Nicolette

"Ha ha!" I laughed as I blocked Chrys's bokken. I thrust mine toward at her, but she parried it with a perfect arced swing and pushed me back.

"Don't get too cocky, young Star Warrior," she replied, putting one arm behind her back and side-stepping toward me. "Pride comes before the fall."

I mimicked her stance and turned my body to the side. Smirking, she swung down, so I swung up and our weapons met. She pulled back and came down from the right, so I hit to the left. We did this for a few minutes with our feet shuffling side-to-side, similar to how a crab walks, until she suddenly swung up. Unprepared, my sword was wrenched from my grasp and tossed into the air.

"Ha ha," she wisecracked and angled the dull point of the wood at my throat. Smirking, I suddenly teleported away in a puff of smoke. After watching her confusion for a few moments, I reappeared in the air above her and retrieved my training tool. Holding it with both hands above my head, I swung downwards as hard as I could. She quickly turned her weapon sideways in front of her, but the force that I had hit it with was too strong. The wood splintered and broke in half and she stumbled backward out of my way. I let her regain her balance before pointing my tool at her.

"Don't get too cocky, young Star Warrior," I said, "pride comes before the fall!" She rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Whatever," she said and pushed my bokken away. "That was an interesting martial arts mix."

"Thanks," I said, tossing the wood into the air before catching it by the handle. "Yamikage has been telling me to stop relying on chi to get me out of sticky situations, so I've been combining new teaching with...my father's." I bit my lip and looked away.

My father had taught me everything from how to hold a katana to teleporting since I was able to walk. My mother always said that the first time she let go of me and let me waddle about on my own, my father put a full-size sword in my hands. I remember she immediately objected, saying I was only two, and snatched the weapon from me before I fell over. My father just laughed and pet my wispy curls.

"She's got to learn sometime," he said and scooped me up. "There's more to being a princess in our kingdom than meets the eye."

"Let her learn when she is older," my mother snapped. "There's enough evil in this universe for her to discover; let her enjoy being a normal princess for a few years."

"I'm afraid she's ready to discover everything already," my father said. Apparently, while he was holding me, I had pulled a shuriken from his robes and was sucking on it. Of course, I cut my lip, but I surprisingly didn't cry. Instead, I smiled and waggled my arms, which in turn sent the shuriken flying into the brown wooden door of my bedroom.

"On the inside, she's a soldier," my father sighed and took a small tiara from a nearby shelf. "I don't know if she'll truly ever be a normal princess."

My mother took the crown from him and placed it on top of my head. I was practically bald until I turned three, so the few wisps I had entangled with the crown's beautiful workmanship. After giving me a kiss on the head, she placed me in my cradle.

Even though I was so young, I can remember the dazzling artwork that adorned my ceiling. It was a painting of a starry night sky which started, in the corners and edges of the ceiling near the walls, as a light pink, which then faded into a deep purple as it progressed into the center of the room; then it turned blue, and finally finished in a deep damson. White, gold, silver, blue, purple, green, and many other colored stars dotted the painting with tails trailing some.

I fantasized the stars were actually real and made wishes on them every night before I fell asleep. My favorite part of the evening, though, was when my mother and father sang me a lullaby.

I had a small wind-up contraption in the shape of a red and white rod with a star on top. When my mother turned the key on its base, the star would spin and music would play which my mother would sing to.

"Moons will rise,
Stars shall fall,
I'll stay by your side.
The earth will quake,
and wars will wage.
Stay here next to me.
Just sleep."

"Sleep," I sang softly and opened my eyes. Caught up in the memory, I had made my way to a window leaned my forehead against the glass. When I stood up, my reflection showed my eyes had turned golden and Chrys stood behind me, rubbing my back, with the same color in hers.

"Stay strong girl," she whispered, "it's alright." I exhaled and gave an embarrassed laugh as she pulled me into a tight hug.

"Sorry," I choked, and wiped a few stray tears from my eyes. "I didn't realize I had shared that with you."

"It's alright," she said again, and let me compose myself. I had quit weeping like a baby, but my cheeks were still very flushed. "Your parents seemed wonderful."

"They were," I replied, and didn't want to talk about it anymore. Nodding, she let go and guided me away from our little corner. I snuck a glance at the window I had moved to before we left, though, and saw why I had been drawn to it.

The view outside looked exactly like the one in my old room. Seeing a shooting star whiz by, I sighed and thought of my father. His final wish to me was that I would continue living and never look back.

"Sleep well, father," I whispered, then turned around and followed Chrys.

We left the blue mats in the far arc of the room and approached the massive training ring where Blizz and Meta Knight were. It was early in the evening, so many warriors were gathering for the after-dinner games.

"Just hold it like this," Blizz instructed, and adjusted a whip in Meta Knight's hands. "If you rotate your wrist clockwise, the whip will spin like so."

"Huh," Meta Knight said, and he copied Blizz's movements with his right hand. The rope began spinning faster and faster.

"Now lash," Blizz ordered, and Meta Knight snapped his arm out in front of him. The whip snaked into the air, then spiraled back into a coil in his hand. "See? It's easy."

"I'll keep that in mind," Meta Knight said, and turned around to us. "Evening, ladies."

"Hey, Meta," Chrys greeted. "Whatcha up to?"

"Blizzards' just teaching me some various weapon techniques," he replied and slipped the whip into his cape as he wrapped it around himself. "Would you ladies care to watch our match?"

"We'd be honored, Sir Knight," Chrystal said with a small curtsy, which made Blizz crack up and Meta Knight's eyes turn a dark pink with a hint of magenta.

"I think we all know who's winning this round," Blizz said with a snarky smile, then put his mask on over his face and turned to wave at Garlude, who was watching him from the stands. Blushing, she waved back. Meta Knight, on the other hand, being a little more humble, chuckled to himself and wished Blizz the best.

"Let's go sit by Garlude," Chrys said, and she raced up the steps while I tried to keep up. Once we had taken a seat, we joined the excited crowd's cheers. The two men selected a weapon from the rack: Blizzard a spear and Meta Knight, surprisingly, a halberd.

"You'd think he'd take a sword," Garlude whispered, and Chrys smiled a bit nervously.

Then the competitors met in the middle of the circle. Giving each other a firm nod, they touched the meal ends of their weapons together and shook hands, meaning they were ready for a fair fight. After that, they turned around back-to-back and took ten steps away from each other. A bell rang from above the ring, and the match began.

"Hiyaa!" Blizz roared as he spun around, then sprinted towards Meta Knight. The knight gripped the wooden staff, then began blocking each of Blizz's jabs. He circled the halberd around him in the air and tried to hit Blizz in the shoulder.

He ducked and, being low, swung the pole of the spear and knocked Meta Knight's feet out from under him. Falling for but a moment, Meta Knight turned his stumble into a somersault and planted his free arm on the ground. As he flipped through the air, he stuck his feet out in front of him and hit Blizz's face. He landed on his feet while Blizz retreated. Chrystal erupted in cheers next to me and thrust her arms into the air, almost slapping Garlude and me.

Scowling beneath his mask, Blizz glanced up into the crowd at Garlude. Instead of being disappointed, she winked at him and screamed encouragement. His mood quickly changing to excitement, he stood up and raced towards Meta Knight again.

He held the spear like a bat and, being bigger than the knight, tried to hit him from the side. Meta Knight proved to be very strong, nevertheless, and swung his weapon the same way. Their rods collided in midair and locked, making the two push against each other. They both held strong until Meta Knight jerked his halberd away. Blizz, still trying to overpower Meta Knight, nearly fell forward onto his face.

Seeing the futility in close combat, Blizzard moved a few steps away and threw his spear at Meta Knight, which he easily blocked with the blade of his halberd. It ricocheted into the air, and Blizz was there to grab it. Thinking he had the upper hand, he turned in a spiral down onto Meta Knight; a moonbeam strike.

Just as he should've been hit, however, Meta Knight had somehow retreated to the opposite end of the ring. Chuckling at his audience's astounded reaction, he raced towards Blizz and used the blunt end of the halberd to whack the spear tip. He then stepped behind his opponent with the halberd in front of them and pushed the pole into Blizz's shoulders and neck. Holding Blizz against himself with one arm, Meta raised his other arm and held up three fingers.

"One!" the crowd cheered as Meta Knight put one finger down. Blizz's eyes squinted shut as he tried to push the pole off of him, but Meta Knight held him even tighter.

"Two!" Chrystal shouted as he pointed to the sky.

"Three," Meta Knight said calmly and dropped the halberd holding his prisoner. Blizzard collapsed to the ground rubbing his shoulders where the pole had bruised him. Everyone cheered as Meta Knight helped Blizz to his feet and shook hands with him.

"Good fight," Blizzard congratulated, "but how did you do that? I'm nearly twice your size!"

"I have my ways of defending myself," Meta Knight replied as he replaced the halberd in its spot on the rack. "I think I rather like the halberd."

"Yeah, you're pretty good with it," Blizz chuckled, and jumped over the ropes of the platform and onto the ground. Meta Knight followed close behind him.

"That was pretty good," Garlude commented as we climbed back down the stands. "Blizz normally wins almost every match he fights in."

"He competes often, then?" I asked.

"Pretty much every night," she replied.

Before we joined the boys to celebrate, however, General Arthur suddenly rushed into the gym, followed close behind by Sir Dragato and Sir Nonsurat.

"Galaxy Soldiers!" he shouted, "We need you! NOW!" Chrys and I glanced at each other.

"What for?" she asked and placed one hand on the hilt of her pink-tinted sword.

"There's a serious emergency! The Captain requests your presence immediately," he replied. When we glanced at each other again, he rolled his eyes impatiently and gestured the soldiers who obeyed to go back to the meeting room.

"I'll see you there," he ordered, then turned around and ran as fast as he could toward the Captain's room.

"Go on, Nikki, I'll catch up," Chrys said, so Garlude and Blizzard and I and ran after the trio. When I looked behind my shoulder, I saw she was talking to Meta Knight.

I easily caught up to Arthur and joined him in the Captain's quarters. The Captain had put a lot of work into the room; all of the windows were fixed and tinted various colors of the rainbow. All of the treasures were rearranged on new pedestals but now behind plexiglass frames and lasers. I noticed that there was no longer a case for Galacta Knight's armor; rather, the Captain now sported the artifacts himself. The newest edition, however, was a large screen behind the desk displaying static. I wasn't sure what it was for, but all of the GSA members in the room were gathered around it. I pushed my way into the crowd of excited soldiers and listened to the murmurs around me.

"Can you believe it?" someone said.

"The Captain wants us!" a girl squealed.

In the mess of people, I had lost sight of Garlude and Blizzard, but I spotted Jecra, Amai, and Galeren. Amai, wearing a bandage almost hidden by her bangs, saw me, too, and waved me over.

"Private Nicolette," Galeren greeted once I was standing by them.

"Sir Galeren," I said, but he rolled his eyes.

"Call me Ren," he insisted, but the Captain suddenly appeared. He was rolled up in his white cape like it was a cocoon, and it came down from above us and landed on top of his desk.

"Welcome, soldiers," he said. "I'm sorry to pull you away from your duties, but I have selected you all specifically for an important briefing. If you will turn your attention to the television screen behind me..."

He turned around and began fiddling with a remote control, and I heard the squeak of the new oak doors on their unoiled hinges. Turning around, I saw Chrystal and Meta Knight sneak in. A bright light erupted from behind me, so I turned back around and saw several images flash upon the screen.

"A rare gem...a sentient sword...a lance and a shield...twin katanas..." The Captain listed, showing a picture of each thing he listed. We all recognized the lance and shield as his, but he didn't make any effort to showcase them to us. "What do all of these seemingly random objects have in common?"

Silence reigned in the room, and you could've heard a pin drop.

"Anyone? Come on, now, this question isn't rhetorical," the Captain said.

"They're all rare?" someone called out, but it sounded more like a question.

"Yes, that's true," the Captain commented and added some pictures. "The gem Mirrorlite, the sword Galaxia, and many other objects are all all-powerful. A long time ago, long before any of you were born, NME began his conquest. The very first system he attacked was home to some of the most intelligent beings in the universe. He saw them as his most imminent threat, so he tried to extinguish every last one of them. Fortunately, the inhabitants knew of Nightmare's intentions and made plans to stop him. Putting their best minds, blacksmiths, mathematicians, and engineers together, they created weapons and objects capable of conquering the universe. But, when NME began the massacre, the celestial objects were scattered throughout the universe. Sensei Yamikage, General Arthur, Sergeant Kit Cosmos and I have been trying to relocate them, and we believe we may have found a few."

He paused for dramatic effect, then pointed the remote at the screen. Slowly, the picture zoomed in on the katanas.

They were two beautifully crafted swords, tinted light blue, with wavy lines sculpted into the blade. They had silver handles, but one had a white gem in the hilt while the other had a black gem. They were both very sharp two-edged swords and looked powerful enough to level mountains.

"These are the Bushido Katanas," the Captain stated. "Although they aren't sentient, they are still dangerous if placed in the wrong hands. Unlike some of the other celestial objects, these can be wielded by almost anyone, but it comes with a price.

"In order to possess these swords, the wielder must have some kind of power. Once they try to claim the swords as their own, they lose all or part of their power. So far, no one has been willing to make such a sacrifice, so the katanas are still...for lack of a better phrase, up for grabs. Sensei Yamikage discovered the location of them, and he wanted to recover them on his own."

Not surprised, I thought, crossing my arms. Of course he'd want them for himself, but is he really willing to give up his power? I had known him for a while now, and I knew how much he loved his power. To sum it up, he basically controlled the skies; or, at least, the air in them. The winds of the heavens were at his command.

"He left on a mission for the Bushido Katanas two weeks ago, a short while after the Magolor incident, and hasn't returned," the Captain continued. "The only call we've received from him was this."

He turned back around and pressed a large button, and the picture of the Bushido Katanas suddenly zoomed out and became a video.

"Captain," Yamikage gasped, and suddenly appeared in the scene. He bled from an assortment of wounds, and the roar of monsters could be heard in the background.

"Captain, I am here with the swords, but I've been ambushed!" He praised briefly to hit a monster not visible from the camera's perspective, then continued. "Nightmare has learned of the location as well and sent his legions. I cannot reclaim the swords until the demons are defeated! Please, send help! Please-"

Suddenly, the picture turned to static and the roar of a demon beast drowned out his voice. The recording kept going but only as a discolored mess.

"Due to secrecy, I cannot disclose his whereabouts to you all," the Captain said, and shut off the screen, "but I do know who will be going to help."

He glanced wearily around the room before his eyes settled on me.

"Private Nicolette, please step forward." I took a step out from my line of friends and saluted him.

"Lady Chrystal, you as well." I felt motion beside me as she stepped up and saluted him, too.

"Both of you meet me in on the starship platform asap. Everyone else, you are dismissed." With that, the Captain threw his cape around himself and vanished.

"Best of luck to you, Nicolette," Amai said and gave me a hug.

"It's gonna make one heck of a story when you get back," Jecra added as he pulled Chrys and I both into a bear hug. "The pro and her sidekick save the ninja master and reclaim some old swords!"

"I'm no sidekick," I objected, and tried to push him away, but he was too strong. He squeezed me more and let go of Chrystal to ruffle my hair.

"I know; a few more weeks and you'll be a top dog, too," he said, and finally let me go. I elbowed him sharply in the chest and smoothed my hair back down while Chrystal and Amai giggled.

"We'll see you two soon," Ren said, and we parted ways. The only one left with us was Meta Knight.

"I know you girls will be fine," he said, but his green-grey eye color betrayed worry and sadness.

"Don't worry; it'll be quick," Chrys assured him. "Get in stealthily, save Yamikage, let him reclaim the swords, then come back."

"That's easier said than done," he argued, but she took his hand and laughed.

"It'll be a piece of cake," she retorted, "'cause I've got a ninja with me." She winked at me while I blushed.

"Even so, ninja masters like Yamikage never request back up. For them, it's do-it-myself-or-die. They are too proud to want help from anyone. Why should that change now?"

"Maybe he's getting some sense slapped, quite literally, into him," she said and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you in a little bit."

He unwillingly let go of her hand as we dashed away toward the platform. When I glanced at Chrys, she looked just as forlorn as him.

When we arrived at the platform, the Captain was already waiting for us. He nodded in acknowledgment and gestured to the two star-shaped single passenger vehicles beside him. They were silver, like the other ships around them, with a dome-shaped cockpit and a short lever to steer. There were five gun turrets on each of the star's points, and three wheels on its base.

"Have you ever flown a starship before?" he asked.

"I don't believe so, Sir," I replied, approaching the welded metal and feeling the bolts. The surface was so shiny I could see my reflection. Chrystal jumped up into her ship and began to tune it.

"I'll set your ship to follow Chrystal's," he said, then pushed a panel on the side of the ship. A set of stairs flipped down from the cockpit, and he climbed inside. I followed and watched him as he pressed a few buttons and turned a green and white knob.

"Lady Chrystal, set coordinates to 4327 north, 3891 east, and 47 along the z-line," he instructed. She nodded and punched in the numbers on her screen.

"Where's that?" I asked.

"Kaoru," he replied. "There's a monastery located in the mountainous forests. The Bushido Katanas are on a pedestal in the center of the room. Yamikage is somewhere near there; find him and help him. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir," we said, and he jumped out of my ship. I sat down in the light blue chair and stared at the dark blue dashboard around me.

"Sir, why are these katanas so important?" Chrystal suddenly asked. "Nightmare wouldn't want to touch them himself; he would lose everything."

"These katanas, if captured by one of Nightmare's monsters, not Nightmare himself, can obliterate our entire army," he replied.

"What about the other celestial objects?" I asked.

"We are beginning an effort to reclaim them all, starting with this one." I nodded and turned the key in the ignition. It roared to life beneath me and five lights lit up on all five points. "Good luck, ladies. I selected you because I know you will put this mission above all else. Don't disappoint me, or the GSA."

"Yes, Sir!" Chrystal said and started her ship. She pressed an intercom button on her dash, and suddenly I could hear her voice in my ship. "Nicolette, this is Chrystal, do you copy, over?"

I reached out and pressed an identical button on my dash, and replied, "Nicolette to Chrystal, I copy, over."

"Let's get going then," she said and pushed the lever forward. The Captain flapped his wings as he jumped out of the way, and Chrys sped down the runway. I copied her motions and watched as just before she cleared the end and left the ship's atmosphere, she pushed a flashing panel of buttons and pulled the lever up. A stream of golden and rainbow sparks flared from the engine, and she flew up into space. I did the same, and soon we were off. I glanced back at the shrinking Enterprise and saw how large it was compared to the surrounding galaxy.

It was top-shaped with several gun turrets extending from its exterior and had a blue glow around it; the artificial atmosphere. It acted like a planet's and even had its own gravitational pull. Small starships and battleships hovered around it or sailed off of the platform.

I smiled and waved at it, then turned around and leaned back in the comfortable seat for a short rest.

...

"Just push down on the lever to reactivate the wheels," Chrys instructed from the radio. After several hours of boring travel, most of which I had passed with Chrys teaching me how to pilot this ship on my own, we had reached the jungle planet Kaoru.

Instead of a blue atmosphere, this planet's was purple, and its ground was dense with green and blue vegetation and tall brown trees. From the air, I could see a few silver and purple snow-capped mountains. Unfortunately, we couldn't fly forever, so Chrystal was trying to teach me how to land while picking out a safe-but-landable spot among the trees. Up until now, we hadn't even been able to see the ground.

"You see a place?" I asked.

"Yes, and Yamikage landed here, too," she replied. "Just slow down a lot and follow my lead." I eased back on the lever and activated the wheels. I tried to see out in front of her starship and saw the place.

A whole bunch of downed trees smoked from their fallen stumps, and some of their bases had been uprooted. Dirt and rocks littered what should have been a small, grassy field, and a large rip in the ground showed where Yamikage's ship had crashed.

Very carefully, Chrys and I landed in the dirt strips and turned off the starships. I opened the dome and hopped out to see the remains of my master's broken ship, but there was nothing there. No shrapnel, debris, or anything of the sort littered the ground. The wreckage abruptly stopped at the base of a few trees, but they didn't show any signs of destruction. Not even their bark was scratched. Yet, the blades of grass and small saplings, right up to the tree's roots, were killed.

Strange, I thought as Chrys joined me and looked around, and she shared my thoughts.

"We should camp a few feet in," she said, "Dusk will come in a few hours, so it's not safe to look for Yamikage tonight. Besides, if he's close by, he might see us and come to us. It'll make this all a lot easier."

"I agree," I said, and we separated to gather some supplies. I pulled some splintered wood from some damaged trees and logs from other previously dead ones. Even with our small clearing, though, the trees still blocked out the little sunlight we had. The sky changed from blue to red as the sun set and the light around us instantly darkened.

I had made a decent pile, so, gathering as many logs and twigs as I could carry, I trekked into the brush toward the faint glow of the fire Chrys had made. When I arrived, she was already setting up a small lean-to hut for each of us.

"Got any big branches?" she asked, and I laid them out for her.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed and took what she needed. "Could you feed the fire? It's getting a little low."

"Didn't Sergeant Cosmos advise against this in our first week of training?" I asked, but stoked it all the same.

"Yes, but in our case, we need to signal Yamikage if he's near. Plus, we need the warmth. I've done some research on this place on our way over, and it gets very cold at night."

"Yeah, I can feel it already," I said as a cold wind shook the trees. I shivered and added some more logs. Chrystal had made the huts a perfect distance from the fire; they were close enough to absorb the heat, but not too close to set on fire. "Did you get any food?"

"Yeah. There's a stream near here teeming with koi that I fished in. The fish are to the right of me."

I saw the pile of pretty colored fish and selected a long, sturdy branch from our pile. Pulling out a dagger, I began sharpening the tip to impale the fish with.

"So, is the first camping trip you've ever been on?" she asked. I temporarily stopped my work to give her a jestful glare.

"Of course not," I retorted. "My dad used to take my brothers and me on hunting trips in the woods all of the time."

"Hunting trips?"

"Yep. Minus the useful guns and premade weapons. He used to make me carve our bows and arrows from scratch and my brothers the spears and swords. He never brought food either; instead, what we caught was what we lived on. He dragged us out there for weeks on end, sometimes."

"Really?" she asked and began covering the huts with giant fronds and leaves. "So you have had some survival training." I smiled and blew some shavings from the spear.

"Being a princess was more like being a soldier in my family's clan," I said as I picked up a fish and pierced it. I stuck the spear through its mouth and pushed it through its tail. Digging a small hole in the dirt around the fire, I thrust the end of the fish kabob in it to let the koi cook. I grabbed another stick and began sharpening it the same way. "What about you? Have you ever done anything weird with your family?"

She stopped arranging the leaves and froze. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I never knew my family." I froze, too, and looked at her. She had resumed her work but refused to look at me.

"What happened?" I asked. She sighed and her shoulders shook. "I'm sorry, you don't have to share if you don't want to-"

"No, it's fine. I know almost everything about you, so you deserve to something about me.

"My father was a soldier in my home planet's, Gemtia's, military. They had been at war with NME for some time, so my dad was sent to fight. He died fighting while my mom was pregnant with me. She, too, died, but in childbirth with me. The doctors weren't exactly sure what to do with me, so they placed me in a rundown orphanage.

"I spent my whole childhood there under the hope that someone would want me, but no one ever did. The people that raised me were mean, too. They always displayed the perfect, adored kids rather than letting me meet any of the foster parents.

"The other kids at the home were just like the owners. They were always bickering with each other and being brats. They would always pick on me; I was an easy target, I guess. It wasn't until I turned sixteen and was still dreaming of being adopted when the owner finally told me I would never have a chance of joining a family. Angry, insecure, and in pain, I stuck out the next two years until I was old enough to join the army. Even though my father died serving, I felt it was the only place I could be of use.

"I barely made it in; I was underweight, sickly, and uneducated. They were in need of numbers, though, so they gave me a chance. I attended school while training day and night, and slowly climbed the ranking ladder. It was while I was there that I heard of the Galaxy Soldier Army. They were making rounds to each planet they had an alliance with and looking for recruits, and all I knew was I wanted to escape my 'home.' The GSA and I were both desperate; all I had to do was apply, and they let me in. I was immediately put under Sergeant Cosmos' supervision and given my first assignment within the month."

She finished fastening the leaves and sat down by the fire next to me. We watched the fire dance in front of us in silence; the different kinds of wood made the flames change colors between red, pink, blue, and green. The edges licked at the air and at the four koi I had speared. Flipping the fish over to cook the other side, I glanced at Chrys and saw a small tear escape her eye. She quickly banished it, but it was the first time I had ever seen her cry.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. She shook her head and tried to laugh away the sadness.

"It's the past," she replied. "For the longest time, I was so obsessed with fighting for revenge on everyone who insisted I was worthless. I wanted to make them suffer for making me miserable, but then I realized how pointless fighting for death was." I stopped gazing into the flames and looked at her in confusion.

"Why not fight for vengeance?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes and said, "Why fight for the past? It's fighting for death, hatred, and all things evil in this world. Heck, you're basically fighting for Nightmare himself. A little bird once told me that he who leaves his reason and lives only by hatred is a monster. I refuse to live knowing that that's what I could turn into. Now, I fight for life, justice, and freedom from bonds like vengeance." She sighed before adding, "I suggest you take that into consideration."

I scowled and looked away, then tried to change the subject.

"How did you meet Meta Knight?" I asked, and she smiled sadly as she thought about it.

"There was a small planetoid under attack, and my division was tasked with defending it and adding it to the alliance," she began. "It was my third assignment if I remember correctly.

"We were air dropped from our ship and had to share parachutes like you guys did on Minoa. I was falling through the air when my partner, who I was carrying, was snatched from my arms by a bird-like monster. I never saw him again. It was the first time someone I was somewhat acquainted with was killed, and it felt so weird. It left me...empty. I blamed myself. I was holding him and could've saved him.

"I touched the ground safely, but I had no idea what was happening. Everything was chaos. Smoke rose from burning houses, families screamed for help, and people frantically scrambled around me. My orders to defend didn't make sense in the moment since no monster made an effort to engage in direct combat with me, so I blindly ran around, too.

"Suddenly, I heard someone scream. It was different from the others; it was bloodcurdling and filled with pain and made the ends of my hair stand up. Instead of running away from it like a normal person would've, I ran toward it. It came from a distant building, far away from the main conflict.

"As I drew near to the source, I saw a confused looking blue puffball in a silver mask, gray shoulder pads, purple shoes, and a dark blue cape facing off against a similarly confused giant scorpion that was spewing fire. I assumed he was a Galaxy Soldier, so I ran to help him. On my own, I was not that skilled. I had minimal training with a sword from my previous army experience. He, on the other hand, was so gifted with his sword, I jumped to the next conclusion that he was a Star Warrior.

"Once we had beaten the monster, with him doing most of the work, he turned to me and held his sword defensively in front of him like I was going to attack him next. As if I could've beaten him. Holding his head and letting out shrieks of pain, his eyes changed all sorts of colors as he waved his sword and warned me to stay back, but there was a monster fast approaching behind him. It was a large red wolf with spikes rising from its neck and back; you might know him as Wolfwrath.

"As soon as it saw us, it stopped just short of Meta Knight and sat there waiting. I was so confused by its and his behavior, I wasn't sure what to do, so I charged it. Meta took it as an attack at first and raised his weapon to meet mine, but I jumped over it and attacked a rather unsuspecting Wolfwrath. To this day I don't know if Meta Knight knew Wolfwrath was stalking him, but I wasn't about to let him get hurt. I chased the demon off, all too easily I might add, and convinced Meta that I was a friend. After that, I took him back to the base.

"I was correct in assuming Meta Knight was a Star Warrior, but the funny thing is he wasn't an enlisted member of the GSA. He joined as soon as they offered the chance and began training with me. Once the Captain realized his skill, he took Meta Knight under his wing and he's been getting better ever since.

"That training was what let Meta and I bond. It took forever to get him to trust me enough to tell me his name and age, but it happened. He was seventeen at the time, and I eighteen, and that's all I really know about his past; he refuses to share anything else. This all happened about three years ago, and we started courting almost two years ago."

"In your years or galactic years?" I asked.

"Mine and his, actually," she responded and took a big bite into the flavorful meat from the koi. "We both age really slowly. What about you? How old are you now?"

"I'll be turning eighteen in a little bit," I replied in between mouthfuls, "and I age slowly, too. In a few weeks, I'll have been serving in the GSA for a year. A full galactic year, that is." She nodded and leaned back on her elbow.

Pulling a stake from the ground, she peeled the scales off of the fish and dug in. I did the same, and soon we were feasting. While I ate, I thought about her knowledge of Meta Knight's past and how he had mentioned Dark Matter to me a while ago. Perhaps his special mission may have involved he and Chrystal's encounter. When I mentioned it to her, she agreed that it was possible, but the Dark Matter bit disturbed her.

"I wonder why he didn't say anything to me," she said, then sighed while looking up. "It's getting late."

I looked up at the sky through the leaves. The fresh, unpolluted air of this planet allowed for a beautiful view of the night sky and the full moon. Or, moons plural. There were two on this planet, but both were shaped like the halves of a yin-yang. They were interlocked and slowly circled around each other while crawling across the stars to their destination on the other side of the sky.

"Let's rest while we can," she murmured, then threw the remains of her dinner into the brush.

"Sounds good," I said, tossed the fish bones off into the woods, and added some wood to the fire. Before crawling into the lean-to for the night, I said goodnight to Chrys.

"Thanks for letting me share my life story with you," she said kind of nervously. "It's probably more than you wanted to know, but.."

"We're friends," I said. "Friends tell each other the deep stuff. I'm glad you trust me enough to share the hard things with me." She smiled and gave me a hug.

"Thanks," she whispered in my ear. "It's nice to have a close friend."