Stardust in the Spectrum: A Story About Kirby

Chapter 4

I peered through the cracked windshield of the starship, a stained wet rag in my hand being the only evidence of my sorry attempt at cleaning it. With a huff, I brushed off the debris from the seat. Wiping off any remaining dust resting atop the control panel, my nimble fingers tapped the power button as the engine turned on. Good, seems like I managed to repair it right. There’s still quite a bit of gas left in it, too. After closing the door completely, I gripped the steering wheel and took off. Alright parallel universe Mags, be prepared for a long story. I quickly passed the light of the setting moon as my ship broke through the last layer of the atmosphere. It wasn’t until I passed a second chain of asteroids that my shielded blue eyes caught a glimpse of the Starcutter. A small smile curled my lips upwards as I sped towards the sky blue ship. Eyes lighting up at the sight of my good friend in a window, I waved at him through the glass as my much smaller starship drew near. I slowly lowered my hand, eyes narrowing when Mags went still before rushing to his control panel. Why is he…? Wait- My eyes widened as realization struck me at the last moment. If I’m a toddler in this universe, then Mags never would have met me yet. He doesn’t know me. Memories of him telling me how he had to blast enemies away throughout his space travels flooded my mind. Oh no. I quickly turned the wheel the other direction, as the light indicating my half fueled tank began to flicker. I barely had time to duck as I noticed a large cannonball from the corner of my eye. Hurling towards the windshield as a massive flame. I tensed, flinching as I saw Mags’ ship flying away right before I was hit. Oh stars no. My eyes closed shut as the blast threw my starship off course. My body was sent barreling into an unknown planet as I blacked out from my small rusted ship exploding from the sudden impact.
A hoarse cough escaped my throat as I awoke with a start, feeling grains of sand smothered beneath my fingertips. Limbs numb from the numerous amounts of burns, I forced my frail body to sit up- albeit rather shakily. My reeling train of thoughts went still through the relentless ringing in my ears as I stood up slowly. Noting that the sky was akin to the gray of a passing storm, I gazed at my surroundings- an endless ocean. So I’m stuck on an island at some unknown planet. Lovely. I scanned the water, catching a glimpse of dark purple reflecting beneath the surface. Weary blue eyes narrowing, my injured body hurled itself into the ocean. I swam towards the strange purple object, which appeared to be a crystal shard lodged into the skin of a dozing whale. Great, just what I needed. It appears to be a Jamba heart shard, as well. Which will surely turn the whale hostile once they awaken. I have to get the shard out and hide it before those mages find it. Before going to pull the shard out, I broke through the surface of the water. Taking a deep breath of air, I dived back in and swam towards the dark shard. After a short struggle, I felt the whale shift their body. I quickly let go of the shard, pushing myself back as the whale turned so their gaze locked onto my small form. They breathed out a puff of purple smoke, angered eyes flashing in spite of my appearance. Yep, the Jamba heart shard turned the whale hostile. My eyes narrowed, arms reaching towards the surface as I tried to swim. Right as I took in a breath of air, a large force flung my burnt body into the sky. I looked down at the nearing ocean as the whale’s tail gave another splash. Teeth clenched, I held back from squeezing my eyes shut when I hit the water. When I did regain my blurred vision, a large tail swung into my body and pushed me farther down. I was too focused in trying to reach the surface to notice the red in the blue around me. My body grew accustomed to the adrenaline rushing through my veins as I narrowly dodged the whale’s next tail swing. Violet hues shone inside the whale’s darkened eyes. I caught a glimpse of silver peering through the sand below me. My eyes narrowed in concentration as I swam towards it. This blade better be large enough to count as an ultra sword ability. I took a hold of the handle, getting knocked away again from the whale not a second after. My grip tightened as I swung the long sword through the water. The silver blade glistened as it swept through waves of red and blue. My gaze hardened, line of vision drawn to the purple shard lodged in the whale’s side. I took my aim. The blade split in half once I struck the whale with it. I released the handle and grasped the shard, swimming away from the now unconscious whale. Digging a deep hole in the sand, I tucked the shard beneath the grains before burying it. Let’s hope those mages don’t find it for a good while… hopefully longer than they did back in my universe. I briefly wondered if this was Planet Misteen I was stuck on while I swam back up to the surface. Pausing for a moment, I went back to the motionless whale and pulled the sword out, letting it fall to the ocean floor after it scraped my arm. Ignoring the red liquid coming from my arm now too, I continued to swim towards the surface. Breaking through the water, I took in a large breath of air. Red wafted around me as I glanced up to see a large wave above my form. Tensing up, I immediately braced for impact as water came barreling down. I found myself at the bottom of the ocean once more. My eyes narrowed, determination settling within my eyes as I swam back up. Only for another wave to send me back down. Refusing to cave in to the storm, my fragile body broke through the surface again. Saltwater scorched my open wounds as I caught sight of a large and blurry yellow object skimming the water’s surface. I reached out for it, wrapped in a daze as the flying object carried me away from the planet. My vision slowly grew darker as flashes of white invaded my mind. I felt my stiffening limbs become unable to move. Trying to breathe, I took in air that only pierced my lungs even more. Oh stars, not again. 
“Oh no, Kirby! What happened?” Vaguely familiar voices broke through the onslaught of ringing as I tried to pry my eyes open. Blonde hair was being swept in the breeze as wide, meadow green eyes stared at me in shock and… worry? “I’m going to get the healer- just stay there, Tiff.” A caped blur swept past me as the same voice from before spoke up. “Okay… just hang in there, okay Kirby? Meta Knight just went to get the healer.” Meta… but he’s helping Mags fix the Starcutter, isn’t he? The ringing only grew louder. “Kirby, wait-!” Darkness enveloped me as my track of thoughts hit a dead end. I saw white before it faded to black. 
An inconsistent beeping disturbed my thoughts as they tried to reassemble. The last time I checked, alarm clocks weren’t something you’d find in a cave or a tree. With a slight groan, I shifted my body only to flinch when a sudden bout of pain striked through me. What even…? My eyes fluttered open, squinting when sunlight breached the opened curtains. Wait- curtains? I quickly sat up, ignoring the way my bones ached from any movement. Mind in a fog, I tried to search through my most recent memories only to slump back against the headrest once I remembered. So it was the warp star that hauled my frail body back to Pop Star. Of course. I gazed at my surroundings, the thin sheets and white walls a tell-tale sign that I’m in a hospital. Huh, usually I’m always the one to heal myself. The door creaked as I flicked my sight over to the gloved hand that was turning the doorknob. Bright amber eyes blinked at me as the masked knight went still in the doorway. He cleared his throat, closing the door and stepping towards me. “You're awake, it seems… how much do you remember?” I relaxed my shoulders, sight casting towards the sun in the window’s horizon before meeting his gaze again. “I just woke up a few moments ago. Although I was able to recollect all of my memories, up until I fell unconscious.” Meta sent a nod my way, his tone unusually soft as he spoke in a low voice. “That’s good. The medic was afraid that your concussion would have blocked any recent memories.” I let out a hum of acknowledgement, the swordsman sighing as he held his gaze. “Are… you used to this sort of thing happening- being this injured?” Unable to send him a half-hearted shrug, I settled for speaking in a quiet voice. “I’m not used to others treating my wounds. I usually patch myself up whenever a battle gets finicky to the point where I lose consciousness.” I couldn’t quite place the emotion that flickered in Meta’s eyes before he replied. “I see…” His eyes lowered to the linen sheets covering half my body. “I’m sorry to hear that you’re so used to not only being wounded, but having to treat them yourself, as well.” I blinked at him, searching for the words to lighten the mood. “It’s alright… that’s sort of to be expected when you’re a star warrior like me, is it not?” I fiddled with the bedsheets, fingertips going still when a white gloved hand intertwined with my own burnt one. Letting my muscles go lax, I let myself relish in the warmth of the old rival that I’ve always wished to call a friend. A small yet genuine smile graced my lips, as I looked back up to meet Meta’s eyes peering at me. It was as if he was scanning my face for a reaction. The swordsman took a hold of his mask, lifting it off his face and lowering it. He smiled back with a welcome gaze. The sunlight from the window pane grew dim as it sank below the distant oak forest.