Heroes of Dreamland, Book 4: Kirby and the Heroes' Destinies (OLD)

The Fate of Star World, The Starcutter's Population Grows

Meta Knight's POV:

Dreaming. I think I am dreaming. I must be. How else would I be here again, not just remembering it? How else would all these other Star Warriors be here with me, chattering and joking around me while I sit in silence? They all assume we are here for something unimportant, but I can already tell that we will not like what we hear.

I am sitting in the auditorium in one of the bases I spent quite a bit of time at. When this is, I know exactly. Still, I can remember this morning like it was yesterday, which is why my subconscious is having such an easy time exactly replicating it. This happened a few years after Garlude passed on, nearly two decades before my battle against Joseph.

Up to the single microphone onstage steps a sky-blue Star Warrior with cloudy-gray eyes. Healer is her name, she is the head nurse at this base. Being as this base is under-staffed, she also is in charge of communications with headquarters. (Headquarters being the Star Warrior Academy.)

"Good morning, everyone," she says, cheerful. Everyone else just assumes she is actually happy, replying in like fashion, but I am better at reading people. I can tell that her cheerfulness is just on the surface. She is faking it, because she has bad news for all of us.

"I know that a lot of you have sweethearts back on Star World-" She is interrupted by several cheers. After it quiets down, she continues, "And I know all of you have family or friends back home." Again, cheers, only this time from the whole room. I just nod.

"Well, we just got a telegraph from headquarters. I'm going to read it to you." She clears her throat, then begins, "At oh-six-hundred this morning, a sudden, massive attack by Nightmare was launched against Star World. We attempted to send backup starting around oh-six-fifteen, but were prevented by Nightmare's air forces. At oh-nine-hundred, Nightmare's troops pulled back and left. We wish we could say it was a retreat, but unfortunately this is not the case."

She pauses, and the room is full of silence. You could hear a pin drop. Voice shaking, she continues, "Initial scans begun at ten-hundred reveal extensive damage to the surface of the planet. At this time, we believe there were no survivors." Pausing again, she clears her throat and blinks at the ceiling several times, then finishes, "At ten-thirty, Star World was officially added to the galaxy's list of dead planets."

The silence ends in that instant as she turns and walks offstage. Everyone is shouting, several girls are crying. Silently, I get up and wrap my cloak around myself, walking quickly and silently to my bunkroom that I share with Joseph. My bunk is the top bunk, and once I get to the room, I climb up into my bunk and just lie there, staring up at the ceiling. After a minute, I take my mask off and hook it over the bedpost, still just looking at the ceiling, as if it somehow holds the answers that my questioning gaze is searching for.

Numb. I do not feel angry, or sad. Just numb. A whole planet, ended in one fell swoop. Certainly, the population was at pretty much an all-time low already, seeing as how nearly all able-bodied members of the species joined the army, but it is as Healer said. Everyone from Star World has someone back home. Or they did, anyway.

Where does Nightmare get such power? Why is he allowed to have it? No mortal being should be that strong, that limitless in their might. It is not right.

He destroys planets in single attacks, now. How can he stand to live with himself, knowing all the lives he has ended? And for what? More power. As if he does not have more than enough already.

Mother... Father... Blossom... I think emotionlessly. The three people I loved most, and now they are all gone. Never once since I joined the army have I seen any of them. I have kept a written communication going with my parents off-and-on, but I have not heard from Blossom at all since the day I left. My parents say they have not seen her, either, but she must have been there, somewhere. She said she was not joining the army, I always assumed she had stayed to help care for the children left without parents. She is- was, rather- very good with children.