Heroes of Dreamland, Book 7: Kirby and the Battle for Dreamland (OLD)

The Darkness is a Friend to No One

Sakura's POV:

As the calm dream I've been having for awhile now fades out of my consciousness, I frown and roll over, not really ready to wake up yet. Yeah, okay, I know; there's a Galaxy on the line out there that needs saving, but I really don't wanna have to get up. These clouds are soft, and I haven't slept this well in days, and I'm so cozy and warm here...

"Hey, Meta-Not. She's moving now. Can we just wake her up already? The rest of us have been up for hours!" I make a face at Magolor's irritated voice, but am careful to keep it hidden under the blanket I'm curled up in. Have I really been sleeping for hours longer than the guys? Great, just what I need- to come off as the useless, obligatory female team member yet again when we're kinda about to face our darkest hour.

And yet, I still don't wanna get up. Meh.

Sounding like he's already had this conversation four or five times, Meta Knight sighs back at Magolor from somewhere slightly farther away from me than Mags' voice, "I hardly think twenty minutes can count as 'hours,' Magolor. If she's moving, then she'll wake of her own accord soon enough. I would most likely still be asleep if it weren't for your coming over and pushing on Kirby and then myself, panicking over how we've seemed to change locale overnight."

What? 'Changed locale?' Unwillingly, I finally just barely open my eyes, trying to take a look at our surroundings without making my non-sleeping-ness too obvious. Sure enough, we're not by the Dreamspring anymore. It looks like the place we all fell through the clouds at, only there's something weird about the sky. I just can't see it out of the corner of my eye.

Suddenly, Kirby's not-too-distant voice pipes up. "Meta Knight, I don't know where we are now, but I don't think it's where we came into Fancy Free at. The staircase is gone." After thinking or something a second, he adds, "Or maybe Solar just got rid of the staircase and boarded up all the walls and the roof with clouds so we can't get out."

Bandana adds his bit to Kirby's 'scouting' report. "This path doesn't go far in either direction before it splits. How are we supposed to know where to go?"

Meta Knight gives a quiet growl, still somewhere behind me, and I can practically see his eyes narrow- even though I actually can't, obviously. "More, and possibly quite literal, maze-running. That coward... He's so noisy about how he's supposedly unstoppable now, and yet, he's still too frightened of us to face us like any real Star Warrior."

Even though I don't want to, I suddenly give a huge yawn, after which everyone looks over at me. Well, I guess the jig is up now. Sighing, I sit up and pull the blanket I was curled up in around my shoulders like a cape, only to notice that it is indeed a cape. Good ol' Meta Knight being the chivalrous gentleman once again, I see. It makes me smile warmly to myself before I reply to Meta's earlier comment. "He probably is at least somewhat nervous, if only because we keep inexplicably phasing off his radar. First we disappear off the map for a day and blip back up clear on the opposite side of the quadrant we were in, and then we vanish off the face of this dimension again for the better part of a day and, as far as we know, a good chunk of the night. Now that we're back, he's probably going to do everything he can to make sure he doesn't lose track of us again." Sighing quietly as I rub the sleep out of my eyes, I take a good look around myself again. Kirby and Bandana are right, we really are boxed in by clouds on all sides, except for the one path that goes either direction from here. Yeesh... Never thought I'd find myself in a hedge maze made of clouds, assuming that is what this is.

"Good morning, S'kura," Shadow greets me as he sits down next to me and leans against me, curled up in my cape, even though everyone else doesn't do much to acknowledge my presence. That's understandable, taking into account the tense mood currently hanging over everyone. I'm glad that the sweet dreams lasted all night, even though we did leave the Dreamspring behind at some point. At least we have a good rest on our side now, which I'm sure is the number one thing giving everybody a bit of hope at the moment.