"Hey, Meta."

The sapphire puffball's wings twitched as the puff pried his eyes open, blinking a few times as he came to. "Hmm…yes, your Majesty?"

Meta Knight's voice was so quiet that Dedede could barely hear him. The king picked up the fantasy novel in the puff's lap and moved it to the table, as if it was not at all 5AM in the morning and the only official knight of Dream Land was asleep in the castle library. It was quite fortunate that there had been no attacks by abominable evils on the castle while he'd been sleeping.

"Your Majesty…why do you need me?"

"You ever wonder…you know…what makes people scared of things? What makes people…like some of the townsfolk…call people cowards?"

Meta Knight was silent for a long moment, staring intently at the fantasy novel.

"A coward…is more open-ended to define than courage. Being courageous is not defined as whether you aren't scared of something. But as for being a coward…"

The puffball glanced around for a dictionary in the expansive library, before simply pulling out a small tablet and tapping the screen a few times.

"'Coward: A person who lacks courage in facing difficulty, danger, oppression, pain, etc. A timid or easily intimidated person.' Of which you do only occasionally, when you bail and come crawling back fifteen minutes after everyone's left." Meta Knight stared up at the king, his inquisitive expression obvious even behind his mask. "Did one of the townsfolk call you that?"

"No; I just—" Dedede huffed, crossing his arms. "Yeah. And I wanted to prove them wrong, but I wanted to be smart about it and really show them like you do, so I came to you first."

"At 5AM?" the puff asked tiredly, pulling his cape around him in the chair.

"Yes. I couldn't sleep. But I'm not a coward, right?"

"You aren't a coward, Dedede. I would never say that you're 'a timid or easily intimidated person', nor do you flee when challenged. Logically and by definition, you aren't a coward." His gaze flickered to his white glove so quickly that the king couldn't even catch it. "Honestly, you're far less of a coward than even people with the ability to defend themselves against any threat."

"Heh, thanks, Meta Knight! Means a lot comin' from you, you know. I guess now the both of us can get some sleep."

"Meta Knight…"

"Meta Knight, wake up…"

"Come on, Meta…"

Upon coming to, Meta Knight noticed that he felt strangely weak. Almost as if someone was draining his magic. His limbs felt heavier than dense, metal anchors he'd used to secure his base on the coast of Orange Ocean, and his mind was locked in a field of static.

"Meta—"

The knight heard someone break down coughing, and forced himself to open his eyes for a moment.

The sight in front of him made him wish he was dreaming.

They weren't in his bedroom at Orange Ocean, nor were they any place familiar to him. Rather, they seemed to be in a recently-ravaged field, where a battle seemed to have taken place perhaps an hour beforehand. Mounds of dirt, grass, and flowers were strewn everywhere, with the occasional rock that had been completely torn out of the ground and displaced upside down. The area directly around himself was strewn with incredibly-sharp scales, likely from some monster that they had slain, with many of said scales resting in the ground around them. If he shifted his gaze to the right, some of them were covered in blood.

"Meta."

Meta Knight's entire body shuddered, throbbing with pain as he managed to pull himself into a sitting position. Blackness fogged his vision, but it sounded like Dedede was calling him from somewhere nearby.

He was. As a matter of fact, the king was lying directly in front of him, a scale slicing through part of his lower body.

The knight's breath quickened, body tensing as he took in the king's face of relief…and all the blood that had spilled out onto the ground, onto his robes…

Meta Knight raised his paws in front of his face, before rubbing them in a patch of his back that felt strangely sticky. When he glanced at them again, they were coated in the same reddish-brown tint that had stained the ground around Dedede. The king's resigned smile combined with the fact that the puff was literally covered in the penguin's blood led to only one likely conclusion.

"Your Majesty…You…You didn't sacrifice…"

This wasn't happening. That couldn't have been the reason. He didn't even remember what had happened in this battle. But everything pointed to this one, ultimate failure—

The king chuckled quietly, trying to move as little as possible. "For you? Meta, I—" He broke off coughing for a moment, but he didn't let that slow him down. "Yes. I did, for your life."

This isn't happening.

"Your Majesty, I—No, you should never—"

The sapphire puffball tried to clear his mind, unsure of whether to focus on remembering what happened, or on Dedede's current condition. Bits and pieces of the battle filtered into his head, but what was most obvious to think of was right in front of him, in a graphic display almost exclusive to the king's late-night horror films. Had he really lost so much blood? How? What had happened for him to—

"You…were frozen there, so, I—" The penguin shifted uncomfortably. "I stepped in, for you…"

Meta Knight blinked, trying to process what those words really meant. "So…"

I stood there. I did nothing in the face of an attack, and he used his own body to protect me.

It's not fair…

…but it's because…

The puffball shifted on his feet, a mix of unstable emotions reflected in his eyes. "…it's because I was a coward, isn't it? You took the hit because I didn't defend myself when I should have. Could have."

You have all kinds of amazing powers, and you stood there and let him do that for you.

While Dedede was not the strongest life form on the planet, even alien invaders acknowledged that he was one of the strongest…and now he was dying.

I let him die… The tears oozed out of the puff's eyes against his will, mixing with the blood and dirt on his cheeks. I let him die…

"Meta…you're—" The king coughed dryly, struggling for breath as his blood ran freely onto the ground. "You're not a—coward…"

You're just a coward.

"Your—Your Majesty, I…I could never be more sorry…I—I am a coward. You stood and fought, where I stood in fear. No matter what you say, I'm the reason you're dying."

Dedede flinched, which turned into a pained cringe as the rest of his body reacted to his dismay. "No…you're…n-never—"

Fix him.

You're the reason he's dying; do something for him.

"Wait."

The king withdrew his usual authority, concern for the puffball rising even though he wasn't the one lying on the ground mortally wounded. Instead, he watched as Meta Knight shook the dirt off himself, cuts reopening as he searched for something in the surrounding area. He didn't have to wander far, and returned to the penguin with an emotionless stare, focusing on the dusty object in his paws.

Aren't you supposed to be a hero of justice? Someone with the ability to help others?

Dedede's eyes widened as he realized what the puff was about to do, but the small star child ignored his whispered, feeble pleas.

Heal him. You can heal yourself; heal him.

Meta Knight held Galaxia in front of him, the ancient light radiating from the blade as he tried to force its power to his will. The sword had some emergency healing spells, which mainly depended on the healing competency of its user. And while Meta Knight knew next to nothing about such things, he'd used the spell on himself a few times. If he, the sword's wielder, desired to use it on someone else, there should be no problem with that.

The puff narrowed his eyes as he focused the magic into his paws, golden-white light dancing over his shredded gloves. As the power focused, however, the image of Galaxia flashed into his mind.

Galaxia's magic is only for its wielder. Its spells won't work on those who aren't chosen.

He didn't care, which only served to invoke an electrical reminder from Galaxia about abusing its powers.

"You're already hurt, Meta," the king whispered hoarsely, staring as his friend dropped the sword and collapsed in front of him, hoping that the puff wouldn't have a seizure or be permanently injured from an attempt to heal him. "Stop it. You know…I'm sick already. I'd just…die in the…next—few decades."

After an agonizingly long minute, the sapphire puffball forced his body off the ground, struggling to pull himself up as his vision spun. His entire body felt like someone had cut through him like a hot knife through butter, but he could be as stubborn as the king when he felt strongly about something, and the knight happened to feel very strongly about the king's death.

"That's…just one more reason I should have fought instead of you. Think of your children! Think of everyone who needs you at the castle!" Meta Knight shouted, clenching his paws. The tension pulled some of the slices on his arms open, but he didn't seem to notice or care—at the moment, anyway. "Terminal illness is no joke, but you had at least a few more decades that are gone if you die here!"

"What—" Dedede broke off coughing again, struggling more and more to catch his breath. He barely seemed to be capable of moving any part of his body at this point, an unwelcome reminder that his time was almost up. "What I say…as the king, goes, and I say—"

Meta Knight moved to place his paw over the king's mouth, realizing that he was straining himself so much that this final phrase could be his last words, but Dedede's determined glare made him freeze in his tracks.

"I say—you're worth…my life, Meta…"

They were fighting a dragon, or at least, a distorted, lethal version of one. The king and his knight had been on a business trip to one of the planet's largest trade stations with universal travelers, and since it fell within the far reaches of the expanding kingdom of Dream Land, Dedede had felt it his responsibility to check up on it. While Meta Knight did not usually travels with the king around the planet, the city was important to him, so he'd agreed to accompany one of his oldest living companions. But along the way, they'd come across a small village of Waddle Dees and Doos, claiming that they'd been tormented by a horrible monster, and that it had slain a few of their scouts.

With a few centuries of battle experience behind them, the duo had decided to end its life then and there instead of calling Kirby for backup. The pink puffball was on a trip to Ripple Star, bringing his children to visit their mother's home, and neither of them felt like interrupting the hero of Dream Land.

As two of the most renowned fighters in Dream Land, the penguin and puffball took on the monster with ease—or, ease considering that their opponent was a giant dragon created from dark magic. Dedede's strength combined with Meta Knight's magic as a chosen star child ripped through the monster's scales, piercing the core of its being—

Until it staggered toward the sapphire puffball, swinging its claws blindly at whatever was in its way.

Meta Knight had tried to focus; he really had. The ground was shaking, the dragon was stumbling blindly around, and Dedede was screaming at him to move or he'd die. But he only needed one decent shot. An accurate strike with his light-imbued magic would end it all before anyone or anything was harmed. All he had to do was flick the sword in his paw, and the fight would be over.

But when would he attack? The monster was getting closer and closer to him, and there was no way he could predict where it would move next…though he tried. The beast seemed to detect him wherever he teleported, and even worse, it seemed to be slowly healing the longer he tried to outmaneuver it.

"Stop dancing, Meta; get closer! You should know these things by now; how many times did you tell me that?!"

Considering that the king's suggestion had come from the puff himself, it hadn't seemed like a bad idea for the knight to teleport right next to the dragon on demand, attack it, and jump away. But that decent idea had not accounted for the monster's blind, desperate attacks…which the puff had teleported into a flurry of.

It shouldn't have mattered. He was quick, fast, agile. But despite his ability to dodge or try to block the attack, Meta Knight had stood there, frozen in fear, as he pointed his glowing sword at the shrieking abomination directly above him, the direct source of dark energy radiating out of its chest and making his head swim. Galaxia's natural magic forced his arm to swing, delivering the killing blow, but its magic did nothing to move him out of the way as the twisted creature crashed to the ground on top of him.

The last thing he remembered was one of the creature's many scythe-like scales, gleaming in the moonlight above him as the remaining dark energy exploded around him.

"No…" the puff whispered, voice shaking despite his efforts to hide it. "That's not true. You should have never sacrificed yourself to save me. You're the king; I'm just one of many replaceable alien children whose souls just happen to have better potential as batteries. As a star child, I probably could've been revived somehow or…"

Dedede tried to speak, barely able to raise his hand an inch, but only some strained coughs escaped him as blood trailed down the sides of his face and mouth, sliding off his feathers. Both of them realized that the king was wounded beyond any hope of recovery, but unfortunately, Dedede seemed to be realizing it much better than Meta Knight.

As a star child, you should have done more. There were so many more abilities you had at your disposal that could have saved your life, but instead it took someone to sacrifice themselves for you.

As a star child, you're supposed to be a hero of justice.

As a star child, your injury or death doesn't matter as much as his.

"Stop…" Dedede whispered hoarsely, taking note of the knight's more-than-apparent distress. "Yo 're—not…worth—less…"

A star child isn't supposed to be a coward.

The tears kept running down the puff's face, doing little to wash away the dirt and blood from the battle.

Cowardice is a form of injustice.

Injustice is a crime that should always be dealt with appropriately.

Was this a fitting punishment? It was, and more. He deserved this so, so much for being a coward.

The guilt and despair he felt was suffocating him almost literally; the longer he watched the penguin suffer in front of him, the more paralyzed he felt and the less he breathed. But he almost wished to die rather than taking the consequences of his actions. Staying alive seemed a better penalty than death.

It's your fault.

Your fault.

YOUR FAULT.

"Your Majesty," the knight murmured, kneeling before the dying king. "I apologize that I was unable to protect you. I want you to know that you'll never be thought of as a coward to any of the townspeople, even the most ignorant."

No, you weren't the coward in this battle, King Dedede…

"…It was me. I was the coward tonight, and you were part of my consequence for it."

Dedede's eyes were slipping closed, and it was hard to tell if he was even breathing anymore. A spark of defiance, mixed with concern, shone in his eyes, but as he took his last breath, he was unable to put those hidden feelings into words.

Meta Knight held the king's hand in his bloodied paws for what seemed to be an eternity before finally processing that Dedede, one of his oldest companions, had just passed away. But even with that realization, the mix of emotions that stemmed from this event did nothing but balance out, leaving him feel…empty, of any feelings or purpose. Moving away from this world wouldn't change anything—not his actions, not his king's death, not his cowardice. So he stayed, standing guard in the king's arm, as he tried to come to terms with what had really occurred.

He died because you were a coward.

…What a waste. You wasted it. He threw his life away for little more than just a coward.

It had been five days since the king had died. Out of those five days, Meta Knight had spent two in the hospital, and the other three under close supervision in the castle—not that he had the energy or reason to leave, anyway.

Could I have done something…?

He'd killed the monster…but if he'd moved, Dedede wouldn't have risked his life to save him. It had been the only thing repeating in his mind as he stared at the stone ceiling of his castle dorm. The Dees had tried to get him to move on, but try as they might, the blue puff was convinced that the results of the battle were entirely his fault. He'd barely touched his food, and spent most of his time staring blankly at whatever he tried to pick up as a distraction.

Think of how his children feel…

Dedede's children, all no older than ten years old…Well, Meta Knight had avoided them like a plague, to say the least. There was no way he could face up to their despair when he couldn't even cope with his own. The king had lost his own parents at an early age, and had taken years to heal the pain from his loss. For the knight to be the cause of such anguish to his former comrade's children, and to all the Dees, castle workers, and the citizens of Dream Land…He felt nothing short of absolute disgust for himself.

As he blankly scanned an article on some advanced picotechnology, a Dee knocked on his door. As he'd been leaving it unlocked for the past few days, he didn't bother responding or opening the door for them; instead staying in a limp puddle on the bed.

"Sir?" the Dee asked quietly, glancing around the room before walking over to his bed. "I had some letters from the king. They were things he wrote to important people that he didn't want to include in public last wishes, and there was one with your name on it, so...here you are…"

The Dee handed him the papers with a sympathetic stare, studying as he accepted the papers with a mixed expression. It was only a few seconds later that the Dee let themselves out the door, closing it quietly behind them.

It took a few moments, but for the first time in days, Meta Knight climbed out of his bed, walked over to the door, and locked it before returning to the king's letter and opening it. The royal crest of Dream Land topped the page, and the twisted cursive on the paper could be none other than Dedede's.

Meta,

So I'm dead. And you're sad. Because I know that this is gonna happen eventually.

I know you'll live a heck of a lot longer than me, but I know you'll still feel guilty and that you could've done something if I died. PLEASE don't let it be like when Bandana died; I don't know who you'll feel comfortable crying to now that we're all gone, but don't think you'll get away with sulking by yourself. I left emergency instructions for people in case you did that. You shouldn't have let your manipulation tips slip to my ears.

I left a recording for you. I couldn't make one for everyone, but I know you'd be embarrassed or whatever if I played it in front of everyone like I did for most people I wrote, and trust me, I'm the king. I must've written like a billion of these things or something. But you've been around the longest, and I learned a lot of things because of your help, and…your friendship. When I first met you, I didn't know anything about you. You were just a random stranger who offered to take a piece of the Star Rod to protect the planet. We didn't talk very long, but you impressed me.

You never seemed to realize it all these years, and probably don't now, but…I looked up to you. I respected you. You always said your books had 'heroes of justice' in them that you wanted to imitate, right? That's how I saw you.

I don't care as much about those fantasy novels as you do, but I know you always said some completely fake Scarfy crap about yourself because of them. You weren't as fair, or just, or skilled as them, or you were a coward or something who didn't know how to use all of his powers because he was a wimp.

Scarfy crap.

Remember what you told me about being a wimp, or a coward? It's someone who lacks courage. Someone who runs away from their problems. If you think you're a wuss because you don't want to do something that hurts you, look at all of us. Look at how long it takes me sometimes to face up things I know can kick me to the curb if I'm not careful. Look at the townsfolk, who don't even approach the problem at all most of the time. Look at KIRBY, and how long HE takes to even REALIZE there's a problem, when YOU look at your problems and go for them as soon as you've thought up a plan.

Please, Meta…I have a ton of more letters to write, but don't forget that making a mistake doesn't ruin your life. Just because you froze at the wrong moment doesn't mean you were a coward. Because if you want to judge everybody by one or two bad moments of their life, everyone would be miserable. Nobody in the world would be a good person, so just get over it and be happy again instead of moping around over an incident or two, or even three or fifty. I'm the king, and when I say you're cool, it goes.

I guess that's it. Just watch the video, okay? I made it for you, so you better watch it.

Don't forget, you're one of my little buddies. I love all of you guys.

-King Dedede of Dream Land

Meta Knight set the letter on his desk before taking a breath, letting his tears flow freely down his face.

You're not a coward.

It's not your fault that he died.

The sapphire puff wandered over to his computer, withdrawing the video chip that the deceased king had attached the letter. The video seemed to buffer quite slowly, but just seeing the image of his former companion was enough to let loose a flood of emotion that he'd been holding in for the past few days.

Your Majesty…Great King…I wish you could be here with us now…

But if you believe that we can move on without you…that I can move on without you…I'll try to face that challenge as best I can.

After all, neither of us were cowards, right…?

A few seconds of the video played, startling him out of his thoughts as the king cleared his throat, ushering some servants out the door before turning back to the camera and grinning.

"Right."

C/N: This was written for Celestia-Knight's writing contest (it was a pick-a-theme challenge, hence 'Cowardice') on Amino annnd I was literally the last person to turn it in so I stayed up till 3AM on an extension writing it at the last second. I did win second place in a very close battle though, so thanks for hosting and giving me that confidence boost, Celestia ^^ Hope you all enjoyed!