A True Hero

36 - All is Fair in Love and War

Dark Nicolette

"Nicolette?" someone called into my room. I stirred from my sleep, which was actually quite pleasant, and assessed my surroundings. After the other Nicolette had been chained up, I had found the room Magolor had reserved for her and swapped places with her. I hated to admit it, but I was really jealous of her looks and her friends.

The room I was staying in was actually very pretty, with a small window showing the dark void of space to the left of my huge, super soft bed, and the wall was covered with striped blue and purple wallpaper. A creepy painting of some tall alien that looked a lot like Magolor hung over my bed frame, but the being had bulging eyes with yellow circles around them. He had the same ears as Magolor, too, but they were painted with different markings. It creeped me out, so I just ignored it. The best part of the room was by far the person who had just woken me from sleep.

"Yes, Meta Knight?" I said sweetly. The light from the hallway flooded over his sturdy frame, silhouetting him.

"Did you call us earlier?" he asked, taking a step into the room. He had his cape drawn around himself and kept it snug around him.

Darn, I thought. I really wanted to see his wings. They're so majestic.

"I don't believe I called you," I said innocently, throwing in a yawn for good measure.

Meta Knight smiled. I could see it in his eyes. "Perhaps you called me like you were accidentally calling me earlier." His eyes glinted in mischief, and I cocked my head, not knowing what inside joke he was talking about.

"Ah...maybe," I said after a moment of silence, then swung my legs out of the bed and stretched. "I've been sleeping down here. That battle really wiped me out. Dark Nicolette was really strong."

Meta Knight chuckled. "We've all taken some time to rest after the battle, but Dark Nicolette wasn't a match for you. She doesn't come close to your skill and power."

He came over and sat on the edge of my bed, and I couldn't help but pout a little. Of course I was strong! Nicolette was weak! I, Dark Nicolette, was obviously stronger!!

"Well, Amai had to help me fight her," I mused, leaning back on one hand and touching Nicolette's dragon necklace with my other. Meta Knight's eyes watched my hand as I fiddled with the elegant charm. He must've made this for Nicolette. "Dark Nicolette is by no means weak."

He looked away and nodded. "Alright fine, both of our copies are more powerful than I was expecting. I'll give that to them."

"You fought well, though," I said, giving him a smile. "Those sword beams use up a lot of energy, and you used them for hours. You are very strong."

His eyes flashed orange and it looked like he was blushing. I panicked, wondering what he was thinking. I would have to question Nicolette about his changing eye colors it later.

"Well...thank you," he said and rose to his feet. He offered me a hand as he said, "I also came to wake you, for we are nearing Ripple Star."

"Oh, okay," I said, taking his hand and standing. The light from the hall bounced off my armor as we walked toward the door. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of the golden and yellow color scheme Nicolette used. I prefered silver, purple, and black.

"Richard is coming to meet us," Meta Knight continued. "When he boards the ship, we'll give the Crystal shard to him. We also figured you might also want to say hi. And, if you don't mind, he requested to talk to you in private."

"Oh...of course..." I said slowly, reaching behind my long hair and feeling the radio I had tied to the back of my waist. Dark Mind told me that if I were to escape the Mirror World without him, then it was my responsibility to carry out NME's plan to destroy the Galaxy Soldier Army in whatever way I could. The Crystal shard would help me in my mission significantly. But I couldn't think of a way to get it smuggled out without anyone noticing.