The Stardust Gate

[Lord of the Dance]

The two young Dust Keepers turned their icy cold stares at the gate. A crack of light appeared as the door was preparing to open.
"Seven years have passed since the Millenium Star fell from the sky," A harsh voice rang out, echoing through the blank darkness. "Seven years... It is my turn to reign now."
If a mortal could go through the gate, they wouldn't be able to see the Dust Keepers. Just silluetes that glowed around the edges, and the black Star that drifted near them. The Star was so dark, it stood out against the lightless background.
The Deccenturian Ztar made its way over to the Dust Keepers. "I need you two to take care of anyone that tries to interfere. We only get the chance to do this every thousand years, just after the Millenium Star has fallen." The two Keepers nodded vigorously. "Otherwise... We may only glimpse what is rightfully ours every two years."
The Keepers looked at each other, hope glinting in their glowing eyes. They would be the ones to keep the Gate open long enough for the Ztar to get through.
The Gate was now open enough for the two small figures to squeeze through. They quickly disguised themselves as what they thought were the dominant animals around here- at least, the ones that were dominant a thousand years ago.
"Shh," The taller one motioned for the other to hide. Someone was coming.
A dark blue Yoshi was making its way up the mountains. The two Keepers squinted at the dinosaur, having never seen a Yoshi before.
"No one may see the Gate open... we can't let mortals in or the whole place would fall apart!" The smaller Keeper gasped.
The taller one nodded grimly. "We'll have to take the immortal part of it, then." And once he entered the Gate, he could never leave until the Ztar was once again ruler of the skies and darkness befell the world.
They decided to leave his body so anyone who came looking would find it, and they wouldn't keep poking around.
---------------------------------------------------

I yawned, stretching in bed. "Another day already?" I flipped on the radio to see if I could catch any news.
"Left home... Never looking back-" A song droned. I turned the tuning knob. "I missed you... And you weren't there..." I decided to turn the radio off and hop out of bed instead.
Outside, the first thing I set my gaze on was the sunrise. I sighed, as the mountains were blocking my view. I decided to look around the block. A "Missing" flyer was taped to a lamp post, so I carefully looked it over. Some lady's brother was missing... Large reward... I didn't care about the reward, but I knew other people would. Since I didn't know anyone around here yet, I figured it would be a good way to meet people around the neighborhood. People with a sense of justice, maybe. I gazed across the road silently, trying to figure out where other people would go if they wanted to join a search party like this, then sighed. It would be so much easier if I already knew someone who would help, I realized.

[Yoshiken]

Yoshiken walked up to the front gate to the town, waiting for the guards to thoroughly search him, like they always do. The guards were more interested in his katana, probably because of all the chaos that has been occuring in the community lately. The guards expressed themselves seriously, "this town has strict guidelines about weaponry. You must keep that blade in its sheathe at all times, or there will be serious consequences, understand?"

Yoshiken nodded, "yeah, yeah, I got it, could you open that gate up for me now?"

The guards gave Yoshiken a pretty nasty look, but opened the gate without hesitation. Yoshiken entered the town and noticed that there was a group of people looking at a nearby flyer. It was a flyer with some guy on it, and the reward was pretty decent. Yoshiken knew that, if he could join a responsible search party, he would be able to save the missing individual. The reward only affected Yoshiken a fraction of how much his own honor affected him.

Yoshiken decided to gather supplies for the journey, and asked around for the whereabouts of the shop.

[Teo]

With a clank, Teo set two plates on a table. The table held two lovers, who had just gotten to know each other. The plates were special for this occasion, heart shaped, nice and filled... and extremely hard to carry. Teo delivered the plates and asked, the soft meat and fried vegetables steaming, "Would you like anything else?"

Teo kept not a smile, nor a grim expression, but more of a curious expression as he did his job. The dark blue yoshi asked politely, "Yes, can I get some more water?" Teo, inside grumbling slightly as his thoughts mixed up, said, "just a second." He went over to the kitchen, got a pitcher of water and came back, served the man, and moved onto the next table while the couple dined happily.

But, today, Teo was also serving a man who had just stopped by for a quick cup of coffee. He had ordered a plain cup of coffee with a danish. He was dressed in a gray coat and a gray hat, his skin black and reading the newspaper. Woah, did I go colorblind, Teo thought, letting out a stiffled giggle. "Would you like anything else?" Teo asked, but the man ignored him, flipping through the pages of his paper. After a few seconds, the yoshi addressed him, saying "Get this, a yoshi goes to the top of the mountain searching for some treasure and gets himself lost. Some people really need to bring a compass." Teo, not the least interested, asked again, "would you like anything else?" But the man wasn't done. "Wow, there's a huge gold reward on his head... er... him. Oh? no thanks, can you bring the check?" Teo's attention was sparked as he heard the sound of reward. He needed it, but for now, he delivered the man his check, he payed, and continued to sit even after the money switched hands. Teo's shift would end soon, about 10 more minutes, "hmmm... a reward... a rescue... two things that go together for this yoshi!"

[Enrique]

"VANEKAKSHUR!" A black Yoshi pounded on a platform suspended from the outside of a small hut-booth, awaking a blue Yoshi on the other side. "How many times do I have to tell you not to fall asleep on the job?!"

The startled Yoshi struggled to think after his nap, let alone reply. "Sorry..." After a few seconds passed, the toll minder realized that his boss was yelling at him for passing time the easy way during his thankless job. "You know, no one has passed this booth in the past two weeks. I think you should pay me more for dragging me out here in the middle of night every day with nothing to do except waiting for no one to show up."

The black Yoshi snickered. "Forget about it, Vanekakshur."

And thus was the life of Drurziek Vanekakshur, frequently exhausted from boredom sitting out during a cold night manning the toll booth that sat between the turnpike and the town from midnight until six; he did it only to generate money so he could pay his rent; however, he often wondered if he was still going to be operating a toll booth at night in the next few weeks; the town was considering revising the toll system; the revisions would effectively leave him without a job. On this early morning, that question was answered...

The black Yoshi posted a sign on the outside of the booth. Drurziek walked outside to read its monotonous contents. "Another disappearance? Don't the people of this town get it? No one who goes up there never comes back..." He read the large print. "Ooh. 625,000 gold. The mayor must be desperate."

The boss smiled. "Well, it'll give you an opportunity at an adventure after you're laid off after this shift." Drurziek stared in disbelief. "The town has passed the proposal. You're to be out of a job following six o'clock." The black Yoshi left the area after breaking the news.

Drurziek didn't even stick around after ten minutes of hearing his fate. He was disgusted and angered; this was the third job that he had been released from in two years. Falling asleep when he arrived at his hut, he didn't step back outside until he had awaken at noon. Even then, his mindset was vacant; there was no use in being angry at his now lack of income; in fact, he was glad that he was now free from that toll booth and the boring job that came with it. His lack of preoccupation turned him back to the flier his former boss stapled on the booth wall. "Might as well go for that rescuing mission... Got nothing better to do..."

[Lord of the Dance]

As the Dustkeepers finished their small job, they heard a pound come from the Stardust Gate. They hurried back through and found the Ztar waiting for them.
"It will take too long... I cannot fit through at the rate the door is opening. By the time it opens, we will be through the meteor field that keeps the gate open. I will not be able to take back my kingdom this millenium either."
The pair of Keepers shot glances through each other before the smaller one got an idea. "Even though our power is cut here and we cannot push it open, I don't think the darkness affects the strength of the living outside," She began.
"But living mortals cannot cross through the Gate," The taller one interrupted.
"Let me finish," The smaller one replied. "Their spirits can, anyways. Since there will obviously be a search party for the being we destroyed outside, we can take their strength and use it to push the Gate all the way open." She explained.
The Ztar's gold moustache wiggled as it considered the idea. "It would work," He muttered, calculating just how many souls from the outside he would need. "Including that dinosaur you just killed, we would need about five or six. Those spirits would be equivalent to our entire population right now."
The two Keepers gawked, abut the taller one recomposed himself first. "Since it would be easier to just kill them and get them to the Gate right away, we could lead them here," He offered.
"Then what are you waiting for!?" The Deccenturian Ztar roared, and the two Keepers scuttled back out of the crack in the Gate. They quickly threw on their disguises and headed for a small town they could just barely make out over the next few mountains.
----------------------------------------------

Seeing no one around, I decided I could wait until after some breakfast to find a few people to help. My throat was dry and my stomach grumbly- I had forgotten to eat before I left the house.
There was a red Yoshi with wings near a door, and he was asking where the supplies shop was. From the way he carried himself, I noticed that he was also a traveller. He was probably getting ready to leave. Since I had no idea of the location of the store he was asking about, I merely shrugged at him and opened the door.
The door led to a rather small-looking restaurant. It was a little dark inside, with two Yoshis sitting at a table and an older, black Yoshi nearer to the front. I quickly took a seat and adjusted my bow. It was harder to keep track of since I wore it in the back today instead of just under my chin, with the loops dangling to my stomach. I wonder if they serve fresh fruit? I hadn't seen a table with fruit on it yet, so there was no way to be sure unless I asked.

[Yoshiken]

Yoshiken wasn't really having any luck finding the destination of any supply shop. He hadn't asked many people thus far, but the individuals that he did question had no idea where it could be. He had just finished questioning a woman with a rather large bow, who just shrugged and walked into a restaurant with not too many people in it.

"Shoot, it seems as if I am not doing too well...I might have to just risk the journey without proper supplies," Yoshiken whispered to himself. He was about to pursue his questioning further, but decided to also enter the restaurant, as he was quite famished. He was instantly seated, most likely because the restaurant didn't have many customers at the moment. Since he was by himself, he just decided to relax and stretch his feet until a waiter arrived to take his order.

[Enrique]

After a few minutes, Drurziek realized that he hadn't eaten anything since nine o'clock the previous night. His final paycheck from his toll minding job was higher than normal since he wouldn't return back to the booth for another night. After exchanging the check for cash, he entered the corner restaurant for brunch, per se, since it was twelve-thirty in the afternoon.

He was instantly greeted by the restaurant owner, who was standing near the door. "Mr. Vanekakshur! What's new?" Only a few people occupied the restaurant; this wasn't an uncommon sight.

"The town says I'm out of the turnpike industry, Skotzo," Drurziek replied.

"That's too bad," the owner sympathized. "Usual today?"

Drurziek responded with a brief "Yes," and sat down at the center table in the far left column from the door, where he normally sat. After falling to the seat, he laid his head back and sighed. What a great day this is turning out to be... he thought.

[Leoshi]

Sounds of water crashing greeted Leoshi as he walked out, onto the deck of his ship. It was a fine morning as the ocean's breeze greeted him. He had been sailing throughout the night, after deciding to change course in his direction. He had previously been in search of a new place to explore, but with no luck, he turned out sailing, seemingly endlessly across the ocean. But as if by turn of fate, the compass suddenly pointed in another direction, and before the sea-farer knew it, he was headed towards land.

"I don't think I have been here before. I'll have to find a town or a village soon to stock up..." he thought. Looking back into the cabin of his vessel, his proud SS Majestuosa, he came to the realization.

"I've been very low on food and money as of late. So much traveling can really burn a hole in one's wallet."

"Mail Call!" Called a different voice suddenly. He peered upwards to spot a parakoopa fly away from his crow's nest. Ever since he had a mailbox installed there and registered with the postal services, he had been frequently getting mail, depending on where he traveled. How the postmen seemed to locate him, however, was a mystery he was still unable to solve.

The blue Yoshi climbed to the top of the mast and up to the nest, to check his mail. There was a single notice in the box, rolled like a scroll and secured by a red ribbon. He took no moment's hesitation to unravel the notice and open it up.

"...That's weird. It's a missing poster." he thought. Apparently, there was a blue Yoshi, whom had gone missing in a town that he was approaching. Taking out a map from his backpack, he checked the town's name. It wasn't too far from the coast, just over a few mountains. "...I hope this guy is alright." he thought, without so much as noticing the reward. "...maybe I can help with the cause. If someone's in trouble, and I happen to be in the neighborhood, then it's only fair I attend their needs, right? But is it worth it if I get myself into something larger then it first appears?" Leoshi continued to think as he descended the mast and traveled back onto the deck. "Whatever the case is, I still have to go there anyway to restock. I can go there first, and then decide on what to do."

With the coast coming up, Leoshi stared ahead, not knowing what kind of adventure he would soon be intertwined with.

[Teo]

Come on, five more minutes, Teo said to himself, waiting in the kitchen where he would be until his shift was over along with some other waiters. Just then, his manager came in, and barked at him, "Hey! What are you all doing there!? We just got three more customers in, you're going to be serving table 6," He said pointing at Teo, then instructing other tables to the other waiters. "And don't mess up Teo, or else that girl'l shoot ya" the manager said, winking. ...Wha... Teo got his things and left the kitchen, the silly restaurant pockets around his waist, little notebook in hand, and went to table 6. There, was a green yoshi with a bow. Oh god, it's Yoshee! Oh god oh god, please say she doesn't recognize me... Teo was saying to himself, as he approached the table. Don't blow it... don't give yourself... He came up to the table and said out loud, "May I take your order Yoshee?"

It wasn't until two seconds after, that the smug, friendly expression on his face turned to one slightly more sour. I blew it.

[Lord of the Dance]

I was about to clear my throat, hoping to disguise my oddly-pitched voice so I didn't sound too much like a foreigner, when I heard a very familiar one right behind me. I almost choked, but managed to make it sound like a loud cough. My head jerked around, eyes wide.
"Teo!? Wh-what're you doing here?" His face looked different than I remembered- more humbled, like he had had to actually make a living for the past while, and soured, like he had just blown something. I could guess where the latter had come from, but why was he working? He usually had coins stored somewhere near him.
The next thing I knew, I was giving the adventurer-turned-waiter my crazy grin. "Actually, I'll have a bowl of fruit if you can scrounge one up. And if you can't... I'll have to shoot you."

[Teo]

Teo rolled his eyes and grinned in a friendly way, made happier by that last coment. "Right away miss..." he said, writing 'fruit salad' on his list as he was going into the kitchen, sticking the note near one of the chefs, typing a few things in a nearby computer, and printing out a receit. Teo's shift was over by the time the fruit was done, but he pretended not to notice, took the bow of fruit and carried it over to table 6. Why does it take 5 minutes to get a bowl of fruit done? Ask the chef.

"Here you are," Teo said, delivering the fruit. "My shifts also done, so finish up and we might get a little time to find out what the other's been doing lately... oop, manager..." Teo resumed his natural pose and said, "Will that be all?" as the manager walked by him.

[Enrique]

As Drurziek was waiting on his food, he watched an episode develop where a blue Yoshi waiter was fumbling through an order of a green Yoshi halfway across the room. He laughed at the sight, which lately has been a bit of a rarity for Drurziek. He shook his head and whispered to himself, "What an idiot."

A few minutes later, the restaurant owner delivered Drurziek's order to his table. The blue Yoshi still couldn't think but to smile at the waiter's blunder. "Amazing people you hire to work your tables, huh, Skotzo?"

The restaurant owner just shook his head. "He's... kind of been off the mark today."

"Just a little?" Drurziek replied. The owner just snickered and made his way toward some other tables. Drurziek went about to eating this lunch, feeling a bit relieved that he hadn't felt in a few weeks. Watching that waiter making a fool of himself somehow made Drurziek's day.

[Leoshi]

Leoshi had managed to find the town after landing the ship and proceeding inland for a while. It seemed rather ordinary, by first glance. He adjusted his glasses and looked around.

"I should probably find something to eat first. I wonder if there are any restaurants or stores in town." He began to walk down the streets, looking around in curiosity.

Of course, if he did find any sort of restaurant, he would only be able to buy a smaller amount of food. In times like these, money was best spent in rations, and anything other then the basics would be considered a luxury.

"Aha, here we are." he thought, arriving upon a restaurant a little-ways into the town. He casually walked inside. He noted that there seemed to be a few other Yoshis inside, enjoying meals and conversations. Oddly enough, it seemed as though he had just missed some kind of event, as he could hear a couple of of the patrons laughing.

Leo shrugged and looked over to the wall where a menu was posted, adjusting his glasses and reading down the list.

[Yoshiken]

Yoshiken had just finished his very small order with a perky waitress that grinned at everything. Yoshiken guessed that she just wanted a bigger tip, but didn't pursue the thought for much longer. He looked over at the front of the restaurant and noticed a very familiar figure.

Yoshiken almost fell back from the sight, and had to rub his eyes a bit to make sure he wasn't delusional. It just couldn't be who he thought it was. Yoshiken kept staring at the figure and instantly decided to get a closer look.

After walking forward and observing the figure closer, his pondering expression changed to a much more joyous one. "Leoshi! is that you!?"

[anjilfan]

"Aha! Awesome!" Ra said, as he began to run over to some piece of wood. But he looked at it and frowned. "Darn it! Just a piece of wood. Thought it would be metal.." He then said. Ra walked with one hand on his neck, and the other in his pocket. He then took a big whiff in the air. Something smelled surprisingly good, since he didn't really like the food that the Inn made for him. He looked to the side and found a restaurant. His stomach growled. "....dammit!" he shouted. "Why'd I have to use my money on that Inn! What kind of Inn rents for 700 anyways?!" He continued to shout, as he sat down."Kay fine..." He said.

Ra looked around for a bit, and found a bench. He looked through his backpack, and got out a sandwich. He ate it fairly quickly. "Mmmm. Crystol has good taste...any who, should rest a while." Ra said, as he began to fall asleep on the bench.

[Leoshi]

Leo was just as surprised as the Red Dragon Yoshi appeared to be.

"So what is going on here anyway?" He thought, upon seeing Yoshiken. "Many of these guys seem like travelers. Has the news of this missing person attracted that much attention?"

But for now, it would probably be best if he kept his thoughts to himself and answered Yoshiken, who clearly looked both surprised and happy to see him.

"Oh, uh, hi, I didn't quite expect to see you here." he said with a surprised tone. "Hey, Yoshiken, what brings you here?"

[Yoshiken]

Yoshiken smiled, "Well, I was in another town not too far from here, when I overheard some strange occurances over in this town that led to disappearances and such. Well, as you know, my curiousity and my sense of moral duty was aroused and so, here I am, in this quiet restaurant, trying to get myself into a possible search party."

Yoshiken's facial expression changed to a baffled one, "now, I would also like to know what brings you to such a small town, and why fate had decided for us to meet."

[Leoshi]

Leo shrugged. "I just came to restock on some supplies before I headed off again. I'll surely have to get as much as I can, since I'm down to the last rations of money, but that's about it for myself."

He looked to wall, to spot the same missing poster. "Though I have to admit, I was a bit curious about the missing towns-person. Kind of odd that someone so familiar with the area of their town would become lost, huh? I have just had this feeling that something is amiss."

[Lord of the Dance]

I couldn't help but grin at Teo's "Will that be all?"
I let him wait for me while I cast an eye over everyone else in the little restaurant. A worker who I had seen at a booth the other evening was sitting there, but I didn't know his name; I saw some two very familiar-looking blue and red Yoshis at another table (I would have to talk to them later), and there was of course Teo right beside me. I took a deep, slow breath, taking my time to think of something extra infuriating to tell him.
"Say that again. To my face," I told him. I really hadn't taken more than five seconds to come to that decision.
I disliked traveling alone. Having a group to adventure with always made things so much more interesting. I couldn't help but be glad at this thought, which really helped me plaster another big grin on my face. It had been a while since I managed to pull one of those off...

[Enrique]

As Drurziek was finishing his lunch, he observed the crowd in the restaurant, a crowd which he couldn't recognize. Foreigners, probably, he thought, chomping away at the last grape that he ordered. Within minutes, a waiter was there to take Drurziek's plate and give him his bill. The usual fourteen gold currency payment and three gold currency tip accompanied the check, which the same waiter shortly came and collected.

After Drurziek was finished in the business of his lunch, he approached the center of the restaurant, where the other parties had settled. He wanted to observe the parties, maybe help them with the whereabouts of the town if they needed, since they weren't any familiar to them. He also wanted to see if that particular waiter was going to goof again.