~Chapter 21~

Kirby saw nothing still, but felt a horrible pain all over. So agonizing, so grievious that it made his breathing erratic. He shuddered, and coughed lightly, feeling dust inside his mouth. His wings were still out, but one ached terribly, and felt shattered. He could not move, and for a moment thought he was about to go into the Transition again.

But as he recalled, he should not be hurting this bad if he were in the Transition. Relief tempered his pain, knowing he wasn't dead. But for how much longer? He groaned, a dry, raspy sound.

To his surprise, another voice replied, "Shhh," it said, "Don't speak." Kirby tried to open his eyes, but as he did, they stung as if something like sand were in them. He shut them again, and fidgeted slightly. He felt a small paw on his back, between the wings, stroking him gently. The gesture he found comforting, and relaxed visibly. Then he felt something cold at his mouth. He opened it very slowly, and something icy and soothing poured down his throat. It was water, cool and sweet and pleasant on his sore throat.

Kirby felt his unknown nurse's paws travel onto his hurt wing, and he flinched as it grabbed the wing midway, and another paw took ahold of his shoulder. He felt pain and a strange sensation and heard a sharp clicking sound. Suddenly, the fire in his wing receded noticably, and Kirby assumed whoever this was just set his wing bone. As he woke up, he felt something soft beneath his body, and the coolness of shadows dappling him. The air felt cool, yet dry, and he heard a distant sound of running water, like a river.

"You'll be okay." the voice said again, and Kirby identified it as a female, "Just don't move." she said, and Kirby heard her footsteps fading away, as if she was walking away. Again, the pink warrior struggled open his eyes, and he was first greeted with a blurry night. Blinking focus into his vision, he saw it was indeed night, and overhead soared a hut roof, made of broad, dark leaves woven together. It plunged the small enclosure into a cool shadow. Letting his gaze wander, the Star Warrior saw a large opening directly in front of him, framed by flexible branches and twigs. Around him were vases and pots of something pugent-scented, and he saw water pooled in the corner of the room.

He heard footsteps again, and stilled, sensing the air of the unknown lady who was taking care of him, "Okay, this will sting a little..." she murmured in a soft voice that Kirby's mind bristle as if alarmed. Why, though, was this lady's voice making him feel...he didn't have a word for the feeling. He flinched as something dripped into a slash on the back of his head, making it shriek in pain. In a moment, it ceded, and left the wound feeling better than before.

Somehow, Kirby felt he was sensing something growing from him toward this mysterious person. Was it, perhaps a bond? Trust? Kirby blinked, something in him clicked. He trusted, almost intinctively, this person. And why, he wasn't sure. An alarm seemed to be going off in his head, as if trying to get him to remember or realize something, but he couldn't quite grasp it. All he knew was that his instincts were telling him to trust.

But his mind reminded him the last time he trusted a stranger, he was nearly killed by her.

Kirby shut his eyes, shutting down all thoughts and feelings, and let the luxury of sleep wash over him.

...

Fumu blinked her eyes open, and saw a vast night sky overhead. She raised her head slowly, and was punished with a sharp pain. Sharper than the rest of the pains that was lacing her body. She felt as if her form had been crushed and beaten, and any and every movement would sting her with pain. It did, and Fumu let herself lie on the ground, her vision beginning to unfocus. She dragged memories from her mind's bank, trying to summon a recollection of the events that led up to this, but all she remembered were loud sounds, and a feeling of fear and alarm.

Something terrible had happened, she was sure.

Her friends' names came to her head, and attempted to call them, but it came out weak and wheezing. She inhaled a few times, coughing on the dust that was swirling around, and called again, "M-Meta Knight...! Kirby...? Where are y-you?"

A voice answered her call, and with relief, recognized the knight's voice, "Fumu!"

For a moment, Fumu lay on the ground, waiting for him to come over, but nothing happened. She heard his voice again, and recognized the strain in it, "Fumu?"

She pushed herself to her feet, a bit too hastily, and staggered, her vision blurred by her monstrous headache. She stumbled toward Meta Knight's voice, the night and ground smudging into one. She finally happened upon the swordsman, who was also on the ground. He didn't appear to be moving. As Fumu let herself still and calm, the scene came into view.

A vast expanse of sandy ground stretched all around, unstemmed by one tree or bush. Fumu catalouged this place as a desert, and recognized scattered chunks of charred metal laying all around, some still flaming or sending up smoke.

She looked down, and realized Meta Knight's wing was pinned under a large metal piece that was once part of the Halberd. Steadying herself, she threw her body against the metal, and used her already depleated strength to try and move the metal off of the wing, but to no avail. She stared miserably down at Meta Knight, "Sorry..." she breathed.

Meta Knight blinked, and sighed, "Don't worry, Fumu. Are you alright?" he asked in a weak voice. Fumu ran her eyes inconspicuosly over her body, seeing how it was covered in burns and bruises, and nodded,

"I'm good." she was lying through her teeth. She hurt like hell.

"Where's Kirby?" the knight asked for his apprentice, and Fumu quickly scanned the area, seeing no bright pink or gold that could distinguish Kirby in the night. She shook her head, shrugging,

"Not sure...hang on," she said, and tried again to move the scrap metal off of Meta Knight's wing. This time, she felt it budge very slightly.

"Hold on," Meta Knight said, and while Fumu held the heavy piece for an agonizing second, she heard the knight shifting through the sand. Finally, the metal slipped from her hands, but to her relief, Meta Knight had freed himself.

"You okay?" she asked, looking him over. A large fracture split down from where the opening was on his mask, and his cape was torn and burnt at the edges. Burns and cuts laced his body, and Fumu could see how much they hurt as he struggled to stand. She realized that the wing that he had just pulled out from under the metal was torn quite badly.

Meta Knight sighed, "Barely." he said, "But right now, we need to find Kirby."

"Wait," Fumu asked, "What happened?"

The knight looked at her, and replied softly, "We were being pursued by Texico. You were knocked out by the impact of a ship's firepower." he said, "Then, they managed to disable the ship completely. I was about to take you all and abandon ship, but with no warning, the Halberd..." he stopped, and gazed around the desert. Fumu felt her heart twist in pity.

"And Kirby is missing?" Fumu asked, Meta Knight nodded grimly,

"Apparently so...we will have to find him quickly, though." he said. Fumu nodded, and followed the knight. Her body was shrieking in pain with every movement, but Fumu told it to shut the hell up. Right now, Kirby could possibly be under one of these broken-up scrapmetals, his life ebbing away, too weak to cry out...Fumu willed her pace to hasten.

But, as she tried to follow faster, her boy felt strangely heavy, as if it was reluctant to keep going. She felt herself struggling against herself as she tried to keep moving. Meta Knight noticed her problem, "Fumu, are you alright?" he asked, turning around.

Fumu nodded, but felt her mind going strangely blank, and suddenly images of Kirby and the recent incidents dissolved. Her vision whirled in front of her eyes, making the desert rotate incontrollably around her. She felt so disorientated, she let her body go numb and fall. She dimly heard Meta Knight's voice as the world continued to spin around. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see it, but her head continued to swim as if she actually was spinning.

She felt Meta Knight's paws on her shoulders, "Fumu, answer me! Are you okay?" he demanded.

But by now, Fumu was not even sure who was speaking anymore, or to whom...