Shattering the Stars

Try

Happy New Years, guys! While I didn't have enough done to release this as the clock hit 12, I'm glad I got it done on New Years Day. Here's to a good 2024. Anyways, enjoy!
-Jooostan

Shattering the Stars
Chapter 8: Try

Vile plumes of smoke and the stench of ash reigned on the group's senses as they slowly made their way through the remains of Cappy Town. Dawn had just broken out among the horizon, yet it was as uncheerful as a graveyard. The newborn necropolis exuded a sense of displeasing curiosity as Link, Kirby, Meta Knight, his protégés, Tael, and Landia scoured it.

Meta Knight knelt down and picked up a piece of rubble, inspecting it. Gingerly, he looked it over, deducing that it was the result of blast damage. A piece of a building had been struck by a cannon, assaulted with a stick of dynamite, or blown apart by some other, powerful force. Either way, it confirmed what the knight had feared. This town, the parallel Cappy Town, had been razed by a malevolent force. A fire accident could not cause such damage. Dropping the piece of stone, he continued on.

Link noticed a slice of blue coming from under a pile of debris. Pulling the object from the mass, it crumbled apart, reduced to ash. Looking at what he had in his hands, Link made out the emblem of Dedede, although oddly, it was rimmed with purple instead of the red Kirby recognized. The cloth was a mere tug away from ripping apart, its fabric stretched as far as it could.

"What the hell happened here?" Link said aloud, caring not if any of his more innocent companions heard him. The chilling stillness of the town, the absence of life, and the lack of an enemy made the hairs on his neck stand straight.

"Something far worse than we could've ever imagined, I reckon..." Sword Knight muttered, stepping carefully between the splintered wood and crisped stone.

The group soon found themselves where the park at the center of Cappy Town would've been back in Kirby's home realm. Now, it was nothing but an expanse of blackened, smoldering grass and a layer of soot. All the evidence of lush foliage had been purged away, set ablaze by an army unknown to the team. Kirby, taking it all in with sorrow, walked slowly through the mess, never uttering a word. His mind raced as he wondered how strong Shatterhand must've been to accomplish such destruction.

"The castle, or what's left of it, is up ahead," Meta Knight pointed to the distant hilltop that overlooked the sea. He turned back to the rest of the group, silently asking who wanted to join him on the trek, knowing that it'd take an inflexible heart to not be overcome with grief.

Only Link and Kirby stepped forward, willing to face whatever horrors they were destined to witness. Sword Knight, Blade Knight, and Tael just looked away with shame, fearing they'd crack. Besides, someone had to continue the search for life in the ruins of the town.

Meta Knight sighed, "Very well. Landia," He approached the dragon. "Take to the sky and search as best you can. You're our only means of reconnaissance with Magolor tending to the Lor. See if you can find the culprit of all this, or at least a clue."

Landia nodded determinedly, and he leaped into the air and took off, flying up and out of sight in only seconds. A harsh boom rang through the air as he easily broke the sound barrier in his haste, an unseen smile forming under Meta Knight's mask. He was glad that Landia, the unmoving guardian of Halcandra, cared enough to fly at such speeds for this cause. Sadly, that small grin faded as the knight looked towards the leftovers of what he hated to recognize as Castle Dedede.

The unnerving absence of fauna and nature couldn't be comprehended. The trio of warriors secretly wished that a chirp from a sparrow or cricket could break the silence, but their wishes fell on deaf ears. Danger surrounded them like a python coiling its prey, squeezing the life out of it. It was just a matter of when the pressure would become too much.

The pathway to Castle Dedede was nearly unrecognizable, yet that familiar bend just before it delved into the upward slant of the hill was still present. It was a scary thing to acknowledge that this world, this Pop Star, wasn't so different from the one the three were accustomed to. As they neared the inert, scorched remnants of the once regal ground, the extent of the damage was clear. A nauseous, green hue appeared on Link's cheeks as he fought not to gag at what he saw, while Kirby was almost brought to tears.

The drawbridge was completely gone, its remains trapped in the dried-out moat that was filled to the brim with the corpses of the Waddle Dees. They lay lifeless in the sullied soil, their normally vibrant, orange color a revolting, deathly pale. A small swarm of bugs zipped around the mass of death, their buzzes filling the air as Meta Knight fell to his knees.

"This," croaked the knight, quickly losing his words. His tongue was dry, and his hands were shaky, yet he took off his mask, bowed his head, and quietly lamented the loss of such dedicated servants. Meta Knight's face was unseen by Link and Kirby as he mourned.

Link forced his bile down his throat, refusing to defile the area even further with his sickness. All three of them knew that if these Waddle Dees were anything like the ones they trusted, they fought till the very end. To the Dees, their lives hardly mattered to what they served, whether it was a king or a cause. While they were offered lives of comfort, they were just fine with the ones they already had, grateful for purpose.

"My apologies," Meta Knight said, recollecting himself after putting his mask back on. "Come, we need to scout out the castle."

Link and Kirby followed Meta Knight without question, jumping from one edge of the moat to the other. Uncomfortably, they began their survey of the totaled palace, with a smidge of hope coming with them as they searched for any kind of survivors. Although, with the carnage that lay at the bottom of the moat, seeds of doubt that they'd find anyone sprouted like weeds.

There wasn't much to find, just charred tapestries, melted gold, and other, former treasures. Everything was gone, the foundation of the castle being what remained. Pouring through the land like water down a river, sunlight came, bathing the three who dared to search the regal ruins.

Meta Knight plucked rubble with Galaxia, moving it out of his way and shaking it off his sword. He created a rhythmic sound of stone flying into a pile, Link just a couple feet away, adding to that same pile as he searched.

"Find anything yet?" Link shouted.

"No, I'll tell you when I do," Meta Knight replied, his voice soft. Link just shrugged and continued to look around, grabbing stones with his hands and chucking them over his shoulder, right into the pile behind him.

That rhythmic sound of palm-sized debris hitting the pile and clunking onto the ground was distracting, but it at least kept Link's mind off what he'd already seen. It'd been an eternity since he'd gazed upon the horrid visage of demise. He wished he would never have to again, the prospect of fatherhood lightening his life before the spectre of heroism clung to his soul yet again. Link shook his head, clearing his mind, throwing another stone behind him. He expected to hear another clunk, Meta Knight getting rid of rubble too, but it never came. Odd.

"Everything alright, Meta Knight?" Link asked. But there was no response. "Meta Knight?" He repeated, this time louder. Still no response, but now Link's ears perked up, his senses going on alert.

"Meta Knight?!" Link left his clearing and ran back, skidding to a stop when he saw the knight. The lone swordsman's back was facing Link, stunned, staring at the ground.

"What is it?" Link asked, walking up beside Meta Knight. "What'd you find?"

"It..." Meta Knight's words were forced, disbelief holding his tongue. "It's impossible." The knight averted his eyes, sticking Galaxia into the ground and falling to his knees again. He shuddered.

A large stain of glittering matter taunted Meta Knight as he lost all composure. Link stood confused as the normally noble warrior next to him broke down. Backing away, Link went to fetch Kirby, as Meta Knight tore off his mask and collapsed on the ground in sorrow.

"Kirby? Hey, Kirby, where are you?" Link yelled out, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Poyo?" Kirby chirped from atop a mound of what was formerly a set of furniture. He hopped off it and onto the ground, following Link as he guided the Star Warrior back to Meta Knight.

Dread wrapped its icy fingertips around Kirby before he even reached Meta Knight. A foreign feeling came to his heart and trapped it in a cage, confusing Link ever more. All he could do was watch as the two warriors came down with some bizarre condition, incapacitating them and leaving them nearly helpless.

"A Star Warrior..." Meta Knight tried to explain, "One was slain here. At this... this very spot." Slowly, but surely, the knight stood back up, his eyes locked on the stain just inches away from his face. "Shatterhand... He will pay for this!" Hints of uneasy rage were present in his voice as he cloaked himself with that same old veil of solitude.

Link's eyes widened considerably, finally understanding the weight. He then sighed and folded his arms and looked down, seeing too much of himself in Meta Knight. A slew of painful memories returned to the boy, and he thought of how he once coped with death. Unhealthy, bottled rage and needless violence. Time felt like a flat circle at that moment, and with haste, he conjured up a way to stop history from playing out that way again, only with another swordsman behind the blade.

"You know, Meta Knight, it's alright," Link began, before being interrupted.

"Have you ever lost a loved one, Link?" The knight snapped, sounding harsher than he intended. The hero in green stepped back in shock, startled by the question. He took a moment to respond.

"Yes," Link said, instinctively retreating into his shell, a habit he thought he'd long outgrown.

"How did it feel?"

"It felt..." Link hesitated, "It felt like a part of me died. My friend, the one that I lost, died right in my arms. I... I felt helpless. It felt useless to try. But as I saw the life fade from his eyes," Link's voice became choked with emotion, "He told me not to let fear make my decisions, some advice that I once gave him. But I didn't listen. I let the anger and grief take me, and I did things that I now regret. I killed just to ease the pain, but it didn't relieve me of it."

Meta Knight fell silent, dwelling on Link's words, absorbing them carefully.

"I still think about him sometimes," Link added painfully. "I let him go a long time ago, but I still wonder if he'd be ashamed of what I did in my sorrow. But it reminds me to never let myself be consumed by that feeling," He took a heavy breath, "And it reminds me that it's okay... it's okay to cry."

Those words repeated in Meta Knight's head over and over again. Like a broken record, it looped. It's okay to cry.

A single tear rolled down Meta Knight's cheek and dripped off his face, landing on the burnt soil. It brought the slightest bit of life back to the ground, however impossible to see. He stood up straight and removed his mask again, wiping his face before putting it back on. It'd been some time since he let a tear leave his body. It felt nice.

"Please forgive me, Link," Meta Knight softly pleaded, walking up and staring into the hero's eyes. "I let myself become overwhelmed, and I deeply apologize."

"There's no need to apologize," Link stated maturely, looking at Kirby. He too was crying, and he went and hoisted the pink puffball up onto his own shoulders, like a father with their child. "I think we've found all we could here."

"Agreed," Meta Knight said, smiling underneath his mask as he saw the paternal interaction from Link towards Kirby. "Let's regroup with the others, see if they had better luck than us."

Link and Kirby nodded happily and joined Meta Knight as they left the horrible memory.