Heroes of Dreamland, Book 3: The World of Nintendo (OLD)

The Dark Bibliochimera

Several days later:

Onboard the Warship Nintendo:

Sighing, Rose leaned over the helm of the ship. It was nighttime, but the moon was full right now, so the ship was bathed in a soft light. All around her, the others were sleeping peacefully.

She smiled a little, the creatures from each point seemed to gather together. Ash and the Pokémon were curled up together in one spot, Link was resting not far from Rinda. And Kirby and the 'Waddle Three,' as she had nicknamed the group of Waddle Dee, were snuggled up together in a sort of puppy pile. The only one who was by himself was Meta Knight, and he was leaned back against the wall of the ship not far from her, nothing glowing inside his mask, so she assumed he was asleep, too.

Suddenly, she jumped. She could feel something, it felt almost like something was calling to her. She knew what it was instantly, it was the book she had stolen in Hyrule. She hadn't really had a chance to read it yet, every time she found a private enough place to read it, someone walked in on her. She wasn't quite sure why she thought she needed to be alone to read it. Maybe it was guilt from taking something that wasn't hers.

Now, she looked around herself. Everyone was asleep, no one was watching. It was the perfect time to enjoy a story. So, she pulled the book slowly out of her knapsack. Glancing around herself again nervously, she slowly opened it up and sat down, her back against the helm.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl. She wanted to be a great Trainer, but everyone told her she couldn't be. They all told her she was just a failure, that she would never be successful. But oh, how wrong they were. She was greater than any of them, greater by far.

This was a bit weird, but promising so far. She settled back farther into her place and was about to turn the page, when she was suddenly interrupted.

"Why are you so secretive about that book?"

She jumped and shut the book, pushing it into her knapsack as she stared at Meta Knight in surprise. "I thought you were asleep."

"I sleep very lightly, and sometimes I just meditate. Now, why are you so secretive about that book?" he demanded again, eyes narrowed suspiciously. They were currently glowing an irritated orange.

"M-me? S-secretive?" Rose stuttered. For someone two feet tall, he sure could be intimidating when he wanted to be. "I'm not secretive about it."

"Hmph," he replied, standing up and drawing his cloak around himself. "You seem rather... disinclined, to let anyone know you are reading it; always only pulling it out when you think you are alone. May I ask what it is about?"

"Um, of course you can," she shrugged, trying to sound indifferent.

"Well, then, what is it about?" he questioned, eyes still narrowed.

"It's about, well, me. I think it tells the future or something. All that I've read so far is me receiving an award, and that I'm great, even though people call me a failure," she told him. "Nothing frightening. Chill out."

"Hpmh," he said again. "May I see the book?"

"No," she replied forcefully, in a voice much more sinister than her normal free-spirited tone. "You can't. It's mine."

He frowned to himself. At first it had just seemed to be a lying book known as a Bibliochimera. Those weren't too dangerous, they just had a habit of making their readers egotistical and occasionally a bit crazy. But Rose's reaction to his asking to see it made him worried that it was something darker. Much darker. "Rose, I need you to let me see the book," he ordered firmly.