the kitchen when they ran across several hundred Waddle Dees heading for the cafeteria. Sailor Dee watched as they marched single-file to their seats where a small breakfast awaited them from the Waddle Dees who worked in the kitchen at this time. Sailor Dee sadly reflected on how he used to be one of them then quickly followed Meta Knight into the kitchen.
The Kitchen was always a busy place since Dedede was almost always hungry. No more than a dozen Waddle Dees ran to and fro carrying plates of food and trays. Meta Knight walked past them to a small table in the corner where Sword and Blade were sitting and enjoying a small breakfast of their own. Sailor Dee followed but couldn’t help but watch all the Waddle Dees slave away to make food for the king who wouldn’t even like it. Once they were all seated a Waddle Dee quickly ran up with two small trays of food and set one down infront of Meta Knight and Sailor Dee before running off to help the others. Meta Knight took off his mask and set it on the table beside him to eat, which caught Sailor Dee’s attention. He had only seen Meta Knight without his mask only once before now, and that was an incident he would never forget, yet he had almost forgotten how Meta Knight looked without his mask. Sword and Blade had seen him without his mask enough times to hardly take notice of it anymore. Sailor Dee suddenly realized he was staring and quickly looked away at the other Waddle Dees as he ate his breakfast. “So what’s the plan for today Meta Knight?” Sword asked. “Should we do some more training or work on the Halberd?” Blade added. Meta Knight sat in silence and ate as he pondered. A short time later he replied “Sword, Blade, do what you wish today, yet make it productive. Train with each other or work on the Halberd. I will be watching over Kirby today.” With that, Meta Knight put his mask back on, got up and headed out of the kitchen, Sailor Dee following. Before he left the kitchen, Sailor Dee once more looked at the Waddle Dees. My friends he thought, watching them run about you are treated so cruelly. Underfed, insulted, beaten, mistreated. I know. I have suffered as you have. This cruelty must stop! I will find a way for us to lead a fairer life. I cannot guarantee total freedom, yet I can promise that I will try to make your lives better! With that, he followed Meta Knight further into the castle.
