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// Chapter 29: En Garde Redux 
// Story: Guest Star Kelduo: Justice from Afar 
// by The Kelduo 
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Ember seemed annoyed when I had returned to the Dragon Lands. "Ugh, I can't believe that the dragons didn't think you were a true warrior after they'd seen your face. I trusted Smolder that Kirby was a hero, so why not you? You're the whole package: mask, cape, and sword. Even if you look kind of adorable behind the mask, you have the heart of a warrior, which leads me to ask you: back for more?"

"A warrior's training is never complete. Previously, I believed you were just another creature for me to defeat, but now, I see no reason to hold back this time, knowing that you are the Dragon Lord and not just an average dragon."

"It's about time you became a real threat!" Ember breathed a burst of flames. I used that to my advantage by holding my sword to it, infusing my sword with fire. "Impressive use of your opponent's attack, but you cannot infuse your sword with close-combat attacks that don't have an element!" Ember rushed in for a series of claw attacks, but I retaliated with Galactic Counter. "Do you really think that would hurt much? Dragons are resistant to fiery attacks!"

"Every dragon has its weakness. I know because of my experience with battling dragons." I thrust my sword into the ground, creating a blazing tornado between me and Ember. I then burst through it to strike with Meta Multislash, catching Ember off-guard.

"What a cowardly maneuver," Ember boasted, "hiding behind a tornado of flame. Let me show you how it's done!" Ember charged up for a fire attack, but I thrust my sword into her open mouth, causing her to take great damage.

"Not so fireproof on the inside, are you?" I quoted from a certain dragon movie.

Ember growled, "Enough fooling around! It's time to finish this!" She aimed her staff at me for a powerful beam attack, but something caught our attention. "Watch out for that meteor!"

I opened my cape. "Get in my cape. Trust me, or risk getting struck by that meteor." Ember hesitantly got under my Dimensional Cape as I wrapped it around us, causing us to teleport somewhere nearby. The ground shook as something crashed into the Dragon Lands.

I unwrapped my cape, revealing a very surprised Ember. "That... was quite impressive."

"Be impressed later. I'm going to find out what happened." I investigated the crash site, and I found a neon purple, stellar creature. "It's a Minior. If we don't act fast, it may lose its life in this atmosphere due to not having a protective outer shell."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to contain it so as to prevent it or anything around it from being harmed." I took out a Poke Ball and threw it at the Minior. It covered the Minior in a bright light, which got sucked back into the Ball. The Poke Ball rocked once, twice, three times... Click! I put the full Poke Ball in my pocket. "Now, I must take this creature to a colleague of mine, who might be able to take care of it."

"It was an honor to battle you, Meta Knight." Ember held out her claw.

I shook Ember's claw. "The honor is mine."

I turned to leave, only to look into the eyes of a small fairy that looked similar to a paintbrush. "Meta Knight, are you okay? That Minior could have hurt you."

"I am better than okay, thanks to my duel with Dragon Lord Ember. Elline, was it?" I handed Elline the Poke Ball. "Please take this Minior to my metal ally, Roborygon. He might be able to use it for something." Elline nodded and flew away. I turned to Ember. "I have to admit, that battle was somewhat exhausting, and it's getting dark. Would you mind if I slept here in the Dragon Lands for the night?"

"Of course. That's the least I can do for a warrior that gave me a good fight."