Fallen Stars: A New Age - Act 2 - Chapter Two

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Space.

Such a mysterious yet familiar thing. He knew these stars like the back of his hand, and yet, whenever his gaze wandered outside and the light of the stars reflected in his widening pupils, he would lose himself in this infinity. No matter how he looked at it, it would just go on and on and on. The world was endless. The possibilities were endless.

And he had eternity itself to explore all of it.

“Oy, lad.”

The engine was purring around him, a calm vibrance that rumbled kindly through his body. Outside the ship, beautiful lights shone along with infinite stars, passing by and morphing like clouds pushed around by invisible winds, as if mimicking his own thoughts. He was unsure of his feelings; he knew he was here to relax, and yet… he couldn’t shake that horrible gut-wrenching feeling that kept nipping at him. There was something… out there… He didn’t know what, but it was there. Waiting for him.

In his backpack, the blue Warp Star was calling him… a distant and unheard voice echoing endlessly in deaf ears…

“Hey, lad!”

Kirby blinked out of his reverie and turned his head toward the piloting cockpit, from which Sir Galacta Knight was calling him. The knight, seeing that he had his attention, turned his head back to the commands, saying:

“Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale there, you feel sick?”

Kirby sat there immobile for a moment before wildly shaking his head, rubbing his hands on his face to bring colour back to it. Self-conscious, he partially wrapped his cape around his shoulders; its warmth was like a cocoon…

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” came the simple answer. “Guess I’m just tired. Are… Are we there yet?”

The knight chuckled lightly, answering:

“We’ll be under the warm sky of Dreamland soon, lad. A little bit of sun will do you good, you got paler in the past few months.”

“Did I?” Kirby crossed his brows, looking down at his arms to see his skin, before looking over to Azure for confirmation.

The large Wolfwrath, who was laying on the ground next to his seat, raised his head to squint his glowing eyes at him, before cocking his head to the side. Oh, right, Azure couldn’t see that sort of thing. His eyes were strictly able to see the heat waves emanating from people and his environment, nothing else but shapes and temperatures.

“Oh, you did,” Bun answered for the wolf, making them look over to him.

The ship they were travelling in was rather small; a cockpit for the pilot and co-pilot – in this case, Galacta Knight and Hailan respectively – with a small space behind it where a maximum of ten passengers could sit. It had the bare minimum for short journeys, the perfect ship for such a boring voyage from the Agency to Popstar; meaning, it was very low on food, and Kirby was getting hungry. Bun sat across from him; well, sitting was a choice word for it. He laid on his back across two seats, his arms crossed behind his head. The older cappy was looking over to him; even five years later, his bangs still hid his eyes from view, but already his face was more mature, more sculpted, with the shade of a shaved beard growing around his chiseled chin.

“You look awful, pal,” Bun told his Kiridan brother, who turned his face away back to the window with a small scoff. “What’s bothering ya?”

“Nothing,” Kirby lied awfully, feeling his cheeks warm up as he did. “Can’t wait to get home to get some sun, I guess.”

“Wow,” Bun awed in a fake manner, trying to hold a laugh in as he observed his friend. “That was the most awful lie I’ve ever heard. You really must be down.”

“He’s right, lad,” he heard from Galacta Knight at the front of the ship, making his cheeks flush suddenly. “That was bad.”

“J-just shut up, both of you!” he hollered toward them. “For Nova’s sake, I’m fine, I’m telling you!”

“If you say so,” Bun answered, giving up on getting any useful information out of him. “Sis’s gonna find out though.”

Kirby sighed. Crap, he forgot about Fumu. She could read through him like an open book on a stand; luckily for him, that stand wasn’t in front of a crowd, so she could read it by herself. Self-conscious, Kirby looked down at his arm…

His skin really was paler than usual.

The warm sun of Popstar – although Kirby couldn’t tell whether he had missed it or not, it was certainly nice to see it again after all this time. As they were descending into orbit, the Kiridan was reminded of the first day he had done the same thing, in his little space cradle… and, somehow, found himself grimacing. Thinking about this made him think about the past, and the past reminded him of a certain missing knight… Shaking his head, he straightened up in his seat with a deep breath. The ship was shaking moderately, as was usually the case when going down through the atmosphere; it stopped when they had crossed the most treacherous part of the sky, and almost suddenly, the ship found itself surrounded in blue. Looking through the window next to him, Kirby looked down; Dreamland was over there, a lone island in the middle of the Orange Ocean.

His heart began to beat faster, and he had to take in more deep breaths to keep it down. Why was he so nervous…? This was his home, right? There was no reason to feel this way… Just calm down, Kirby… A dry snout suddenly touched his hand and he jerked his head to the side with a short gasp, only to see Azure looking up at him with concern in his eyes. Kirby didn’t say anything; instead, all he did was pet the wolf kindly on the muzzle, which made its throat rumble lightly with a purr of comfort. It softly resonated through Kirby’s hand, bringing much needed warmth into his heart…

“Alright, we’re here!” Galacta Knight announced as the ship circled the island in search of Pupu Village. “Aah, I didn’t think I’d miss this place as much as I did! Grab your stuff back there, we’ll be there in a minute.”

Both Kirby and Bun detached their seat belts and did as they were told, in total silence, while Galacta Knight conversed with Hailan about Dreamland. The young Kiridan could feel his friend cast worried glances his way, but he didn’t answer to them. He didn’t wish to worry him further than needed… He was already bad enough at lying, he knew for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to hide his melancholy. It would be a problem with Fumu, though…

In the last five years, Pupu Village had expanded even more; now that the Agency had more access to it, a simple base had been built outside of town, along with a proper landing site for incoming ships. The base had very little staff who had very little to do, but last time they heard from them, the soldiers here weren’t complaining; like Galacta Knight had once said five years back, it was like a paid vacation in paradise!

When the carrier ship initiated landing, Kirby had to hold himself with a nearby safety pole, suddenly feeling a little bit light-headed; the sounds around him deafened, and little black dots began to decorate the edges of his vision… He shook his head, blinking his eyes multiple times to chase the dark away. Maybe a nap on the beach would do him good. Not only would he get the rest he apparently needed, he would also get the tan he also apparently needed. Two birds with one stone, and nothing to worry about!

The ship filled with silence when the engine was turned off, and only now did Kirby realize that they had landed and that the hatch was open; already Bun was taking all the stuff they had brought outside, where he hollered over to the nearby hunters, and Azure promptly waltzed outside, eager for some fresh air. As Kirby was about to do the same, a call from behind stopped him.

“Master Kirby.”

He turned around; Hailan had come out of the cockpit and was taking his own baggage, although he had very little compared to him. Galacta Knight walked past Kirby, tapping him on the back as he exited the ship as well, leaving Kirby alone with Hailan. The ninja walked toward him and did something he did not expect; he raised his mask on top of his head, flattening the antennas underneath and revealing the beauty of a female visage. Her eyes shone brightly as she observed him closely; Kirby felt like she could see right through him, and perhaps even deeper… Those glowing eyes of hers were something else… 

“I can tell, Master Kirby, that you are perturbed,” she said in a soft voice, to which Kirby did not dare answer back. “Whatever happened in your quarters earlier, it has been affecting you ever since. Your energies are spiralling out of order… and your core is shivering. I worry for your well-being, Master Kirby.”

Kirby didn’t really know what she was talking about, but he didn’t question it; instead, he looked a bit to the side, trying to look away from her hypnotic gaze.

“I… I guess you’re right,” he answered in a low tone. “But what can I do about it? Should I just sleep it off? I've been feeling weird for a while now…”

Hailan hummed lightly, rubbing her hand against her chin as she searched for a possible solution.

“Perhaps it would do you good to rest, indeed,” she replied. “But please, Master Kirby, I must ask that you do not seal yourself in. If you need to talk, then please, do. If you need someone to listen, know that I am here.”

Kirby sighed, and though he was reluctant to do so, he nodded his head in agreement. There was no way around it, and he knew it. After five years of seeing Miss Evadi, at least he knew the benefits of speaking about his feelings and letting go of the little monsters nipping away at his mind.

“Alright,” he said softly. “Thanks, Hailan. I really can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“No one ever could, and so can you,” was her answer, powdered with a lightly amused smirk decorating her face. “You can go now, I do believe I see Miss Fumu coming this way.”

She immediately dropped the mask back onto her face, and she became a man in disguise once more. He gestured toward Kirby’s luggage on the ground, as if asking if he needed help carrying it, but Kirby quickly bent down and took his backpack himself, raising back up with a silly smile plastered on his face – a smile he hoped didn’t appear too fake. Together, they exited the ship, and out into the suddenly bright sun of Dreamland they walked.

Kirby had to blink multiple times to get his eyes used to the brightness, and once they adjusted, he looked around himself. There were a maximum of five hunters stationed here, and they were all present around the ship, offering their help mainly for the maintenance of the carrier. They saluted Kirby as he walked out, and he saluted back.

As was usually the case, the weather was nice; a blue sky, lively green grass all around the landing site, a fresh salty breeze coming from the sea as the wind blew by, the landing site completely and utterly empty… except for that one, strange ship over there. Kirby stopped in his tracks and focused his gaze on it, confused. What a strange shape it was… A shiny pearl under the sun, it almost appeared organic in nature. He took his attention away from the odd vessel when he heard a most familiar voice and turned his head.

Aah, Fumu! As radiant as always, perhaps even more thanks to that sparkle of happiness in her eyes as she hugged the daylights out of her brother. By the looks of it, she had already gotten to Azure first as the Wolfwrath was laying on the ground as if still recovering from a brutal petting assault, his tail wagging and hitting the ground without stopping. Was it only him, or did she appear… smaller than the last time he had seen her? Or maybe, by chance, it was him who had grown, in which case he was happy about the change. Nevertheless, Kirby found himself quite happy to see her even despite his previous doubts and uncertainties, and when she raised her sparkling eyes to him and called his name, he smiled back at her and went toward his family to receive a choking hug from his dear sister.

“Oh, look at both of you!” Fumu smiled brightly like a gem as she looked from Bun to Kirby with a fond look. “Kirby, did you grow again?”

“Did I?” Kirby smirked, extending his arms to look at himself, suddenly full of hope.

“It’s all his boots,” Bun joked, making his sister snicker and his little brother pout; what a shame!

With a deep sigh, Fumu again looked at all three of them, and seeing her eyes shine that way relieved Kirby of some of his anxiety; just seeing her kind face was enough… What would he do without her around? They all turned when Galacta Knight and Hailan arrived; Galacta smiled in that way he only did around her and kissed her hand, saying:

“Aah, Miss Fumu, what a pleasure to see you again!”

Kirby looked at Fumu’s reaction closely; ever since Galacta Knight had first showed up in Dreamland, the young warrior had noticed a change in his sister’s behaviour around the knight, especially when he greeted her that way. And just as he expected, he saw her face flush a bit redder than it previously was, and her smile grew a teensy bit more as she greeted him back, saying:

“Hello Sir Galacta Knight, it’s a pleasure to see you too.”

When he backed away, she turned to Hailan, who politely bowed down as greeting, making her bow right back. While the four of them exchanged words on how they were doing, Kirby felt Azure’s nose on his arm, making him turn his head. The Wolfwrath gestured his head toward the side, and they both looked back at the unknown ship; suddenly, all of his thoughts converged back to it. He turned back to Fumu and asked:

“Whose ship is that?”

He pointed toward it, and her face suddenly lit up with a surprised look, as if she was just reminded of something truly important. She almost lost her composure, first looking toward Kirby as she attempted to say something, but then quickly looking over to Galacta Knight, finally responding:

“Oh! Yes, that’s right! It’s, uhm, it’s a Kiridan ship! It arrived just yesterday evening. Sir Galacta Knight, it’s… It’s your uncle! A certain Azure Khano.”

The knight gave a sharp gasp; Kirby could not believe his ears. His uncle… Azure Khano? That name… Could it truly be him? Suddenly, Kirby’s doubts came right back to him like a rising wave; he knew something was wrong. He knew a surprise would be waiting for them here, but of all things, he did not expect this. Meanwhile, Galacta Knight was ecstatic; he backed away, wings fluttering and beating excitedly as he held his face trying to take it in, exclaiming:

“Uncle Az is here! I can’t believe it! The old bastard is alive! Hahaha! Amazing! Uhm, quick, Miss Fumu! You must bring me to him, I have to see him!”

The cappy woman, as if she somewhat expected this kind of reaction, agreed and gestured them all to follow her, saying:

“Of course, please come with me. He must be somewhere in town right about now. He seems like a very curious man, he’s been asking all sorts of questions, especially about you, Kirby. Oh, perfect timing, here are the Waddle Dees I asked!”

Before they could leave, the group saw a dozen of small Waddle Dees running their way, the most adorable little army one could hope to see, and without any words needed, they picked up the luggage and the bags and carried them off, probably to be taken to their respective quarters at the castle.

“These little creatures sure are practical,” Hailan commented in a low voice, making Kirby smirk.

“He’s been asking about me?” Kirby asked toward Fumu as they left the landing site and toward the road to town.

“Yes,” Fumu replied, taking the lead of the group. “He said he originally came here looking for the hero who defeated Nightmare, but he ran into some… complications on the way here.”

“Complications?” Bun inquired. “What kind of complications?”

“He found a ship drifting in space not too far from Popstar, being attacked by Dark Matter,” she replied with a heavier tone. “There was an unconscious girl inside, and he brought her here to be checked.”

“A girl?” Galacta Knight asked, his tone suddenly serious. “Will she be alright?”

“According to Doctor Yabui, she got a concussion, but nothing too serious, so she’s not in danger,” she answered him. “She’s resting at his clinic now, you’ll be able to see her later if you want to ask her questions. I am sure she will be very confused, so please, nothing too harsh…”

Kirby frowned lightly. The more she talked, the more he realized how right he had been to worry about coming here. Something was going on, whether it was about this Kiridan man or this mysterious girl, and he had a feeling he would find out soon enough. And to think he had planned to go sleep on the beach to relax…

Kirby lost his focus on what the others were saying barely a minute after they set off; plunging deep into the acid sea of thoughts that plagued his mind, he simply walked along with them, staring ahead as the first houses came in sight. The dirt road became paved, and off into the streets of the growing Pupu Village they walked, in search of this mysterious man. On the way, they met many villagers that made them stop to greet them, many friends who were happy to see Kirby and Bun again after so long, but the smiles Kirby gave them were strained, and he felt awful about giving them these poor excuses of a greeting.

Galacta Knight was already ahead, looking down every street in search of him, and while they looked around, Kirby began to feel more and more nervous, to the point where Azure had to lower his head to him to try and keep him calm with his purrs. Kirby simply had no idea what to do; what would he say to him?

Oh yeah, I knew your son, he’s my dad but not really and he abandoned me five years ago. Anyway, how are you?

He shook his head. That certainly wouldn’t do. Taking a deep breath, he decided to wait and see; maybe seeing Galacta Knight’s reaction to him would give him a hint of how to react. Maybe even just seeing the man’s face would help making him more at ease. He was certainly curious to know what he looked like… Curious to have Hailan’s opinion on this matter, he turned to look at him… only to see that he had vanished. Well, he certainly didn’t lose any time in doing his job. A ninja had to live in the shadows after all. He was probably watching them from somewhere else, nearby…

“Hey, Kirb,” he heard from the front, making him look back.

Bun stared at him; his face expressed nothing but concern.

“You okay?”

Kirby nodded his head.

“Yeah, of course I’m okay.”

He was not. That small exchange made Fumu turn her head to them, but she didn’t say a word, thankfully.

Finally, when the group turned a corner into one of the main streets of town – by now they were followed by many villagers, friends and children who were all eager about seeing them again – they saw him. A distinct, unusual form, unknown yet oh so familiar, standing in the middle of the street casually speaking with some cappies. For a short moment, Kirby stopped breathing; his heart echoed in his ears, his blood pumped wildly and he slightly choked. This… This man.

He wasn’t looking at a stranger.

He was looking at him.

There was nothing else to it; there was no way in Nova’s name that this person was someone else.

He was looking at Meta Knight, there was no way around it.

He was pulled out of his shock when Galacta Knight slightly choked as well; the knight started laughing, and the words he called out were of an unknown language, one that flowed naturally on his tongue and reverberated across the street. In response, the man – as well as everyone else – turned back to look, and Kirby saw the first detail that made all the difference; his eyes were a bright yet soft green, one that popped quite nicely against his dark face.

The man smiled widely and extended his arms to the side, calling back to Galacta Knight in their mother tongue, making the knight open his wings and fly over. The moment they met, the two men joined in a tight and feathery hug, and the laughs of relief that echoed across the air managed to make Kirby smile. He couldn’t understand a word they were saying to each other, but he knew just by the sound and the look of it that they were so happy to see one another after so long. From what he remembered Galacta Knight telling him, he had looked all over the galaxy for the rest of their clan… and now one of them just appeared right out of nowhere! To know some were still alive… Kirby couldn’t imagine the relief.

The young Star Warrior reached behind in the hidden pocket of his cape; he pulled out the sigil Meta Knight had given him. If he showed this to any of their clan, he would be recognized as one of their own… Time to see if it was true.

“Hey, lad!”

He looked up from his thoughts ahead and saw Galacta Knight waving to him to come over; he was beaming, but the man next to him looked… almost shocked. He gulped down his worry, clenched the sigil in his glove, and walked forward; Azure followed right behind him, his head low, cautious. When the young one was close enough, Galacta Knight put his hand on his shoulder and pulled him closer, saying as he turned to his uncle:

“Uncle Az, this young hunter here is Kirby of the Stars, also known as Nightmare’s Destroyer. We just call him Kirby.”

He turned to Kirby and extended a hand toward the man.

“Kirby, this is my uncle Azure,” he introduced, but he stopped when he heard a low growl from the giant wolf standing behind Kirby. “But we call him Az.”

Kirby was shaking, but he smiled nonetheless, extending a hand to shake his; the elder Kiridan smiled in wonder as he greeted him with both hands, speaking with a rich accent that forced Kirby to listen carefully.

“Aah, Kirby of the Stars! I have heard so much about you since I arrived here, I did not expect you to be so young! So you were my son’s apprentice, correct?”

The Star Warrior opened his mouth, but he stuttered a bit before finding his words. He was looking at his face, at the nasty-looking scars that barred the side of his visage, but yet somehow didn’t take away the kindness and wonder that shone in his oh so familiar leafy green eyes. In those eyes, he saw so many things he didn’t understand…

“Y-yes sir, I was,” he responded with a shy smirk, surprised at his firm yet warm handshake. “U-uh… He, uh, told me a little about you, actually. Well, I mean, he told me your name at least…”

Az chuckled lightly, nodding his head as if he knew what he was talking about.

“Did he now?” he asked in an amused tone, crossing his arms. "I'm actually surprised he did!"

“Y-yeah,” Kirby stuttered before raising his hand to gesture toward Azure. “A-actually, I named this big guy here after you without even knowing it.”

Uncle Az looked up at the large wolf, who lowered his head toward him even closer, taking the time and space to sniff him. Kirby deduced that he liked his smell, for he saw his tail wag and raise, even a little bit.

“A second Azure!” the Kiridan smiled, raising his hand so the Wolfwrath could sniff and lick it. “It’s nice to meet you, Azure.”

The Wolfwrath backed away a couple steps, raising his head high above everyone else. He spoke as he usually did, voice monotone and controlled.

“You smell like Master. I like you.”

And he sat down on the ground, having spoken all that he had to say on the matter. As Uncle Az marvelled at how well-trained the wolf was, Kirby fumbled with the sigil still in his palm and looked at it, wondering how he could bring it up. Galacta Knight apparently saw way ahead of him, for he said:

“Kirby is part of the clan, you know.”

Az stared back at him with a surprised gaze before turning over to Kirby, his smile returning.

“Is it true?” he asked.

Kirby felt his face warm up considerably and, finding that no words would come out of his mouth, he nodded his head as answer, before extending his hand and handing him the sigil of the Khano clan. Az took it to examine it closer, and Kirby felt his heart beat faster and faster as each second passed by. When Az raised his head back to him, the look he briefly gave him was odd; but it all changed, and the smile grew into the brightest one he had seen yet. The man extended his arms and pulled the young hunter in a surprise hug, saying:

“Miaheres! Welcome to the family, boy!”

And as Galacta Knight bursted out laughing at Kirby’s most confused face, the lad’s heart dropped suddenly with the realization; he had been accepted. He was a Khano now.

Kirby Khano. Huh. It didn’t sound too bad.