Heroes of Dreamland, Book 6: Kirby and the Fountain's Fate (OLD)

~Present Time~ A Darkness Problem

Meta Knight's POV:

Fretful, I lead everyone to the secret library, assuming Kirby will be smart enough to join us here. I still need to give the water sample from the Fountain of Dreams to Fumu, and as soon as is possible, too. We need to know if there is anything at all wrong with the Fountain, for if there is not, then we must start searching for the actual cause of everyone's strange dreams right away. There is something wrong somewhere, and we have to discover what that is before it becomes beyond fixing.

"Sheesh, Meta-Not, don't you think we're past any foul ears that might be listening in by now?" Magolor grumps as we enter the long passage to the library. "Ya'd think you were afraid of the Waddle Dee, almost."

Rolling my eyes, I point out, "Even some of the Waddle Dee seem to be on Dark Sakura's side, and she is one of our two biggest opponents at the moment. We must be ever vigilant, my friends and my not-friend."

With a smirk, I can sense Magolor's irritated expression behind me. That smirk only deepens when we've reached the library and he sees it for the first time. "Woah... I had no idea you had something like this in here. Suh-weet. How many books you got here?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, I estimate, "Somewhere around twenty thousand, probably more. I haven't counted in years." Glancing over at him, I sarcastically inquire, "And just how many does the Lor Starcutter carry?"

"Dunno. Paper books, probably around a couple hundred. But the Lor's special. She's not just a ship, she's sentient. Chances are that no one could ever guess how many books' worth of knowledge she carries. There's actually reasons why she used to be the flagship of the Halcandran fleet long before she joined the GSA's cause, after all."

Refusing to show any sign of being even slightly impressed, I turn to the Fairies. "Now. Here we may speak. You said something about three 'safeguards' being in danger, and about there being a great deal of Dark Matter that's been set free from somewhere?"

Nodding, the purple-haired Fairy named Taffeta starts to explain, but Ribbon suddenly interrupts her before she can even get a whole word out. "Shouldn't we wait for Kirby? He's one of the biggest heroes in the Galaxy; I'm pretty sure the Queen meant for him to also know what's going on."

With a glance at her, I assure her, "I am sure Kirby will be joining us again soon, and even if he gets distracted by something, we can rendezvous with him and explain things at a later time. Meanwhile, from the sense of urgency over this information that you showed earlier, I have a feeling that we should be told about it as soon as possible, rather than waiting all afternoon for Kirby to show up."

"That's what I think too," Taffeta agrees, giving her sister a pointed look. "Leave the heroics to the Guardian Fairies and heroes, Ribby. You're just along to assist me." Turning back to me, she begins, "According to the Queen, there are three safeguards that protect the planet by protecting each other. As long as all three are healthy, all three are practically invincible. On the other hand, once you harm one, it will be easier to harm the others, and once you've harmed two, you leave the third relatively helpless."

"All right," I nod slowly, understanding so far, as I keep my cape held around myself, lead the others to the second floor of the library, and close my eyes so I can absorb the incoming information better. Even with my sight gone, though, I can sense Magolor reaching out to take a closer look at some something somewhere. "Don't touch anything, Magolor. There are things in here of great value."

"There are things in here of great value," he repeats in a snide tone under his breath, but out loud chirps, "I wasn't touching anything, so keep calm and don't be such a grumpbucket."