The stars looked beautiful tonight.

Well, when didn't the stars look beautiful?

No time, really—the stars remained the same, always shining true even when other things went wrong. The stars were a source of comfort to him—seeing the stars sparkling up there amongst each other reminded him that he was not alone. If there was one thing that he secretly dreaded, it was being alone.

Oh, he could tolerate it for a while, longer than most people could. But when he really got to looking at himself and realizing that he'd probably never fit in, he started to question what his purpose really was. He was a decent fighter, yes, and he was with the good guys in their battle against attackers, but surely there were plenty of people like that? Surely there were many more like that, if only they could find them? If that was the case—which he was sure it was—then he was still nothing special. He could always brush off his feelings about heroism and such, of course, but there was one thing that he could not flee from, no matter where he traveled and how quickly he got there—

Himself.

That was one of the reason he liked to stare at the stars. He was a star, as well—but there were only a few like him, all of them Kirby or his Mirror copies. To him, that was like staring into a sky with only two stars. Those stars would get lonely after a while. Surely there was something that would give him consolation, to prove to him that he was not by himself? All alone, with only a single person to talk to in life about how they were alone?

The stars helped. If he was a star, and Kirby was a star, some of the stars in the sky had to be linked to someone like them. Somebody who wouldn't let them be all alone, even if there was nothing they could say or do about it. Somehow, there had to be somebody who would care about them. Even though it was childish to think such a thing, he still believed it—after all, it wasn't like the stars would tease him for it. If they were really real, and they cared about him—

It would be best for him not to believe something like that. Surely he would just be let down. But he couldn't help it. You can only be completely alone for so long before you begin to want some comfort—someone to tell you that you aren't the odd one out, that you aren't alone, that somewhere, somebody wants you, and they wanted you for who you were. He couldn't remember ever meeting someone like that—he didn't socialize with many people at all, for fear that they would reject him for who he was. The stars would stay here, and they wouldn't care whether or not he liked programming or candy or snowy places. The stars accepted him.

The stars…they were so pretty. They sparked and glowed at different times, and littered the air like snowflakes on a bare ground. Where did shooting stars go? Did they eventually stop, or did they crash into another star and destroy it? He shivered; he was glad that he was not a literal star—he didn't like the idea of dying that way. Would it make a stronger, more beautiful star though? Would something better come out of the death of the two stars? Even if it did, he still didn't like the idea of dying from one of his kin.

But he had no kin, remember? They were all gone; all killed; none left. The stars were the only family he could always rely on to have. There was never any physical contact in the deal, but—

He reached out a paw, just to see if he was dreaming and he could touch the stars. He was lying on his back, so he didn't figure he'd have much luck, but he reached his paw toward the sky, straining his short arm to try and touch the objects he wanted so badly to feel. No such luck. He was so close, but so far. He pointed the end of his paw to a star and pressed it right against the flashing light. There. Now it looked like he was touching it. He closed his eyes and hummed softly; the breeze stirring up his wings and whisking around his feet. The cool sensation across his cheeks complimented the night air; it was cold in space but his species' gravity field protected them from such dangers for certain times. There were a few other things about his species' powers that he knew, and many that he didn't. Perhaps he could get his answers from the stars.

He opened his eyes and searched the sky again for where he had last remembered seeing their home planet. It was bluish-white, if he recalled correctly, and it had been in a somewhat empty area of space with a few stars scattered around it as if to guard it. It no longer had its magical sparkle, but it was there regardless, so he didn't mind. It wasn't like there was anybody there to talk to him anyway, though…

But it didn't matter. He had the stars in this sky to comfort him when he was down, and to brighten his day up when he was tired. Seeing the tiny sparkles in the sky…it made him feel happier. Like nothing could go wrong in the world. They were splattered across the night sky like little crystals scattered across a black background, with wisps of fog occasionally breezing across the corner of the pictured area. The deck above the smells of the ocean carried only pure air to him; air that smelled of the stars. How he wished he could touch them, if only for a moment—

"Sir Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight rotated himself upright and quickly pulled his mask over his face. It was freezing cold, and he shivered slightly as he realized his wings, feet, and paws were just as cold. He squirmed uncomfortably as Sailor Dee walked over to him. "Sir Meta Knight, are you okay?"

He nodded, albeit slightly. He was starting to get really cold, and he couldn't keep his body from shivering. The temperature was eating into him, even though he loved snow and ice. Sailor Dee wrapped his blanket over the puffball's shoulder. "Come on, Sir Meta Knight…I don't want you to get sick out here; I know you're competent but I think you should come out tomorrow night when you have a blanket and you're all nice and warm…"

The blue puffball got up, feet unstable from the cold, and leaned against Sailor Dee as he walked back into the little base they'd set up outside the Halberd's launch pad. It would take a while to get down to it, especially from the top of this cliff, but he was sure he'd make it down—especially with Sailor Dee helping him. The amount of care the little guy showed him was really—

Well, maybe he wasn't completely uncared about and alone, after all. Thank the stars for that...literally. He looked back up at them and grinned softly at them.

Looks like the stars really did care about him, after all.