Star: Putting my author's note before the chapter this time so the last words will have more time to sink in. Just saying thanks for the review, jakeroo! ...no corny rhyme intended, I swear. D:

Also, I edited the first chapter a bit. Typos are every writers best friend. =w=; K maybe not lol. Enjoy the chapter! Reviews are highly appreciated. ;3

Also: (I forgot to put this in the first chapter though let's pretened i did and why do we have to put this stuff if it's all fanfiction anyway so we're obviously not trying to steal characters? lolfail) I do not own any of the characters used in this fanfic. They belong to Nintendo.

Chapter 2: The Darkness of Night

It's rare for me to be in a situation where i'm at a loss for what to do.

I shivered. The weather had gotten cold awfully fast. And being out in space where the line between day and night was never certain, and it certainly was never too cold or too hot, I wasn't used to it. Pulling my sleeves down over my hands, I walked onward.

So far I hadn't encountered even a single living soul, which made me feel rather uneasy... It's not as if this place was one of those scary wastelands you'd read about in adventure books. It was actually the exact opposite.

The tree's that stood tall and proud overhead left just enough room in between the leaves for light to shine through during the day. Flowers of every size and color filled the meadows. Lush grass covered the ground as far as the eye could see.

Fruit, though Hoshi and I don't need to eat, hung from the tree's. There were a lot of one's I recognised. Such as Apples, Banana's, Pears and Peaches. They looked almost good enough to make me want to try one. Almost. And there were plenty I didn't recognise. Some had stripes, while some had spots. Though I wondered if those were really safe to eat.

It amazes and saddens me how such a beautiful place will never truly be appreciated by living things. It will just waste away, eventually forgotten, if it wasn't already...

I had come to a smaller enclosed area of the forest. There was a fork in the path. Should I go left or right?

SNAP

A tree branch? Without showing any signs of panic, I carefully strained my eyes to see through the thick foliage. The moon provided plenty of light, but it was still dark enough that I couldn't locate whatever it was that had made the sound.

Normally I would have assumed it to be an animal of some sort. But since I hadn't seen any wildlife thus far, I highly doubted it.

Instinctively, I picked up my pace.

SNAP

Again? Is something following me?

Instead of running, which I realised might not be a good idea (If I were to get lost, I wouldn't be able to make it back to the campsite before sunrise), I decided to stand and defend myself.

I slipped the small silver wand I always kept with me from it's secret pocket on the inside of my sleeve. Readying myself, I tried to remember the fireball spell in case I needed it.

SNAP

This time I was able to make out a shadow- though only for a split second, as it raced from tree to tree. I also heard a faint laughter. It sounded sick and cruel.

I tensed, wand out in front of me, and pointed at the exact spot where I had heard the noise. I was starting to tire of this game and decided to approach the situation the best way I could think of- by luring whoever or whatever it was out of hiding.

"Reveal yourself. I do not wish to fight, but if you insist on following me, i'll have no choice."

silence

"I know you're there, show yourself, or else- THUD

"ugh..." Sitting up slowly, I grasped my head in an attempt to stop the splitting headache I had just recieved. That's when I noticed my hands- they were covered in dirt, and a small amount of blood was streaked across them. Must have happened when I fell onto the ground.

Then I noticed something else. The thud I heard came from...

...an apple. An apple with a note on it.

Before extending my hand towards the object, I closed my eyes and sensed my surroundings. The area seemed still, just like it had before I had started hearing the noises.

Since it at least seemed safe, I pushed myself up- though the attempt was slightly painful due to the scrapes on my hands- and grabbed the apple.

Carefully removing the note from the now dirt covered fruit, I read it aloud in my head:

"Dear Guardian,

How are you enjoying your stay? Do you find it to be relaxing? Hahahaha... Actually, why am I even asking that? Of course you're enjoying it! Why wouldn't you enjoy being home, right? Though I don't understand how you could ever call a place as boringly peaceful as this 'home'. So of course I made sure to make it a little more exciting for you...

Hehehe. Don't worry. I didn't kill all of the animals, I simply...moved them somewhere else. Though if you are unable to figure out my puzzle midnight tomorrow, they'll make a delicious stew. ~

I also took a few of your strange little star creature friends home to play with me. You don't mind, right? After all, you have sooo many! Who would miss a few?

The puzzle is so simple though, even a baby could figure it out! Be lucky I went easy on you. Keep in mind you'll only get one clue. It will appear at your campsite around 8 AM; in other words, at sunrise.

Good luck! And put on a good show for me, will you? If you need more motivation...i'd be more than happy to give it!

- D-joker"

I just stared open mouthed at the letter I held in my bleeding hands.

The one sentence that caught me completely off guard, "Why wouldn't you enjoy being home, right?"

I had that strange feeling when I first looked around. That there was something odd about the place. Almost as if i'd been there before. After reading the letter, it all made sense.

This planet is my home- or rather, was my home.

But I couldn't let myself break down here. Not that I was going to, anyway. But I wouldn't allow myself to. This place may have been my home, but my mother is no longer here. I doubt any of my family is still here either. So now my real home was the observatory. My home...where my real family was waiting for me. Over the years I had learned if not anything else, how to always keep pushing forward, even when the odds are against you.

So I stood. Crumpled the paper I held in my fist. And ran as fast as I could back to the campsite, my mind not even focused on the contents of the letter any longer, but on something far more important.

I left Hoshi alone.