Hoo hoo, boy! I'm excited for this one! The first proper crossover chapter! I hope you all like the introductions, and perhaps leave a review of what you think! Enjoy!
-Joost

Shattering the Stars
Chapter 4: The Name You Should Know

Link stepped out of the portal, surprised to be met with a cool, brisk breeze. His breath was temporarily taken from him, the scenery of his new surroundings far too beautiful to simply appreciate without reaction.

"Wow…" Link muttered to himself.

The sound of fairy wings accompanied him, the purple hue of Tael illuminating the dark shadow of the tree they emerged from. Leaves rustled in the wind as the fairy mirrored Link's reaction to entering a new world.

Suddenly, the sound of the doorway behind Link closing flared his nerves. The portal he opened had swelled shut, leaving nothing behind. Tael flew back a bit, afraid, as the hero in green looked at his other hand, staring at the photo of his wife. He sighed. The picture of Romani, posing elegantly next to the chair in the house, it was the only thing Link would have to keep him sane, along with his fairy companion.

"Well, let's not waste time," Link told Tael. He waited for the fairy to join him, and once he did, they set off, marching through the fields and eventually coming upon a dirt road. Earthy and unpaved, the path seemed especially created to lead somewhere.

Link and Tael glanced at each other and then shrugged, guessing that it'd be better to follow the dirt road instead of just wandering around the land. The hero's boots clumped with determination along the light-brown path, crickets, beetles, and other insects scurrying away to keep clear. Flowers, bushes, and the occasional tree bordered the lane, scents of spring allowing for the man in green and his companion to relax as they walked.

Something was amidst, however. Link, only just a few minutes after his arrival, picked up on a familiar feeling. He could sense eyes upon him. He stopped in his tracks and looked around, his ears on alert.

"What's up, Link?" Tael asked, knowing that if his friend was alert, something was wrong.

"I… don't know, Tael," Link replied, still combing the scenery with his ever-curious eyes. This was unlike how he felt as a twelve-year-old, when the Garo were spying on him. Back then, he could tell the preying gazes were hostile in nature, but now, it wasn't so. Whoever, or whatever, was watching him, didn't have any malevolent intent.

At least… not now.

"Let's just… keep going. There has to be a town or something coming up the trail." Link urged himself to brush off the feeling, and quickly walked off with Tael, keeping the sword he used to travel to this realm out of sight.

From the distance, a figure clad in shadow observed the subject of his stare contemplate his presence. So this fellow was more aware than he looked, interesting. Whoever this man was, either he was not to be contended with, or he was in need of assistance. Out of safety, the onlooker chose the former, not wishing to disclose himself to this person just yet.

One thing of note, however, is that he was human. The knight who was spying on the hero in green only knew one other human, and even then, they were much younger than this fellow appeared to be. With a surmising sigh, the warrior left, right as Link continued on down the path of the dirt road.

The knight, positively certain he was alone, reached into his cloak to a back pocket, finding a slip of paper. Using a pencil he grabbed from his opposite pocket, he scribbled something down and then stuffed it back into the cape and then hunched back. His cape quickly concentrated into a pair of wings, which he used to take off into the sky, towards the house of a trusted ally.

There was a knock at the door. Then another, and then one more. The boy in bed slowly sat up and yawned, quite drowsy even though it was past noon. He had a habit for sleeping in and such.

At first the boy thought the knocking was just in his head, but when a sudden gust of wind outside shook his entire abode, he had a feeling he knew who had visited him. Climbing out of bed, he groggily walked to the door of his hut and fumbled with the knob. His short, stubby paw wasn't the best when he was still sleepy. After a second, he managed to figure out the door.

Peering outside, the boy swapped his eyes from one side to the other. Nothing, nobody. Well, that'd be odd if his visitor was the person he suspected, but then again, he could've left a note. Sure enough, there was a small piece of peeking just from underneath the 'Welcome' mat, stuck there to ensure it wouldn't blow away in the wind.

The boy grabbed the note and looked at it.

"Come to the castle. You are required at once. Signed, Meta Knight," it read. The signature was easily recognizable. Kirby, the puffy pink Star Warrior, and the star of the show, quickly woke himself up at the sight of his mentor's name, knowing the matter was urgent.

"Poyo!" Kirby said, waking up the person who had been asleep next to him.

"Hm? Wha-What is it, Kirby?" A fairy said, her pink hair ruffled, and her pajamas wrinkled from tossing and turning. She rubbed her eyes, and her vision finally grew less blurry.

"Rib! Poy-poyo!" Kirby said, catching Ribbon up to speed. He waved the note from Meta Knight in the air.

"O-Oh, well, alright. You go on out there, I just need a bit to fully wake up," Ribbon chuckled lightly, stifling a yawn. Kirby wasn't content on leaving it at that, so he dashed over to his friend and gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

"Oh you… Go on, perhaps there will be a snack waiting for you when you come back," Ribbon said affectionately, blushing and holding her cheek.

Kirby, with one last, big smile, left the house. Waiting out front for just a second, his trusty mode of transportation, the Warp Star, shot across the sky and towards the lawn. It touched down only a few feet from Kirby, and he hopped on and took off, soaring away and to the castle. He had an odd feeling that this visit might be interesting, at least a little.

Link could see buildings in the distance. A town! His hunch was correct. Even Tael spotted the crowns of civilization poking out from over the hillside. They both grew giddy, ecstatic at their progress. It'd only been a few minutes since they arrived, after all.

But then, the pair was impeded by some strange trio, appearing just a couple dozen meters away from them, almost out of thin air. They were fairly short but armed, each of them brandishing a sword comparable in size to themselves effortlessly. Link quickly drew the Gilded Sword, standing valiantly as Tael scanned the opponents. He was ready to target in case the hero was looking to attack.

"Stop where you are, and sheath your weapon," A voice said, heavy with an accent but still understandable. Link didn't obey, keeping his stance and leering. He analyzed the weapons the three held. The outer two had pretty basic, standard swords, but the one in the middle gripped an extravagant, branched sword, golden in color.

These three warriors seemed competent to Link, who brushed his golden and silver hair out of his face as to not have any visual impairment in battle. While small in stature, correctly assuming they'd only reaching up to his hips up close, it was clear they bore unbreakable wills and courage. The man in green almost reconsidered the prospect of crossing blades with them, his newfound respect for their valor immense.

"We said, 'sheath your weapon'!" The one on the right said. His voice was differently toned than the middle one, and his helmet adorned with a large, V-shaped visor. The other, perplexingly, didn't have a visor, yet faced the exact same direction as his companions.

"Who are you?" Link demanded, concealing the picture of Romani in his tunic pocket and reaching for his shield. It gleamed in the sunlight, almost blinding the three as it rested on his forearm.

The trio, still facing Link, leaned into each other and muttered something under their breaths. When they returned attention to the hero, the started to walk forward in unison.

"We are the ones known as 'Star Warriors', defenders of Dream Land," The middle began, speaking up. "I am Sir Meta Knight, and these are my pupils, Sword Knight and Blade Knight."

"My name is Link Dotour, and I… have no knowledge of 'Star Warriors', or of Dream Land. I have come in search of a man similar to myself in hopes of gaining his assistance," Link explained, starting to pace forward as well, Tael preparing for battle.

"There is no man of the name 'Link' here," Sword Knight, the one with the visor, claimed. "In fact, in this land, you are the only man of your kind!"

Link paused. What could that mean? He didn't dwell on it for long, resuming his walk until he and the three Star Warriors were just feet away from each other, their weapons nearly grazing each other. Tension was high as the wind had picked up, howling through the hills as some citizens from the nearby town noticed their guardians facing off with an unknown figure.

"If you do not know of Dream Land, then how did you come to be here?" Meta Knight said, his students being quite eager for battle. His mask was unlike any Link had seen. Completely metal, with a harsh polish only known to him from material used for weapons.

"It's quite a long story," Link said, his right hand reaching down into his item bag. He pulled out the off-balance sword and presented it to the three, hoping it would have some meaning to them. He released it and let it fall to the ground.

While to Sword Knight and Blade Knight, the weapon held no meaning, to Meta Knight, it held too much meaning. How did this stranger, seemingly not of this planet, find that sword? What did it have to do with his presence here? He had no time to think on it, as Link, not appreciating the silence, was the first to strike, the Gilded Sword clashing with Galaxia roughly.

Sword Knight stormed Link, forcing the man to focus with the Gilded Sword on him. Meta Knight stepped back and let his other protégé, Blade Knight, jump forward. His sword clunked against the Mirror Shield, being parried expertly, as the Hero of Termina lurched back, relieving some of the pressure.

Link kicked the blunt of Blade Knight's weapon away, keeping his eye on Sword Knight as they continued to duel. He made sure to block the former's advances, but interestingly, Meta Knight, obviously the senior of the three, hadn't engaged. Instead, he was inspecting the sword Link had thrown to the ground.

The other three fighters battled vigorously, their pivots and advances complimenting each other gracefully. Sword Knight flipped his weapon as to have it pointed downward and lunged, the clash against the Mirror Shield sending vibrations through both him and Link. The golden-haired hero pushed against his defenses, getting the enemy off him. Blade Knight came running up, sword in the air, and Link rolled away from the attack, the swing shearing the grass instead.

"Where-" Sword Knight was cut off by a strike to his sword, planting his feet on the ground firmly so as to not lose his balance. He shoved himself against his weapon and forced Link back, taking a moment to breathe. "Where do you come from?!"

"I… well, am not from this world. I come from a place known as 'Termina'," The last word Link uttered brought Meta Knight's attention back. The three knights shuddered, the word 'Termina' having a vastly different connotation for them.

"A land… named 'Termina'?" Meta Knight asked, taking the other sword Link had discarded and making it vanish into his cape. He eyed his students inquisitively, his faith that Link held malicious intentions dwindling.

"Do you know it?" Link sneered, taking an aggressive stance with his blade and shield. He crouched down and positioned his arm so that his sword remained steady behind him, ready to swing in case any of his opponents got too close. His shield was kept locked in front of him.

"No, we don't," Sword Knight and Blade Knight said, their voices blending together.

More and more people started to gather at the edge of town, cheering for Meta Knight and his allies to vanquish Link. Seeing how the leader of these Star Warriors hadn't even acted against him, Link grew more nervous about the outcome of this battle. The students were skilled, together being almost a match for him.

Behind Link, a star crashed to the ground, signaling the arrival of someone quite special. The calls of the citizens across the field doubled in favor of the Star Warriors, and it was just enough for Link to turn around.

He had no time to react. Link only saw what looked like a small, yellow star careening towards him, and then felt something with unimaginable velocity strike him in the chest, sending him flying. He flew through the air and landed in a heap, his body bruised, his grip on the Gilded Sword and the Mirror Shield relinquished. Groaning, he tried to get up, but quickly succumbed to his exhaustion, passing out in front of Meta Knight and his pupils.

"Yeah! Great job, Kirby!" Sword Knight applauded. The pink puffball smiled bashfully, thinking it was nothing. All he did was inhale a nearby block and spit it back out. All in a day's work.

"Hey! Link, buddy! Come on, get up!" Tael rushed over to his unconscious friend, not caring if he was close to the knights trying to kill his friend. He darted around Link's face, trying to wake him up.

A pair of hands clapped around Tael and held him captive, but were careful not to hurt him. Meta Knight was baffled by the events before him. He reluctantly ignored Tael's cries for help, hating how afraid the fairy sounded. In fact, wait a moment, this boy was a fairy? But fairies, at least the ones he knew, were much bigger and weren't masked by a ball of light they emitted.

"So what should we do with him, Sir Meta Knight?" Blade Knight stood over Link's body, nudging the man's leg with his foot.

"Bring him in for questioning," Meta Knight easily answered.

"What? W-Why? He tried to kill us!" Sword Knight protested, thinking his teacher's logic was unfounded.

"This is true; however, did you not see his face? He was not driven by malice," Meta Knight, ever vigilant, could recognize the look of desperation. While Link hid it well, the lone swordsman saw it in the human. Wait a second, was he human?

"Something about all this is foul, Sir Meta Knight…" Blade Knight mumbled, shackling Link's wrists in a pair of cuffs before helping Sword Knight drag him off towards the castle. Right behind them followed Kirby, knowing his work wasn't done just yet.

Link woke up in darkness. Breathing was a little difficult, the heat from his mouth bouncing against a cloth and into his nostrils. A bag had been shoved over his head, how degrading. He struggled a bit, hearing the shudder of chains down from his hands. Cuffed as well?

"He's awake!" A voice called from a few feet away.

The sounds of shuffling footsteps and the jingling of keys told Link that he was in a cell, the creaking of the jail door immediately assaulting his eardrums. Forcefully he was brought to his feet, a guard gripping his shoulders and shoving him forward. Someone in front of him had taken the connecting chains to his handcuffs and guided him out of the cell, heading somewhere unknown.

At first Link's boots walked along stone, but it later shifted to what sounded like carpet. The scents as well, grew better, almost pristine. The hero's mind raced on where exactly he could be. A prison wouldn't be this large, or so sanitary. He must be someplace more important.

Link's questions would be answered when he and his escorts stopped. He heard one set of footsteps leave, presumably the one behind him. The other yanked on the cuffs, before a mechanical clunk surrounded them. Finally, the sack over the hero's head was removed, allowing him to see. He blinked repeatedly, helping revitalize his vision, reaching down to rub his eyes.

Then Link got a look at the guard keeping his reigns held. He expected a tall, burly grunt, but instead he was met with a short, stout, round little creature. It was orange in color, with a pale peach face. Oddly, it had no mouth, yet expressive eyes and visible cheek bones. Were they bones?

A quick look at himself told Link that he had been stripped of his gear, and other look around showed only shadows. A single cone of light beamed down on him, like he was on display for hidden onlookers. Some vague shapes were just out of sight, but they were hardly distinguishable.

"So tell me…" A foreign voice said, echoing through the darkness. Again, it had an accent, but wildly different from the knight. "What in the heck brought you out here, huh?"

"And where did you find that sword?" Another voice, the knight, said.

"Poyo!" That last voice nearly startled Link. It sounded child-like and small, far too out of place for this kind of situation. All of this was so confusing, and it was giving the man in green a roaring headache.

"What is this place?" Link asked, elongating the word 'is'. His hope for an easy meet-up with some other variant of himself was down the drain and in the sewers. It was easy to tell he hadn't found an alternate version of Termina or Hyrule as he had intended. "Who are you people?!"

"Us? Eheheheh! We're gonna be your caterers to justice!" The first voice said enthusiastically. "I, along with my friends here, are super Star Warriors!"

"What exactly are 'Star Warriors', anyways?" Link felt the need to ask.

"Star Warriors are soldiers sworn to protect the galaxy from all forms of evil. From the vast nightmares of oblivion to the madness of Dark Matter, that is what we defend against," The knight explained, his short speech having a somewhat profound effect on Link. It seemed to be a noble line of work, and his angered eyes became gentle for a moment.

"So you're all a part of the same species?"

"It's not a species, but a title. Anyone can be a Star Warrior, as long as they swear themselves to the cause." The knight's tone grew somber.

"However! That don't matter to you, don't it? You're a threat, just like anything else that dares invade my kingdom!" The first speaker interjected, his brash, booming voice overpowering the knight.

"Invade? How so?" Link growled.

"Because you simply waltzed up from nowhere and attacked my good pal Meta Knight and his friends! I don't take kindly to that there unfounded ferocity!" The crashing of a fist on metal rang out from where the voice emanated from. The two beside the prime speaker looked to them annoyedly.

"Your Majesty-" The knight began, only to be interrupted once again.

"Oh, then let me out of these restraints and I'll show you ferocity…" Link scowled, already sick of listening to this pompous fool. He considered parting his hands with all his might, ready to lunge at whoever entered his line of sight if his chains snapped.

"A threat like that best be punishable by death!" The presumed king roared. He was about to slam his fist again, when suddenly, all the lights flipped on, blinding everyone.

"Dedede?! Kirby? Meta Knight? What in the world is going on in here?!" A new, motherly voice shouted through the chamber as the others recovered, rubbing their eyes. It was clear that it was a woman, and Link got a brief view of her when he tried to look around.

She was a fairly tall lady, with black hair, tied into twin pigtails. A crown rested on her head neatly and wore a red, tailored dress with a cropped, white tee and pink collar. She exhumed a fair, maternal presence right away, however her spectacled face didn't express the same warmness. Her eyes were ablaze with anger, a furious glint lining her cheeks.

"My goodness, let that poor boy go! You know our rules, Dedede, he's no longer armed!" The lady walked up to Link and unlocked his handcuffs, letting them fall to the floor ungracefully.

"W-Wait, Queenie, please! We never get to do an interrogation like this!" The king wailed, upset that his self-imposed menacing figure was ruined so inelegantly. He had this whole plan to mess with the prisoner.

"Poyo poyo!" The childish voice reappeared, and Link quickly looked up to see what it could possibly be coming from. That pink, round, thing that so easily beat him. How?

"I side with Kirby, Your Highness. I too thought it a bad idea," Meta Knight commented, a hidden smirk under his mask. Link just glanced at all four of them, trying to get a grip on himself. Was there seriously a large, talking penguin sitting on a throne?

"I'm terribly sorry about all this, sweetie. Dedede over there is always looking to act more like a king ever since we made things official…" The Queen helped Link stand and dusted him off. The hero backed away, unused to someone touching his tunic. "Oh, my apologies, I didn't know if you wanted help cleaning yourself off or not." The lady fluttered her wings and chuckled.

"Now Dedede," The woman, who Link could guess was the queen, turned back to face the penguin. She put her hands on her hips and wagged her finger sternly. "Please give this boy a proper greeting to the kingdom. I thought Meta Knight already deemed him not dangerous, correct? I know he's not the type to go along with a silly scheme like this!"

"Well, I was also interested in the boy's reaction," Meta Knight replied thoughtfully.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Link asked, his voice weary. Everyone, including the Queen, turned and stared at him with wide, shocked eyes. Apparently his language was thought of as obscene to them, and a blush formed around his cheeks. "Sorry…" he added meekly.

"No, no, no, it's alright. You're confused, don't worry," The Queen reassured Link, the man smiling at the instance of hospitality. Again he looked at her wings. Was she a fairy?

"Wait a moment…" Link looked around, noticing the lack of his only ally from Termina. "Wait, where is my friend? Tael?!"

"Ah, your fairy companion? He's fine, rest assured. We questioned him an hour ago, and he was surprisingly compliant with what we asked. He's currently resting in one of the guest rooms," Meta Knight hopped down from Dedede's side and walked up next to the Queen. "I noticed he was of… an interesting species. Now it simply leads to many questions to you on my part."

"Poyo!" Kirby chirped, joining Meta Knight.

"Yes, I was getting to that, Kirby," Meta Knight said.

"Wait, you can understand him?" Link asked, pointing to Kirby, baffled.

"Of course, can you not-" Meta Knight stopped himself. It often slipped his mind that people unfamiliar with Kirby couldn't understand his strange way of speaking. Perhaps he could learn more about his language if this boy managed to learn as well. "Forgive me. It does take time to truly understand my friend, here."

"Poy poyo!"

"Okay then…" Link mumbled. "J-Just… is there any place I can sleep? It's been a long day."

"Oh yes, of course, honey, I'll take you to your friend's room. It has a vacant bed you can take," The Queen was quick to answer Link, gesturing for him to follow. "I'll leave Dedede to tidy up and talk to the guards about relaxing their… methods on you."

"Thank you, that's very kind," Link said as he accompanied the Queen out of the room. The pair left, leaving an angered Dedede in his throne room alongside his friends.

"I really didn't expect her to just barge in like that…" Dedede grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting. He rose from his throne and lingered down the steps, procrastinating as much as possible, Kirby and Meta Knight rolling their eyes.

"She wouldn't have just let you keep enacting that charade, Your Majesty, you know that." Meta Knight remarked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" Dedede frowned, Kirby just chuckling playfully.

"Although tomorrow!" Dedede's mood quickly changed, aware that he did have a good point against the man in green in mind. "Tomorrow we gotta question him! That sword he had; it was Kirby's! Heck, you even recognized it, right? That's what Blade Knight done told me."

Meta Knight hummed as he thought about Dedede's proposal. It was disturbingly peculiar that the stranger, who went by the odd name 'Link', had Kirby's old sword. And in fantastic condition, to boot. Just how, where, and when he got that weapon, and what it had to do with his arrival here, sparked many questions in the lone swordsman's mind.