Chapter Thirty-Two: Lost Feeling
Starcast had some kind of floating dream. There wasn't much to it. Just the feeling of floating around. And he didn't even feel like he was really going anywhere, simply floating around through an endless abyss.
The floating feeling changed, and he suddenly felt like he was falling. Starcast opened his eyes, watching the stars and landmasses of the night whizz past him. Oh, he was falling. He thought he should be scared, but fear didn't really register to him. He felt...heavy, for lack of a better term. There was no moving or swerving away in order to save himself. He was meant to fall, and whatever happened afterward would simply happen.
He eventually crashed into someplace, somehow far too quickly to register exactly what happened next. He crashed into something in the someplace, tumbling down to the ground with it before sliding into a wall. The heavy feeling went away, and Starcast gained feeling in his body for the first time. His four arms pushed him up off the ground, and he noticed that little white dots twinkled on his chest much like stars did. His back felt hunched, though he guessed that this was normal. Starcast managed to stand up on wobbly legs, trying to take in the scene. He was on some kind of balcony, with a white floor and green-tinted walls leading to the interior of the building he was at. The balcony gave him a view of the night sky and...oh no!
An old man was seen crumpled on the ground. His blue robe was tattered, and a horned helmet had been knocked off his head. He wasn't moving in the slightest. Starcast picked him up, looking at the man's bruised face. He was breathing, but barely- it was then that Starcast felt fear.
He'd done this! It was the only reasonable explanation!
Carrying the man, Starcast ran into the building. He kept screaming for help, but no one seemed to hear him. The building was also rather empty as well, with nobody around to even see him. There was one room with people actually in it, consisting of a fish man, an elf girl and a short blue thing. Starcast burst into the room, his fear rising to maximum level.
"Someone help me!" he cried. "This man is hurt- I think I did it, but I didn't mean to- but I really need to help him! Please!"
The creatures leapt to their feet, shoving Starcast out of the room and leading him through the halls. They hurried him to a clean room with cots lining the walls, sick and injured creatures resting within them. Starcast was instructed to set the man in an empty cot, which he did without hesitation. He stepped back and allowed the creatures to tend to the man.
"I think there should still be some healing crystals in the back room- otherwise I'm not sure what we can do for him at this time of night," the elf girl explained. "Why now, of all the times to get injured?"
"He'll be fine," the fish man insisted. "It's Eon, isn't it?"
The short blue thing, deep in anguish, hit his forehead against the side of the cot. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have made that wish to get out of anger management!" he whined. "Of course it was going to have massive consequences!"
The fish man and elf girl glared at him. "You think you did this?" they asked.
"Well I didn't mean for this to happen! I just asked for a snow day or something! Not this! Anything but this!"
Starcast backed away, guilt engulfing his heart. He couldn't help but feel responsible for this- especially since it really was his fault. He started to leave the room, which he decided had to be the building's sick bay, and began walking down the hall. He didn't get far before he realized that he was kind of stuck here. Where was everything in this world? Where was he supposed to go? Starcast realized that he didn't really know what he was or what he was supposed to do. He was stuck in this place, with this guilt, with very little to do about either.
He stuck around the sick bay- well, sort of next to the entrance. He intended to see the man first thing in the morning, but he knew he couldn't bear it if the man saw him first. The fish man and elf girl insisted that what happened hadn't been his fault, but Starcast knew this wasn't true. He'd hurt the man- that was his fault. He'd told himself that whatever happened after he fell would simply happen, but why did he find himself angry at the fact that something bad had happened? He didn't understand it.
A tired feeling began to set in at some point, but Starcast was done with sleeping at this point. Who had time for that when you had places to explore and parts of yourself to find? Besides, if he'd been more alert, then maybe he'd have been strong enough to avoid the man entirely. During his struggle to stay alert in the night, he heard footsteps stomping down the hall. Starcast stood up abruptly, wary of this possible intruder and determined to keep the sick bay safe. The intruder came running down the hall, swooping past and hiding behind him. Starcast looked behind him, lowering his guard. It was just a little plant girl.
"Shh. I'm hiding," the plant girl whispered, her plant bulb pigtails bobbing as she jumped up.
"Hiding from what?" Starcast asked her. "Is there something I should be worried about?"
"No, he's my friend. He's cool- he's just been a real buttface ever since we got here. I don't want to deal with him right now. And in any case, I told you to be quiet."
"No. You said 'shh'."
"Well I meant for you to be quiet. Now shush!"
The girl ducked into the corner where Starcast had been sitting. With a sigh, Starcast sat behind her. She began giggling, then tried to silence herself, only to start up giggling again.
"And I'm the one who's supposed to be quiet," Starcast muttered. "You'd be better hidden if you stopped giggling."
"I'm sorry, it's just so exciting to hide away with the seeker having no knowledge of your location," the girl replied. "Don't worry, I'll stop now."
And she did, when someone was heard coming down the hall with a shout of "Boom Bloom!" A poke to his back forced Starcast to scooch in further to the corner as to hide the girl better. The person kept shouting the girl's name, and eventually Starcast saw him walk down the hallway. He was a snake creature, wearing a large robe that hid his tail away. His posture suggested that he was both angry and defeated at the same time.
" 'Why don't you take her with you, Pit Boss'? 'It'll be fun, Pit Boss'. 'Don't be silly, she's a sweetie, Pit Boss'," the snake man muttered. "If I had my way, I would've just come on my own."
The snake man halted in front of Starcast. His tongue flicked in the air, appearing to sense something. Whatever it was, it wasn't obvious to Starcast.
"You look tired," Pit Boss suddenly said to Starcast. "What are you doing out here?"
"It's been a long night. I'm waiting up on someone," Starcast replied. "You look just as tired, sir, if I do say so myself."
"I'm looking for someone who got away from my sight. You haven't seen a little girl run into the sick bay, by any chance, have you? Yay tall, plant bulbs on her head?"
Starcast felt another poke in his back. "Can't say that I have," he lied. "Perhaps this little girl doesn't like you very much."
"I know that's not true. She wouldn't try to bother me so much if that were the case. But for the life of me, I can't seem to figure out where the heck she ran off to."
Starcast let out a small sigh. Boom Bloom had suggested that she liked the snake man, hadn't she? What did he know, anyway? He was just a lost stranger on this world.
"Would probably be like her to run into the sick bay, though. She always keeps running in there, even when I tell her not to. Those Skylanders have enough to worry about without her bothering them."
"Perhaps she's concerned."
"That doesn't matter- it's rude. And it's not her burden to bear, either."
Pit Boss halted again, sticking his tongue out once more. A frown set itself on his face, and he walked toward the corner, dragging Boom Bloom out. Starcast stood up as the two of them began to have an argument. Maybe another argument of the night, given their attitude toward one another.
"Let go, Pit Boss! You keep squeezing my arm too tight!" Boom Bloom yelled.
"I shouldn't have to be gentle with you when you keep acting up like this!" Pit Boss retorted with venom. "Why can't you just stay close to me and listen to what I say? Don't you know how concerning it is when I can't find you?"
"You know, I don't need protecting! I did just fine on my own before you guys found me! And besides, you said this trip was for me, so I should be able to go wherever I want around here! Isn't that right?"
"I'm your guardian! You can't just go wandering off without me!"
"Well I'm not a child! I can do anything I darn well please without you!"
Starcast became nervous that their fighting would disturb the people in the sick bay. He pulled the two of them apart, setting himself in the middle. "You know what? It's been a long night. You should probably save this for the morning," Starcast insisted. "So you're not so grumpy with each other. Doesn't that sound better than-"
"Don't you dare talk to us about what we should do, liar!" Pit Boss yelled at him. "You have no right to do so!"
"Quit yelling at him!" Boom Bloom spat. "He did nothing wrong!"
A loud thud! was heard in the sick bay. Someone fell out of a cot. Starcast hurried into the room, finding the injured man on the ground. He was awake now, groaning with his injuries. Starcast ran over to him, helping him up.
"Sir, you took quite a hit, earlier," Starcast told him. "You should stay still until you're better."
"...But I heard a commotion in the halls," the man grumbled. "I thought I had a fight to break up."
The fighting had ceased for now. Pit Boss and Boom Bloom were standing around, watching them warily- though it was noticed that they were ten paces apart from one another.
"Oh, I see," the man muttered as he saw the snake man and plant girl. "I'd hoped that their visit to the citadel would be much more pleasant than it has been."
Nothing to do about it, Starcast supposed. He set the man back onto the cot, asking, "Do you remember how you got injured, by any chance?"
"Something just barreled into me from the sky," the man explained. "It's almost like someone aimed a blow straight for me."
"Well...I'm sure whoever did so is very sorry for what happened."
"Not likely. There are lots of people who'd like to have my head on a stick."
That only served to make Starcast feel worse.
The man suddenly got a curious look in his eye. "Say, you look familiar to me somehow. Don't I know you?" he asked.
"Erm...I can't imagine that you would," Starcast explained. "I'm an entirely new being to this world."
"Your name wouldn't happen to be Starcast, would it?"
"...Why do you ask?"
"Well, I just had this feeling that Starcast would be the name of the next Sensei that we brought aboard."
Sensei? Was that what he was supposed to be?
The issue was cleared up in the morning. Apparently Pit Boss and Boom Bloom had come from the Skylander Senseis' place of residence on a visit to this "Citadel" to inquire about finding a Ninja teacher for the young plant girl. Believing that only a wish could create the perfect master for her, the man known as Eon decided that he would wish for one, and that Starcast would be his name. And that was when Starcast himself crashed into Eon.
Maybe it was true. Maybe that was what Starcast was supposed to be. It was a fantastic idea, for sure. So Starcast decided to try and practice this- though he was less pleased when Pit Boss offered to spar with him in the yard.
"Don't hold back," Pit Boss hissed.
Starcast didn't know what to say as he gathered shurikens in his hands. He started off by tossing them at Pit Boss. The snake man, an adept spellcaster as he was, created a magic barrier that blocked this shot. Pit Boss summoned magic snakes to attack Starcast, who was only lucky enough to avoid them with a quick leap to the side. He waited until Pit Boss attacked again, dodging once more and throwing a shuriken at his hand, forcing him to drop his staff. The shuriken sliced the top of his glove, cutting the scales and making a bit of blood seep up.
"Not bad," Pit Boss noted. "Could be a bit quicker, though. Your moves were too obvious to read."
"But I threw you off," Starcast noted.
"I allowed you to."
Starcast released his tensed stance, becoming confused by this revelation.
"I wanted to see what you had to offer us. It needs work, but it's not bad. Though I don't think it's the kind of material that we're looking for at this time."
So maybe he wasn't a ninja master after all. Then what was he?
Starcast watched as Pit Boss directed his attention to Boom Bloom, who was making daisy chains in the field as the two of them worked. The snake man tensed up again, and he yelled, "Aren't you paying attention, Bloom? This is for you, isn't it?"
"I don't want to start this up again," Boom Bloom replied.
Starcast noticed that Pit Boss was much more calm when he didn't have Boom Bloom to fight with. Perhaps, happier even, and more willing to enjoy himself. He seemed to have forgiven Starcast for the charade that the two of them pulled last night. There was just something between him and Boom Bloom that Starcast couldn't guess at.
"Perhaps she can sense that you don't like her," Starcast whispered.
Pit Boss shook his head. "She's annoying, but I wouldn't throw her in a ditch," he argued. "If she'd just listen to me-"
"Or she might think that you don't like her. It doesn't really seem like it."
"You just don't know what it's like when we're not out here. Though we're not usually together, we're also not this tense."
Of course. What did he know about anything?
A group of the Skylander creatures came out of the citadel, surrounding Eon as he walked on crutches. Boom Bloom saw them and came running toward them, Starcast and Pit Boss chasing after her. They stopped right in front of the steps, Starcast holding Boom Bloom back before she barreled into Eon. She allowed him to do this, already claiming after just a few hours of knowing him that he was much more gentle than Pit Boss.
"You're looking better," Starcast told Eon.
"It's still going to be a slow recovery process," Eon added. "I'm not sure I'll be able to do much other than oversee projects until I heal up."
"Hey Master, is your beard magical?" Boom Bloom suddenly asked.
This made Eon raise an eyebrow. "No, I don't think so," he replied.
"You mean it could be magic?"
"It's not magic, I assure you."
"But you said you didn't know. It could still be magic, and you just wouldn't know about it."
Pit Boss got in between the two of them. "Leave him alone, would you?" he told her.
She stopped questioning him, deflating at the comment.
"Ahem, Eon, I'm not so sure we have the master that we need," Pit Boss continued. "At best, he's another student, and we're not yet ready to add another student on board."
"I'm as sure about this as I was last night," Eon insisted. "Starcast is the master we asked for."
"Yeah, he's much nicer than you ever were," Boom Bloom spat at the snake man.
Starcast released her, becoming worried by this idea. "Sir, I'm really not that good," he said, siding with Pit Boss. "My technique is flawed."
"If you are who we're looking for, then it should come to you in a little bit," Eon suggested. "You were only born yesterday, weren't you?"
Starcast shrugged. He really wasn't sure.
"Well what else could you be if you're not the ninja master?" Boom Bloom asked him.
The short blue thing standing near Eon looked up at him nervously, quietly shifting away.
It was this question that made Starcast nervous. He had a certain still in this technique that didn't go by Pit Boss' gaze, but it wasn't at the status of a master. Maybe he was only here to hurt Eon, and prevent some anger management thing from happening. He'd certainly done that. Suppose he was here to stop things from happening- but he was unable to stop Pit Boss and Boom Bloom's fights. He really didn't know what he was supposed to be.
Starcast worked on his technique over the next few days, trying to see if he could somehow achieve this master status. He got better at it, managing to get his acrobatic skill up, but it never felt like it was at the level that a master should have it. In between that, he'd try and patch things up between Pit Boss and Boom Bloom. It didn't get better- if anything, it seemed to get worse now that Starcast was stepping in. The two of them were now arguing every time they saw each other. That definitely wasn't good.
Boom Bloom sat with him on the roof one afternoon, watching the sunset with him. She was now refusing to even be in the same room as Pit Boss. Fine by Starcast- the two of them were toxic around each other. It was noted that she was much more playful than she was when she was around the snake man. Pit Boss claimed that she was annoying, perhaps from her need to bother people, but Starcast didn't really notice it. If she was bothering him, he supposed that he didn't mind being bothered.
"In another minute, the stars will be coming out," Boom Bloom beamed. "I heard that you came from a star. Is that true? What's it like being surrounded by all those little balls of light?"
Starcast wasn't sure if he had been a star. He could only shrug at her.
"Oh. Well, do you know what stars feel like? Because you have those same twinkling lights on your body."
"I think those are just spots," Starcast suggested.
"Oh. They look more like dots, then."
"What's the difference?"
"I always assumed that spots were bigger. Spots and dots. If they didn't twinkle away on your arms so quick, I could draw constellations with them."
"Then perhaps you just need to get quicker."
Boom Bloom giggled about this. But then her demeanor became a bit more somber. "I have a bit of a more complicated question," she began. "What am I supposed to do to get someone to like me?"
It sounded like she was trying to ask about dealing with Pit Boss. Starcast didn't want to get into that again. "I've only been here for a few days," he explained. "I haven't needed anyone to like me before."
"I always heard that all you need for people to like you is to be yourself. Well I am, and it's not working. I'm being told that I have to shut up or grow up or any other variation. It stinks."
What did he know about anything? Everything he'd tried to do to help her had only made things worse. "I'm sorry you feel this way," he told her. "But I'm not sure how to help."
"I see," Boom Bloom muttered. She stood up, stretching. "I'm going to see what Eon thinks about it. Want to come with me so Pit Boss doesn't get mad?"
"I don't really feel like it," Starcast decided. "If he bothers you, why don't you rough him up a bit?"
"That sounds like a good idea. Thank you."
Boom Bloom left. Starcast stayed where he was, looking out at the sky as the stars came out. Did he really come from the stars? What had it been like? The only thing he remembered about that time was the floating feeling- and that hadn't really been helpful. Starcast found himself longing to go back there, to just be a floating feeling, to have no one rely on him to be anything.
Because at this point, he was just a lost soul with no purpose.
A tired feeling set in once more. Starcast decided to allow himself to sleep this time, finding no better way to spend his time. He experienced some kind of fighting dream, probably from his constant training from the past few days. He felt someone shove him awake, and he looked up to find Pit Boss standing over him.
"Odd place for one to sleep," the snake man mumbled.
"It was nice up here," Starcast argued. "I'm guessing you needed me for something, isn't that right?"
"Yeah, I did. I thought Boom Bloom would be up here with you- I needed to talk to her about something."
"She was here a little while ago. She ran off to find Eon."
"Well I was just talking with him, and she didn't come by."
"She's pretty mad at you. Perhaps she was waiting around before you left?"
Pit Boss shook his head, suddenly looking fearful. "I'm sure she would've run up to him, even if I was nearby," he insisted. "She'd probably shove me away."
"Maybe she's hiding away in the sick bay again," Starcast said.
"That was where I was when I was talking with Eon," Pit Boss insisted. "We probably would've seen her come in. Erm, what time was it when she left you?"
Guilt washed over Starcast. Of course he shouldn't have slept- he should've been alert to keep an eye on her! "I don't know. I didn't have a clock on me," he sighed.
"Why didn't you keep an eye on her, then? This place is huge- it's far too easy to lose someone in here," Pit Boss growled.
Starcast crossed his arms in somberness. "Well I have no idea where to look, either," he sighed. "Nothing to do about it but wait, I suppose."
Pit Boss became angry, as if he'd been offended. "Wait around? She could be hurt, and you just want to wait!?" he yelled. "Where are your priorities at!?"
"Well, maybe she doesn't want to be found! There's nothing we can do if she's trying to stay away from us!"
Pit Boss' expression lightened- Starcast had surprised him this time. The snake man let out a sigh and sat next to him.
"She thinks you don't like her," Starcast continued. "Boom Bloom didn't really say it, but I know she feels that way. Maybe it's about what you said the other night- about not wanting to bring her along. That might be it."
"It would've been easier to go alone," Pit Boss insisted. "I wouldn't have anyone to worry about, then. Especially Boom Bloom- she likes to stick her nose in places it doesn't belong. I'm just trying to make sure she's safe."
"She says you're not very gentle about it."
Pit Boss scoffed.
"I've found that feelings are often stronger than knowledge. It doesn't matter how much you know about the truth. If it doesn't feel right, then it isn't right. Perhaps she knew that you didn't hate her. If she doesn't feel that way, it might not be true to her."
"...I don't really spend time with her at home, anyway. Wouldn't really be far off if she did feel that way, huh?"
Starcast didn't reply immediately. Was he actually helping this time? Was he helping instead of making things worse?
Pit Boss suddenly stood up, tongue flicking in the air. Starcast looked in the spot he was staring out at, watching some kind of figure attack some training dummies.
"She's in the yard," Pit Boss sighed in relief. "Do you mind coming with me? I doubt she'd want anything to do with me unless someone else were around."
Starcast nodded, feeling better after this revelation. Maybe this was his true purpose- to be a buffer! He could be a buffer so people could talk to each other without tearing each other to pieces!
The two of them came down into the training yard, watching Boom Bloom attack the dummies. With a thorny whip, she dragged one toward another dummy to crash into it. Sticky pollen shot up from her bulbs- she grabbed these with her whip and tossed them at the dummies, watching them blow up. She turned around, her expression a mixture of glee and anger as she saw Starcast and Pit Boss.
"Um, you know, Boom Bloom, while you're very fast, your maneuvering could use some work," Starcast began. "It's about hand-eye coordination, you see. If you improve on that, your enemies will have a harder time attacking you."
"I suppose...," Boom Bloom muttered, her glare directing itself toward Pit Boss.
"I think you and Pit Boss should talk to one another. Don't worry- I'll be close by in case anything happens."
Boom Bloom sighed and nodded. Starcast moved toward a tree, watching as the two of them talked. He was close enough to them to hear their conversation.
"For your sake, I hope you don't sound like a buttface when you give your statement to me," Boom Bloom grumbled.
"I've figured it out," Pit Boss began. "I don't think it's really you that's getting on my nerves. I'm just trying to find you the best master, and that's really hard when I have to watch you at the same time. You don't seem to really care about this, since you're busying yourself with other things and running off to where I can't find you."
"Of course I care. I just figured that this was the decision you were going to make. I've never had to worry myself with that before- why should I start now, especially since you're still treating me like a child since we've been here."
"The others were thinking that it might stir some independence in you- I wouldn't have brought you otherwise. I'm just better off working alone, is all. And I get very worried when you run off like that when I'm trying to focus on something else- suppose you get hurt and I'm not there to help?"
"You get worried about me?"
"Of course. I do care about you, and I'd feel bad if something happened to you because of my inability to help."
"You know I'm not a child, though. If anything were to happen, I could handle it."
"Part of me worries, is all."
Starcast watched as Boom Bloom leapt at Pit Boss, giving him a tight hug. He was glad that they'd solved their differences. It had to have been himself that helped with it. This really had to be his purpose, didn't it? To resolve people's conflicts? It felt right this time.
"Hey, you said that it was my idea for a master?" Boom Bloom asked. "Why not Starcast? He seems to know what he's talking about."
Starcast worriedly walked back up to them. "I'm not sure about that," he insisted. "I wouldn't call myself a master. I barely know what I'm doing."
Boom Bloom hopped back down, grabbing one of Starcast's lower arms. "Well it's my decision, and I can't imagine anyone else would be better," she argued.
"I think he might need a bit more time...," Pit Boss stammered, trailing off as he realized how adamant she was in this. "Perhaps, Starcast, you could work on your technique back at our home?"
He could try. It might not be so bad if he were to try it out with them. And it didn't make Starcast feel lost thinking about it. "I guess I'll come back with you, then," he decided.
"Great, let's tell Eon!" Boom Bloom cheered. She started off running, but halted when she realized she was yanking Starcast's arm a bit too hard.
