(Wow, I'm already to World 5! How did that happen?!? lol. Anyway, just wanted to say, thanks to anyone who's been reading this. I've been writing a chapter a day since Christmas Eve which has pretty much broken my personal record. Also, just wanted to say a quick thank you to PrimeJourney for giving me the idea for Star Power. Please check out her stories/give her a follow! Thanks! Anyway, enjoy! :D)

The day dawned bright and clear. Read that sentence again: The day dawned bright and clear.

"What in Dreamland?..." Sakura gasped when she awoke to sunlight on her face. Meta Knight was asleep in the corner, so she went and shook him awake. "Meta Knight, it's sunny! What's going on?"

He mumbled something about wanting to join a Warp Star race and turned so he faced a different direction. Rolling her eyes, she inhaled and then blew a puff of air at him. He leapt up quickly and drew his sword, then relaxed when he saw it was just her. "Sakura. Did you have to startle me?"

"Um, yes actually, I did. If you haven't noticed, it's sunny. Why is it sunny?"

He frowned as he, too, became aware of this strange fact. "That cannot be right..."

"Have we not been able to find the Monstrous Lightning because he isn't really here? Did we just have some stormy weather for a couple of weeks?" she wondered aloud.

"I do not think that is the case," he murmured, stepping outside of the hut.

She followed him, then quickly discovered she hadn't realized just how much she had missed the sunshine until now. It felt warm and lovely on her face, and filled her with the emotion of seeing an old friend again after a long time. Sighing happily, she said, "I'm going to go get the kids. They'll be happy to see the sun again too."

As she stepped back into the hut, he puzzled these happenings thoughtfully. "Those were most definitely not just typical storms, I am sure the Monstrous Lightning is here. But where has he gone? Where was he to begin with?"

Kirby and Bandana Dee came racing out of the hut joyfully, and Kirby jumped up on Meta Knight's back, knocking him over. Giggling, Kirby shouted, "Sunny, Meta Knight poyo!"

Rolling his eyes and sighing, Meta Knight stood up and let his cloak turn into wings, making Kirby tumble to the ground. "Yes, Kirby. I am perfectly aware it is bright out today."

Kirby pouted, a bit hurt. "Got out wrong side bed, poyo."

Sakura also strolled back out, just as happy as the two little ones. "Well, should we take advantage of this good weather and get a move on?"

"I suppose that is the most logical course to follow," Meta Knight nodded once, then took off, the others following not far behind.

You may have fooled the others, but you have not fooled me. I will be even more watchful now, he thought determinedly to himself. He had been fooled by an enemy once before, he would not let it happen again.

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"Have we convinced them?" the Monstrous Lightning asked his small assistant. He had found this pathetic little guy struggling to get his starship through space. Muttering something about how he hated all Star Warriors, and how he really deserved that crown, not that stupid dragon, this 'Magolor' had been taken completely by surprise when the monster shocked his ship into not even having lights anymore.

"Hey, what did you do that for?!?" he had shouted angrily in a pip-squeaky voice. "Can't you see I'm struggling to even get home?"

"So, you have a grudge against some Star Warriors. Well, according to the prophecies, the only things standing in my way of having the universe as my own is two of these 'Star Warriors' and a couple of pathetic creatures known as Waddle Dee. One of those has the powers of a Star Warrior, but even with three who have power, they'd still be doomed if we worked together," the Monstrous Lightning had explained through the ship's PA system.

"Two Star Warriors, huh? That'd be Kirby and his mysterious friend, Mega Knight or whatever his name was," Magolor had shrugged. "They had a Waddle Dee with them, but he didn't have any special Star Warrior powers. They're not that smart, though, I tricked them into rebuilding my ship. And then, if that weren't enough, into fighting a dragon for me, too."

"Well, obviously, they were smart enough to eventually defeat you," the Monstrous Lightning had pointed out, somewhat amused.

"Yeah, but only after I basically spelled it out for them. I managed to convince them I was a goodguy again and leave by building Kirby a playground, but to tell the truth, I'm ready to pound all of them. I'm just not strong (or stupid) enough to do anything like that, so I'm going home," the little two-face had explained.

Chuckling darkly, the giant spark had suggested, "What say we take them on together?"

Magolor had disagreed at first, but after just the tiniest (okay, fairly big) bit of mind control, he was perfectly willing. "So, what should we do first, Master?"

"Well, you are to be the brains of this operation, seeing as how I have none," the monster had lied. Obviously, he would get rid of him when the derp had outlived his usefulness. "What do you suggest we do? I have already covered their planet with terrible storms, and I have not even arrived there yet. I tried to stop them by giving them nightmares, but they thought their way out of them," the Monstrous Lightning had grunted.

"That's a surprise. I didn't even know they could think," the little weasel had muttered, then continued, "I suggest you pull back the storms, try to trick them into thinking they were wrong, that you haven't really gotten there yet. Which you haven't, of course. But, it'll give us time to get there, and then we can send a taskforce to get them. Boom! No more heroes. Sound good, Master?" The Monstrous Lightning had readily agreed.

Now, Magolor nodded. "I think they've been fooled, all except Meta Knot, or whatever his name is. He was the one that was the most suspicious of me last time, so maybe he's wised up. Even the super-powered Waddle Dee is pretty close to being fooled though, I think."

The Monstrous Lightning, now outside the ship again, bobbed up and down in his way of nodding, then gave an evil laugh. "As soon as I really take them on, they will be done for. And it's going to be a game-over sequence for at least one of them, for the prophecies say so. And believe me, I will not rest until it is so."

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Three-quarters of the heroes' party was still happy, but the other fourth still seemed rather snappy. "Oh, come on, Sir Knight. Be happy for once. Can't you just accept our good luck?" Sakura sighed. "Quit raining on our parade when the real rain has finally stopped!"

"There has not been rain in any of the last several storms," he pointed out, glaring straight ahead.

"Whatever. You don't have to be so... grumpy," she huffed.

Up ahead, Kirby called for his Warp Star, and him and Bandana Dee started taking turns riding it. Kirby, being a young Star Warrior, was a lot better at it, but for a Waddle Dee, Bandana did really well.

"Where'd Kirby get that, anyway?" she asked suddenly. Maybe talking about something Star Warrior-related would cheer him up some, she figured.

He glanced over at her. "Every young Star Warrior has one," he said, then left it at that. He seemed to be almost nervous, she observed. Why couldn't he just accept their good fortune for the time being? Who knew when the storms would return?

"Do you have to be suspicious of everything?" she sighed exasperatedly. "I explained a lot of Waddle Dee stuff to you last night, explain the Warp Star to me now. It's only fair."

He hesitated, then nodded once. "Very well. The whole universe is guided by an entity known as the Star Power. The Star Power, if it chooses to, can speak to those whom it chooses, or even lend a hero help, like by making one even stronger in one's time of deepest need. It can help one keep going when one thinks they have given all they can."

"Okay?" she prompted, now gliding upside-down out of boredom, unsure what this had to do with the Warp Star.

Giving her an annoyed look, he continued, "When we are young, we cannot sense this power without aid. So, we are each given a Warp Star. These help us to learn how to feel and move with the Star Power, plus they are a source of entertainment for children. I was once very skilled at Warp Star racing, many years ago."

Disbelieving, she questioned as she did a sort of flip, "You were a kid once? I find it pretty much impossible to imagine you as a kid."

"Do not be ridiculous, Sakura. Everyone is a child once. And there are those of us who seem to hold onto that childlike quality longer than some," he looked at her pointedly as she did a loop-de-loop through the one small white cloud in the sky, causing it to disappear.

"Is that a compliment, or an insult?" she asked, sounding a bit irritated. Offended, she quit free-styling and resumed flying monotonously next to him.

"It is a bit of both," he admitted, the tiniest bit of a smile in his voice. "Anyway, each Star Warrior eventually has a time when they first sense the Star Power on their own. Oftentimes, this is also the time when they receive their special weapon or tool, as well as when they earn their name. I received my cloak at the same time I received the name Meta."

"Why were you just Meta, and not Meta Knight?" she inquired.

"That is not the topic we are discussing," he snapped, then softened a bit. "I apologize, but I do not share many details of my past with anyone."

"Sor-ry," she humphed, a little bit hurt.

"As I was saying, when we can sense the Star Power ourselves, we no longer need our Warp Star. They shrink down to even smaller than their normal storage size, and become our insignia, our identifying mark for when we fight. I still have mine, back at the castle," he finished. Flapping off, he told her, "That is all I have to say on the matter."

"Grump-bucket," she muttered, then flew ahead to join the little ones. "Hey, Kirby! Can I have a turn?"

Grinning, Kirby agreed eagerly. He didn't have his Wing ability anymore, so he had been just floating lately. She gave him a second feather. "We don't want Meta Grump to have any reason to yell at us, like for being slow, do we?" she winked as he giggled and inhaled it.

"Meta Grump, poyo," he giggled again, apparently liking the sound of it.

She landed on the Warp Star as Kirby jumped off. For a moment, she was wobbly, but she quickly found her balance. For a few minutes, all she could do was fly it, but before long at all, she was pulling all sorts of tricks. "Woohoo!" she whooped as she flew past Meta Knight, then practically screamed with joy, "This is awesome!!!"

He looked at her in something resembling amusement, but his eyes didn't change from being yellow. "I see you seem to have a natural talent for the Warp Star."

"I guess so," she agreed, giggling. Not long after, Kirby made her give it back, but as soon as he and Bandana Dee had finished with it again, she took another turn. "I like this thing. I really, really like this thing!"

Meta Knight sighed, exasperated. "Why can you not be serious?"

"Why should I be serious right now? We have a day with good weather! Lighten up!" she rolled her eyes at him.

"That is precisely why you should be serious!" he virtually roared at her, his eyes suddenly red. "Our foe is obviously trying to trick us. You should be carefully observing, not fooling around like a child!"

Her eyes narrowed. "You know what? If all you're going to do is be cranky, you can go do that somewhere else."

"Very well. But when you are attacked by some monster and you do not have my assistance, then you will find yourself much regretting this... idiocy," he growled. Turning his wings back into a cloak, he suddenly warped away right out of the air.

"Who needs him?" she harrumphed. Kirby and Bandana Dee nodded firmly. "Besides, he'll be back soon enough. You guys just wait and see."

"My turn, poyo!" Kirby announced, not worried about the past couple minutes' events in the least.

"Fine. For just a minute," she giggled and jumped off, not noticing the few stormy clouds appearing off in a far corner of the sky.