Chapter 77: Elsewhere

"I hereby call this emergency council of the Ripple Star Fairies to order! Ribbon, you may begin."

Ribbon: "Thank you. I shall start by saying that I am quite sure everyone on Ripple Star now knows of our Queen's fate. We are currently facing the most severe predicament in the history of our people. Never before has a Queen been separated from us. But we cannot deal with this catastrophe by entering a state of panic, which most of this planet has been in for the past few days!"

"Well, what do you expect us to do?!"

"Yeah!"

"The Queen has always provided instructions!"

"How can we trust anyone else?!"

"ORDER! ORDER!"

Silence.

Ribbon: "Think, everyone. We must do as the Queen would have done. We must launch an assault on Dark Matter to free her!"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"Yeah!"

"We cannot stand up to Dark Matter without our Queen!"

"We'll all be possessed!"

"You can count me out!"

"ORDER! ORDER!"

more yelling

"I SAID ORDER!!!"

Silence.

Ribbon: "You've got to trust me on this. I was the Queen's right-hand Fairy. I probably knew her better than anyone else on this planet."

"But how can you expect us to follow your orders? How do we know that's what our Queen would have wanted?!"

"Yeah!"

Jewel: "Oh, come on! Do you really want to just sit here and wait for Dark Matter to ensnare this planet as well? All this talk about what our Queen would have wanted. She would have wanted to be rescued, dammit! You girls are just too scared to do anything about it, aren't you? Well, we have to stay strong, even in this darkness. We gotta go back there and show that bloody eye how we do things here in the Starred System! Who's with me?!"

Silence.

"I still think it's crazy."

"Yeah."

Somewhere on the "green star"... a small computer monitor switched on... and the sales guy for NightMare Enterprises appeared on the screen.

Watching the screen was none other than the notorious Tac, who had closed shop after once again being swindled by the Meta Clan. Oh, well. At least Meta Drone had paid. That old tin can had it coming.

Out of work, Tac had come to the "green star" so that, in solitude, he might think... meditate... and figure out a new business. But then the Meta Clan came to pick up Captain Stitch and Masher. Tac spied on them, using his amazing ability to become unnoticeable, part of the background. Well, he guessed that the Meta Clan was about to go after Dark Matter again, so he devised a plan. He pulled a small computer and wireless internet connector out of his magic sack and made the call.

"Hello and welcome to NightMare Enterprises," said the sales guy. "It sure is nice to see a new customer's face. Would you like to set up an account? I can send the contract right away. Just give me your e-mail address and-"

"Quiet!" hissed Tac. "I am not a client."

The sales guy raised an eyebrow.

"Then what business do you have with NightMare Enterprises?" he asked.

"I have called to warn you," answered Tac. "There is an organization called the Meta Clan that has recently been purchasing monsters from you. I have found evidence that they are planning to use those monsters as backup in an attempt to storm Castle Dedede and destroy the eye of Dark Matter, which resides within. If that happens, then Nightmare, your boss, will be vulnerable; and I'm sure their mission would not be complete without destroying him as well. I suggest you take precautions. Send monsters to stake out at Castle Dedede before it's too late."

"Oh, I know all about Meta Knight's plans. And I assure you, we are in no danger."

"How can you be so confident? Don't you know that Meta Knight wields the sacred sword Galaxia?"

"Don't worry! MK and I go way back. He's been ordering monsters from me since-"

"Shut up! Meta Knight is ruthless. He'll do anything to obtain power. Just stop for a moment and think what would happen if Nightmare were destroyed. What would you do then?"

"Well, we wouldn't have anyone managing our organization anymore. Large-scale business deals would become difficult, as they would involve many of our departments without any administrator supervising departmental coordination. Other than that, NightMare Enterprises would become employee-owned! We'd get more money for our deals. We'd be able to change the company's rules to our liking. It'd be different, but I think we could survive without Nightmare."

Silence.

"Be that as it may," continued Tac, "Nightmare is still your boss and must be protected."

"I'm sorry," replied the sales guy, "but I don't see any profit that can be acquired by sending monsters to Castle Dedede, monsters that could be called for by a customer at any time. We can't just ship them out for free, you know. Now, if you would like to buy some and set them up at Castle Dedede, you'd be more than welcome. I have the contract right here. If you would just tell me your e-mail addr-"

"I'm not buying! I'm warning! If Nightmare goes down, I tell you, NightMare Enterprises will go down with him!"

"Thank you for yelling at NightMare Enterprises," said the sales guy. "Please do not call again and have bad day."

The screen went black.

The following is an excerpt from Curiosity File #7 in Gooey's data archives.

The Starred System is probably one of the densest solar systems in the Milky Way. Very many planets are squashed into this small amount of space. For my own convenience and curiosity, I have listed below every planet known in the Starred System, along with a description. They are in alphabetical order.

1) Aqualiss (known also as Aqua Star): a tropical planet covered almost completely by water. This planet's few islands feature extensive (and therefore expensive) holiday resorts. Aqualiss is the only planet in the Starred System that I have not been to. I am not particularly fond of swimming, nor will I ever need a tan. The native creatures are mostly blippers, glunks and slippys. Also, beware of falling coconuts.

2) Colda (known also as Shiver Star): the farthest planet from Pop Star's sun, and therefore the coldest in the solar system. Colda is trapped in a perpetual winter, yet is still a gigantic tourist attraction. This wondrous planet of crystalline ice hosts the Starred System's most extravagant mall. Some shop-aholics would be content to spend their entire life on Colda if it weren't so frigid. Natives include mostly ice-based creatures such as frigises and chillys (some of which have grown to unbelievable sizes). Note: Not many people know this, but Colda also features the solar system's largest factory, which makes the products that are sold in the mall.

3) Floria: might be named Seasonal Star some day because of its irregular orbit, which makes it the only planet in the Starred System to go through all four seasons. The environment is similar to Green Greens in Dreamland, but changes dramatically through the seasons. The creatures that live there also migrate with the seasons. Those that like summer, for instance, always travel wherever summer goes on the planet. It may be just coincidence, but the time it takes one area of Floria to undergo all four seasons is the same amount of time it takes a year to pass on the Odnetnin calendar.

4) Halfmoon: a planet cloaked in darkness, yet highly populated. Halfmoon is also my home planet and where I first invented warpstars. You never know what strange creatures you may encounter here. Some of its environment is even similar to Nebula Belt in Dreamland, yet more stable. The rest is mostly rock and night-growing vegetation. I would have stayed on Halfmoon, but whatever electrical devices I set up eventually turned on me, struck with some unknown computer virus, which had originated within the planet itself.

5) Hotbeat (known also as Magheat): the hottest planet in the Starred System. Heated by a sun-like core, this planet is covered almost completely by lava and unstable volcanoes. Few animals find residence there, but it is known that colonies of noddies sleep the days away in a number of volcanoes.

6) Mecheye: current location of the Meta Base. This planet of solid rock was conquered by the Meta Clan and covered completely in metal, allowing Mecheye to finally live up to its name. All indigenous species of this planet are now extinct and the Meta Base has never been successfully invaded.

7) Meteos (known also as Natural Cavios): another solid rock. However, this planet features endless natural tunnels leading through its entire interior, none of which have been mapped. These caverns are popular hibernation spots for grizzos and other large creatures.

8) Pop Star: the largest and most populated planet in the Starred System. It is also my current residence. The planet itself is shaped like a star and both the only sun and only moon (other than Colda's moon) in the Starred System orbit it. The main locale on Pop Star is Dreamland, which covers about one quarter of one of the planet's sides. On the other side, the world is set up like a giant pinball table. I shall investigate the mystery of that fact in some other Curiosity File, but right now I shall put that few residents of the Dreamland side of Pop Star ever venture over to the pinball side. Lastly, the climate changes depending on where you travel here, making Pop Star the most environmentally diverse planet in the Starred System.

9) Ripple Star: a cheery, pastel-colored planet and home of the Ripple Star Fairies (see Curiosity File #6). Not much is known about this planet's complex environment, as the Fairies are very strict about who else can set foot on its "sacred" ground.

10) Sky High (a better name would be Sky Star): not a gas giant, but a gas dwarf. Sky High is a surprisingly small planet, on which the only stable environment is clouds similar to those in Grape Garden. Many flying creatures enjoy this planet, including bronto burts and twizzys. Ice creatures such as chillys are also common.

Other notes. The Nova Corporation is located on a comet of their own design, which orbits Pop Star once every 3.5 years (by the Odnetnin calendar). The location of the Holy NightMare Corporation (now known as NightMare Enterprises) is unknown; it might not even be in the Starred System. There may also be uncharted planets in the Starred System, and they will be put up here in this list as soon as they are discovered.

NOTE TO THE READER: I had my reasons for not including Rock Star or Neo Star in the above list. All will be explained in a subsequent chapter. Please, do not pester me about this detail. On a different note, this chapter (although short) was particularly difficult to write. That's why it took so long. This stuff isn't easy to rush. Getting a whole chapter out every week is tough, but I try my best.