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

~Other Time~ A Bit About the Good General; It's A Jolly Holiday with Petal

(The Last Sakuranoki and the Cheri no Hoshi no Ken fits into the timeline not long before when the last chapter happened. In other words, the events of the last chapter happened not too long after where that book left off. We're getting closer to the end of the Other Time, so if you want to learn more about Petal, Stellar, Orion/Fuller, and the First Star Warrior's War, as well as the Cherry Star Sword, Sakura's Dimensional Cape, and the ever-blossoming cherry tree, you should read that book. I meant to include this note in the last chapter, but forgot, and I figure more people will see it here now. Thanks! :D)

Stellar's POV:

With a weary sigh, I climb out of my starship into the hangar back at the Academy. The poor hunk of aluminum alloy's getting old. The once starry-yellow paint is now more of a faded pineapple-ish color covered with random scorch marks, and it's chipped and dinged all over. It looks sort of like how I've started to feel more recently, to tell the perfect truth. After never planning on ever having a war, and now having had to lead an army through a war, and a losing war, too, for that matter, and what with starting to get older and all, I've been feeling rather exhausted recently. And, with no end in sight, I'm beginning to think I've seen the last peaceful days of my life long ago.

Just now, I've come back to the Academy, my home base, after yet another battle. I try to go out and fight in as many as are nearby enough for me to fight in, and even some that are further away at times. What that sleaze-face said back before all this started was probably the only honest thing that's ever come out of his mouth: There are definitely zillions upon zillions of monsters out there, and for every one we take out, at least three more are churned out for us to fight.

Over the years we've managed to gather a small amount of intel on this 'NightMare Enterprises,' and apparently the leader, 'Nightmare,' as we call him these days, just makes the monsters out of nothing and nowhere. Of course, we can't just replace soldiers like that (thank goodness we can't) so we're lagging farther and farther behind all the time. Bad times are already here, and all the time, it looks like far worse times are not far ahead.

Not more than five minutes after my ship's landing and my leaving the hangar, I run into an emissary from Lieutenant General Petal, a young Corporal who serves as a nurse in the infirmary. Her name's Ruby, and she's a bright-red Star Warrior with blue eyes. When she first got here, just like Petal, she had one of the biggest smiles and the brightest eyes and the quickest wit, but now, just like Petal and nearly everyone else these days, her smile's gone, her eyes no longer shine, and she never speaks except for when she has to.

"General, ma'am. Petal sent me to tell you that the injured have already arrived and are receiving care. But... Well, you said to expect four ships, and there were only three."

"Nightmare must've got one on its way over," I sigh in reply. "The Lieutenant General knows that happens more and more all the time. It's rare these days that folks can even make it all the way back here to the Academy, what with the fact that the battles are happening farther and farther off all the time and all."

Nodding slowly, the Corporal agrees in a flat tone, "We both know she knows. She just always hopes... always hopes..."

"That it's different this time," I finish for her with a weak smile that quickly vanishes. "But, Honesty bless it, it never is, and probably never will be, as long as I'm around."

The Corporal starts a bit at my outburst, but then just nods. "That battle on Popstar, years ago... The one where we saved the planet and kicked Nightmare out for good... I was there, just a Private, then. I was already one of the nurses. That one, there was something about it that gave everyone hope. If only that had lasted longer."