A True Hero

45 - Fright to the Finish

(Watch the attached episode of Kirby: Right Back At Ya! to see Meta Knight and Kirby's perspective of the final battle.)

NME's fortress looked just like it did in my vision. Thousands of Destrayer ships floated around the fortress like little insects. The actual ship was just like the Enterprise, still the same massive size of a small planet, but he had tripped it out and expanded with thousands of guns and places to release and house Destrayers.

As we flew closer to the fortress, I saw something I recognized immediately. For some reason, NME had kept the little sliding glass door and window on the outside edge of the ship. It was the same little ledge Meta Knight and I used to sit on for our short talks or planning sessions. The last time we did that was thousands of years ago.

I looked at Sirica and Knuckle Joe and suddenly felt old.

"There," Sirica said, pointing to a small platform at the back of the ship. "That's where Arthur said to go in, by the Destrayer gates." I looked above where she was pointing and saw Destrayer saucers flying out of the ship like bread out of a toaster.

"There's so many," Rick said, watching them rise into space around us. Our little ship was so small, we didn't register on any scanners. And I doubted they would care about us anyway.

"It seems like Meta Knight is here, too," Vul said. I ran to the front of the ship to check our sonar scanners. On the little green map, I saw a large ship had appeared one light year away from us. "He's launching a sneak attack, Arthur said."

"Then why are the Destrayers flying out into position?" I asked, looking out from the dome over the bridge and watching the giant saucers lining up in front of the fortress. We were nearly in the gate now.

"They might have been spotted," Joe whispered. "Their ship is a lot bigger than yours."

"We're in," Vul said. We had flown into a giant rectangular gateway underneath one of the Destrayer dispensers, and it seemed to extend endlessly into the ship. The rectangular hallway sometimes intersected other halls as we flew in, and as we passed, Destrayer ships rolled out on carrying machines, being lifted up to the dispenser and pushed out into space.

"There!" Sirica cried, pointing down along the edge of the hall. We had reached an intersection with another corridor, and there was a small monorail system and platform along the edge of the wall. There, two small starships were parked, and four puffballs in armor waved us down.

I couldn't stop my gasp. It was really Arthur.

We landed next to their ships, and Arthur and his crew approached us to welcome us. But when the doors to our little ship opened and I saw Arthur, Falspar, Nonsurat, and Dragato, I immediately started crying. I hadn't seen anyone from the army except for Vul in years. Being with them just didn't feel real.

I wasn't the only one in tears. Vul and Rick were crying, as well as Falspar, Nonsurat, and even Dragato and Arthur.

"Oh my stars," Arthur said as he approached me. "N-Nicolette..."

"Arthur!" I exclaimed, and jumped at him, landing in his stunned arms.

"I...I-I thought you were dead," he stuttered. Vul, his knights, and Rick all hugged and greeted the others.

"She was," Joe said, walking up behind me. "But its a long story that'll have to wait until later."

"Knuckle Joe," Arthur said, letting me go and shaking hands with the fighter. He looked sorrowful for a moment, then immensely proud. "You look just like your father!"

"And your mother," Falspar added. Then he saw Sirica and laughed. "And you look just like your parents, too! I remember holding you when you were this big!" He held his arms about a foot apart, and we all laughed.