Chapter Text
Neither Jecra nor Garlude could quite understand what it was they were walking on.
The ground was cold and wispy, one could reason that it was supposed to be made of clouds, but they were both fairly certain that if that were the case, anything heavier than a tiny ice crystal- like, say, an entire person- would fall right through. Yet they stood perfectly fine on the surface of Skyhigh. Above them were yet more clouds.
What differentiated the two types was a mystery to them, one that they had unfortunately little time for.
Yet another mystery was why they'd been able to land on what appeared to be a paved lot that seemed built to serve as a landing pad, and what kind of concrete came in light blue.
Of course, they had no time for that, either.
Once Jecra and Garlude were finished pondering the ground, they joined Meta Knight in observing what appeared to be a sleek, thriving metropolis in the middle distance, the spires of skyscrapers cutting cleanly into the evening sky.
"Hm." Meta Knight mused, folded into his cape. "I did not expect a planet with such a strong signal to be so…intact."
"A signal, huh. Is that what you call that?" Garlude asked, ears still ringing from the volume of the alarm that had gone off in their craft on its approach to the planet.
"Yeah, what was that, anyway? What are we signalin' for, n' how do ya turn it down?" Jecra asked, one hand over his ear.
"It is a vital feature to have in the spacecraft of any Star Warrior." Meta Knight replied. "It reacts to the presence of monsters and, in addition to warning you, directs you toward their location."
"Oh ho, we were warned, all right." Jecra muttered before something dawned on him. "Hey, wait, when did I get somethin' like that? We ain't heard of monstahs back at home, so we definitely didn't already have it."
"I installed it when I repaired your ship."
"N' ya didn't think to tell me?"
"You did not ask."
"...You're really somethin' else, MK."
"...Indeed, I...suppose...?"
Jecra sighed.
"If that signal reacts to the presence of monsters," Garlude said, raising an eyebrow. "Then why didn't it alert us to the monster on Caverna? Or the lack thereof on Aqualiss?"
"Operating a censor from beyond the atmosphere of most planets is…difficult, and imprecise. It is likely that we would only receive signals from large numbers of monsters, or ones that are particularly powerful."
“Yer sayin’ that bug wasn’t powerful!?” Jecra exclaimed.
"...Hm. With a system like that, we could miss…a lot of them." Garlude remarked, crossing her arms uneasily.
"We could, but that is why there are other Star Warriors. When we find them, we will be better able to defend the galaxy."
"...But for now?"
"For now, we are here."
"With some big monstah, or lotsa little ones." Jecra grumbled, crossing his arms as well.
"Ah, so my explanation was clear. Very good." Meta Knight nodded.
"MK, I didn't-"
"And it is likely that we will find these creatures in the place before us."
"A city of monsters…" Garlude said, tensing.
"Perhaps." Meta Knight said with a shrug, starting along the path.
The lot was actually a fairly convenient route to the city- a straight road with no traffic that led directly to a welcome center, at which they got their first view of an inhabitant.
He was fluorescent yellow skinned, with a slightly yellower shade of messy hair. Dressed casually. Every hair on the trio stood on end as they approached him for a reason they couldn’t quite understand.
The second they were within eyeshot of him, his bored expression immediately flipped into an excited smile.
“Greetings, fair travelers!” He said in an overly-gregarious tone. “Welcome to the city of Neveah! The premiere location for business, pleasure, and, of course, culture.”
“Oh, thanks-” Jecra started.
“There is a wide variety of populations represented here, and we accept currencies from various planets. If you’re ever unsure, just ask!”
“Right…” Garlude said. “Really, we’re just here for-”
“Anything you can think of is just a block away from wherever you are! If you need a guide, the friendly Capsule J pilots around the city can guide you wherever you need to go. Here!”
The greeter shoved three neatly fanned pamphlets toward the trio.
“Please, take these! They contain a map and outline major events in the area, provisions for a stay, must-see locations and experiences, everything you’ll need as a newly-arrived guest of our beautiful city.”
They wordlessly took the pamphlets.
“Honestly, you’ve come on the perfect night. Maybe you know that, but in case you don’t, you should do your best to grab a seat for the Divine Ballet. They’re the crown jewel of this place, and the prima ballerina is really hot-! On. Her feet. Some say they can perform an entire routine without touching the ground once!”
There was silence for a second. Two. Three.
Meta Knight cleared his throat. “We-”
“Any questions?”
Meta Knight, squinting, waited a moment before speaking. “Have you heard of any…monsters in this city?”
“...Mon…sters? Whatcha mean?”
Meta Knight sighed heavily and walked away.
Jecra raised his hand as if to speak, then lowered it and sighed. “Nah, we’re good.”
“Thanks for the…warm welcome.” Garlude said, waving as she followed the other two.
Once they were far enough away, the greeter settled back in his chair, bored expression returning immediately, and pulled out a magazine.
The sky was growing black, but one would be hard-pressed to notice. Neveah was lit from every angle, as if making up for the receding sun. The streets bustled with other technicolor people, all bearing a similar hair-raising quality.
Amongst them, shorter, rounder people, all with a single large, green eye and rocket packs on their backs, also bustled. Occasionally, these shorter people would don masks, step into the street and take off into the air, joining others who traversed what appeared to be airborne marked routes. Those that did not use the street to take off used it to land smoothly and blend back into the crowds.
These two were the most common type of person that they witnessed, though many others that seemed to be from someplace beyond the city also occasionally passed, eyes shining in wonder.
“Man, what a place…” Jecra breathed. “I thought Castle Town was somethin’, but that guy was not kiddin’, this place sure can big.”
“I agree. I’ve been a lot of places, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one so expansive.” Garlude said, eyes wandering about the scenery. “That’s the wonder that other planets bring, I guess.”
“Mm.” Meta Knight mumbled, unimpressed, his face buried in the map within his now-unfolded pamphlet. “There is nothing of interest here…perhaps they are concealed within the buildings…? It would take some time to inspect all of them…”
“...You know, Meta Knight, if you’re going to be focused on our mission here, I’m not sure that that’s the way you should be thinking.” Garlude commented.
“Oh no? Do you think that our targets may be underground…?”
“...Does this planet even have an underground…?” Jecra asked, staring at the cloudy ground with a furrowed brow.
“The person we met didn’t seem to have any idea what a monster was.” Garlude continued. “And with how many people there are, I doubt that any would be able to escape notice for long. There doesn’t seem to be much mass panic or evil plaguing the land around here.”
“Perhaps.” Meta Knight looked down in thought. “It could be, then, that any monsters that are here hide in plain sight among the people, or, even more devious, that the people have simply become accustomed to their presence.”
“...Do ya think…?” Jecra trailed off nervously.
“Indeed, it is possible that, like on Rock Star, this place has already been infiltrated by the forces of Nightmare.”
“But this place looks so…normal. Prosperous, even.” Garlude said, looking incredulously back at Meta Knight.
“Yeah, so’d that other place.” Jecra said. “...Well, I mean, ‘cept for the totalitarian criminal justice system, anyway.”
“...What?”
“In such a case, of course, we would have no way of knowing by simple observation. We must stumble upon our own evidence.” Meta Knight said. “It makes things…difficult, to be certain.”
Garlude raised an eyebrow. “So…we’re just meant to hope that whenever we find out what that sensor detected, we’re at an advantage?”
“Precisely. You pick things up quickly, it is admirable.”
“...I don’t like that.” She mumbled, playing nervously with the new stitching on the strap of her shield.
“I-it’s okay, Gar.” Jecra said, reaching as if to put a hand on her shoulder but stopping short. “It just means we gotta be careful, n’ hey! With all the experience we got, we can totally be prepared for anythin’!”
“Thanks, Jecra. I appreciate it.” She replied, sounding no more reassured than she had before.
“...Anytime.”
There was a moment of silence.
“...So what are we doing, then?” She asked. “Just…wandering?”
“Uh…I dunno.” Jecra replied.
“Perhaps…” Meta Knight started, then sighed. “Perhaps we need to search for an event to attend.”
“Oh, yeah, that could be fun!” Jecra said, promptly opening his pamphlet to find the schedule.
“We are not here for fun…”
“Can’t we have fun n’ beat monstahs at the same time?”
“You may serve a good point.” Meta Knight put a hand under his chin. “There are few things more enjoyable than combat…”
"...Right, yeah. That's what I meant."
"The headlining event seems to be that ballet, but if I'm reading the clocks around here right, and I hope I am, then that's not for a while." Said Garlude.
"Hmph. Not a weapons demonstration in sight…" Meta Knight grumbled.
"They got a lotta artsy stuff, though." Jecra commented. "Seems kinda like their big sell…"
“I see that.” Garlude said, squinting at her pamphlet. “A lot of it seems to center around this strange figure…”
She pointed to an image in the corner of the map- a golden circle with a border of blue, orange and yellow triangles. It had what appeared to be an exposed gear on its face, beneath one of its two half-closed, serene looking eyes, paired with a mouth curiously shaped like a sideways number 3. On the upper left side of the face was what appeared to be a red shooting star with a yellow tail, and on the lower right a pair of white clock hands. Extending from the face was a series of miscellany- a ring, piano keys, vacuum tubes, a weather vane, a lightbulb, a telescope, a winding key, more gears. It gave the impression of a corona, if coronas were made of the remains of junk shops.
“It’s kinda cute…” Jecra said. “I’d make a lotta art of it, too.”
Meta Knight squinted. “It seems…familiar…”
“Oh hey.” Jecra looked up and pointed across the street at a loose crowd. “Wonder what’s goin’ on over there?”
The other two looked, just in time to see a neon green man with messy green hair, dressed in a cap that read “GUIDE” and a t-shirt that read “HIGH FYLING TOURS,” sprint out of the crowd and gesture widely.
“Welcome, everybody, to our VIP experience tour! Today, you’re going to be getting a premium tour around our beautiful city, a perfect shopping trip, and an exclusive look at one of our most celebrated cultural traditions! Please, line up to receive your passes. Orderly fashion, please!”
“...We should do it.” Jecra said with a nod.
“And how, I must ask, does participating in activities meant for tourists help us to find monsters in our midst?” Meta Knight asked.
“It helps us get to know the place.” He answered, then sheepishly added: “...N’ to be honest, I kinda wanna know that the VIP experience thing is. I ain’t nevah been a VIP before!”
“It gets boring after a while.” Garlude said with a shrug.
“...What is a VIP?” Meta Knight asked.
“Very Important Guy.” Jecra replied.
“...But would that not be-”
“Aaaaanyway,” Jecra cut him off, “it means that they get to see stuff that we won’t if we aren’t one of ‘em. So if we can see it, maybe it’ll give us somethin’.”
“I guess that it’s a good way to get an overview of this place…” Garlude muttered. “But they’re giving passes, likely to patrons who have already paid. How would we be able to do that? Would they…even take our money?”
“Hm, ya know, that’s a good question, Gar…” Jecra said, looking down with a thoughtful nose rub. Eventually, he nodded. “But I think I got an idea. Follow me.”
“Lead the way.” Garlude said with a shrug.
Meta Knight started to protest, then sighed as he was, for once, forced to tag along with the group.
The trio nudged their way into the crowd, catching a glimpse of one of the one-eyed jetpack pilots going down the line, interacting with the people they met before putting bands on their wrists.
When he finally got to the trio, he looked up at them.
“Name?” He asked gruffly.
Jecra cleared his throat. “Presenting…Lady Garham.” He gestured to Garlude. “And her child, the young Duke Mettaton Garham.”
“...Charmed.” Garlude said, curtseying.
“...Mm.” The pilot grunted in reply, pulling down a visor with information on it. “...I don’t see your names…”
“Ah ha…right…” Jecra said. “Here, lemme just…” He crouched down, putting an open hand next to his face. “Listen, guy. That lady’s from Floria, okay? King Max’s. I was so, so dumb, man, I forgot to get her on the list. But she was promised, okay? I know, I know you got a job to do, but that gal? You know about Floria? King Max? Cracked. Off the wall silly. I forgot to make a res n' if she gets turned away it'll be my head AND he'll throw a tantrum so wild you guys won't even get peace on some other planet." He shook, the tone of his voice becoming more pleading as he grabbed the pilot's hand. "C'mon, guy, please guy ya gotta-!"
"Okay." The pilot finally cried, exasperated. "Fine, whatever, just…stop touching me, man."
“You’re a life-saver, guy.” Jecra said, vigorously shaking the pilot’s hand.
The pilot grumbled to himself, slapping bracelets onto the trio before moving on.
Garlude stared intently at him.
Jecra ignored her with equal intent.
Meta Knight neither spoke nor looked at him, but he got the distinct impression that he was dangerously close to being cut to his height.
As one pilot finished going down the line, several more arrived and began to place harnesses and helmets on the attendees.
“Hey.” Garlude said. “What are these for?”
“Safety.” The pilot replied.
“...From…from what do we need to be made safe…?”
“Okay everybody!” The tour guide called. “Here comes the exciting part! Right now we’re strapping you up for the ‘high-flying’ part of our High Flying Tour! Please make sure to keep your arms and legs to yourself. It may be difficult, but flailing on the way up could hurt our Capsule J pilots!”
“... What?” Jecra exclaimed.
“Shouldn’t be much harder than riding a spaceship beside you.” Garlude replied, a small bite to her tone.
“Guess I’m glad I didn’t call ya the lady of bein’ funny.” Jecra sniped.
Several more pilots approached from behind, clipping the harnesses to their fronts.
“Oooookay, everyone! Let’s get set for liftoff!” The guide called, secured by his own pilot. “Three…two…oooooone! GO!”
At this, the crowd was whisked into the sky, granting them an admittedly dazzling view of Neveah and the modernist architecture that made up its literally-glittering skyline.
Together, narrated by the crackled voice of their guide coming through speakers in their helmets, they landed atop and observed several different buildings- museums, a university, an elegant skyscraper ("Man, MK, I think I get why ya do that thing now.").
As the tour progressed, Meta Knight grew steadily more irritated. Even in the town hall- decorated in gorgeous, vivid colors and towering white pillars that would certainly house a leader ripe for manipulation- he couldn't detect even the slightest hint of a lurking monster.
"You seem unimpressed, Meta." Garlude eventually commented.
"I dunno, this is kinda fun." Jecra said with a shrug. "A bit schticky, yeah, but-"
"As I have said, we are not here to be tourists." Meta Knight struggled to wrap himself in the cape with the restraint of the harness. "We are here in search of monsters, and this search is proving…vexing. If they are not in the landmarks of this place, they are not among the crowds or the workers nor even the powerful, then where could they possibly be?"
As the group left the building, the Capsule Js removed the harnesses and helmets, chatting amongst themselves. The tour guide gestured toward them.
“Let’s give a hearty thanks to our pilots this evening, who…!” He looked up, watching them fly wordlessly away. “Ah…okay…good bye…” He gestured across the street, where a building labeled in bright lights that read “HEAVENLY GIFTS” stood. “Right this way, then…”
The group carried on across the street, entering the shop behind him.
Even for a place that seemed pretty large on the outside, the inside felt somehow larger. It was two stories, both visible from the massive foyer, the ceiling of which featured a large chandelier made up of white lights contained within prismatic bulbs, sending scattered colors about the ceiling and, to a lesser extent, the floor. Photographs, some black and white, some in color, all framed in orange and blue, adorned the foyer’s walls, featuring what appeared to be lineups of ballet dancers, presumably over several generations.
While there were other decorative details, many of them were obscured by the people crowded into the store, some looking, some considering purchases, others simply draped over the railing separating the second floor from the foyer, talking to each other.
“Alllllllright, friends!” The guide exclaimed, regaining his pep. “Before we get to the excluuuuusive VIP experience, let’s take a little break! Feel free to shop around, eat, drink, do whatever you need to.” He said, one hand on his hip, the other stretched out toward the room. “We’ll reconvene in about half an hour!”
“...A gift shop…” Garlude murmured. “Not much more help, I imagine.”
“Nah, maybe not.” Jecra shrugged. “But we still more left after this one, n’ who knows? Maybe we’ll find a clue in here.”
“I suppose that it is not impossible…” Meta Knight muttered, eyes green. “Monsters have appeared in stranger places…”
The three made their way into the shopping area, looking for anything at all that could be considered “a clue.”
What they found, predominantly, were trinkets- toys, faux jewelry, cheaply-printed shirts of various shapes, stuffies, little ballet costumes and such. The most notable thing about them was that they all seemed to feature one of two images: One the figure from the pamphlet, another a cloud with a yellow spikes.
Meta Knight picked up various objects bearing both images, searching each for a Night Mare Enterprises logo, but was finding with growing confusion that there seemed to be none. In an already settled and developed planet, the first step in an invasion was almost always infiltration into that planet’s market. The power of capitalism was so easy to harness, and it would be doubly so in a place as heavily commercialized as the city in which they were traveling. So why…?
Beyond that, he could confirm there was indeed something familiar to him about the circular figure, and to a lesser extent the cloud, but he found himself unable to identify precisely what. The circle’s silly-looking expression mocked him.
He was not having a good time at the gift shop.
“Oh, hey, Gar.” Jecra chuckled. He reached into a box on a shelf and took out a paper mask resembling the circle. “Maybe it’s about time ya join us in the mask gang, huh?”
“I’m sure you’d love that.” Garlude replied, rolling her eyes but smiling a bit. “It’s never been my style to hide my face, and I won’t start now.” She looked back at the mask. “And especially not with that.”
“Aw, but Gar, it’s so cute!” He said, holding it over his face. The uncanny juxtaposition between his real eyes and the cartoonish face of the mask, she found, proved the exact opposite point.
“...Mm.”
Jecra laughed again, then turned to Meta Knight. “Whaddya think, MK? Ya think Gar…should…uh, whatcha doin’?”
Meta Knight had found the tallest point he could, a sign on top of a shelf, and surveyed the area, perched perfectly on top of it.
“I do not understand…” He murmured. “There is…nothing. Nothing anywhere. Not even the slightest hint of NME involvement in this place.”
“I mean, didn’t you say that it wasn’t always obvious? That we’d have to know it when we saw it?” Garlude asked.
“Yes, but there is almost always something in a place like this. A symbol, a hint at the very least…”
“Maybe they wanted to be more inconspicuous.” She said with a shrug.
“But why?” Now uninhibited, he folded himself in his cape and looked down pensively. “If they are this powerful, there would be no need to hide. It could be to confuse any Star Warriors who may come, but…their presence is so easily detectable. No well-informed warrior would abandon this planet, surely anybody who commands an army would know that…”
“Maybe…the censor thing was just broken?” Jecra suggested.
“Both of them? It is…unlikely.”
“Maybe you were mistaken before, and they actually haven’t quite invaded this area yet.” Garlude said.
“The most horrifying possibility…” Meta Knight sighed.
“Let’s hope that ain’t it…” Jecra said, dropping the novelty mask back from where he’d taken it.
“Alllllright!” The guide called, clapping his hands together. “Are we all back? Rested? Accounted for? Most importantly, are we ready?”
The crowd around the trio stirred and clapped. Steadily, they all converged back around him.
“Now, in our culture, dance is higher than any other art!” He announced. “To be a dancer, especially one who presents in our Divine Ballet, is an immense honor, perhaps even more prestigious than some political holds. Though perhaps that was a given.”
He chuckled, and so did several other guests.
He turned and gestured to the door a short distance in front of him, above which a brass sign read “ALTERNATE THEATER ENTRANCE- UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY PROHIBITED.”
“If you’ll all just follow me, you’ll get an exclusive look at the skill required to be one of our ballerinas- and the chance to try for yourself!” He announced, unlocking and pushing open the door.
The group was led over a pedestrian bridge with glass walls, which sloped upward until it overlooked the expanse of the city below. Around them, Capsule Js flew by, most with a friendly wave, some others with joking expressions and gestures.
As the door closed behind them, the tour director continued.
“Ahead of us is the alternate entrance of our beautiful City Theater, where we host only the finest of performances, the greatest representations of Neveah’s amazing culture.” The others murmured amongst themselves. He smiled, satisfied in knowing he’d gripped an audience. “This entrance is separate from most of the public, but very close indeed to the backstage and performer practice areas!”
The murmuring grew more excited.
He chuckled as he approached the door on the other side of the bridge. “Certainly, now, you see why this experience is so exclusive, so once-in-a-lifetime.”
“This guy’s havin’ a weird amount of fun.” Jecra murmured, answered with a sharp elbow from Garlude.
The guide pushed open the door, leading the group to a wide, enclosed hallway.
"This, my friends, is part of the backstage area of the theater! It’s here where one would find the dressing and preparation areas of the many acts that we host year-round, and, of course, the practice area for our prestigious Divine Ballet, the crown jewel of this city’s rich culture!”
The group murmured, several taking pictures of the area.
The guide waited patiently, perfectly comfortable with interstellar travelers taking pictures that they would only be able to show their loved ones lightyears away.
Once the excitement died down, he cleared his throat loudly.
“Now, here’s our little cultural tidbit for you all: as young performers, all dancers learn one specific routine. It’s something of a rite of passage, perhaps the oldest tradition we have. Simple, yet elegant. Profound. It’s said that in ancient days, this routine was used to gain favor from a powerful being of the sky capable of performing miracles.” He said with a wide gesture. “We call it the Dance of Storms!”
The group “ooo”ed.
“Of course,” the guide said, shrugging and placing the back of one hand on his head. “I’m hardly skilled enough to teach it myself, but oh, I’d want nothing more than to introduce you to such an important part of our culture. What to do…”
As if on a miraculous cue, a light pink woman with hot pink hair in a tight bun, dressed in a shimmering black leotard and matching soft-soled shoes happened by, walking in such a way that certainly nobody would guess that she was about to be called upon.
“Ah, what a happy coincidence!” The guide said convincingly, clapping his hands together with excitement. “It seems we’ve found the most qualified person to help teach us this sacred tradition!”
“Who, me~?” The woman asked, tossing a non-existent piece of hair over her shoulder.
“Indeed!” The guide called back. “Who better than the prima ballerina of our Divine Ballet?”
The crowd murmured with excitement, some nudging past others to get a look.
The ballerina giggled coquettishly. “You flatter me.” She looked toward the crowd. “My name is Magdalena, and that’s all anybody ever needs to call me~”
“Humble as always.” The guide chuckled.
“Natch~” Magdalena said with a wink. She turned toward the crowd. “Now, if I heard correctly, you’re looking to teach all of these fine people the Dance of Storms! How sweet, I do so love when we open our culture up to others! Especially something so central, so integral to understanding our people!”
“Yes!” The guide replied, his enthusiasm becoming a bit oppressive. “Would you be so kind, my dear Magdalena, as to give us a little lesson?”
Magalena looked up in mock thought. Garlude noticed a small hint of nervousness on the tour guide’s face. Finally, Magdalena gave a dazzling smile.
“Well, for these fine people? Anything~” She said, positioning herself into a three-quarter stance.
She danced, narrating her technique as she did so. The routine was short and relatively simple. A few steps, bent knees (“A little bit of plié… ), straightened knees (“ Relevé like a cloud…”), a leg bent in the air, a leg lengthened into the air (“...to the pirouette , of COURSE there’s an arabesque… ”), a step and three leaps, the last one on two feet, on which she came down much harder than she had before.
“And that little souté represents thunder after lightning strikes the ground~” She explained.
“...Guys…what is she talkin’ about?” Jecra whispered. “What was the foist thing she said…?”
“I’ll be honest, I’m not familiar with any of that, myself. It must be…a language barrier…?” Garlude replied.
“A spectacular demonstration, Magdalena!” The tour guide exclaimed.
“I know~” She chortled.
“Now, if you’d like, let’s all get in neat rows and try this for ourselves.” The guide said.
Most members of the group did as requested. The trio, stuck by then in the middle, saw little choice but to follow suit.
The group was taught each individual step, and though the earnestness was high and the laughs many, the overall grace was low.
Jecra, though more than happy to slam his feet onto the ground, struggled to balance on one foot for the- what did she call it? Arabelle?
Garlude, pushing past the queasy feeling of knowing she was going to humiliate herself, did well at first, but found it difficult to execute the leaps the way they were demonstrated, landing noisily and flat-footed on each one, to say nothing of the occasional stumbling.
At one point, someone nearby stumbled and fell directly onto Jecra’s back. Jecra, on one foot and unable to pivot, fell headlong into Garlude.
Meta Knight, seemingly unaware of the struggles of the people around him, leapt forward, effortlessly landing on the point of one foot, then another, then both.
“Aw, c’mon, MK.” Jecra complained amid the growing din of his fellow fallen dancers. “No fair. Ya don’t even got knees, how’re you stayin’ up?”
“Oh, goodness, perhaps that’s enough dancing for now, hm?” The tour guide said, helping tourists up and mentally thanking the legal department for liability waivers.
“Mm, yeah, maybe…” Magdalena replied half-heartedly, eyes trained on an unaware Meta Knight.
Gradually, a new bright light began to settle over the people, breaking Magdalena’s trance and causing her to gasp as she looked up in shock.
“Th-the Resplendent! Oh!” She said, curtseying.
“Ah!” The tour guide exclaimed, nearly dropping the last tourist. “Truly, what a surprise! We weren’t expecting you, Resplendent, otherwise we would have…erm…been fancier? U-uh, everybody, it is an honor to introduce to you all our Minister of Culture, the lovely Resplendent!”
The source of the light, the Resplendent, gave a smile that felt as warm as it looked. They stood tall above everybody present, pixie cut hair a yellow-gold, skin a yellow-white, eyes pure gold and shining. Their short, sleeveless gold dress puffed out at the skirt, and the ribbons that twirled up their calves, extending from two yellow hard-soled slippers, were tied behind her legs in large bows.
The aura that surrounded them left no doubt as to the origin of their name.
"Please, don't mind me." They chuckled. "I was just happening by and noticed this class." They put their delicate hands together. "I applaud all of your efforts, it's truly a pleasure to see our culture celebrated with such joy."
"R-Resplendent, would you mind?" The guide asked. "I'm sure these people would love to get to know Skyhigh, amd especially our Neveah, that much better, and nobody is more of an expert than you are."
The Resplendent sighed, then chuckled.
"Well, I suppose that I have a bit of time before my next engagement. Please, ask away."
As the crowd gathered around the Resplendent to ask them questions they seemed more than happy to answer, Jecra and Garlude felt a yank on their wrists, pulling them back.
“Jeez-!” Jecra exclaimed. “MK? What-”
“Shh.” Meta Knight hissed.
“What’s wrong?” Garlude whispered, crouching slightly.
“We should retreat from this place immediately.” Meta Knight said, still holding their wrists.
“Huh?” Jecra whispered. “Whaddya mean? Is something up?”
“We have found the monster.” He said.
“We have? Do you mean…?” Garlude asked, glancing at the Resplendent.
“Indeed.”
“Ya serious…?” Jecra muttered. “Why don’t we just go for it now, then? Or, ya know, when they leave. Why do we gotta run?”
“Despite their demeanor now, I assure you that they care not for non-combatants. Even if those people were to rise in betrayal as some have in our past journeys, they would not fare well. Truthfully…I am not certain that we would, either.”
“You’re not?” Garlude asked, her voice grave.
“That monster…” Meta Knight murmured. “Certainly, you must notice that they are different from others that we have seen. They are eloquent, independent, sentient. They do not have a customer in command of them, and it is possible that they never did. They are not acting at the temporary behest of a leader, or even manipulating one- they have become one themselves.”
“That…that is pretty different from any monster any of us have seen…” Garlude said, clenching a fist at her side.
“S-so what is it, then?” Jecra asked. “What’s their deal? Ya gotta know somethin’ , right?”
Meta Knight looked down, his visor blocking his eyes.
“They are a being made purely of light and its energy, feasting upon starshine as their primary means of sustenance. Amongst the ranks of monsters, they are…a general. They answer to their creator, and to their creator alone. I am not aware of their serial number, if they ever had one. I know only their name.” He looked up, gaze hard as it connected with the form before them. “They are called…Stari.”
“I…see.” Garlude said, her hair obscuring her eyes.
“So…what do we do?” Jecra asked, his tone softer still.
Meta Knight did not answer.
“I would love to speak with you all.” The Resplendent laughed. “But unfortunately I have to return to my work. I hope to see you all at the Divine Ballet, it’s the pride and joy of all of us here in Neveah.”
“Indeed.” The guide chimed in. “All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately this visit is no different. We must be getting along to the auditorium where, if we’re fortunate, we may get some exclusive details from our prima ballerina!”
Magdalena giggled. “Mayyybe~!”
The guide chuckled. “Okay, all. Orderly line, please.”
The group filed together into a loose line, the trio trailing toward the back.
“Maybe in the auditorium we can split? Make a plan n’ stuff?” Jecra suggested.
The other two nodded. They proceeded toward the auditorium, but didn’t get very far before Jecra and Garlude noticed that Meta Knight was no longer between them. Garlude closed her eyes and took a breath before they both turned.
Meta Knight stood behind them, visor dark. The Resplendent was just after him, the edge of his cape pinned barely under the toe of their shoe.
“I happened to take notice of your technique earlier.” They said, their gaze bearing down on him. “I was quite impressed. I've hardly seen such grace in some time. I would just love to speak with you a bit more. Would that be all right?”
They looked up at Jecra and Garlude, giving them a blinding smile. “Is he your friend? Don’t worry. I promise we won’t be long.”
They all remained frozen in place before Meta Knight heavily, wordlessly, pivoted to face toward the Resplendent.
“Ah, wonderful!” They said cheerfully, releasing his cape as they stepped to the side.
“Please, do come with me.”