Heroes of Dreamland, Book 2: Kirby and the Returning Darkness (OLD)

Chapter 5

Sakura slept deeply, dreaming of calm things. Thankfully, the Returning Darkness didn't interfere with the Fountain of Dreams, at least. She was awoken hours later by a strange humming sound.

"Hmm?" she murmured, blinking her eyes slowly open.

"'Bout time you decided to wake up. You've been sitting there for hours," a voice she didn't recognize huffed at her.

She gasped as she realized she wasn't in a tree anymore. In fact, she didn't seem to be anywhere in Dreamland at all. She was in a metallic, high-tech looking room, sitting in a gray pilot's-style chair. "Wh-where am I? Who are you?"

"Easy there, calm down. You're at the Star Warrior Academy, in one of the teachers' break-rooms. And my name is Popopo," the other explained. Now fully awake, she observed that he looked similar to Kirby, but not exactly.

"Popopo? Well, nice to meet you. Um, how did I end up at the Star Warrior Academy, exactly?" she questioned, completely and totally lost.

"You time-traveled again. I knew you would be showing up soon. In case you're wondering, you're in the past. Way back in the past, just around twenty-five years after the Ancients first formed our worlds," Popopo explained.

"Okay? But why am I here? How do I get back?" she demanded, growing anxious. "I don't want to be stuck in the past for another twelve years!"

"Don't worry, your visit will be a short one," her mysterious companion assured her. "Now, the reason you came here is to learn about the Returning Darkness."

"Oh, really? Okay, tell me everything. How do we get rid of it?" Sakura asked exitedly, leaning forward subconsciously.

"Sorry, Sakura- That is your name, correct?" He waited for her to nod, then continued, "As I was saying, then. Sorry, Sakura, but you're going to have to be patient and listen to the whole story."

"All right. I'm ready to listen," she sighed, sitting back in the chair and trying to calm her nerves.

"All right. The Ancients, the reason they built this world was they wanted a place full of peace and imagination where people could forget their troubles for awhile. But, problem was, nothing can be without evil, not when it's made by mere mortals. So, their beautiful world they formed, Popstar, the crowning achievement of their scientific success, was covered with a thick Darkness made by those who opposed the Ancients. Do you follow so far?" Popopo paused and inquired.

"I think so," Sakura replied.

Popopo nodded. "All right. So, this Darkness made people feel sad, hopeless. All of Popstar's population lived their day-to-day lives in crushing depression. But, the Star Power saw what the Ancients had made, and felt sorry for the beings living in sorrow below. So, he sent a new kind of creature to help them.

"These creatures were similar to some of the species already living on Popstar, but they were quite different at the same time. A whole army of them came, and, using the Light they could make with the help of the Star Power, they healed the world from the Darkness. Each individual's Light was its own color, and each Light had its own special ability. Some could grant bravery, some flight, some honesty, some silence, some growth; all sorts of things. They bravely fought back any source of evil and Darkness, great warriors. They made the Light in their hands, in small soft, swirling spheres. And because they made these tiny 'stars' in their hands, they were known by the Dreamland natives as-"

"Star Warriors," Sakura breathed, her eyes huge in amazement.

"Exactly. You're pretty smart, for some future girl. Anyway, I was the very first Star Warrior. The Ancients were already planning on having a species like us, and I was the first, and they planned for me to be the greatest. But when the Star Power made all the others and sent them in early, the position of the greatest was taken from me by some future upstart, named Kirby.