Meta Knight sighed and put down his pen. Aside from the first couple of chapters, which he found in Sakura's pile of books and things in his library, he had written this whole account himself. He felt like Sakura at least deserved to be remembered. His heart heavy, he knew he should finish it, but this was the piece he had tried to remember as little as possible...

That night, after they had dueled, Sakura had finally told him what was troubling her. He had laughed a bit, although nervous, and had promised to not let himself get killed tomorrow. She didn't completely believe him, and therefore had sworn to protect him, but she didn't seem quite as upset as she had before.

Then, she had explained to him a sort of 'whispering' she felt within her. He reassured her, telling her it was probably just nerves and nothing to worry about. His cloak draped around the both of them, he told her, "If I had to pick any of the people I now know to fight alongside me, I would pick you. You have grown much in the year we have spent together."

She had 'smiled' gratefully, and fallen asleep there, leaning peacefully against him. It had felt good to know his young friend trusted him so thoroughly.

The next day, the battle had been going very well...

Sakura took a deep breath as they stood right outside of the temple. "Well, it's now or never, I guess." The place was filled with static, every time any of the heroes brushed against each other, they were met with a small zap. Kirby and Bandana Dee, although nervous, were trying to use this ability to scare the older two. Whereas they could succeed with Sakura, all they got out of Meta Knight was an annoyed glare.

The clouds shook with a peal of dark thunder. "We should not hesitate any longer. He will have finished preparing this storm at any moment," Meta Knight declared. After another moment, he too took a deep breath and led the party in.

"Well, you have arrived," the Monstrous Lightning chuckled from not far ahead. "And here I was, hoping you had chickened out."

"Dream on, poyo," Kirby rolled his eyes, but after another second, they suddenly grew wide, as they turned a corner and first viewed their foe's true form.

A huge spark floated before them, surrounded by clouds with small bolts of lightning jumping from one to another. "Well, do not keep me waiting, heroes. I have a planet to destroy."

"You're never going to get the chance!" Sakura suddenly shouted. Doing a jump-flip combo that rivaled Meta Knight's own ability, she inhaled some lightning. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I shock you?" she quipped, determined, as she became Spark Sakura.

"Hai-yah!" Kirby agreed, getting Spark too.

"Remember the plan?" Meta Knight asked his companions. They nodded. Turning to the monster, he shouted, "Then let us begin!"

Chuckling, the Monstrous Lightning sent out a wave of electricity. Kirby surrounded himself and Bandana Dee in a protective field of static, Sakura did the same with Meta Knight and herself. As soon as the attack was over, the two dropped their shields, and all four flew (or floated, or air-hopped) wildly around the room.

The Monstrous Lightning grunted in frustration. Trying to attack all four of them, his aim was not very accurate, and so all he did was waste energy. "You waste my time!" he shouted, sending out several bolts at once. Kirby and Sakura used the same protective field tactic again, keeping him from injuring any of them.

They went through this cycle several times. Each time, they would weaken the lightning even more, but he got very few attacks of his own to actually hit any of them.

Finally, he began to wise up. If I can stop them from using that annoying force field, I can then attack them whilst they are defenseless. he thought to himself, then chuckled darkly. He made it seem like he was about to send out a sheet of lightning, causing the two Spark-powered heroes to fly toward their other two companions. But, while they were distracted, he sent out a bolt to each of those two, causing them to lose their Copy Ability and freeze, electrified, for a few seconds. And in that preciously short amount of time, he sent out his worst attack yet.

He laughed maniacally as a giant bolt of lightning, nearly as big as himself, rammed straight for Sakura. As soon as he had gotten rid of her, he would go after the pink child. But he never got that far.

Sakura's eyes widened in fear, but she was still trapped in place. Out of nowhere, Meta Knight warped in to block the attack, but he had misjudged where he should return to reality at. And that tiny mistake was his undoing.

This part, obviously, he had not himself observed. He only knew what had happened from a Waddle Doo hiding nearby who turned out to be the Waddle Doo from the castle.

He shouted out in distress as the lightning hit Galaxia when it was supposed to disappear into his cloak. His whole body was surrounded with electricity for a second, and then the Masked Knight began to drop to the cloudy floor like a rock, the glow of his eyes gone from his mask.

"NO!" Sakura screamed, finally capable of movement again. Diving towards her friend as fast as she could, she picked him up and landed behind a pillar, which offered them a moment of rest.

"Wake up, Meta Knight! Wake up!" she pleaded, shaking him gently as tears began to stream from her eyes. He didn't move. "I've failed," she whispered in horror and sorrow as Kirby and Bandana Dee swooped in. "I've failed my one true purpose."

Kirby looked from Meta Knight to her in confusion. "Meta Knight sleeping?" he questioned. When she shook her head, crying too hard to reply, he shook his head in disbelief. "Meta Knight wake up!" he shouted, dashing over and shaking his friend too.

Bandana Dee stood and watched in silence for a second, then he suddenly touched his forehead to Sakura's. "Meta Knight told me you have healing powers. Use them, Sakura!"

Her eyes widened in remembrance. "You're right, Bandana. It might be too late, but I have to try." Turning to Kirby, she handed him the Cherry Star Sword and ordered, "It resists electricity. You won't have Spark anymore, but if he throws an attack at you, use the sword to reflect it away. Don't send it back at him though, or he can use it again. Wear him out."

Kirby nodded in determination, and he and his Waddle Dee friend returned to battle.

Sakura closed her eyes in concentration, and began to make a sphere of soft light. As soon as it had grown about as big as she was, she let it absorb into her friend. Meta Knight moaned and stirred a bit, and the glow that was his eyes slowly came back. "S-Sakura..." he stammered.

"Stay there. You're still hurt," she ordered, concerned, as she pondered how to help the young ones finish off the monster.

"I feel fine. Tired, but fine," he argued, sitting up slowly. "You just saved my life, Sakura. I thank you."

Ignoring him, she suddenly gasped. "Evil, darkness. It's like a sickness."

Frowning to himself, he replied, "What? Well, I suppose so, but what do you-"

"'She will weaken him, but never destroy him,'" she murmured, still to herself. "I can weaken him with the light! It will cleanse the evil from him!" Beginning to form another sphere of light, she let it grow bigger and bigger. Soon, there was so much light that she herself was no longer visible. The giant sphere floated gracefully from their original location to close to the Monstrous Lightning. As Meta Knight watched in awe, the monster seemed to also pause and observe the sphere in curiosity.

Suddenly, a stream of light like a laser shot out from the sphere and streaked toward the monster. As it hit him, he screamed out in pain.

Even after it seemed like all of the energy should have been spent, Sakura kept throwing light at the monster while her friends watched in amazement. She could see them, but they couldn't see her. Suddenly, the sphere of light grew even bigger, and changed to a darker shade of pink. She let out an angry shout, and the light, with her still in it, faded away, in a way very similar to the way Meta Knight faded out when he warped.

Kirby floated quickly toward the monster, whose weak spot was now exposed. After just a few swings of the Cherry Star Sword, the monster completely disappeared, hopefully forever.

Meta Knight, meanwhile, had sped to the spot where Sakura had last been. But on the cloudy platform that had been immediately below her, all that was left was a cherry blossom-shaped ribbon, and a piled-up cape. "No," he whispered in sorrow as he picked them up. He flew slowly to where the two small ones were observing him while also victory dancing, not far away. As soon as they saw what Meta Knight was carrying, though, their victory dance ceased. Kirby frowned, confused at first, but Bandana Dee shook his head in sorrowful understanding.

"Well," Meta Knight began, but his voice cracked. After pausing a moment and allowing his voice to grow stronger, he began again, "Well, we should probably go home now." The three remaining heroes turned sadly to leave.

Kirby and Bandana Dee were silent, aside from a few tears shed by both of them, when they suddenly seemed to freeze in place. He still had no clue what happened to them, but when they came out of what seemed to be a trance, they were joyful.

Meta Knight felt angry at them for being happy when they had just lost a dear friend. Kirby tried to explain, "Sakura not gone, poyo!" but he didn't believe it. And without Sakura, there was no way to glean a better explanation from Bandana.

Now, he paused again. They had made it back to the castle without any interference. DeDeDe and Escargoon were back to normal, and had seemed overjoyed that 'the creepy talking Waddle Dee' wasn't returning. He really, truly hated the king and his advisor sometimes, and that had definitely been one of those times.

Kirby and Bandana Dee still seemed happy. Whenever he shouted at them about how Sakura was never coming back, Kirby tried to convince him that Sakura was okay. He still didn't believe the child.

He had shouted about it a few times, but he hadn't shed a single tear over the incident. Until now, that was.

Angry and ashamed, hot tears ran down his cheeks. He grabbed his mask and threw it to the ground, where it clanged loudly and then skidded along the floor several feet, casting sparks all around it as it went. It spun around once, wobbly, and then came to a stop.

"Why?!?" he yelled to no one in particular. "Why is it, whenever I allow someone to begin to grow close to me, that they are taken away?!?" All of his friends back in his army days, nearly every one of them. Some whom he had known since childhood. And now, the closest friend he had ever had in Dreamland. She was gone too, forever. "It is like I am cursed!" he sobbed, still angry at himself for being emotional. It was not befitting of a warrior.

Suddenly, he felt a whisper in his heart, which quickly grew into a sensation he had felt a few times before: Star Power. A voice spoke to him: "Meta Knight. When I took them away, it was not to pain you, but to give them rest. I still care for you, and you will still find happiness in your life. You are still needed here, that's why I sent Sakura to save your life.

"And Sakura... She is still alive. She is still out there, somewhere among the stars. Perhaps in a different time, but she is alive. She is needed somewhere else, that is why she was taken from you. But fear not, my child. Your paths will cross again. This chapter has ended, but for all of you, another chapter is only beginning." The voice disappeared, the whispers left his heart.

Meta Knight continued to stand where he was for a moment. Turning to the window and looking out at the stars, he smiled a bit. "She is still out there, somewhere among the stars," he repeated quietly to himself, feeling hopeful. He walked over to his shelf, reaching out and touching her cape, which was wrapped around her ribbon and sword. He had left it there as a remembrance, but now, he was saving it for when she returned. His smile grew bigger. She would return, he would see her again, someday. That is why the young ones had rejoiced, they had learned of this good fortune before him.

He picked his mask up off the ground and set it on his bed. Sitting back down at his desk, he finished writing this chapter of Sakura's story. Nibbling on the nub of his pen, he thought for a second, then scribbled down,

The End?

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I open my eyes. I feel like I've been sleeping for days, but at the same time, I feel so tired. It's as if I have given all my energy and then some.

I can't remember who I am, or where I am, or what I'm supposed to be doing. All I can remember is a lot of pink light, and that I was fighting a monster with three friends. I can't even remember what the three friends were like.

There is another thing I remember. A voice, speaking to me. "My child," it said. "I am the Star Power. Your time in this place is finished, for now. You have fulfilled your first purpose, saving Meta Knight's life. But now, a young Star Warrior somewhere and sometime else needs your care." And then, I felt like I was soaring through space and time. I fell asleep.

Now I look around myself, expecting to see the aforementioned Star Warrior somewhere, but I am alone. It's a foresty place, and of course I don't recognize it at all. I take a deep breath, then jump when I feel a mouth open. That can't be right, I don't remember having a mouth. I manage to crawl over to a nearby stream, which I look into. I am colored the way I remember; I still have yellow-orange feet, a tan face, peach cheeks, chestnut eyes, and a red-orange body, but I now have the face of a Star Warrior.

"Whatcha doin', ooyo?"

"Ack!" I shout, and fall forward into the stream. It's shallow, so I quickly pick myself up and turn around. A young Star Warrior is watching me in amusement, lying on a Warp Star on his stomach, holding his face in his hands. He is a deep, dark blue, and he has misty white eyes. They don't look like blind eyes, though, it looks more like soft, pure snow.

"Who are you, ooyo?" he tries again, tipping his head to the side in curiosity. He has a bit of a strange accent, but that is mostly hidden by childhood's sweet perkiness.

I don't know how to answer, so I turn the conversation to him. "What's your name?"

He seems to pout. "No name yet, ooyo." Then he grins. "Mommy calls me 'Little Boy Blue!" he nods matter-of-factly. He's an adorable little kid, whoever he is. "Are you a hero?" he asks, eyes growing wide in excitement. He grabs a twig, which he jabs at the air proudly. "I'm gonna be a hero someday, ooyo!" He then tumbles off his Warp Star onto the ground, unhurt but embarrassed.

I giggle, this child is so sweet and innocent. "I think I'm a hero, but I can't remember."

His eyes grow even wider. "Ambrosia!"

"I think it's 'amnesia,' not 'ambrosia,'" I laugh. "And my name is..." I pause, trying really hard to remember.

One thing comes back to me: someone saying, "It is from the language of the Ancients, and it means... blossom." I can't remember what the voice who spoke it sounds like, but it's a start. Question is, what kind of blossom? Orange blossom? Apple blossom? Potato blossom?

"Blossom," I finally answer the kid. "My name's Blossom."

"Blossom, ooyo!" he shouts excitedly. "Blossom the hero, ooyo!"

Grinning, which is a nice thing to be able to do, I reply, "That's about right, Blue."

He looks around as if to make sure no one is watching, then asks me, "Can you train me, ooyo? So I can be a hero too, ooyo?"

I think for a minute, then nod. "Okay. Come back tomorrow. Right now I need to find a place to stay. I'm new here."

He grins, then grabs my hand and leads me to an old building not far away from the stream. "Old library, ooyo. Still has books, but no one cares about it. I love books, ooyo." He seems almost sad.

I pat his head. "Well, then, I'll care for it. It's as good a place to stay as any." He giggles, happy simply because I'm happy.

Soon, 'Blue,' as I've decided to call him, goes home. I clean the old library, finding a couple of old swords in the process. Good, I'm not unarmed anymore. Strangely, they're not rusty, but I'm not too concerned with that. One of them is much smaller than the other, it's as if someone was expecting me to come here and train a child. I shake my head, again, I'm not that worried about it.

Once I'm done with my cleaning, I then, for some reason, decide to spend the night sleeping in a shelf.

"So, this is the next chapter of the story. Both for me, and for this old place," I muse, then my eyes droop closed again. It's a bit early to go to bed, but I am so tired. Turning in early won't hurt me.

I feel excited and hopeful. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?