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

Somewhere in the vast Universe, tucked between two spiralling galaxies and endless clouds of dancing, colourful matter, was the Gamble Galaxy. The stories tell that it was in this very galaxy that, two decades ago, a young Star Warrior appeared as if out of nowhere, and faced off against the Emperor of Dreams himself, Nightmare. With the stars’ light in his hands, the young one brought an end to the Dream Wars, a battle that had taken everything to wage. And now, without the fear of nightmares hiding in every corner, the Universe was a safe place to live in once more, thanks to this young one.

The Gamble Galaxy was home to many habitable worlds, some of which hidden, some well known across the system, and others filled with mystery. One of these was a star called Popstar; a shining gem tucked away in a lone corner of the galaxy, forgotten and peaceful.

A man in his starship was now headed toward this lone star, in hopes of meeting with the young Star Warrior; he had heard so much about him travelling the Universe, he could not go on without making a stop there. The Kiridan man raised his head from his controls to the vast colourful clouds that surrounded his ship, and thought about how beautiful this part of the galaxy was. Aah, he thought to himself, his wife and child would surely love this place if they were here! Perhaps one day he could bring them to visit…

As he was approaching the shining star in the distance, the man squinted his eyes, as he saw something floating up ahead amongst some debris. It was another starship, but this one was smaller and sleeker in design. At first glance, it seemed to be abandoned… but when he got closer to it, he saw them. Shadows, dancing and prowling around the ship. They were trying to get in, throwing their ethereal bodies against the carcass of the vessel, but couldn’t get through its surface; every time they struck, the ship’s shields reacted, pushing them away successfully, but it didn’t seem like it would hold on forever.

Crossing his eyebrows, the man brought his ship closer and quickly activated the spotlights at the front. As soon as the bright lights shone on them, the shadows turned their evil gazes toward his ship, and he saw their pupils shrink before they scattered away like scared mice, vanishing into the darkness of the Universe like mirages. The Kiridan sighed. He had seen these things much too often on his way to this galaxy…

Carefully bringing his ship closer to the smaller vessel, he shone the lights through the glass and saw the pilot sitting on the only seat; only, it was a little girl! The gravity was deactivated in her ship, and she was limply floating, her waist still attached to her seat, and she seemed unconscious. Her ship had probably crashed against the debris and she had hit her head… He couldn’t leave her here like this, especially if there were Dark Matter lurking about.

The Kiridan stood up from his seat and left the cockpit before heading toward the decompression chamber. On the way, he grabbed a spare suit and helmet. Being able to breathe the ether present in space, Kiridans had no problem going out without a suit and an oxygen tank, and so the man exited his ship, immediately feeling the lack of gravity desorienting. He floated over to the girl’s ship and entered through the chamber located under it, and continued to float his way through to the pilot’s cockpit, where he was able to see the girl correctly.

Of all things, a fairy! But their home star was on the other side of this galaxy… Why was she here of all places? With no time to question, the Kiridan undid the belt holding her attached to the seat and carefully dressed her in the suit he had brought. After that, he brought her over to his ship, where he laid her down on the only bed there was. She looked so young, even for fairy standards… Her hair was semi-long, a bright pink colour, and she was wearing a cherry red dress, with a matching ribbon tying her hair. Her skin was the colour of porcelain, but already her cheeks were growing pink again, which he thought of as a good sign. He was not a doctor, and his knowledge of head injuries was fairly limited despite his age; he knew he needed to bring her to a real doctor, and quick.

The Kiridan quickly headed back to his seat, and set in a course for Popstar on his console; on this planet, he would find the help she needed, he knew it. And perhaps, at the same time, he would meet this hero, spoken in the stories that were rapidly spreading around the Universe… stories that reminded him oh so much of his dear, long gone son…

_____________

A bright neon light shone above him. To his left, there was a large and wide window, that allowed him a sight of the stars and the nearby dancing nebulas outside the station. He could even see a few ships flying by, patrolling the area.

“Tell me, Kirby. How have you been feeling since our last meeting? If I recall, you told me you felt, and I quote, “just peachy”.”

Five years had passed since Kirby joined the Demon Hunter Agency.

“Heh, yeah, well… I feel a lot better, actually. I’ve been able to focus a lot better on my job recently. Feels good.”

These years went by so fast, he didn’t even see them fly away; like a flock of startled birds, there a moment, gone the next.

“That’s good to hear, dear. And what about your dreams? When was the last time you had a nightmare?”

Since he joined and became an apprentice Hunter, Kirby had been training under the wing of Sir Dragato, the eldest of all the Kiridan Star Warriors. The man had long retired from being a commander, but he was still an excellent teacher and advisor, one that grew to be close to Kirby, who desperately needed one such as him in these troubled times. Kirby even started reading his books; needless to say, Sir Dragato was an excellent writer.

“Mmh… I don’t actually recall. I guess this is a good sign. But…”

After five years of training and hard work, Kirby was now almost ready to become a Hunter Star Warrior, the highest rank of Hunters in the Agency, and he was feeling excited about his nearing promotion, as it meant he would have more freedom in his choices from now on. But his training with Sir Dragato, on the other hand, was only starting… He still had yet to master the combined abilities, even after five years… It felt like there was a blocade set in his path, and he didn’t know how to cross it.

“Is something the matter, dear?”

“Well, I haven’t had a nightmare in a while, but my dreams are… really freaky still. I don’t know how to say it. They’re… weird, and nonsensical.”

“Can you describe them to me, Kirby?”

One year after he arrived at the Agency, Sir Arthur got him in contact with a therapist that had just found a job at HQ; Miss Evadi, as she was called. Kirby was told that she would help him deal with his insecurities, that he would be able to go through his Dark Matter sickness easier if he could speak freely of his fears and worries to someone such as her. Although he was hesitant at first, the young Star Warrior quickly warmed up to her, and today, four years later, Kirby was glad to say that he did feel a lot better.

“Mmh… In most of them, I’m in, like, a really familiar yet unknown place. It’s often the same, sometimes it changes. It looks like a town, in some sort of cave under the surface. Other times I’m in cities I’ve never seen, with people whose names I don’t know, but in my dreams, it’s like I know these places and these people, but I don’t at the same time. I’d look at someone and recognize their face, but they don’t have names. Sometimes their faces change too… There’s things that don’t match up either, like last night. In my dream, I was playing with some kids in the town, and then some guy showed up and yelled at me because I was too lazy and he made me do twenty push-ups. And those kids were still running around me as I was doing those push-ups! It was so weird… I don’t really know what to make of those dreams, to be honest…”

Recently, Kirby was hard at work on a personal project of his; to discover if he could recreate the power he utilized against Meta Knight, five years ago. Sir Galacta Knight had told him all about it.

Those abilities, Meta used them a lot way back then. He called them Super Abilities. Don’t give me that look, I know, stupid name. They were very powerful versions of already existing abilities, such as the Sword, Fire, Beam, Ice, and so on. He believed there existed a ‘Super’ version of each existing ability, but he never found all of them. He stopped using them before he could.

Why did he stop?

Well… I’ll tell you another time. Just focus on finding them first, it’s no use to discourage you.

Galacta Knight never told him why Meta Knight stopped using those abilities, but Kirby was determined to find them. He had already found the Ultra Sword ability, but he had yet to recreate it on his own. Maybe only some special circumstances provocked the ability? He still needed to find that out… but now, after five years, he felt ever closer to the truth…

“Those dreams of yours do sound quite peculiar. How long have you been experiencing them?”

“A few months, I’d say. They were less frequent back then, but now I’m getting them quite often. I mean, I’d take them over nightmares anytime, but I still want to sleep, you know…”

“I see. Look, for now, we’ll do just like with the nightmares. Start a new dream journal, and next time we meet, we’ll look over the entries and see if we can pull something out of this. Is that alright with you?”

“Sounds good to me, I was thinking I should do that…”

Now, Kirby was laying on Miss Evadi’s couch on his back, in her cozy little office. He had spent hours in his place, speaking with her of everything and nothing, sometimes even just staring at the ceiling in silence. Kirby turned his head to look at her. Miss Evadi was of a strange foreign species that weren’t well known in this Universe; Halcandrans. Halcandra, their home star, was located far in another dimension connected to theirs, a different plane that could easily be crossed to with the aid of the correct technology. Miss Evadi had crossed over to this dimension a long time ago, and hadn’t gone back in a long time, nor did she ever plan to.

Halcandrans were very odd yet fascinating creatures. Their bodies consisted of one floating mass covered in clothing, with no feet, and floating, detached hands that drifted apart of their body. Miss Evadi’s clothing was quite odd as well; a white cape, shaped like a spider web along the edges, with a shorter blue fabric draped over her shoulders like a shawl, her body was covered in a fabric of the same white, but an emblem reminiscent of a cog was embroidered on its front in golden fabric, detailed as if it was a mechanical sun.

Being horned creatures – or long-eared, Kirby could not tell which and was afraid of being rude if he asked – Halcandrans wore a hood to cover those horns, which, in Miss Evadi’s case, were shaped like a waving S with the tip going downward. Under the hood was a gentle face with a brown skin; her blue eyes were kind and trustful, and her smile never failed to make Kirby feel better.

As of himself, Kirby had grown quite a lot in the last five years; and by a lot, he meant a few inches. He was now tall enough to wear the armour Meta Knight crafted for him, and wear it proudly he did. Now, though, he was only wearing the gloves, as he, like all members of his species, eventually started growing fingers. He thought it was too freaky to look at his fingers as they grew – actually even referring to them as lobster claws – so he always wore the gloves and rarely took them off now. They were quite warm and cozy, too. On his right cheek, a large and visible scar was still and would always stand as a reminder of what had happened five years ago…

“Actually,” Kirby said, looking over at the clock on the wall, “I won’t be able to stay for the whole hour today.”

“Mmh? Didn’t you tell me you were on vacation?” Miss Evadi asked with her strong accent, thinking he had to go on a hunting mission.

“Oh yeah, I am,” Kirby said as he sat up on the couch. “I’m actually going back to Popstar for some time, and I’m leaving tonight. I still haven’t packed any luggage, and Sir Dragato’s been telling me to clean up my room before I leave… Still haven’t done that either…”

Miss Evadi chuckled and put down her notepad, saying:

“Oh, I see. It does sound like you have a lot of work left to do. Are you excited to go back home? It’s been a while since you’ve been there, if I recall.”

“Yeah,” Kirby sounded nostalgic as he looked off toward the ground. “It’s been a while… Bun goes back a lot more often than me. I don’t know, I always think I’m wasting my time when I go there…”

“Even Star Warriors need to take a break sometime,” Miss Evadi said, to which he nodded in approval. “How do you feel exactly about going back home? Is it a waste of time now?”

Kirby had to take a moment to think of his answer. He heaved a short, yet heavy sigh.

“I… I’m not sure, really. It’s still my home, but… I feel like a stranger when I go there. I mean, people don’t ignore me, far from that. The kids all want to play with me like before, everyone else is always asking me tons of questions and, heck, they even ask me for silly little jobs like they used to. But I don’t know, everything feels… off, to me.”

The young man wasn’t quite sure how to explain his feelings. He still held Dreamland and Popstar dearly at the core of his heart, but at the same time, he would rather… not go there at all.

“I see… Does… Pupu Village feel empty to you, Kirby?” Miss Evadi carefully questioned, looking up from her notes to him.

The young Star Warrior blinked… and slowly nodded his head.

“I… I think so,” he answered in a mumble. “I feel… I mean, I’m never alone, but when I’m there… I feel lonely. So, I guess yeah, it is empty there… I used to spend all my days playing with friends, and when I wasn’t doing that… I was training with him. Now that I’m older, I don’t really feel like playing all the time, and, well, he’s not there, so… Yeah. Yeah, it’s empty…”

He sighed and rubbed his face.

“I mean, what am I going to do there?” he asked, turning his face to her. “Just… sleep around all day? I guess I used to do that, but…”

Miss Evadi couldn’t help but smirk and remark:

“Well, you did grow a lot in the past years, so it’s normal that you feel this way. You changed your ways since you came here, didn’t you?”

“Heh, I guess I did,” he agreed. “Maybe I should, huh… try to relax then?”

“That’s what vacations are for,” Miss Evadi answered. “I think you should take this time to reflect on yourself while you’re home. I noticed that you often try to shy away from your own thoughts by working, but you shouldn’t be afraid of yourself, Kirby. Do you understand what I mean?”

Without a word, he nodded his head. He never could really hide anything from her, not even after four years of meeting her regularly. She just had an eye for these things.

“So I should meditate more?” he asked, to which she nodded in response.

“Yes, but there is no need to focus on your abilities as you are used to by now. Just focus on yourself instead, try to see if there is something else about Dreamland that might make you feel better about going there. I can tell you love this place, Kirby, and from all that you’ve told me, the people there love you too. Just try to remember that.”

Kirby remained quiet a moment. Maybe she was right. His loneliness might just be keeping his eyes away from what he used to love about Dreamland. If he could see it again, maybe he would feel better about going there indeed… He didn’t want to abandon his home; he was willing to try.

Kirby left Miss Evadi’s office ten minutes later, feeling a bit better about going to Dreamland. Now that his meeting was done with, he was able to go back to his room and pack up. He was walking through the busy halls of the Agency, waving to a few Hunters here and there and greeting some friends on the way, when he heard a little beeping noise from his belt. He pulled up his little radio and brought it to his face, asking:

“Yeah?”

“Hey buddy,” Bun’s voice echoed from the device. “You finished packing yet? I’m over at the lounge area and Sir Galacta Knight’s here and he says you’re late.”

Kirby scoffed and laughed.

“Of course he would say that,” he replied, turning in another hallway. “I'm not late, I'm right on time! I just finished my meeting with Miss Evadi, I’m heading for my room now. Tell him to be patient for once! Sir Drag said I had to clean my room too…”

“Heh, he just heard all of that,” Bun answered with a chuckle. “Well, just let me know when you’re done, my own stuff’s all packed. I’ll be in the lounge area when you’re done.”

“Alright, see you later,” Kirby finished before putting away his radio.

The young Star Warrior walked back to his room, feeling a bit tired. He couldn’t wait to be done packing so he could go take a nap during the trip back home! When he opened the room, he turned the lights on and looked around his messy quarters. Kirby’s quarters were actually made of two separate rooms; the first was an office, one he would use sooner than he thought to arrange missions and work as a Hunter; for the time being, he was using the office and the desk for his studies, and spread around the room were all kinds of tools and notes on his abilities and demon-beasts, so he could learn as much as possible. The other room, separated by a door that he strangely found to be open, was his sleeping quarters.

When Kirby approached the door to investigate why it was open, he needed only take a look at his bed to understand. Sleeping on his covers – and most likely leaving all of his fur on his sheets – was Azure, his dear Wolfwrath friend. Azure had grown quite a lot in the past five years; and by a lot, he meant three times the size he was when they joined. The Wolfwrath was a huge beast – one that didn’t seem to notice how big he was at times. Four long spikes were grown fully on his back, along with a large, dark oceanic blue gem on his forehead, and his fur had turned a darker shade of ashen tree bark, with the stripes of ember only brightening as time passed.

Now Azure was a full grown Wolfwrath, and that came with all the tools a Wolfwrath possessed; his bite could render anyone completely frozen, whether it was a Hunter or another demon-beast, and he could create flames and grow stronger the more fire there was around him. Azure was fast and dangerous, and those skills were exactly what the Agency needed to deal with many types of demon-beasts. No matter how Azure was used, however, he gladly did it only when it was Kirby who told him to; if someone else stepped up and gave him an order, he would ignore it completely. No one really wanted to argue with this giant beast, so no Hunter ever tried to order him around; not since the ‘incident’.

With a deep, annoyed sigh, Kirby approached his bed, saying:

“Ugh, Azure! I told you a million times, don’t sleep on my bed! Look, there’s hair all over the place!”

While Kirby busied himself with picking up all the clothes and objects laying on the ground around the room, Azure slowly raised his head and blinked his glowing eyes at him. Without a word, the giant beast stretched his legs out, opening his gigantic maw in a long, satisfying yawn… before rolling back into a ball, with his head facing Kirby. His deep and monotone voice resounded in Kirby’s head, like an otherworldly whisper coming from within.

“You seem tensed. What is wrong?”

“I’m not tensed,” Kirby answered without looking at him, taking two pieces of clothing and putting them away in his drawers. “I’m just a bit nervous, is all. It’s nothing. How about you help me out cleaning this place instead of judging me?”

For a long moment, as if he was considering it, Azure didn’t say or do anything, until he eventually stood up from the bed and slid down on the ground. He vigorously shook himself, but all it did was send even more hair all over the place, aggravating Kirby who told him:

“When we get home, you’re getting groomed whether you like it or not, ya big furball!”

Azure slightly grimaced at the idea of his hair being pulled in all directions with a brush, but he said nothing and went around the room gathering all the junk laying on the floor to put it away. Kirby turned back to what he had been doing, already lost in the sea of his thoughts. Was he that tensed? He did feel nervous, maybe anxious, at the idea of going back home, but he wasn’t that tensed… was he? He grimaced when he realized he had been frowning for the past minute, and attempted to twitch his face back into a normal expression, but ultimately failed. He sighed.

There was no need to be so anxious… No need at all.

With both of them working efficiently, both of the rooms were cleaned under a few minutes, leaving much enough time for Kirby to pack his luggage. He didn’t need much; clean clothes, his armour – just in case – , some packs of sweets he always kept nearby and a few other things to help pass the time. When he closed up his backpack, he straightened up and looked around the room. It felt so strange to see it so neat and empty… It felt like he was leaving for a long, long time…

“Relax,” Azure told him from where he was sitting near the door. “We’ll be back before you know it. You need this vacation.”

Kirby turned to him, taking his backpack over his arm, and said:

“Yeah, I guess you’re right… Ready?”

Azure nodded his head and stood up, but as they were both exiting the quarters, Kirby suddenly stopped and gasped:

“Oh shit! My Warp Star! I knew I was forgetting something!”

The young Star Warrior quickly turned back and ran back in, and he headed straight for his bedside table. Opening it, he was relieved when he found the two blue boxes inside, right where they should be. He took the box containing his own Warp Star and put it in a smaller pocket of his backpack, but as he was about to close it back up, he looked down at the other box… the one containing the other star. Kirby always felt strange about this star. It was just there, like a quiet presence watching him. He didn’t know how to feel about it… Maybe… he could take this vacation time to tame it. Besides… leaving it behind felt like leaving him behind…

His decision made, Kirby extended his hand in the shelf and took the box. He opened it, to confirm that it was still there…

The blue star shone brightly in his eyes.

The light grew and grew, blinding him completely.

He felt light, so light, like he had no body to hold him in.

He was sucked right into that light.

And there was nothing but white, pure white with no darkness.

Lost in this radiance, Kirby began to hear things…

Whispers, floating around him, dancing in and out of his ears…

He listened, but they made no sense. They were murmuring in an unknown tongue, unknown yet so familiar.

The more he listened, however, the clearer they became… until his mind understood them.

“Do you… have a name for him?”

That voice… was so familiar… He had heard it before…

“I was thinking… of Kirby… If you don’t mind, of course.”

The white began to clear… but barely. The image that spread out before him was blurred, it was as if his mind was desperately trying to censor it, it was like he wasn’t meant to see it.

“Kirby… It’s a beautiful name.”

“Kirby!”

“Master Kirby! Wake up…”

Everything vanished in an instant; all he did was blink his eyes open, and it suddenly dawned on him that he had been holding his breath. He gasped out, his body jerking up in a sudden spasm as he brutally dove back in his body head first. The confused young man looked up, out of breath, and saw the familiar faces of Azure and Hailan, the latter kneeling in front of him and holding his face. The ninja’s touch was gentle enough that he didn’t back away from him, but his eyes remained hazy and lost… Hailan, whose face was completely conceiled behind his mask, looked like he could read all of his thoughts; he sighed in relief.

“Are you alright, Master Kirby?” he asked in his usual deeper, male-like voice that he used to talk with anyone. “Azure called me, saying you suddenly fainted. Do you recall what happened?”

Kirby, still confused, raised a hand to his head and shook it, answering in silence. He could barely understand what it was he saw… He could still see the faint glow of the light, imprinted in his retina. Hailan remained quiet, but he picked up the blue star from the ground, which Kirby dropped when he fell over, and looked at it thoughtfully.

“Azure said you took it out of its box,” he said calmly.

“I don’t…,” Kirby mumbled, confused. “I don’t remember anything… I think I saw something, but… I can’t recall…”

Hailan hummed lightly, and he carefully put the blue star back in its box, saying:

“Perhaps it would be best if you left this in its container. Just to be sure, I will be keeping it for yo-”

“No, I,” Kirby interrupted, staring at the box. “It’s fine, I’m alright. I can keep it, I just need to be careful around it.”

The ninja remained quiet, and though it was clear he wanted to keep it away from him for his safety, he complied with his demand and handed him the box back. The ninja helped him stand back on his feet, and though Kirby felt loopy for a short moment, he thanked him with a light smile. He put the box in his backpack next to his own Warp Star; he definitely would need to look into this… This wasn’t normal. He had seen something, and it aggravated him that he could not recall what exactly it was. With Azure and Hailan, the young Hunter finally exited his quarters, locking his door behind him.

No matter what he had seen… it was time to go.

__________________

The cappies of Pupu Village were overly excited; a ship had just landed right in the outskirts of town! At first, they expected it to be their hero Kirby; after all, the young Hunter was coming back for a vacation, they had been told, and they were now expecting him at any moment. But that ship was unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Small, shaped like a shiny pearl, this was a foreign vessel, and so the cappies remained at a good distance, all watching as the door opened. Fumu, along with the Mayor and the elders of town, pushed her way to the front of the crowd, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was certainly not the first time that strangers arrived in this land of dreams; by now, she knew how to deal with foreigners.

However…

The man who walked out of that vessel…

Looked nothing like a foreigner.

He was a Kiridan. A blade attached to his back, a belt around his waist, metal boots, gloves. A blue skin as deep and dark as the ocean depths…

Fumu brought her hand to her mouth and backed away one step. This was impossible. Or rather, improbable.

The man looked at her; he wore no mask to hide his face, and a kind visage spoke many words to her. He looked from left to right, as if trying to identify the species he was confronting, and then he focussed on her when she spoke up.

“Sir… Sir Meta Knight…?” the cappy woman asked, causing the crowd behind her to murmur and gasp.

But it couldn’t be him. This man’s eyes were a pale, bright green… He looked at her, his face expressing many different emotions; confusion, surprise, happiness… The Kiridan shook his head and answered, his words struggling in a heavy accent:

“I am not Meta Knight. Do you know him?”

Fumu nodded her head, and straightened herself, trying to look a bit more natural than suspicious. She felt no evil intent from this man…

“Yes,” she answered him. “He once lived here, but not anymore. Who are you?”

At first, the Kiridan man appeared disappointed; his eyes looked down, and his head moved a bit downward as well, murmuring some words in his native tongue. But he quickly looked up, blinking his tall eyes back into seriousness, and he bowed forward, politely answering:

“My name is Azure Khano. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

But before Fumu could introduce herself, he straightened up and his eyes expressed worry; he gestured toward his ship.

“Forgive me for my iren, but do you have a doctor?” he asked, causing the crowd to shift as they looked for Doctor Yabui. “I came upon a lost girl on my way here, and I fear she is hurt.”

It took but a short moment for the town’s doctor to arrive at the front of the crowd, and he immediately advanced toward the ship, saying:

“I’m here! Let’s see what the problem is.”

And while Doctor Yabui headed in the small ship with the man, the crowd surrounded the vessel, the rumour rising up into a tornado of questions. Fumu did not move.

This man, Kirby had told her about him, five years ago.

He was Sir Meta Knight’s father.

And with Kirby arriving shortly, she had no doubt that she would have a lot of explaining to do.