Kirby's POV:

"All right, guys," Sakura shakes me and Bandana awake. "Time to get back in the case."

"Do we have to?" I yawn, then groan. "I hated being stuck in there."

With a smile, she reassures me, "As soon as they chuck us off the plane, we only have to wait a couple of minutes before we can get out and make a break for it. Then, it's only about a twenty minute flight to the shelter. You'll like it there, there's a bunch of kids your age. Some were born here, others came here themselves."

Grinning at her, I climb into the case after Bandana, who's already gone back to sleep. "Okay, Sakura."

As Meta Knight squeezes in after I've settled, I notice that he seems a little bit happier today, too. Well, happier for him, I mean, which is still kind of quiet and borderline grumpy. I guess he woke up on the right side of the bed, er, suitcase.

"Is there anything to eat?" I ask as soon as Sakura climbs in and zips the top mostly shut.

Laughing, she nods, "Yeah, I've got a couple of granola bars in my satchel for everyone." She pulls them out and passes a couple of them to me.

Meta Knight, being the suspicious person he is, has to check the ingredients before I'm allowed to eat them. "What is maltodextrin? Or soy lecithin? Or any of these other ingredients, other than maybe granola and honey?"

"The dreaded artificial ingredients," Sakura murmurs in a spooky voice, then smirks as he glares at her. "Don't worry, not even aspartame is as bad as Pufferzene, although I still wouldn't recommend drinking diet soda."

Sounding disgusted, Meta Knight asks, "What is soda? As in baking soda? Who would even want to drink that? How would one even go about drinking baking soda?"

"It's a sugary beverage that has the magical property of helping paranoid people stay awake," Sakura laughs lightly, a grin on her face again. "Coca-Cola is my favorite."

"And how many artificial ingredients does that have, I wonder?" Meta Knight mutters, looking at my now-unwrapped granola bar like he thinks it's gonna try to eat me. I go to pop the whole thing in my mouth at once, but Sakura stops me.

Laughing, she tells me, "I know it's a foreign concept to you, buddy, but you're gonna have to learn how to take bites. I've had so many Star Warrior kids try to choke themselves by swallowing a whole cookie or some other kind of food in their mouth all at once. Fun with having no magic, right?" Turning to Meta Knight, she continues, "I don't know how many artificial ingredients Coke has, they don't have to list them all. But it doesn't matter. If you want to eat, you have to eat what we have. We don't have the funds to go all organic or anything, although trust me, I wish we did."

"What does organic mean in this context?" he wonders, once again lost. Sakura keeps talking about so many things that none of us understand. I guess that's cause she's been around Humans longer than we have.

"It basically means expensive, but better for you," she explains with a smile, then we all fall silent as the plane door is opened and some Humans, (actually speaking a language I can understand,) come in and start taking stuff out.

"Look at this," one of them says suddenly. "The guys in Japan threw this one on partially unzipped."

"Ha!" the other laughs from outside. "Well, zip it shut then!"

Chuckling, this guy agrees, "Thanks for the tip, Captain Obvious."

"Just peachy," Sakura sighs so quietly we can barely hear her as the one guy zips our case shut. Thankfully he didn't look in here, at least.

Seconds later, our bag is thrown out of the plane, and we start moving again after a bumpy landing, which wakes Bandana up. It's a good thing he can't make noise here, otherwise we'd be discovered for sure.

"How do we get out?" Meta Knight asks calmly.

"Quickly," Sakura replies, actually sounding nervous for the first time since she showed up at the jail last night as she starts to try to pull the zipper open. "If we actually get into airport security, first we'll be fried by the X-ray, and then discovered, and captured, and yada yada yada. Bad stuff all around."

Growing a bit concerned himself, Meta Knight suggests, "Should I cut through the top with Galaxia?"

"That's a last resort. We don't want to make our presence too obvious. We've only been here in NYC a few months, no one wants to have to move again," Sakura sighs wearily, looking exhausted for a moment, but then she perks up some again. "Okay, I think I've got enough of an opening to fit my paw into."

About a minute later, she's managed to unzip the bag, and we hop out just before the suitcase goes through a door blocked by some plastic things. "All's well that ends well, right?" Sakura says quietly, hurriedly leading us out a different way before we're noticed by any Humans.

Once outside, she leads us to a spot where she and Meta Knight can take off without being seen. "Anybody want to ride a train part of the way?" she asks with a mischievous grin as we start to soar over buildings bigger than any I've ever seen before. Even Meta Knight seems a little bit impressed.

Assuming that she's joking, I answer anyway, "Me! Me! Me!"

"NO," Meta Knight disagrees firmly. "If I have my way, none of us are ever riding a train like that ever again."

"Well, I kinda have to. It's part of the ODURAF job description," Sakura reminds him with a grin. "Although, technically, I wrote the job description."

"ODURAF?" he replies, lost once again.

Nodding once, she explains, "Other Dimensioner Undercover Rescue and Aid Forces. It's something I started once we started getting enough Other Dimensioners. Basically, I train the new arrivals who are most promising in the arts of the sword, stealth, and first aid, and then we all go rescue new new arrivals. I try to go on every rescue, but sometimes there's just too much going on at once for me to keep up with everything. Being in charge of a hundred people can do that to a person."

"You are in charge of a hundred people?" Meta Knight mutters, eyes growing wide in surprise. Oh, look at that, they're already white. No need for a magical glowing color change. Badum-crash, another amazing joke from Kirby! But still. Since when is Sakura in charge of a hundred people? She doesn't even like leading.

"Well, it started out being a lot less than that," she sighs, tired-looking again. "It gets to be more and more all the time. Solar used to help me out, now a couple of Star Warriors named Geo and Terra are second-in-command. You'll meet Geo soon, he should be on door guard duty. And wherever Geo is, Terra's not usually far off. You guys'll like their kids, Butterfly and Cricket. They're adorable."

"Where is Solar now? Did he run off and abandon you?" Meta Knight demands, sounding irritated. "I would like to give that arrogant fool a piece of my mind, and quite possibly also a taste of my sword."

"Don't be mad at Solar. Sure, he was a jerk to us just a few days ago for you, but he got a lot better as time went on. We never really completely trusted each other, but he was my backup for several years. We saved each other's lives multiple times," Sakura murmurs, her gaze growing distant as she looks at a charm wrapped around the hilt of her sword that I didn't notice until now. Well, I'd noticed the sword, obviously. It's almost twice as long as she is tall. I just hadn't noticed the charm. It looks sort of like half of a sun, but it's been melted out of shape.

"What is that?" Meta Knight inquires.

"Just a cheap trinket," Sakura smiles brightly, coming to the present again. "Only cost me a quarter."

Confused, I ask her, trying to twist around enough to look at her, "What's a quarter?"

"A unit of money," she explains, which clarifies things a little bit, I guess. "It's not worth very much at all."

Shrugging, I accept that answer.

Meta Knight, however, seems a bit concerned. "If it is just a cheap trinket, then why do you-"

"Oh, look, we're here," Sakura interrupts him, just a little bit too cheerfully. She goes in for a landing, Meta Knight right behind her.

She goes up to the door of a building that's several stories tall. "The upper floors are mostly unsafe, so don't go up there. We stay in the fallout shelter that exists in several stories under the ground."

"What's a fallout shelter?" I question.

"Something you don't need to worry about," she answers firmly, giving me a glance that shows she means business. Standing up on tiptoe, she presses a button on a panel about three feet above the ground.

"Yeeeeeeees?" a smug-ish voice comes through the box.

"Sakura and three new arrivals, requesting entry," Sakura speaks back up to it, voice quite serious and professional.

Sounding mischievous, the voice replies, "We're sorry, your request cannot be completed as spoken. Please check the request, and speak again. This recording courtesy of Geo, Inc."

"Geo, let me in," she says, voice growing sterner.

A smirk in his voice now, Geo, I guess, continues, "We're sorry, entry is forbidden unless free pizza is involved."

Getting irritated, Sakura replies, "Geo, let us in off of the street or I swear by the code of honor that I'm going to pull the hard drive out of the laptop you've done so much upgrade work on and feed it to a garbage disposal."

"You wouldn't," Geo gasps in faux-fear, then chortles. "You can't even get in if I don't unlock the door."

Turning to Meta Knight, Sakura requests loud enough for Geo to hear, "Meta, do you think your armored boots could kick through a window for me so I can get in and murder his laptop?"

"Er, yes. But what is a laptop?" Meta Knight wonders.

"Ooooooooooh, is this the sweetheart you're always talking about?" Geo wonders teasingly, as Meta Knight glances over at her in something resembling amusement. This time I wish his eyes would glow so I could tell what he's feeling. "He even has an exotic accent!"

"Shut up, Geo, or I'm going to kill you. Forget about the laptop," Sakura seethes at the box. "I'm counting to three, and this door is magically going to open, or so help me-"

The door finally swings open. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the airplane," Geo tsks. He's a Star Warrior, neon-green with matching bright green wings and blue eyes.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura mumbles, "Hard for me to do when I didn't ever fall asleep." Stomping in the door, she asks, "What happened while I was gone?"

"We all exploded and died," Geo replies as he shuts and locks the door and we all follow Sakura to a set of stairs, earning himself an almost Meta Knight-like glare from Sakura. "Nothing happened, except that there was another arrival. I'm sure you felt it. You need to quit worrying so much about everything."

Heaving a sigh, she agrees, "I did feel the new arrival. Anybody find them yet?"

"Yeah. Don and Blizzard located him in Saint Louis. They shot us off an email saying that it's a he, and that he's an Elf. They also say that they need to speak to you as soon as they arrive," Geo explains.

"Well, that's promising. Thank you, Geo," Sakura nods, then yawns. "Go ask one of the Elves to put on a pot of coffee. They can reach the cupboards easier than any of the shorter people."

"No," he disagrees firmly. "You, missy, are getting a good night's sleep tonight. (The Hall of Entrusting) Heaven knows you need it."

"No time," she disagrees right back with a firm shake of her head. "Just get me a cup of coffee, and I'll be fine."

Growing even firmer, he glares at her, "When was the last time you had a good night's sleep?"

"A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away," she answers with a smirk, (I don't get how it's supposed to be funny. Am I missing something?) then continues, "I had a decent night's sleep about three, maybe four days ago. I'll be fine. Anyway, I'm going to go check in on the research department, see if there's been any major developments toward getting us home. Meta Knight, would you come with me? Geo, take Kirby and Bandana to the other kids." As Meta Knight glances at her, concerned, she reassures him, "They'll be fine."

"It is not them I am worrying about at the moment," he murmurs. "Why are you not sleeping?"

Sighing, she rubs her eyes and answers, "I answered that on the flight."

Giving her a disapproving look, Geo tells Meta Knight, "She runs on maybe one, two nights of sleep a week, and a lot of caffeine. She's probably cut a decade or more off of her lifespan."

"Shut up, Geo," Sakura glares at him. "I'll be fine."

"You seem to say that a lot," Meta Knight muses, looking at her in concern again.

Shrugging, she mutters, "It's true." Finally done going down several flights of Human-sized stairs, she stops in front of two huge metal double doors. "Welcome, gentlemen, to the shelter."

Throwing open the doors, she leads us into a brightly lit and colorfully painted room, full of Other Dimensioners of all kinds. Several Toads are dancing in front of a TV set while some catchy music plays; some Star Warriors are reading together in one corner of the room; a bunch of Elves are crowded around a computer, talking excitedly about something they keep calling 'WoW' that one of them is apparently playing; some Manga-Heads are standing around a table and trading cards with Pokéballs on the backs; and there are tons of people just walking around and through the room.

Over to us comes one of the Toads who was dancing a second ago. Grinning mischievously, he laughs at Sakura, "Hey, Tenshi no Sakura, guess who just beat your high score on the song 'Dynamite?'"

Grinning right back at him, she chuckles, "Liar, liar, cap on fire. You did not."

"He did!" one of the other Toads shouts, and they all cheer.

"You're going down later, Groove Toad," she makes a face at him. "Soon as I have time."

"Good luck with that," he calls after us as we continue to walk. "I look forward to holding the number one spot for the rest of eternity."

"Savor it while it lasts, you must, my young Padawan. Hmm?" she smirks back at him, walking backwards, then turns to a light purple Star Warrior who's come to talk to her. "Yeah, Lavender? What is it?"

"I just wanted you to know that I finished reading that book you gave me, so you can have it back now," the girl murmurs shyly as she hands Sakura a brightly-decorated book titled 'A Tangle of Knots.' "Thanks, Tenshi no Sakura. I enjoyed it."

"You're welcome, Lavender. By the way, happy birthday. You're twelve now, right?" Sakura asks, giving the shorter Star Warrior a hug before she slips the book into her satchel.

Nodding, Lavender smiles quietly, "Thank you!"

"Lavender's a sweetie," Sakura smiles at her fondly as she walks off, then turns to me and Bandana. "You two can join any of the kids at any time you want to."

Feeling a little overwhelmed, I shake my head. "Not yet. I wanna stay with you guys a little longer." Bandana agrees with an eager nod and a 'smile.'

Smiling at the two of us, Sakura says reassuringly, "That's fine. I understand, it is a lot of people, and all this stuff they're doing is a bit new to you. That's okay."

Sounding thoughtful, Meta Knight suddenly inquires, "Why do they keep calling you 'Sakura of the Angels?'"

Blushing, she mutters, "It's just a nickname they came up with for me."

Huffing, Geo disagrees, "No, it's a name she's quite thoroughly earned, that I gave her. When I learned she didn't really earn the name Sakura, I said that I was giving her the name Tenshi. She refused it, but I got everyone to start calling her Tenshi no Sakura. I'm telling you, I don't know how she did it, but this girl brought some magic with her from the Home Dimension. You give her a first aid kit, it's like you've given her a spell book. She can fix up anyone, no matter how hurt or sick they are. And don't even get me started on how kind and sweet she is. Everyone, kids especially, feels safe around her."

"It's just part of the job description," she murmurs, still blushing. "You make it sound like I deserve a Nobel Prize."

Laughing, he jokes, "Trust me, if they accepted Star Warriors, I would have nominated you years ago."

"What's a No Bell Prize?" I wonder, but Sakura just shakes her head at me and sighs,

"A long story." Yawning again, she turns to Geo again. "Really, please go get me some coffee."

"In a minute. Here comes Terra," he grins, smiling over at another Star Warrior fondly as she walks towards us, followed by two kids. She's purple with green eyes and light-purple wings, and they're both wingless, one lavender with brown eyes, and the other red with green eyes.

Grinning, the grownup one gives Sakura a hug and shouts, relieved, "You made it!" Then, she pulls away and crosses her arms, giving her a stern look.

"Here comes a classic Terra lecture," Sakura mutters and rolls her eyes.

Nodding firmly, Terra huffs, "What were you thinking, running off to Tokyo by yourself to rescue three new arrivals? Do you have a death wish, or something? You know we all worry about you. We need you."

Looking like she wishes that Terra hadn't reminded her, Sakura groans, "I know, Terra, I know. But this is my family. I had to go get them. You don't understand."

Growing softer, Terra sighs, "Actually, I do, sweetie. Anyway. Me and Geo are getting someone to watch the kids for us later. We're going to go jump off of the Empire State Building. Want to join us?"

"Maybe. If I have time," Sakura nods eagerly. "Meta Knight should come, too."

"Why exactly are we jumping off of a building?" Meta Knight murmurs, sounding just a tad bit horrified. I don't blame him. Why in Dreamland- er, NYC- are they jumping off of a building? That's just stupid!

Grinning almost crazily, Sakura explains, "You fly up to the roof, 1,250 feet above the ground, then jump off and let yourself fall until a couple of stories above the ground. Then you start flying to wear off the momentum. It's the best adrenaline rush ever, even better than riding trains!"

Giving her a worried look, he says, "I need to take you to a psychiatrist, or something. Unfortunately, I think anything Yabui prescribed would only worsen your condition."

"She's no crazier than anyone else here," Geo laughs. "I bet you couldn't even make it ten stories before you started flapping."

"Now, now, Geo," Sakura shakes her head, then smirks. "I bet he could make it at least twenty."

Apparently taking this as a challenge, Meta Knight narrows his eyes at her. "And how many stories are there, may I ask?"

"103," she laughs.

"Hmph. I will come with you, if only to make sure you do not kill yourself," he mutters, still glaring at her.

Smiling, Terra nods, "All right, then. We'll do that later."

Just then, an Elf comes over with a cup of coffee, even though Geo never got around to telling someone to get her one. "Here you go, Tenshi no Sakura."

Giving him an appreciative look, she nods, "Thanks, Clerk."

"No problem," he shrugs, then heads back over to the computer to watch the others some more, not talking to anyone.

Meta Knight continues to watch him, eyes narrowed. "He gives me a bad feeling," he murmurs to no one in particular.

"Clerk's a good guy, just quiet. First arrival other than me and Solar, actually. The first hint that my hole-repairing spell wasn't as effective as I'd hoped it was, therefore leading me to worry about all of you even more than I already did," Sakura tells him, sipping carefully at the coffee, quite effectively closing that topic of discussion. "Anyway. Me and you need to go to the research center." Turning to me and Bandana, she smiles gently, "You two can stay with Terra and Geo for now. They'll keep an eye on you. Okay?"

"All right," I agree with a grin, then give her a hug before she leaves. "Be careful, Tenshi no Sakura."

Shaking her head and chuckling, she orders me, "You're not allowed to call me that, mister. I'm Sakura to you, little guy."

"All right," I nod, then watch as she and Meta Knight walk off. Turning to Geo, I wonder, "How long has she been here, anyway?"

"She hasn't told you yet?" he mutters in surprise, then shakes his head. "She's been trapped here twenty-one years now. Ever since '92."

"Poor Sakura," I mutter, feeling really sorry for her. That makes her fifty-something now. She keeps disappearing for years at a time like this, she's gonna end up older than Meta Knight, and he's, like, ancient. "No wonder she seems so sad. Being without all of us that long... that's even sadder than when there's no snacks readily available. Only by a little, but still."

Smiling sadly, Terra agrees, "You three are all she ever talks about. 'Kirby would love this shortcake,' 'I wish Bandana was here to see this,' 'Meta would absolutely hate this song, but I think it's pretty.'"

"I always thought you guys were something she had made up. I guess I was wrong," Geo shrugs nonchalantly.

Glaring at him, Terra disagrees, "I've always believed her. She's not the type to make up things. I can't believe you didn't."

Shrugging again, he wraps a wing around her and agrees, "I guess you're right."

"Ew. Mushy stuff," I mutter, making the two little kids laugh at me.

"Do you like Mariokart?" the boy asks me and Bandana out of nowhere.

Frowning, I question, "What's that?"

Eagerly, the girl grabs my paw and squeals, "Only the bestest Wii game ever. Come play with us! There's four Wiimotes, that's enough for all of us."

I glance over at Bandana, who shrugs and nods. "Okay," I grin at them. "Let's go play Mariokart."

As we all follow the two little kids, Geo murmurs to Terra, "Well, that's the third new arrival in the past two weeks. Home doesn't have much longer."

Sighing sadly, Terra agrees, "I want to go back so badly, Geo. You have no idea. But soon, it's going to be all gone."

"I know," he murmurs back to her wearily.

Growing nervous, I shiver a little. Even the grownups are losing hope. What do I do? I'm the hero, but how do I help things?

Sometimes it seems like there's too much pressure on me. I'm just a kid. I mean, I'm Kirby, but still. It's hard to have everyone expecting you to somehow fix everything.

I'm just glad I have so many people to help me, although it seems like a lot of my favorite allies are stuck somewhere that should be the safest place in the universe, but is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous places to be: Home.