#Papi lacked most feminine speech patterns and had a few masculine/neutral speech patterns

[theultimateultimateweapon]

Kirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades (Chapter 4)

Meta Knight woke up in a strange place.

(Huh…? Where am I…?)

Flowers were blooming all over. However, all the flowers were faded and scentless. It was as dim as before dawn. The sky was gray without sun or clouds.

(Am I… on earth…?)

Meta Knight remembered.

He visited the planet Magnus to regain his treasured sword, the Galaxia. Then, the moment he swung his sword up against his enemy, Beryl…

His feet collapsed and he fell into a deep hole. He realized that it was a pitfall and tried to fly, but his limbs suddenly became numb and he couldn’t move.

As his consciousness left, he couldn’t remember what happened after.

(Then, is this the bottom of the hole…? No, it seems different…)

As he thought, a voice called out to him.

“Hello? New brother?”

“...What?” Meta Knight looked around.

He saw no figure, just a light blue butterfly perching on a flower.

“Who...?”

“It’s me, silly. You’re not going crazy, I’m on the flower.”

The butterfly fluttered its wings.

Meta Knight was stunned. “The butterfly, are you the one talking?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Meta Knight tried to bring his face closer to him.

The butterfly spoke with a kind voice. “My name is Papi. Brother, what’s your name?”

“...Meta Knight.”

“That’s difficult to say. Are you okay with Meta?”

“...That is fine. Tell me, what is this place?”

“Didn’t you notice? This is Hades, the underworld.”

“Ha...des…?”

“The world after death.”

Meta Knight was shocked by Papi’s words. “After death…!? Did I die?”

“You are dying, to be precise. Meta, you’re wandering between life and death. You have to get used to this world if you’re going to die properly.”

“This isn’t funny!” Meta Knight shouted. “I want to go back. Return me to the original world!”

“It’s not so easy. Once you’re here, it’s difficult to go back.”

“...But…!”

“Well, take your time. After a while, Meta, you’ll become familiar with this world and you won’t want to go back to the original world.”

“...Don’t be silly!” Meta Knight turned his back on Papi and started walking.

Papi fluttered and followed. “Where are you going?”

“To find a way back.”

“Eh? You won’t find one. You should just get used to Hades.”

“You’re too noisy!”

Meta Knight was confused. No way could he be wandering between life and death…

Papi seemed to have a friendly personality but he was constantly talking.

“Meta, your body took a heavy blow in the original world, so now your body is dying.”

“...”

“But you haven’t died yet, so your soul is still calling for your body. Over time, your body will die and you can’t go home.”

Papi’s voice was carefree, but Meta Knight was horrified.

“How much time do I have?”

“Eh?”

“How long until I won’t be able to go home? How much time is left?”

“Um… usually three days.”

“Three days…?”

“Yeah, but in the land of Hades there is no day or night because the sun doesn’t rise.”

“Then, how do you measure the length of the day?”

“That there…” Papi fluttered and stopped at a tree growing on the side of the road.

A gray bud was attached to the tip of a thin branch.

“This is a common flower found everywhere in the underworld. They all bloom together in the day and deflate in the night.”

At that time, the gray buds began to open slowly.

Papi said, “Wow, it just bloomed. That means it’s dawn in the underworld.”

“Then, I have three flower blooms left…”

Meta Knight started walking fast.

There was too little time left. If he couldn’t find a clue within three days, then it was over like he said.

“You have three days for the body to recover in the original world. Even if it’s less than three days, if you die, you’re stuck here.”

“...”

Is Meta Knight’s body still lying at the bottom of the deep hole?

He prayed that his subordinates and Kirby would help him.

Papi spoke with carefree cheer, “If you have any questions, ask me anything. When it comes to Hades, I’m much older than you, Meta. For example, in the underworld, you have to be careful for…”

Then.

Suddenly, a big shadow struck from the sky.

“Waaa!?” Papi screamed. “G-ghost bat! You have to be careful with those! Run away, Meta!”

Meta Knight quickly drew his sword. 

A big, bat-like monster attacked.

Meta Knight jumped high and slashed the monster.

The monster screeched and ran away.

“Wow… woow… wooow…!” Papi rested on Meta Knight’s head and fluttered.

Meta Knight took a closer look at the sword he had in his hand.

It was similar to the sword he had when he fell into the hole, but with a gray blade and no shine. Perhaps it was a sword of Hades, which had no substance.

It would be enough to fight with in the underworld.

Meta Knight held his sword and asked. “There are creatures that live here?”

“No, they’re not living things. They’re residents of the underworld so they’re not alive.”

“...Well, then what was that thing?”

“I’ve just been calling it a ghost bat. I don’t know the real name, but it’s a ferocious monster. No matter where you are, one will attack you.”

Papi finally settled down and began to flutter again.

“Well, the inhabitants of Hades won’t die no matter how badly injured, because they’re already dead.”

“...Really.”

“But if you get seriously injured, you may never be able to fly again. If you see a scary monster like that ghost bat, you just have to hurry and run away…”

Papi flew around Meta Knight.

“Meta Knight is strong! I’m super impressed you beat the ghost bat!”

“...”

“It’s rude to call you Meta, isn’t it? I’ll have to address you with more respect. Hmm… how about big brother Meta?”

“...Stop it. Just Meta Knight is fine.”

“Okay, Meta Knight can be my boss, then!”

Meta Knight thought.

In order to escape from the land of the dead, he would need to know where to go. He would need a guide.

Papi was a strange butterfly, but he didn’t look like a bad guy and might be a suitable guide for him.

“If you want to work for me, then help me get back to the original world, Papi.”

“Hmm, I don’t want you to go back. I want you to stay here in Hades forever.”

“I want to go back. No, I have to go back.”

“...I guess I can’t help it. If that’s what Meta Knight wants, I’ll cooperate.”

“Thank you.”

Meta Knight once again walked down the faded flower path.

He just kept on walking and walking.

In the land of Hades, the sun does not rise, so it never gets brighter or darker. It was just as dim as before.

Gray flowers that signal the passage of time were blooming all over. Meta Knight hurried ahead, careful about the appearance of the flowers.

How long had he been walking? Suddenly, the flowers were slowly deflating.

Meta Knight stopped involuntarily and took a deep sigh.

Papi spoke, “The first day is over! Thank you for letting me help, Meta Knight. I couldn’t find any clues.”

Meta Knight did not answer and started walking again.

“Eh, are you still walking? It’s already night time. Don’t you want to rest?”

“I can’t afford it. And… there’s something strange.”

“What?”

“I’ve been walking all day, but I don’t feel weak.”

It was a funny feeling. He didn’t feel hungry or thirsty, or tired. He didn’t feel drowsy.

“That’s not unusual.” Papi laughed. “This is the underworld. Meta Knight, you and I are just souls. Because we don’t have bodies, we don’t feel any of that anymore.”

Papi’s voice was bright, but Meta Knight’s heart was quiet.

“It’s very convenient, isn’t it? It’s such a mess to eat and drink. Hades is a good place. Don’t tell me you still want to go home…”

Meta Knight didn’t say anything and finally sped up.

“Oh, Meta Knight. Are you sure you don’t want to rest? Even if you’re not tired, you should rest at night.”

“I can’t take a rest.”

“But the night trip is dangerous…” Papi was worried.

A mysterious thing passed by in front of Meta Knight.

It was another butterfly.

A butterfly, slightly larger than Papi, slowly fluttering its wings.

What caught his eye was the shade. Even the light blue color, like Papi’s which was pale, was rare to see in Hades.

Meta Knight couldn’t look away.

The bright red butterfly disappeared as if a flame.

“What was that…?” Meta Knight’s voice murmured.

However, he got no reply from his noisy, chatty guide.

“Papi?” Meta Knight looked around.

Papi was hidden behind a gray flower bud. He appeared quietly in response to the call from Meta Knight. “Did you say something?”

“There’s a red butterfly. Oh, it’s gone.”

“Oh, good…”

Papi fluttered down and perched on Meta Knight’s head.

“What’s wrong? You seem strange.”

“Uh, yeah… I was just a bit frightened, he…”

“What, that red butterfly? What’s scary about it, it was just flying.”

“That’s right…” Papi moved his wings anxiously. “But, that butterfly has a creepy legend.”

“Legend? What?”

“I’ll explain. Let’s take a break.”

Meta Knight didn’t feel like taking a break, but he was worried about Papi’s story.

Reluctantly sitting at the base of the tree, Papi began to speak in a frightened manner.

“That red butterfly is said to react to the voice of a final agony.”

“A final agony?”

“Yeah. That’s the voice someone makes when they die. It’s not normal. Only someone who is incredibly strong reacts to the screams you make when you die.”

“That’s… such an eerie legend.”

“Right?”

Papi flew around in front of Meta Knight’s face.

“He hides somewhere during the day and starts wandering around at night, so night trips are dangerous.”

“It doesn’t seem that dangerous. How does an eerie legend attack you?”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’ve never been attacked. He seems to be able to change his appearance.”

“Change appearance?”

“Suppose a very strong warrior loses a battle and releases an agonizing scream, that butterfly is called by the scream and flies to it. They become possessed and become a knight of butterflies.”

“Knight of butterflies?” Meta Knight smiled.

But Papi kept a serious tone. “It’s not a lie. It’s a famous legend in the butterfly world!”

“The butterfly world…”

“In the world of butterflies, everyone knows of a knight born from the red butterfly and a strong warrior called Morpho Knight. That’s how strong it is!”

“Incredibly… strong…?” Meta Knight was moved.

When he heard of the knight of butterflies he first smiled, but wasn’t anymore.

Red butterflies have an ominous power. When that power attaches to a strong warrior, an unimaginably terrifying knight may be born.

“If they’re truly such a strong knight… I definitely want to fight them.”

Finally, his true goal was found.

Papi was so surprised he turned over. “EEHHH!? Are you serious!? Meta Knight, you really want to fight such a strong opponent!? You’re weird!”

“...You think so?”

“It’s strange, that’s all. Usually I’m careful not to come across dangerous opponents. That’s why the butterfly world taught me not to travel in the middle of the night. Wait… Meta Knight!”

Meta Knight stood up and started walking.

Papi fluttered in a hurry.

“Let’s rest for now! Besides that red butterfly, there are many monsters that roam at night! There will be more and more terrifying things than ghost bats!”

“Wonderful! Let’s find them!”

“Why are you so excited!? Meta Knight!”

“If you’re scared, you don’t have to come. we can split up here.”

“No, no! I’m your subordinate now! Wait, wait~!”

Papi moved his wings together and chased Meta Knight.

(Chapter 3 - Table of Contents - Chapter 5)

#kirby novels #kirby of the stars #kirby light novel #translation #kirby light novel translation #meta knight #papi #morpho knight #Kirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Hades #Hi Meta Knight! Welcome to the Good Place #I did some research to figure out if papi was masculine or feminine because like i said im new to this and i believe he's masculine... #Papi lacked most feminine speech patterns and had a few masculine/neutral speech patterns #but i hear its more and more common for feminine speakers to use neutral and maybe masculine speech patterns #so again just be patient with me if there are any issues