Kirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess
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| “ | The princess of Chiffon Star, famous for making cakes, has gone missing!! Together with Kirby and his friends, Meta Knight heads towards Chiffon Star. An unexpected development is awaiting there?! A special arc where Meta Knight is the protagonist this time!! | ” | — Unofficial translation of the description of Kirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess |
Kirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess[2] is the fourth volume of the Kirby novel series, published exclusively in Japan on February 15th, 2015.[3] In this novel, Meta Knight and his men Sword Knight and Blade Knight, as well as his other friends altogether task themselves on finding the princess of Chiffon Star, Princess Marona. She disappeared with a sly criminal, Baron Gallic, known for using a mysterious red jewel called the Malice Stone to control the minds of others. Meta Knight and his friends chase after the two until finally, Meta Knight gets a chance to hear Marona out. Evidently, the effects of the Malice Stone had started to wear off on her, and she willingly wanted to run away to live the way she wanted as her honest self. Through a final endeavor, Gallic is arrested and the Malice Stone is destroyed, releasing everyone from its control. Marona returns home, now more honest about who she is as a person and safe from the toxicity of Gallic.
This is the first novel where Meta Knight is the leading protagonist of the story, and the first where King Dedede and Waddle Dee do not have a major role in the plot.
Characters[edit]
| Characters of "Kirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Main characters | ||
| Supporting & minor characters | ||
| For characters lacking illustrations, see this page | ||
Plot synopsis[edit]
Chapter 1: A Case in Chiffon Star[edit]
The story opens in the quiet land of Dream Land as usual, during the early morning hours. Three masked swordsmen—that being Meta Knight and his two subordinates, Sword Knight and Blade Knight—are walking together as they make their way to Chef Kawasaki's restaurant to make an important request, carefully so not to draw too much attention. All too soon, Kirby and Waddle Dee come running after them with glee, completely spoiling the knights' attempt to lay low. Meta Knight explains to them what him and his men are doing back in Dream Land, and Kirby and Waddle Dee decide to tag along as well, hoping to catch a quick lunch once there.
The group arrives shortly after at Kawasaki's restaurant. There, Meta Knight requests of Kawasaki to bake a cake of utmost delectability for the king of Chiffon Star, Merengue XIII. The place is known for its superb baking and bakers, and Meta Knight wants to give a cake to the king for his upcoming birthday as a "thank you" for something done in the past. Hearing this, Kawasaki becomes anxious and quickly grabs a newspaper he was reading to show Meta Knight. Evidently, the princess of Chiffon Star—Princess Marona—had went missing, likely because she was abducted, causing a stir among all of Chiffon Star and the king to fall into a crippling depression. The group is in disbelief. It's likely this would result in the king's birthday party being cancelled, but Meta Knight isn't having it, and decides that he will set off to save the princess along with his men. Kirby chips in—though clearly just for the sweets of Chiffon Star—and so does Waddle Dee, who first sets off to ask King Dedede for permission to go.
Sometime after, the group makes their way into the Halberd and it takes off for Chiffon Star. Before taking off, they were followed by Dedede who joined them, obviously for selfish reasons. Unannounced and only shortly after taking flight, the whole battleship is jolted from an impact, knocking everyone to the floor and sparking panic. The only calm one is Meta Knight, who tries to explain until being interrupted by a familiar face. Captain Vul steps in, announcing they have successfully warped towards Chiffon Star's location with a jolly attitude. Meta Knight is not pleased whatsoever, but Kirby and King Dedede begin happily celebrating together. It was then that Chiffon Star emerged into view from the darkness of space.
Chapter 2: The King's Important Story[edit]
The Halberd lands on Chiffon Star, and the group makes their way off. Before them stands a grand shimmering structure—Chiffon Castle. They make their way into the castle, where they find Merengue. He has a gloomy expression and can barely stand on his own two feet. Once he's settled, Meta Knight gives him the proposal to save his daughter, bringing tears to the king's eyes. He dismisses his servants and greets the new faces in the group, but quickly begins to disclose information about the situation. He admits that his daughter left of her own will, wanting nothing to do with him, which was strange behavior for her. Seeing this only as family drama, Meta Knight and the group begin to leave until the king quickly recaptures their attention by telling them she left with an irreplaceable recipe book, containing recipes for all of their renowned sweets. A popular, shady individual, Baron Gallic, had lately interacted with her, likely turned her against her father through manipulation, and left with her. Meta Knight and his men are all startled hearing of his name. Sword and Blade even reach the point of being enraged, forcing Meta Knight to settle them down with a raised voice, but he then quietly allows things to be explained.
Though the memories are hazy now, Sword and Blade recount that Gallic was after Meta Knight's sacred sword Galaxia in the past. Meta Knight then draws it up into the air for it to be seen, awestriking everyone with its beauty. Sword and Blade then continue their tale by explaining that, by using a mysterious red gem to hypnotize them, Gallic convinced them Meta Knight was a universal threat, and nearly had them deliver the sword to him. However, Daroach was well aware of Gallic's tactics and stepped in to inform Meta Knight of Gallic's criminal nature, allowing Meta Knight to bring his men back to reason and have Galaxia returned before it reached Gallic's grasp. Hearing that his daughter is also likely being hypnotized, the king quickly stands up to help with the search for his daughter but is restrained by Meta Knight. He and his men assure him that they will handle things. Kirby and King Dedede quickly chip in as well, though Dedede just begins clinging to the king for a reward out of it. Meta Knight pulls him off, and the group set off to begin their mission.
Chapter 3: Baron Gallic and Princess Marona[edit]
Meanwhile in a hidden place, Baron Gallic is listening closely to Princess Marona, who is unnaturally frustrated, in order to give her a false sense of security and trust. Marona is convinced they must burn the recipe book she took but Gallic talks her out of this, as he clearly wants it for himself. Instead, she opens it up and spots a recipe that her mother once loved, and her anger fades to sorrow, though this is short lived. Gallic swiftly pulls out his mesmerizing red gem and draws her gaze to it, trapping her under his control yet again. Without much of a delay, the princess heads out the door, ready to destroy everything that has to do with sweets in Chiffon Star, and Gallic quickly follows behind in sly amusement.
Back at the castle, Meta Knight is questioning Marona's emotional maid in-waiting while Kirby and Dedede chow down on cakes being served to them without a care in the world. Ignoring them, the maid gives Meta Knight several crucial details; the most significant being that the king is good-hearted and always ensures the citizens' teeth are well kept with the best dental supplies—something Marona refuses to believe despite proof. This reminds Meta Knight that Blade Knight once visited Chiffon Star for a cavity, and Sword Knight immediately starts picking on Blade for it. Meta Knight quickly dismisses this and begins to tell the maid about Baron Gallic and what he's done. Suddenly the maid grows angry and starts defending and complimenting Gallic, saying that she cut ties with her "cruel" sister thanks to him. She goes on and on until Meta Knight is fed up and finally raises his voice at her to quiet down. Gentler now, he reminds her of how closely she and her sister bonded together in the past. Slowly but surely, she realizes she had also been hypnotized by Gallic, and can't remember when or how. Once calmed down, the maid points out there might be clues at Marona's favorite cake shop. Meta Knight commands his two men to continue collecting information at the castle and drags Kirby and Dedede away from the castle's food, shortly after heading off to the shop with them and Waddle Dee.
Chapter 4: The Reunion with the Two[edit]
Upon arriving at the cake shop, the group is greeted by an employee. Meta Knight starts questioning him about Marona, but suddenly, Marona herself conveniently barges in. Everyone is happy to see her again until she starts causing a fuss and throws a cake onto the floor, refusing to listen to Meta Knight's attempts to calm her down. Soon, cakes are flying all over the place, from Marona to some others that have been aggravated. While she's distracted, Meta Knight carefully sneaks behind her and gets a hold of her, drawing her attention to the mess she's caused. She tastes whipped cream that's been splattered on her face and stops everything as tears come to her face, having remembered her mother again from it. Before any comfort can be had, Baron Gallic bursts through the shop's window.
The reunion is short-lived, as Meta Knight draws his sword and goes for Gallic to keep Marona safe from him, but the man is cunning and easily dodges. Gallic gestures for Marona to come to him, but she refuses. Promptly, he pulls out his red gem and raises it high in the air for Marona to see, giving him the chance to carefully lead her away and forcing Meta Knight to look away. Though turned around, Meta Knight goes to swing at Gallic again when suddenly, King Dedede comes in, ready to attack Meta Knight after being possessed by the gem. Meta Knight is forced to avert his attention until Dedede gets himself stuck. The knight notices everyone in the shop has gone mad from seeing the gem and are attacking each-other with anything they can get their hands on. Reluctantly, he puts the concern of Marona aside to settle things down instead.
Kirby, lucky enough to not have been possessed, accidentally manages to get the employee from earlier back to normal after he tastes a bit of whipped cream. He yells at everyone to put a stop to the fighting, and slowly they do. Now that things in the shop are being settled, Meta Knight and Kirby are about to finally run after Gallic and Marona, but this time they're blocked by Waddle Dee, having also been possessed by the gem. He goes on the offensive, but Kirby is quick to jump in and get a hold of his friend to snap him out of it, making sure to also cheerfully comfort him. Seeing this, Meta Knight connects the dots and realizes that anyone possessed by Gallic's gem can be brought back to their senses if they remember something or someone important to them, but he isn't given much time to think. Now freed, Dedede comes over and aggressively scoops up Waddle Dee. Thankfully, Waddle Dee knows just what to do and starts saying different types of food aloud, eventually bringing Dedede to drop him and go back to normal. The three, now calmed down for the most part, set back off for the palace in hopes to get an idea of which cake shop Gallic and Marona might go next.
Chapter 5: The Showdown at the Royal Cake Factory[edit]
The group reunites with Sword and Blade Knight at Chiffon Castle, who haven't had much luck with Marona or Gallic. Marona's maid in-waiting and her sister, now on good terms, are explaining that it's almost impossible to guess what shop the two might target next, given the sheer amount of cake shops there are. The two sisters are going on and on when an explosion suddenly goes off out of nowhere at the nearby Royal Cake Factory, rattling the castle and everyone inside. The sisters stay behind, but Meta Knight and the rest of the group quickly run to investigate. Panic is ensuing in the factory as smoke engulfs everything inside. Some of the workers run up to Meta Knight, telling him everyone has gotten out except for the head honcho of the factory and the attackers—Marona and Gallic. Hearing this, Meta Knight and the group make haste.
Deeper inside of the factory, Gallic is having Marona beat down one of the factory's machines, though she is exhausted and having a hard time keeping up at this point. Before she can do anything more, the head of the factory runs up to her and pleads for her to stop. Gallic pulls out several throwing knives, preparing to silence him. Marona realizes what's about to happen and tries to tackle Gallic to stop him, but she's easily shaken off. Meta Knight jumps in at just the right time and blocks the knives with his sword, and the rest of the group joins him a few seconds later. Gallic does his best to keep them at bay, but realizes he's outnumbered and resorts to pulling out his hypnotizing gem. Everyone closes their eyes, except for Kirby who glares right at it and knocks Gallic down with an Air Bullet, completely unaffected by the gem. Meta Knight realizes that Kirby can't be affected by it because his constant thought of food blocks it out, explaining why the puffball didn't fall under Gallic's control at the cake shop earlier.
Meta Knight helps Marona out of harm's way while Kirby stays behind to deal with Gallic as the rest of the group watches from a distance. Eventually, now that he doesn't have enough time to hold out his gem, Gallic learns how to dodge Kirby's air bullets, but the puffball thinks up another plan in an instant. He turns to Sword and Blade and the knights realize what Kirby's about to do. They scramble to get behind one another, but Sword Knight is the unlucky one, as Kirby inhales him and gains the Sword Copy Ability. Using Spin Slash, Upward Slash, and Sword Dive, Sword Kirby almost finishes off Gallic, but he is too full of pride to give up. He whips out the gem quickly and manages to catch Blade Knight's gaze with its beauty, to everyone's dismay. Sword Kirby tries to stop him from going with Gallic, but his efforts are futile, and Blade and Gallic make their escape.
Chapter 6: Meta Knight's Deduction[edit]
Outside the factory, Meta Knight and Marona catch their breath after having ran all the way out. Having thought ahead, Meta Knight grabbed a treat for Marona while inside the factory and gives it to her now to calm her down. However, as it turns out, Marona was faking being under Gallic's control while inside the factory, and Meta Knight is quick to expose her for this as he noticed she had tried to save the head of the factory. She admits to this, saying the gem's control wore off on her after being used on her in the cake shop earlier, and that she personally chose to attack the factory with Gallic. She explains that before her mother passed away, she lived the casual way she wanted as her honest self, but not anymore, and wants to run free these days. Meta Knight acknowledges this and calmly walks away from the princess, stating that he won't stop her from doing whatever she likes. Surprised by this, Marona gives it some thought until eventually deciding to run off to find Gallic.
Meta Knight returns to the castle, promptly telling his friends and Marona's maid in-waiting that the princess willingly stayed away, coming as quite the shock to everyone. But before long, Meta Knight realizes Blade Knight is missing and Sword Knight gives him the bad news, having been released from Kirby's belly. Having thought ahead yet again, Meta Knight attached a tracking device onto Marona earlier without her knowing in order to track down Gallic's hideout, so he explains they'll have the chance to put a stop to Gallic's troublemaking for good and rescue their stolen companion as well. Meta Knight convinces King Dedede and Waddle Dee to stay behind to prepare for the king's birthday party so not to be possessed by the gem again, then heads back off with Kirby and Sword Knight, ready to save their knight friend.
Chapter 7: The Power of the Red Jewel[edit]
Back inside the hideout, Baron Gallic is laying out his plans for taking over the king's throne to Princess Marona and Blade Knight while one of his followers, Spear Cotta Knight, stays on guard. Gallic states the king must be killed for the plan to go accordingly. This momentarily snaps Marona out of the character she's put on as she desperately tries to come up with another solution, but Gallic isn't having it. He commands Blade to protect him from Meta Knight, though hearing the name of his master, Blade is released from Gallic's control for a few seconds. Gallic takes out his gem, referred to here on out as a "Malice Stone", and puts Blade back under his spell. Marona forces herself back into character after seeing it to go along with Gallic, even though she is steadily losing her faith the baron. Meta Knight, Kirby, and Sword Knight are just outside the hideout. Calmly, Sword allows Kirby to inhale him for the Sword ability. With a clash of their swords, Sword Kirby and Meta Knight race inside.
Spear Cotta Knight is quick to notice them and frantically reports back to Gallic, giving him only mere seconds to prepare as Sword Kirby and Meta Knight promptly rush into the room. Blade Knight attacks Meta Knight without hesitation, and Meta Knight almost manages to bring him back to normal, but Gallic reels him back in with the Malice Stone and forces Meta Knight to look away from it. Before Blade can strike the vulnerable masked swordsman, Sword Kirby rushes in to defend him. While Gallic is distracted with the Malice Stone, Marona springs up behind him and jerks it away. Gallic flings her towards the wall and Sword Kirby jumps in the way to soften the impact, knocking the puffball out and releasing Sword Knight from his belly. Marona had carelessly held the Malice Stone in plain sight, so now Blade and Sword were under Gallic's control, ready to attack. Marona hides the Malice Stone and Meta Knight leaps in towards his men, now able to see properly. Gallic rushes over to Marona while Meta Knight is kept busy, but before he can get the Malice Stone back, she throws it out the window to his dismay.
Baron Gallic hurriedly picks up the royal recipe book and grabs the princess with the plan of keeping her as a hostage instead. Gallic leaps out the window with Marona onto a flying vehicle in the shape of a boat, and Spear Cotta Knight begins steering it away. Meta Knight is unable to go after them until Kirby wakes back up and shoots an Air Pellet at Sword and Blade, proceeding to inhale them both. This gives Meta Knight the opening he needs, bursting out of the hideout without delay in pursuit of Gallic.
Chapter 8: The Hour of Conclusion[edit]
Before long, Marona manages to get a handle on the aircraft and forces it to crash into the ground below. Unharmed, she tries to snatch the recipe book from Gallic and he finally resorts to attacking her, but Meta Knight intervenes. Gallic, now having lost almost all sense of self, reveals that his motivations this entire time have been to please his Malice Stone by giving it all the treasures he can get his hands on, in turn giving him more power. Just then, Spear Cotta Knight finds the Malice Stone and hands it to Gallic. Having his eyes shielded by Marona, Meta Knight realizes all along the Malice Stone has been controlling Gallic and tells it straight to the desperate man. This angers him and again he tries to attack, forcing Meta Knight to stand back in front of Marona. This time, the Malice Stone's beauty reaches the knight's eyes. This leaves him vulnerable, as Gallic attacks him and splits his mask, quickly forcing the knight to hide his face.
Carefully, Gallic tries to coax the knight into leaving everything he's known to join him. It almost works, but Marona manages to help him remember what and who matters most to him. A surge of strength rushes over the swordsman, and by running through his mind the things he cares the most for, no longer averts his gaze and shatters the Malice Stone with his sword. Gallic loses it and breaks down, allowing Marona to casually take back the recipe book. Having been under the control of the stone, Spear Cotta Knight regains himself and runs back off to his world. Marona then turns to Meta Knight, but out of nowhere, he's disappeared.
Chapter 9: Take off Your Mask[edit]
Marona goes searching for Meta Knight and finds herself in a forest where the knight so happens to be up in the branches. The two walk together above and below. Marona starts talking to Meta Knight, confused why the Malice Stone wore off on her, but not on Gallic. He responds with saying unlike Gallic, she has strength of heart and people who care about her, which slowly made it difficult for the stone to take entire control over her. Marona then goes on to ask him why he hides his face with a mask, though he diverts the subject pretty quickly. The two reach the end of the forest, and Marona decides that she'll head back to the castle after all, just as a more honest person this time around. The two then parts ways. Eventually, Marona makes her way into Merengue's room without being seen by anyone else. The two emotionally reunite and admit their wrongdoings with each-other. She admits that she's been afraid to be herself all along, which is primarily why she left and caused so much havoc, and Merengue admits that he knew something was amiss, but didn't want to intervene with her supposed dedicated efforts as the princess. The two clear up their misunderstandings and lovingly embrace.
Chapter 10: Parting with the Princess[edit]
Back at the castle, the birthday party for Merengue is held at last, despite everything. Kirby, Sword, Blade, Waddle Dee, Marona, and the king himself are all concerned over Meta Knight, who hasn't showed up at the party yet. Suddenly the swordsman, now masked again, appears out of nowhere, scaring the life out of Dedede who was unconcerned. Everyone is happy to see him, and he explains he was getting Kawasaki to fix that cake for Merengue that he mentioned a while back earlier. Meta Knight and Kawasaki present the cake to Merengue shortly, and everyone is delighted, all quickly digging into the cake. A little later outside the castle, Marona meets back up with Meta Knight and tells him Gallic was arrested, how she cleared things up with her father, and has general chit-chat with him. Before long, Sword and Blade rush out and reunite with Meta Knight, and the three are ready to head off on their way. The story draws to its close as they all say their goodbyes and part ways.
Trivia[edit]
- In Chapter 2, Sword Knight and Blade Knight's story of how they were saved by Daroach after Baron Gallic hypnotized them ties into the previous novel. In it, Meta Knight sides with Daroach because he is indebted to him for this.
- In Chapter 8, Gallic's henchman Spear Cotta Knight references Claycia and Seventopia as he runs off, though neither Claycia nor Seventopia are explored in this novel and instead are saved for a later installment in the series. Notably, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse was released in Japan roughly only one month before Kirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess was published.
Gallery[edit]
- Illustrations
Chef Kawasaki makes the mistake of forgetting Sword Knight and Blade Knight's names
The group has a discussion and something to drink on the way to Chiffon Star
Captain Vul has no idea about the chaos he caused.
Meta Knight draws Galaxia and everyone is amazed
Sword is thoroughly enjoying how upset he's making Blade.
Kirby and King Dedede enjoy the food at Chiffon Castle
Meta Knight tries to reason with Marona
Waddle Dee blurts out all the food he can think of to bring Dedede back to normal
"Chocolate Parfait" and "Honey Pie"
Meta Knight and his men block Baron Gallic's throwing knives
Blade falls under the control of the Malice Stone
Princess Marona opens up to Meta Knight
Meta Knight, Sword, and Kirby head on their way to Gallic's hideout...
...and soon enough, they arrive right at its doors
Gallic escapes with Marona out the window while Meta Knight is preoccupied
Meta Knight destroys the Malice Stone once and for all
Kirby and the rest of the gang are all happy to see their masked friend
- Artwork
Meta Knight
Kirby
Blade Knight
Sword Knight
Baron Gallic
Princess Marona
King Dedede
Merengue XIII
Waddle Dee
Meta Knight (dust jacket illustration)
Kirby and Meta Knight (obi illustration)
Kirby, King Dedede, Waddle Dee, Meta Knight, Blade Knight and Sword Knight (table of contents illustration)
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 星のカービィ メタナイトとあやつり姫 hoshi no kābyi meta naito to ayatsuri-hime |
Kirby of the Stars: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess |
