Fallen Stars: A New Age

Act 1 - Chapter Four: Helplessness

This inner space was filled with everything one could hope for; life, food, dreams, hopes, friends… Name it, and one could find it. Memories were stored here; bubbles floating among the stars, carriers of souvenirs, messengers of times past and times to come. He loved to look into these bubbles. The dreams they gave him were always warm and he would always wake with a smile. Which bubble would he step into this time? There were so many to choose from, so many dreams to jump into, so many paths to take!

And yet…

When he turned around in this large space, he noticed, in a lone corner of his inner sanctum, one bubble that didn't seem like the others. Stepping closer to it, overcome by curiosity, he looked at it. No matter which angle he took, however, he couldn't recognize the image reflected off of it. There was a child in there… Just like him… crying… in front of the remains… of a Kabu…? What was this? He couldn't remember this. Maybe if he stepped into it, he would remember…

Alas, as he outstretched his hand and reached for the lost memory, the bubble popped, and from it, a terribly dark emptiness spread like a swarm of inky bugs crawling all over him. They covered the sanctum, they invaded the memories, ate away at them, laughed at the life they were taking away, laughed at the emptiness that soon replaced everything this Universe stood for. He desperately reached out for the fading dream, for the vanishing light, calling out and screaming out while the nothingness took over his mouth and words…

The eye appeared.

It opened, slowly, one inch at a time, and remained but a half-closed eyelid.

The red of this globe of fleshy matter was so bright, so invading and so horrifying that his own eyes burned away and melted off, while his screams could be heard by no one but him


The trip back into reality was a harsh one; it felt like he had fallen off of a building so high he couldn't see the ground, and had fallen right inside his body, causing him to jerk straight forward with a shout. His heart was nothing but a drum inside his burning chest, which was so hurting he had to grasp it to make sure it was still there. As a reflex, he brought his hand to his eyes and palpated his eyelids; there were still there… Good…

It took Kirby a long time to calm down, and even more time to realize he had stopped breathing. His body began to puff up and down, slowly, with each slow breath he took, and after a while, his heart rate went back to normal, allowing him to think. What a horrible dream this had been… What was he thinking? This had been no dream. This had been a nightmare! A real nightmare! Just like the night before! What a strange one… It had felt so… real…

Once more, he brought his hands to his eyes. They still tingled with the feeling of being melted by the red glow of this giant eye… This eye… What was the meaning behind this? The day before, when he had questioned his mentor about dreams, Sir Meta Knight had mentioned having a real nightmare once, as a child, when the stars sent him a message. Was it the same for him? Was he just not understanding this message? Maybe… he really should describe it more to Sir Meta Knight… Maybe he knew something he didn't. He scoffed lightly. Of course he knew something he didn't, it was Meta Knight! The man could know the deepest secrets of the Universe for all he knew! And he still wouldn't say anything about it unless it was at the last minute.

With a sigh, Kirby looked outside. By the light, he could tell it was still early, perhaps barely past seven in the morning. But… where was Tokkori? It wasn't like him to be an early bird and to be out of bed so soon in the day. Oh well, Kirby thought. It wasn't like he really cared about Tokkori's business right now anyway; he had more urgent matters to take in hand. He really needed to talk to Sir Meta Knight about this. Maybe during their training session of today would be a good opportunity to bring it up. Yes, that was a good plan.

Slowly, Kirby slid out of bed and onto his shaky feet; it took him a moment longer to steady himself, and he found his body somewhat heavier. This was such a strange feeling, waking up after a nightmare… To think his dream had set out to be an interesting one too… That image still stuck to his mind; the one of himself crying before a broken Kabu. Where did it come from? Kabu had never been broken like this, and he didn't recognize the setting either. In the image, there was grass and trees all around, with the enchanting and melancholy lights of insects flying around him. There wasn't a single tree near Kabu in the canyon… How strange this was…

When he stepped outside, it didn't take Kirby long to realize something; today was quite windy. Very windy. As soon as he stepped out, the door closed behind him under the force of a sudden gale that forced him to raise his arms. Just great. He wasn't particularly a fan of breezy days, mainly because the boy was so light he could easily be lifted off of the ground by the wind. He didn't want to say it, but it sometimes embarrassed him when it happened at unpredicted times, say, when he was trying to say something and he would just get flung up into the air without warning. Maybe that was why his mentor was wearing metal boots; to keep some weight down there so he wouldn't fly off. Maybe he could try out the boots sometime to see if it made a difference.

Trying to put all of his weight down to his feet, Kirby started walking down the road to the village, thinking about getting breakfast at a café this morning to get his mind off of his dream for now. He was quite hungry, after all, as usual.

However, when he was just halfway across the road, he heard a thundering roar echo across the skies, making him look up in an instant. As he expected after hearing such a familiar noise, Dyna Blade suddenly appeared over the horizon; she was gliding up above the land, barely beating her wings, and her head was lowered, as if she was searching for something. She screeched again before making a turn and heading toward town, and one single flap of her wings caused a sudden gale upon the field that forced Kirby on the ground to stop himself from flying off. He waited until the wind dropped before looking back up with a concerned look about his face. Something was clearly wrong. Dyna Blade was only like that whenever her chick ran off without her permission; actually, she almost looked like she had been hunting, like those prey birds that flew in circles in the skies while searching for food. As far as Kirby knew, her hunting territory wasn't here near the town, but more toward the deeper woods, so why was she hunting here of all places? Had her chick vanished again?

With worry spreading inside him for his friend, Kirby ran forward as fast as he could, toward the town. Dyna Blade's chick, which the townsfolk had kindly renamed Dyno, had always been, from the moment of the bird's birth and to now, one of Kirby's dearest animal friends, and every time something happened to it, the Star Warrior always did his best to come to his aid, whether the chick was up against a hungry demon-beast or simply lost, as was most often the case.

When he arrived into the streets of Pupu Village, Kirby could clearly see the town was in disarray; many windows were hastily barred with wooden planks and so were a lot of doors. But what surprised Kirby more was the destruction that had taken over the streets; even more windows were broken into pieces, strewn across the paved road, benches and trees were cut down into pieces and sometimes even uprooted… The villagers were hard at work repairing everything and cleaning it all, but when Kirby passed through, many of them heaved a sigh of relief, often waving over to him and saying things like:

"Aah, finally!"

"Our problems are over."

"Kirby's here! Whatever was here yesterday is as good as gone now!"

Whatever was here…? Had a demon-beast attacked last night and Kirby hadn't even been aware of it? How could that be? Demon-beasts were usually and most often after him more than anything else; even when they'd just wander into town, they'd track him down immediately and aim straight for him, so why would one just attack the town and not come over to his house? Not that he was complaining, it was even the opposite; with the way he had slept last night, he wouldn't have been able to properly fight back upon awakening anyway.

"Oy, Kirby! Over here!"

He looked down the street. It was Honey and Iroo, two of their friends who had come back for the New Year's festival. They waved over to him and Iroo called:

"Bun's looking for you, Kirb! He's over at Yabui's, go there quick!"

The doctor's? Was someone hurt?! With a paling face, Kirby waved them thanks and quickly ran past them without a word. What was going on?! What kind of demon-beast was it? Was it even a demon-beast? Or something worse? In his head, Kirby quickly went through all of his lessons on demon-beasts, through all of the types of demons, their moves, their attacks, their behaviour, and he thought of a few who could be able to uproot trees and smash houses and lamp posts, but most of them were huge. A large A-rank demon-beast would surely leave a clear imprint of its presence everywhere, but despite the broken windows and the trees, there was nothing else, not even footprints. A light but efficient destruction.

Before he reached the doctor's office, however, Kirby came upon what looked like a crime scene. Chief Borun had sealed off a whole portion of a four-way intersection with caution warning tape. There were a few villagers around the scene, murmuring among each other and staring, but no sign of the police officer. Curious yet dreadful, Kirby walked closer and took a peak at the crime scene past the yellow tape; and what he saw made him pale immediately.

There was blood everywhere on the ground, splattered in various directions, with a clear single spot where the most blood had been spilled. Whatever had been here had struggled a good ways across the road, by the way the blood was spread on the ground. What shocked Kirby the most, however, wasn't the amount of blood, but what he saw stuck in its dry surface; feathers, very large, yellow and orange ones, cast in blood. There were claw marks all over the ground as well, showing that whoever was here had struggled and fought back.

Again, he heard the villagers whisper.

"Good, he's here. Maybe Dyna Blade will calm down."

"Yeah, but still… Dyno's hurt pretty badly I heard…"

"What matters is that Kirby catches that demon-beast before anyone else is hurt. Just wait, he'll find it by the end of the day."

"If you say so…"

Kirby's eyes widened. Dyno was hurt. And by the amount of blood on the ground, it wasn't just the usual scratch. With his heart pumping adrenaline into his legs, Kirby took off running once more, forgetting everything about his dream or what he had wanted to do this morning. If one of his friends was hurt because he hadn't been awake at the right time to stop an attack, he wouldn't forgive himself until the culprit was dealt with; but first, he needed to assess the situation.

Another surprise waited for him at the doctor's office; not only was there a crowd surrounding the modest little house, but Dyna Blade herself was perched upon the house's rooftop, unmoving except for her head, which kept turning in every directions every time someone approached the surrounding area. And when Kirby arrived, she locked eyes with him; and Kirby saw all of her worry, all of her concern for her unique chick, and all of her helplessness. Kirby gulped down a ball of saliva blocking his throat, but no words could come out, or would come out. Instead, Kirby looked back down and ran right through a path the crowd had made for him and through the door. He went straight for the back room where Doctor Yabui performed his operations, and what he found here horrified him greatly.

Surrounding a bed were Bun, Fumu, Yabui and Blade, who all turned to him when he arrived. But Kirby only looked at what lay on the bed. He barely recognized the usually chirpy bird; it was laying on its side, with its head laid on a pillow, and all of its abdomen and neck were tightly wrapped in thick bandages that heavily smelled of medicine. Although it had a pained look about its face, the chick didn't seem to have too much trouble breathing and was apparently in a deep sleep, perhaps under anaesthetics. Without a word, Kirby walked closer to the bed and stood by its side, taking a closer look at his friend in dismay. After a short moment, he turned to look at everyone else, each of them for a few seconds into their eyes.

"What did this to him?"

Blade answered, while crossing his arms over his chest and lowering his head.

"An unknown demon-beast. Sword and Bun were unable to catch it."

"When did it happen?" Kirby asked, his tone getting quicker. "Why didn't anyone come to wake me up?"

"It happened yesterday, at around eight o'clock. Sir Meta Knight told us not to come get you," Blade continued, calmly, while Kirby's cheeks immediately turned red as he took an indignant look.

"He did?!" he spoke loudly. "But why?! It's my job to take care of demon-beasts around here! How am I supposed to do just that when no one tells me when I'm needed?!"

"Kirby, calm down," Fumu tried to coax him down, taking a step toward him as she raised her hands. "I'm sure he had a good reason to let you sleep. Right Blade?"

The knight nodded his head and looked back up at Kirby; by the tired look about his face, the knight hadn't slept a wink either it seemed.

"Right. Sir Meta Knight said you needed rest for today's training. He said to meet him later at the usual time and place-"

"Hey, wait just one second!" Kirby cut him off suddenly. "He expects me to train today with all that going on?! While a demon-beast's on the loose? That's just stupid! I should be-"

But Blade lifted his hand in Kirby's face, palm first, making the younger warrior stop in an instant. The green knight put his fists on his hips and took on a dead serious gaze to stare him down into quietness.

"That's exactly right. You're going to train in an hour, while we take care of this. Sir Meta Knight instructed us to track down the demon-beast, and we will do as he asked. There's no reason for you to push aside your training for a runaway demon. And that's final. Got it?"

Kirby didn't answer; even looking at Bun wasn't bringing comfort or relief, and instead, he only looked down at his feet, giving a weak nod as a response. He heard the knight sigh and saw his pose relax a bit, and he extended a hand toward the bird on the bed.

"Meanwhile, we do have something you can help with," he said. "In order to calm Dyna Blade down, we need to bring her chick back to their nest atop their mountain."

Kirby was surprised to hear that, and he looked up at his feathery friend in worry.

"Are you sure he's okay enough to bring him out there?" he asked, to which Yabui answered:

"That little guy should be just fine for now. I'll take care of seeing him from time to time to see how well he's healing."

"We're mostly doing this to calm his mother," Fumu added. "Is she still on the roof?"

"Yeah, and she's not looking really happy…," Kirby responded.

"Good," Doctor Yabui spoke up. "If she sees us bringing her chick back, she might just let me into their nest without too much problem. If I can get away without being pecked over and over, it'd be nice! Are we going now?"

Without further ado, they set to work; using teamwork, they managed to lift the bird onto a stretcher, but the large animal was much heavier than they thought and they needed the four of them to hold each side of the stretcher, while Yabui remained by its side to keep an eye on the bird. As soon as they walked out of the office, they observed Dyna Blade's reaction and they weren't surprised to see her screech out as soon as she spotted her chick. She opened her wings and flew down to the ground, where the gathered crowd immediately dispersed with surprised calls, to lower her head to their level, but when she saw that her chick wasn't responding to her calls, she grew anxious and agitated, fidgeting and tapping her claws everywhere even as the group kept on walking on the road.

She followed them all the way through town and through the road and the meadow, not once lashing out at any of them despite their first worries. She allowed them to step on the road to their lonely peak and spiral up all the way to the grotto, and when they arrived near the nest, she watched anxiously as they carefully lifted the smaller bird inside it. Kirby made sure that it was laying on the right side and that it was comfortable before jumping out of the nest. With the others, he watched from the grotto's entrance as Dyna Blade carefully stepped into the giant nest and moved feathers and down in favour of her chick's comfort. Then, she laid down on top of it, puffing her feathers to cover him in a blanket of warmth. All she did, in the end, was send them a stare that seemed to thank them, and they left soon after.

Blade, Bun and Yabui all went back to town, but Kirby and Fumu stayed behind on the road, watching them leave in silence. Kirby hadn't spoken a word since they left the office, and Fumu could see very clearly that he was upset at being left behind during this small crisis. She knew him too well. And so, when they were finally alone, she stepped in front of Kirby, making him stop and look up. She carefully kneeled down to his level, then offered him a kind and warm smile, one that resulted in Kirby lowering his head again.

"You're upset that you can't go demon hunting?"

His head shot up immediately, cheeks puffed up and bright red.

"Of course I'm upset!" he answered indignantly. "I've been doing nothing but training every single day, and it's been ages since a demon-beast's been here. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna slack off, I'd at least get to be in a fight, and I can help the village! And Bun didn't even try to convince him to let me go with them… It's like he doesn't even want me to help…"

With a pout, he crossed his arms and looked away, tapping his foot annoyingly on the ground. In response, Fumu only gave an amused smirk, but an understanding light still glowed in her eyes. She straightened her back.

"Oh, I see. You're jealous that Bun can go hunting and not you, is that right?"

Kirby's eyes widened in surprise and his cheeks grew red again, but this time in embarassment, and he refused to look her way even more, answering in a stutter:

"Me? J-jealous? Pff! I would never!"

Fumu gave a giggle, one that made him look back toward her as she raised her hand to her mouth. She smiled at him, as if she saw right through him like an open book, and her eyes glowed with kindness.

"You know," she said, "Bun always wanted to be like you. He envied your awesome powers, your strength and your courage to face every foe sent your way."

Kirby lost his pout, and listened, calmly, as she spoke about their brother.

"When he was young," she said, "much before you arrived here, he was a bit more… frail. He would get sick easily, and he was the laziest. Whenever he was asked to make some sort of effort, he would turn away and scoff. Although the scoffing hasn't gone, since you arrived, he's changed."

She looked at him, and her smile grew nostalgic.

"That's mostly why he always follows you in your adventures," she continued. "He always let you take on the demon-beasts back then, only because he lacked the strength to do it himself. But, now that he's following Sword and Blade's training, he has the strength he was looking for. And now, he wants to take care of that demon-beast, so you won't have to do it yourself, because he cares for you. Do you understand what I'm talking about, Kirby?"

Kirby blinked, slowly. He hadn't truly realized until now that that was how Bun felt. He had felt, ever since Bun started training with the knights, that there must have been a good reason why Bun chose such a path out of all the possibilities he had been offered up until now, but to think it was because of him… The young Star Warrior sighed. Now he felt very silly. Not only was Bun trying to have his own adventures and trying to hone his own strength through demon hunting, he was also trying to prevent Kirby from straying from his important training. How could he not see that?

A hand on his shoulder made him look back up, and his big sister smiled down at him.

"But," Kirby said in a low voice, "aren't you worried for him? You saw what that demon did to Dyno… If I'm not there to protect him…"

Her smile didn't waver.

"Of course I'm worried," she answered. "That doesn't mean I don't believe in him. In either of you, as a matter of fact. I'm your sister, Kirby. We're all family. It's practically always been my job to worry for the both of you."

She then bowed forward and lifted the young man in her arms, taking him by surprise when his feet couldn't touch the ground anymore. She had certainly grown taller since the first time she had hugged him like this…

"I'm very, very grateful that Bun has a little brother like you," she spoke in his ear before planting a sweet kiss on his cheek.

Shocked, Kirby stood immobile in her arms for a short moment, until a smile found its way on his face. He hugged her back, tightly.

They both let go of each other soon after, and Kirby took a step back, his hands fidgeting almost nervously as he said:

"Sorry for being a bit, uh, weird. I didn't mean to doubt anyone, especially not Bun, I just…"

He gave a heavy sigh and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"I haven't been sleeping well lately… I guess I'm just not thinking straight, hehe."

She looked at him quizzically, cocking her head to the side.

"You haven't been sleeping well?" she repeated. "What do you mean? You always get so tired after a day of training, I thought you'd be able to sleep like a log."

But instead of giving a proper response, he shook his head dismissively with a wave of his hand, giving her a shy smile that he wanted to be reassuring.

"Don't worry, I don't have trouble falling asleep. I just have weird dreams, it's nothing. Should we go back? I'll be late for my meeting with Sir Meta Knight."

And the boy didn't even allow her a chance to ask anything more, as he already walked past her, gesturing her to follow as he went back on the road. Confused and thoughtful by his words, Fumu stood up and followed him by his side, silently casting a glance his way. She had sensed that Kirby's mind was elsewhere entirely since the moment he had walked into the doctor's office; now, she could see it plain as day.


They arrived at the training meadow right on time; and sure enough, Sir Meta Knight was already there. The man could be seen sitting under the shade of a tree, staring off into space as per usual. Before they got any closer, however, Fumu leaned in and whispered:

"He's still a bit sick, so you'll have to be mindful of that today. He looked dead tired this morning."

No kidding, Kirby thought. If that demon-beast showed up last night, then his mentor must have ran around all night long as well. It couldn't be good for his health… With that in mind, he gave her a solid nod of the head and told her:

"Alright, I'll be careful. I'll see you later for lunch, then?"

She smiled and nodded as well.

"Of course. Good luck, Kirby."

She kneeled down to hug him again, a hug he gladly gave right back, and he waved her goodbye before heading toward the tree, while she turned around and left on her own. Even from a distance, he could feel a certain heaviness emanating from his mentor, just like the day before when they had talked on the couch. Today, Kirby told himself, he would work extra hard, just so his mentor could feel a bit better.

However, when he drew near, Kirby saw that he wasn't staring into space; he was looking down at his hand, or rather, at something in his hand. He had seen this object before; the leaf-shaped brooch. He still had no idea what this was for or what it represented, but the way his teacher was looking at it seemed… melancholic. Surely it was a memento of the past, although Kirby had no idea of what exactly. Was it from a friend? Or a family member? Or someone more… important? He could only guess at this point, and he doubted simply asking him would lead to satisfying answers. Taking a deep breath, Kirby finally reached the tree, and upon his arrival, Meta Knight looked up from the object; his eyes lit up in a reassuring way, one that made Kirby smile an honest smile and wave.

"Good morning, Sir Meta Knight!"

"Good morning, Kirby," the knight answered in a hoarse voice that almost made his pupil cringe before clearing his sore throat. "How are you today?"

"I'm… I'm good," Kirby hesitated. "What about you? Do you feel a bit better than yesterday?"

"Yes," he answered in a light tone that sounded honest. "I do feel better, at least I can go around as I please, and we can go back to your training. I apologize for making you wait."

As his teacher stood from his sitting place and put the brooch back into a hidden back pocket, Kirby waved a hand nonchalantly with a chuckle.

"There's no problem, I don't mind waiting! Besides, you told me yourself that we have all the time in the world, so I try to keep that in mind."

Meta Knight hummed a bit in an odd way, but quickly cast it aside as he asked:

"Alright then, are you ready to start for today?"

But, once again, Kirby hesitated. If he wanted answers about his dreams, it was now or never. He slightly raised a hand, opening his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. How would he ask that? How could he know that Sir Meta Knight would even have answers to begin with? At any rate, it would still be best to ask than to keep it to himself… would it?

"Is something the matter, son?"

Kirby blinked. Here was that strange sensation again, strange yet comforting, all because of a single word. Son. It made him smile lightly, and he answered:

"No, I… There's nothing wrong. I'm okay to start whenever you want to!"

Meta Knight stared at him for a moment, his thoughts completely unreadable, a book in a foreign tongue, with eyes that read every angle of his face, every inch and crevasse of his mind, and Kirby knew that his mentor knew. Something was wrong, but a wall of silence still separated them, still kept them inches apart, a distance far enough so that they couldn't speak freely. And so, Meta Knight gave a nod.

"I see. Well, then, let's start right now. Come this way."

And Kirby followed him, immediately regretting his decision not to say anything.


When he was given a break, later that day, the young Star Warrior went back to town to join with Fumu to have lunch with her at Kawasaki's, and as he thought she would, she questioned him about his training.

"How did it go this morning?"

He answered the usual, that he still hadn't succeeded in seeing anything, but that he made some notable progress on his physical abilities, such as having a better posture that allowed him to have a generally better stance and sense of balance, attributes that worked wonders in every domain, both mentally and physically. Because of this, Kirby said, Meta Knight thought that Kirby was ever closer to being able to see the path he was looking for. As he was retelling all of this, Fumu was eating in silence and listening carefully, not once interrupting him, but when he was done and he faded in a particularly heavy silence, she noticed he was only staring at his food without touching it.

"You said this morning that you weren't sleeping well," she said. "Can you tell me about those dreams of yours?"

However, Kirby wasn't able to answer; as he was opening his mouth to speak, a booming voice echoed from outside the restaurant, taking everyone inside it by surprise, and they all turned to the door as the familiar voice called out:

"Commoners! I have an announcement! Your amazing king has made a great decision for you, dear citizens!"

Fumu sighed. What was Dedede up to again? Whenever he started a speech with these words, it never meant anything good for them; in fact, it was usually the opposite. The restaurant quickly emptied when the king began to speak, with the cappies all talking among each other, wondering what the king could possibly have done in their favour this time around. Kirby and Fumu both stood as well, deciding to see that announcement for themselves, and they found King Dedede outside in the main plaza, with a megaphone up to his beak. A crowd was building up around him as he stood atop his luxurious car of gold, with old Escargon sitting in the front seat. Usually, Kirby could weight the stupidity of Dedede's announcements by his side-kick's expressions alone, but the elderly snail looked… relieved. Would it be a good decision for once?

"I heard your pleas, dear commoners!" Dedede continued in a dramatic fashion. "The demon-beast who attacked our town is a pest that must be dealt with at once!"

"Hey, how do we know you didn't send it?" someone lost in the crowd called out, bringing their fellow citizens in with the accusations.

"Who said that?!" Dedede angrily called, looking around the plaza with burning eyes.

"This time," Escargon said from his seat, "His Majesty didn't do anything. Besides, he can't buy any demon-beasts anymore, remember? Yesterday, that demon also attacked the castle, though the damage is much less significant than it is here."

Those words of an old snail who grew to be respected in the town reduced the shouts to whispers as a rumour spread on the plaza, and the king straightened himself, calling:

"That's right! And since Kirby's too lazy to do anything to help this poor little town," Kirby frowned upon those words, "I contacted real demon-beast hunters who'll take care of the job in no time!"

Demon-beast hunters? The rumour across the plaza grew in loudness, while Kirby frowned still. He knew he should have went with Sword, Blade and Bun this morning… Speaking of the devil, he heard Bun's voice shout from the back of the crowd, making him turn.

"What the hell, Dedede! We're already on that job of looking for the demon! You tryna replace us or what?"

But as Blade attempted to shut him up before he spat out more insults, the king stomped his foot on the car, calling out:

"You guys've been on it since yesterday! And I ain't seen you catch any trace of that demon! So you guys'll be workin' with an expert from now on, so I expect results, got that, kiddo?"

Before Bun could shout some more, the mayor stepped a bit closer, taking his hat off respectfully as he asked:

"Excuse me Your Majesty, but what kind of expert are we talking about? Are they warriors, or mercenaries, or is it someone like that Knuckle Joe fellow?"

Dedede shook his head, answering:

"I'm talkin' about real experts! Escargon, show him the pamphlet."

Escargon took his sweet time getting out of the car, and when he finally stepped on the ground, he handed the mayor a pamphlet, one that neither Kirby nor Fumu could see from this distance. Of course, everyone around the old cappy got very close, and a cocoon of cappies formed around the mayor, whose voice could still be heard as he read the pamphlet.

"'The Demon Hunter Agency'…Mmh. Sounds nice. 'The Demon Hunter Agency is the unique answer to your demon-beast problem. No matter the class or the size, the D.H.A. is here for your needs.'"

As the mayor kept on reading the promotional paper praising the level of skill and aptitude of the Agency, both Fumu and Kirby turned when they heard the familiar steps of metal on the paved road. Meta Knight walked a bit closer, wrapped in his cape, and he chuckled a bit when he listened to the mayor reading.

"They actually made it sound good," he commented in a low voice, making Fumu slightly widen her eyes.

"You knew about this Agency?" she asked, to which he nodded.

"Of course I did," he answered.

Kirby noticed a few cappies nearby turning to listen to the knight upon hearing those words, and Meta Knight continued, as if not minding that they could hear him.

"The Demon Hunter Agency is an organization comprised of veteran warriors and Star Warriors from the Galaxy Soldier Army," he explained to the two of them, and unknowingly, to the people surrounding him. "I myself, along with Sword, Blade and Bun, am part of it, although I don't actively participate in the Agency's affairs. They work to continue what the GSA failed to do, and until now, they've been doing an admirable job, despite our low numbers. Even though Bun doesn't seem to agree, I think it's a good move on His Majesty's part to call on them."

"Veteran Star Warriors?" Kirby repeated, widening his eyes. "So, all of your friends are working there?"

"Those who were found, yes," he answered with a nod. "Many young people are also joining the ranks, and so did your friends Silica and Joe. My good friend Arthur is our leader once more, as he proved in the past to be a most capable leader, and I see now that he's done a good job promoting the Agency. To think they would make actual pamphlets…"

He gave a chuckle at the thought, and Kirby smirked. So that explained what they had all talked about yesterday, and it did prove that Bun knew more than he was allowed to share. He had only been very vague when questioned the day before, and he understood why at least.

"Do you think they'll send Joe here?" he asked toward Fumu, who looked down at him and shrugged.

"Mmmh," the mayor hummed at the front of the crowd, having finally finished reading. "This Agency sounds interesting, Your Majesty. Do you know which warrior they will send here to help?"

Kirby and all the others who had turned to Sir Meta Knight turned around to face the king once more, as the great penguin placed his hands on his hips proudly.

"Yep! I actually talked to the guy. It's a strong-lookin' fellow by the name Galacta Knight, and he'll be here tomorrow mornin', so make sure he feels welcome!"

"What?! Galact-!"

Kirby turned around immediately to face his mentor, as did a few others, only to see a brief flash of surprised white sweep through his eyes. His gaze grew piercing, angry even, to a point Kirby had never seen before, and without a word, the knight whipped around and left, his step fast yet heavy. Shocked by his reaction that differed entirely from his previous mood, Kirby gave a quick look up in Fumu's direction, only to see her gesture toward the knight for him to follow, and he nodded, before running after him.

Kirby was surprised at how quick he was despite being sick, and he would have saluted his stamina if not for the terrible feeling he was getting from his teacher. Instead, he did his best to keep up with him, and they eventually found themselves alone in a street, in which Kirby doubled his speed and finally caught up to him.

"Sir Meta Knight, wait!" he called when he finally reached his side. "Who is this Galacta Knight? Is he an enemy?"

Meta Knight stopped walking all of a sudden, causing Kirby to almost trip on his own feet. The knight stared ahead at nothing during a long moment of heavy silence. During this whole time, his gaze steadily grew from terribly angry to completely unreadable, and he held his cape tighter around him before walking again, with Kirby right by his side.

"Break is over," was all he answered.

Kirby was at a loss for what to do or say. Meta Knight very rarely got angry, if ever, and to feel such rage radiating from his body made his own heart beat loudly, as if he was afraid he would lash out on him. But Meta Knight did no such thing, and he remained quiet during the whole trip back to the meadow.

Once there, Meta Knight walked up to the equipment Kirby used during his training and picked up a glaive, which he threw back to Kirby. The young warrior instinctively inhaled it and took the Sword ability in hand as its warm hat sat on his head, suddenly giving him a burst of energy. He watched in surprise as Meta Knight drew out his own blade and turned to face him, a good distance from him across the meadow, and took a fighting stance. So they were going to spar this afternoon. Exactly what they both needed, indeed.

Kirby took his own fighting stance, lifted his blade next to his face as he readied himself… and the two Star Warriors ran at each other, blades glinting in the afternoon light.


It was only much, much later, when the sun was going down over the horizon, casting its warm evening rays on the land, when Kirby planted his sword in the ground and fell on his back, heaving out a deep, tired sigh, that his mentor went back to being himself.

"Galacta Knight is not an enemy."

Kirby looked up; his teacher was standing a few feet away, looking down at Galaxia's kind glow. The light emanating from the blade fluctuated regularly, as if it was speaking words in the wind, words only the knight, its owner, could hear. Meta Knight slowly looked up at Kirby, completely calm and collected once more.

"Tomorrow, we shall do our best to work efficiently with him, and should he ask any questions about anything, you must answer honestly. I don't know how long he'll stay here, but I suppose we must put up with it. Understood?"

Still panting, Kirby nodded his head, finding no current voice to answer, and he let his head fall back on the grass, closing his eyes for a moment. He had barely eaten his lunch this noon and he was so hungry he was seeing stars… but he was still thinking about this mysterious warrior.

"Who is he?" he asked.

There was silence a moment, and he thought Meta Knight wouldn't answer… but it came, in a soft, nostalgic sigh.

"We were brothers once. Family. Cousins, to be exact."

Kirby opened his eyes. Family? How strange to hear him speak of his family…

"Once?" he repeated. "Not anymore?"

"No. Long ago, Galacta betrayed my trust, and I lost all my pride because of him. He deserted the army, and I never heard of him again until now. I thought he had died."

Kirby grew downcast. They were family, and yet the knight clearly resented him… This wasn't how brothers should be…

"Maybe he's different now," he said in a soft voice, to which the knight responded:

"That, I will have to judge myself. Do not worry yourself with all this, Kirby. Let him do his job, and let us deal with our family affair. Tomorrow, when he arrives here, do not judge him over my own impression of him. If he really is the same as before, I think you two will actually get along."

"Really?" Kirby asked, a small smile finding its way to his lips. "What kind of guy is he?"

Meta Knight hummed lightly, thinking of the right choice of words to use to describe his cousin, looking in the distance as he did.

"He is a lovable idiot," was his answer. "Dumb and reckless, but loyal and kind. Prideful as well. He basically ruined my life, but… I suppose he did have his good side."

Kirby wanted to laugh at first at the way he described him, but he couldn't help but frown a bit upon hearing those words.

"Ruined your life…?" he repeated. "Was it really that bad? What did he do?"

But, Meta Knight only shook his head, before taking his sword out of the ground and sheathing it in its scabbard.

"If you don't mind, I do not wish to talk about it. Perhaps another time, when you are older. Then, I will tell you everything."

His mentor looked his way.

"For now, though, I want you to be nice to him, because he certainly will be to you. Understood?"

Kirby nodded his head before looking back at the sky, without a word. When he was older, huh? What could it be? Did he really have to wait even more time before he got told that most important of stories? Surely, Meta Knight had a lot of things to tell him, a lot of things he was hiding from the world… and Kirby wanted to know. The young Star Warrior heard his steps get closer, and he turned, only to see him extend a hand to him, his eyes kind.

"How about we go eat dinner at Kawasaki's tonight?" the knight proposed, and Kirby's eyes lit up in an instant.

He immediately took his hand and jumped up to his feet, shouting his joy to the skies, and they both left the meadow, leaving anger and confusion behind, as the sun cast its rays on their backs…

Tomorrow, they would see with their own eyes just who Galacta Knight now was, and whether he could be trusted or not.