Sakura Dee|桜・ディー

I don't think I've ever felt quite this deep of a terror before. The air I get in doesn't feel like enough, so I keep breathing heavier and heavier, trying to get enough oxygen. All I can feel inside is cold, a squeezing kind of cold that feels like something is trying to wring all the hope and warmth out of me. My heart races, each frantic beat resounding through my body like the crash of a drum. My brain can only manage to piece together one coherent thought amidst the chaos:

Run.

And that's what I do, feet slamming against the ground over and over, as fast I can press them forward, each footstep causing a ringing echo that syncopates with my heartbeat perfectly. Right behind me sounds the thundering of three more sets of friendly footsteps keeping up with mine, and behind them is no sound, only a pressing, choking darkness.

Far ahead is a dot of light, which is what we run for, but it doesn't seem to be getting closer. And what's worse, the darkness is overtaking us, aiming not to catch us but to toy with us, to make us keep running until it's had its fun and finally blocks off the only way out we have.

Clutching my sword tighter, I gasp out in a panic, "We're not going to make it!"

Meta Knight takes off in flight immediately above the other three of us, trying to shield the rest of us from any attacks from the darkness. Giving me a stern glance, he reproves, "Hush. We must stay strong for the young ones."

Gulping, I manage a weak nod. He's right. I'm one of the grownups in this scenario. I have to be one of the strong ones, the brave ones.

As we run towards the tiny hope of light, which seems to just keep getting farther and farther away, Kirby tugs on my Dimensional Cape. Risking falling down, I turn just enough to take in the look of sheer terror on his young face like a stab in the heart. Why did I ever let him be a part of this? Hero of Dreamland or not, this is no place for a child...

Voice trembling, he whimpers, "Scared, poyo. Please, make scary go 'way. Please!"

Trying to reassure myself as much as him, I give him a gentle glance and grab his paw. "We're going to be be okay. I promise."

The little one manages a weak smile and clings to my glove as we run. On my opposite side, Bandanna Dee does the same.

And then, somehow, we catch up to the light and dive through the hole into safety.

Gasping for air, I pick myself up and turn around to make sure we aren't being followed, only to be met with the sound of a pained cry as the hole seals—

With Meta Knight still inside.

"No!" I shout, panicking again, but the darkness has formed a wall I can't get through. Kirby and Bandanna Dee join me in fruitlessly attacking the wall, trying to get to our mentor and friend. Once again, I feel as if I can't breathe, like every breath I take only takes more oxygen out of my system.

Out of nowhere, a crack opens in the ground and swallows the three of us whole. My cape tears in two on the jagged, rocky fissure before I can turn it into wings, leaving all three of us helpless, as Kirby and I are both too breathless to puff up and float and Bandanna Dee can't air-hop against the force of whatever is pulling us down.

The two kids cling to me, as if there's someway I can help, fear-filled eyes turned on me, searching me, begging me to find a way to save us, to set things right.

But of course, there's no way that I can do that.

And as Kirby and I both let out hoarse screams of terror and Bandanna trembles violently, the darkness swallows us whole.

****************************************

The first thing I do when I come to is scream, only to start choking when I have no air to breathe on the intake right after. Filled with terror, I start attacking whatever it is that's got ahold of me, only to tear through fabric a moment later and find myself surrounded by a sphere of gentle, warm-yellow light and books upon books upon books.

As soon as I process that it was all only a nightmare, I start to calm down, still trembling. It was just my curtain-blanket wrapped around me that made me dream I couldn't breathe. Picking myself up off the floor, breathing deeply to calm my frantic heart, I observe that I've fallen off my shelf onto the floor. That's why I dreamed I was falling. See, Sakura? Just a dream. All just a terrible, horrible dream.

Shivering, I pick up my curtain-blanket and notice with relief that the tear isn't too serious. I should be able to fix it next time I have a spare minute. Folding it up, I place it on a window seat and then continue to try and calm down, torn up worse than the blanket by the images that have just played through my head. Even worse is the realization that follows when my thoughts start to slowly grow more organized as reality sets in:

Firstly, that's the first nightmare I can ever remember having.

Secondly, and so much more urgently, something's wrong with the Fountain of Dreams.

Before I can start to panic, a flash of lightning brighter and angrier than any I've ever seen blazes outside, lighting up the whole library brighter than day. Immediately after comes a crash of thunder louder than any I've ever heard, making my ears go numb and actually deafen for a split second after. Well, now I know where the echoing footsteps in the nightmare came from too...

Swallowing nervously, I look out the window, but can't tell what time of day or night it is. There's nothing but darkness, with a blanketing of heavy black clouds spread across the sky.

"I-it could be, just, uh, a really bad storm," I whisper, trying to calm myself. Then again, that's highly improbable. Regular storms don't mess with the Fountain of Dreams, for one, and for two, regular storms would include rain lashing against the windows. As it is, not a single drop of water falls from the sky.

I need to go get Meta Knight.

Not wasting a moment, I throw on my cape, which I had left folded carefully up on the window seat while I slept. After that dream, though, I doubt I'll ever try to sleep without it again. Now I have a feeling that for quite awhile, I'm gonna suffer from a serious fear of falling.

Flying all evening earlier was more than fun. Unable to get myself off of the ground without falling at first when my wings just wouldn't do what they were told, I climbed up to the roof of one of the castle spires and clambered up on the ledge. Hesitant, I opened my wings up and let them taste the breeze, just standing there, as the wind whistled through my feathers.

It took me several minutes of trying to get up the nerve to jump off of one of the spires, wishing someone were there to help me brave, to keep an eye on me as I tried something I never in my wildest dreams ever imagined I'd be doing someday, before I found the bravery to actually do so. Finally, I forced myself to take a deep breath and a leap of faith.

For an awful second that dragged on into eternity, I was falling straight down, the ground rushing up at me impossibly fast. But then, thank goodness, I had the sense to lean forward so I was falling face down with my wings above me. My wings caught the wind like a parachute, yanking up suddenly, making me give a cry of unexpected pain. But then, it was like something in me woke up, and I finally knew what to do.

Muscles that I didn't have until today kicked in, driving my wings down with a heavy stroke and then back up again, embracing the wind like an old, dear friend.

And then, I flew.

I don't really know how to describe those next seconds, once the source of terror (i.e. falling) was gone and I was actually soaring. My heart sang. My voice whooped, sometimes almost screaming with ecstasy. Around and around the spire I flew in an upwards spiral until I'd reached back where I'd flown up to. At first I was planning on stopping and landing, but once I got up there, I couldn't dream of it. Not right now. Not in this moment.

And so, for the next several minutes, I flew all around the castle, and then so far up I was among the clouds. Then, I tilted into a nosedive all the way down to the nearby ocean, flying along the glassy, sunset-bathed surface, the late-evening light making the water look orangeish. Not far away, there's a spot where the sunset turns the ocean literally orange, called, appropriately, Orange Ocean. I hear Meta Knight used to like to hang out there.

Amazed as I streaked along above the surface, I looked down at my reflection. Something inside me wept for joy as I realized that this is who I am now. I'm not just a servant. I'm Sakura, Sakura Dee, and I can fly.

After tracing a glove through the water below me, watching in awe the way the water rushed into a small wake under my touch, I pulled up and flew back to the castle, feeling happier than I'd ever been before in my entire life. I barely even noticed the few storm clouds I saw off on the horizon as I slowed my glide and lowered myself down to the ground, only falling a couple of feet back down onto my face. By that point, my new wings were kinda achy and tired after being pushed so hard for so long, and turning them into a cape and back didn't help with that any, so I decided to take a break.

Now, though, I hope they'll be ready the next time I need them, which could be anytime now. Gulping, I pick up the Cherry Star Sword from where it rests right next to where I had my cape. Drawing the sword as I place the sheath at my side, I swing it once with a flourish and then point it to the ceiling. A moment later, it begins giving off a warm, gentle light that softly bathes the area around me slightly brighter than the library's built-in 'nightlight' system does alone.

Giving the sword an approving nod, I murmur, "You're a pretty cool sword, Cherry Star." I could almost swear the glow grows just the tiniest bit brighter in reply.

Taking a deep breath, I leave the library and hurry toward Meta Knight's training room, using the blade to light my way. Unfortunately, all my bad feelings only grow stronger when he doesn't seem to be there, even though there's a light on inside that leaks out under the door. Frowning, I turn away to go search the castle for him, but then suddenly get a feeling of being watched.

Eyes wide, I spin around, Cherry Star pulled into a 'ready' position and held up to defend myself. The changing of the sword's position makes the light disappear, hiding whoever it is that tried to sneak up on me. For a long moment, they remain silent, but suddenly, the bright light of a flashlight pierces the darkness.

"Oi! Who goes there?"

Exhaling in relief, I lower my sword carefully but keep it ready to defend myself, just in case. "It's just me, Sword. At ease and stuff."

Stepping forward, Sword Knight glares at me; I can feel it even if I can't see it. Sword is a bit taller than Meta Knight, is a bipedal species that definitely isn't a Star Warrior, and wears a set of turquoise armor, with a humorously-almost-loaf-shaped helmet that hides his whole visage and sticks out behind his head a ways. Besides his helmet, shoulder guards, and armored boots, he wears a brown tunic, grey gloves, and a black belt which has his sword's sheath strapped to it. Currently, though, the sheath is not in use, as his glove that doesn't have a flashlight in it has a sword to hold instead.

Sneering a bit, he mutters, flourishing his sword, "Last I checked, you don't outrank me, Missy. Leastwise, you don't yet, and long's I have a say in it, ya never will."

For whatever reason, none of the Meta-Knights have taken too awful kindly to me. My only guess is that it's jealousy Meta Knight's spent so much time training me over the past year due to the direness of the whole 'coming monster' situation. Thankfully, I never have to run into most of them, so Sword and his 'blood brother,' Blade, are the only two I ever have to deal with or vice versa.

Sighing, I lower my sword more, eyes slightly narrowed. "Never said I was. It was a joke, Sword. Lighten up a bit; you're starting to get like Meta Knight." When he grunts in reply and backs down, lowering his sword as well, I add, "Speaking of which, any idea where Meta Knight is?"

Ignoring me, Sword turns around. "Oi, Blade. It's just Kirby Dee."

Out of the shadows steps Blade Knight, who is about Meta Knight's height, and seemingly of the same species as Sword. He wears a helmet much like Sword's, only much less bread-like, and a brilliant green. He, too, has a hidden face, his concealed by a pink faceplate solidly welded to his helmet. Out from a gold ring on the back of the helmet flows a flaming-red ponytail, although whether it's his natural hair or a decorative touch to the helmet, the world may never know. In addition to gold-crescent-emblazoned, matching green shoulder guards, he wears brown armored boots, white gloves, a dark blue tunic, and a black belt with a silver buckle to carry his sheath. Just like Sword, though, his sword is out at the moment as well.

Unlike Sword, though, nobody aside from Sword or Meta Knight can understand a single word this nutcase ever says.

Tossing his head (and ponytail), Blade mockingly grunts in his low, rumbling, incomprehensible voice, "Nug ifken Sakra, member? Kint gu roun carrin er Kaaaabi Dyi ennymuff."

Sword snickers in reply. "Roight, my mistake. 'Sak'ra Dee.'" Miming an overly-deep bow in my direction, Sword apologizes facetiously, "Beg pardon, Lady Delicate Wee Blossom."

Wrinkling up my face at him, I mutter, "I'm anything but delicate, thanks."

Sneering, Sword mutters back as he stands back up, "You sure look it, all fancied up like that. Where ya goin', the cotillion?"

Narrowing my eyes even further, I growl, "Look, just tell me where Meta Knight is. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's a raging storm outside and I need to tell him."

Snickering, Blade comments, "Affen he durn't noggin sich."

Giving him an unimpressed look, having understood none of that, I look at Sword. "Well, Sir. I'm waiting."

"Poor ickle Lady-in-Waiting," Sword mocks, and that's enough for me. The sudden swing of my sword causes him to drop the flashlight onto the ground and bring his sword up to block mine with a jerk. Instantly, Blade grabs the flashlight instead and shines it so his buddy can see what he's doing as we start fiercely dueling right there in the castle hall in front of Meta Knight's training room.

Blocking a swing from Sword and following it up perfectly with a parry, I comment snidely, "Looks like the 'Delicate Wee Blossom' knows a 'delicate wee bit' about how to use a sword."

"Aw, shaddup," Sword grunts, swinging at me much more fiercely after that comment.

Just as I manage to get him so infuriated that he isn't paying attention to what he's doing, leaving me the perfect opening to disarm him and win this little standoff, hopefully convincing him not to pick on me anymore, a voice barks through the darkness, "Sakura! Sword! Cease and desist, the both of you!"

Groaning in irritation, Sword backs away and sheathes his sword, still glowering at me. I lower my blade, but don't sheathe it. Meta Knight steps partway into the small patch of light Blade continues to provide with his flashlight. "There is a serious situation going on, if you haven't all noticed, and this is hardly the time to be having petty quarrels."

Under our breaths, we both mutter at the same time that the other one started it, followed by our both giving each other a bitter glare, even if only one of them is visible.

Gazing sharply at both of us, Meta Knight reprimands harshly, "Grow up, both of you. I run an army, not a daycare." With that, he steps the rest of the way into the light, a tiny, tiny Waddle Dee held to him, wrapped up in his cloak. "This child is deathly ill; I have no time for your idiocy. Step aside."

All three of us squires straighten up instantly, parting to let Meta Knight through into his training room, and then follow after him. Meta Knight lays the Waddle Dee down gently on his bed in the corner and hurries off to find some, I dunno, medicine or something.

All of my irritation at Sword has quickly been forgotten as my heart melts at the sight of the tiny Dee, whose cheeks are burning red with fever and whose breath comes in tiny, weak, heaving gasps.

Sitting down on the side of Meta Knight's bed, eyes wide and heart aching, I reach out a glove for the child, who recognizes me as a Waddle Dee even if not one of the normal ones. Coughing piteously, he grabs onto my glove and clings onto it with both paws, squeezing his eyes shut and trembling.

"The poor dear," I whisper, wishing I could help. Unfortunately, I'm no medic. Whenever the little Dees (or Litdees, as we call them) got sick way back when, I'd always have to come find Meta Knight to do something for them. I can do bedside nursing like a boss; I always seemed to be the one set to look after Dedede whenever he got sick in the old days. Doctoring, on the other hand, I'm not very handy with. "Meta Knight, he's burning up... Sword, would you please get a cool cloth or something?"

Rendered silent by the direness of the situation, Sword disappears, Blade following after him. The tiny Waddle Dee, probably no older than two or three at the most, starts hacking again, this time with shallow gasps for air thrown in between each cough.

Staring desperately over at Meta Knight, who's digging through a small wooden chest of various aged bottles of medicine, I beg, "Please, Meta Knight, can't you do something?!"

"Be quiet," he orders, although I can tell by the way his voice doesn't turn fierce that he's as scared as I am. "He's got some old Nightmare disease; I'm trying to find the right cure..."

The little one suddenly quits gasping and coughing, turning very, very still. "Meta Knight, he's—"

"I'm trying, all right?!"

Turning back to the tiny Dee, I watch as his breath moves him up and down on the pillow less and less. Shuddering, I reach out for him with my other glove, but then freeze as his fervent little grip on my glove fails and his tiny paws slip away.

My gloves shake as I pull them away from him, terror flowing through me. There's got to be something I can do. There's got to be something.

As if on instinct, I hold my gloves out above him in a cupping shape, one above the other, as if I were holding a ball. Meta Knight rushes over to check if the Dee is still breathing, but then stops short, confused by my actions. "Sakura, what are you—"

Ignoring him, I narrow my eyes in concentration. Between my gloves, at the very center, some... something twinkles into existence with a tiny glimmer of something that highly resembles hope. There inside my gloves grows a warm, swirling sphere of a light pink light, which quivers as if just as panicked as I am.

Once it's grown to nearly fill my hold no more than ten seconds later, I lower it to the Waddle Dee, where it slips away into the tiny body and vanishes with a sound not unlike a drop of water hitting the surface of a still puddle.

For a long moment, nothing happens, making my gloves begin to shake again. "No, no... please, no..."

And then, as hope begins to die away, the little Dee gives a deep gasp and shudders once, before calming and beginning to breathe normally. Tired eyes blink open and stare up into mine for a long moment, and then the Litdee crawls over into my arms and snuggles against me, falling into a peaceful sleep a moment later.

Eyes wide, I look up at Meta Knight, who is staring back at me with eyes glowing jarring white.

Voice hushed, he demands, "What did you do?"

Shaking my head, I stutter, "I-I don't know; I'm so sorry; I just, I had a feeling; I just knew it would work... I-I—"

Ignoring my stutters, Meta Knight turns away suddenly with a wave of his glove. "Quickly. Bring the little one and follow me."

Bundling the little guy back up in the blanket Meta Knight had him in before, I hug him close to me and hurry after Meta Knight, wondering where on Earth he's taking me. Before I know it, though, he's led me to the Waddle Dee nursery, where a couple of older Dees are surrounded by a crowd of at least fifteen coughing, hacking Litdees, all of whom are bigger than the little guy here. The two full-grown Dees, both a smidgen taller than me and about the same size as Meta Knight, cast Meta Knight a desperate look that clearly is a cry for help, before stopping short when they see the calm, resting Dee in my arms.

While they continue to stare at us, amazed, Meta Knight turns to me, cloak held snugly to himself. "Can you do it again?" he asks, saying it more like a statement than a question.

Handing the Litdee to one of the big Dees, I nod once, afraid. "I can sure as Shotzo at least try."

"Language, Lady Dee," Meta Knight mutters half-heartedly, having realized ages ago that telling me to quit saying 'Shotzo' when he says it all the time is a losing battle. Stepping aside, he lets me hurry over to the young Waddle Dees, who all look absolutely miserable, even if not anywhere near as much so as the littler guy did.

Five minutes later, though, even with the storm raging on outside, they're all curled up in a comic pile in the corner of the room, sound asleep in a deep, healing rest, all of the pain and illness gone from their faces and the rattling gone from their breath.

Exhaling in relief, I turn to Meta Knight, feeling exhausted from all that strange healing. "Are there any more?"

Shaking his head, Meta Knight continues to stare at me in awe. "I'm almost certain they had Child's Choke, a Nightmare strain created only to affect children. Typically, the young ones in the area are immunized against it, but I'll bet Dedede's cut it from the Waddle Dee budget again recently." Eyes finally fading back to golden, he mutters, "I'll have to have some choice words with him sometime soon... Always looking to save a Deden anywhere but on whatever it is he wants, and then money is no object, the miser..."

While the two big Dees look at me gratefully-but-shyly, I nod slowly, taking the words in. "Can I go teach Dedede a lesson now?"

Rolling his eyes, Meta Knight sighs, "No, you may not. Like it or not, he is the King."

"Yeah, only 'cause he says so."

"Sakura..."

"Fine." Crossing my gloves, I start to try to comment on the storm for the first time, only to be interrupted by Sir Knight.

"Now, tell me. How did you do that? I've never seen anything like that before..." he questions, voice actually betraying his curiosity for once.

Shrugging, I admit softly, "I don't know."

"You 'don't know?'"

"That's what I said." Sighing when he obviously doesn't accept that answer, I try to explain. "I just... I just knew to do it. It came naturally. And the light stuff... it felt like a part of me, like I was giving away a part of myself to help them. Now... now I'm really tired and weak..."

All of a sudden, Meta Knight finally seems to notice the way my eyes droop and the way I sway a bit where I'm standing. "Sit down," he orders, and then turns to one of the bigger Waddle Dees. "Please, go fetch her some water." With a single nod, the Waddle Dee hurries off, but not before casting another grateful glance my direction. I try to give him a 'smile' in reply, but the action is too exhausting.

Turning my eyes back to Meta Knight, I murmur tiredly, "I'm just glad I was able to help. I hate it when someone innocent is in pain and I can't do anything. It just drives me insane..."

Nodding slowly, he muses, "I'm not surprised..." but then turns away. "Well... So the Kirby Dee has a gift of healing. I wonder what other surprises you still hold."

Something about his voice makes me pause. "Sir... I'm still not a monster, am I?"

Turning back to me, he assures me firmly, "Of course not. I just... wonder what that power is, where it comes from. It has nothing to do with your being a monster or not; I can assure you." When I just glance away from him, worried all over again by my own abnormality, he repeats, "You are no monster."

"Well, I'm not exactly a Star Warrior, and I'm not exactly a Waddle Dee, so what am I?" I question quietly, but receive no answer in reply.

The Waddle Dee reappears about then, bearing a glass a water and a bowl of berries on a tray, along with something else. Grateful, I gulp down the water and then eat about half the bowl of berries, which is enough to bring back my energy. Setting the rest of the berries aside, I turn my eyes to the other object on the tray, while the two bigger Dees watch in interest.

My eyes widen when I see that it's a beautiful silk ribbon in the shape of a large cherry blossom. It looks so real that I can hardly believe it isn't. Careful, I pick it up and examine it in wonder, turning it delicately back and forth in my gloves. "This... this is so lovely..." Looking up at the two Waddle Dees, I squint my eyes in confusion, trying to understand.

After sharing a glance between each other, one of the Waddle Dees approaches and gently fixes the ribbon to the left side of my head, the same side as my sword hand. Stepping back and admiring his handiwork to make sure it's straight, the Waddle Dee nods once and then touches his forehead to mine. "You have served us, She-Dee. We have served you."

Swallowing slowly with a shiver at having finally heard those words again for the first time in over a year, I get up and answer slowly, "I have served you; you have served me." With that, unsure of what else to do or say, I hurry out of the room, able to feel the two Dees' eyes on me the whole way out. Meta Knight follows close behind.

Not knowing how sad that exchange made me since I know it was only for a minute and things will still never be the same, Meta Knight questions, "What was the significance of that little... conversation?"

Sighing, I explain simply, "The Waddle Dees don't like to ever leave debts unpaid for very long. I healed their little ones; they paid me back with a lovely gift." Knowing I haven't answered his actual question, I hesitate a moment before explaining, "'I have served you; you have served me' is basically the Waddle Dee equivalent of saying 'thank you; you're welcome.'"

He seems to mull over that for a moment before protesting, "Then why in Dreamland do the Waddle Dees stay on with Dedede? He never performs any acts of service for them in return for all the free labor they provide him."

Shrugging, I reply, "Way back at the beginning, Dedede accidentally hammered some sort of monster that was torturing us, during one of his hissy fits. In thanks, the Waddle Dees became his servants. Since we're provided with a place to stay, food to eat, and something to do, we stick around. Isn't good enough logic for me, but it's always worked for the others. To be perfectly honest, I'll never be able to understand their level of patience and long-suffering." Jumping as yet another deafening blast of thunder goes off, I worry as soon as it gets quiet again, "The monster's here, isn't it?"

"Not here, no..." Meta Knight murmurs, eyes dimly glowing golden in the darkness as he stares off into space, following me as I continue to wander through the halls in the general direction of the secret library. "He's in Dreamland, though; that much is certain."

Nodding fiercely, I declare, "Then we need to go deal with him."

Shaking his head, he disagrees gently, "Not tonight. It is far too dark, and you need to be well-rested for the time to come. Food may fix the exhaustion you experienced a few minutes ago after healing the Waddle Dees, but it is no replacement for a good night's sleep."

Sighing, I nod in unwilling agreement, "Yes, sir." Another peal of thunder roars, making me tremble. "I'll try, at least." With that, I part ways from him as he turns down another hall that will take him back to his training room, deeply lost in thought. Somehow, I get the feeling he didn't even hear those last things I said.

In all honesty, though, I don't make it to the secret library. The storm worries me too much, makes me too afraid to continue wandering the castle on my own. And so I go into an old, unused, dark, dusty room, climb onto an old couch and pull a throw pillow over my head to try and block out the thunder, and try to get some rest while the rainless, furious storm rages on just outside the windows.