Pain.
Such pain he did not believe possible to endure and still be alive. It felt like his entire being was on fire; every cell in his body crying out in agony.
He vaguely remembered the sensation of falling, but everything else was a blank. Perhaps he'd always been like this, suffering in the middle of nowhere. It certainly felt that way. He tried his best to ignore the pain and focused his thoughts on remembering. Remembering how he got here. Or who he was. Did he even have a name?
Marx.
Of course.
He groaned and forced his eyes open, trying desperately to grasp what was going on. There was nothing but darkness to be seen. He also finally realized that he seemed to be floating.
"Am I dead?" he wondered aloud. The darkness around him shifted like water rippling after a disturbance. It seemed alive even, a very uncomfortable thought. Marx closed his eyes, slipping in and out of consciousness. Some memories began to come forth, but nothing of much use.
He remembered screams. His own screams. And falling. Falling through space for what seemed like an eternity until... an eye? Gigantic and boring down on him with a cold loveless stare. Just thinking of it made him shudder.
He opened his eyes again after what felt like days, only to shriek in a mixture of horror and surprise. Instead of the empty darkness he'd expected there were now a multitude of eyes staring back at him. He flailed uselessly, hoping to get away somehow. One of the eyes rushed to his side, gliding easily in the nothingness.
"Don't do that!" it said, sounding much friendlier than expected, "You'll mess up the bandages!" Marx froze, realizing he was indeed covered in bandages. He let out a nervous giggle, trying not to panic as the eyeball came uncomfortably close to his face and stared at him with an intense curiosity. It was a round and black creature, a single yellow eye set within it. It's inky body was framed with what looked somewhat like petals, similar in colour to it's eye.
"Sooo...are you feeling better now or what?" it finally said.
"I guess," said Marx, "but I don't remember much."
"Oh. Well..." the eye zigzagged around, getting lost in it's own thoughts for a moment before coming back in front of Marx.
"This could be bad," it said nervously, "See our master is very interested in that shiny thing you had on when we found you and he might get angry if you can't tell him anything about it."
"Shiny thing?" asked Marx.
"A necklace!" pipped a purple eye, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere above the yellow one. Marx thought about it but his mind remained silent. He had no idea where he could have gotten a necklace from.
"What are you guys anyway?" he asked.
"We're Dark Matter!" said the purple one, bouncing up and down on her yellow counterpart.
"Well I'm Marx...I think."
"I'm so excited!" said the purple Dark Matter, still bouncing on the increasingly annoyed yellow one, "We've never had a visitor before!"
"Not that our master wants visitors anyway," added the yellow Dark Matter dryly, "Speaking of which we should probably go get him." The two quickly floated away before Marx could say anything and, along with the rest of the Dark Matter, literally blinked out of existence.
Marx waited anxiously in the silence, not entirely sure if he wanted to meet whatever these creatures called their master but knowing he had no choice in the matter. The darkness began to shift again, taking on a red hue and spiraling violently. From the tumult emerged a large spherical creature with three wings on each side and a halo hovering above it. It's face held an uncanny vacant smile beneath two beady black eyes. It's body was covered in short white fur and caked with dried blood near it's mouth area. It remained deadly still, it's feathered wings swaying ever so slightly as the darkness enveloping them continued to churn with agitation.
"H-hello?" said Marx, his voice barely a squeak. The creature's mouth snapped open and the illusion of a smiling face was now replaced by a giant red eye. Marx bit down on his tongue to suppress a scream. This did not look like someone he wanted to aggravate with his shrieking. It regarded the tiny jester dispassionately, neither hostile nor friendly. It simply was.
"You are awake," it stated flatly. It sounded male, though Marx wasn't sure this being even had gender. At least he didn't look like he wanted to kill him.
Yet.
"Identify yourself," said the twisted seraph.
"I'm Marx!" he answered, trying to sound as cheery as he could manage. Not that he thought this being cared about how he felt, this was simply how he dealt with stressful situations. Just pretend everything is okay and maybe it'll all go away.
"Marx..." he echoed, sounding almost as if he were pondering the name like some complex enigma.
"Who are you?" asked Marx.
"I am null. I am void. The absence of light. A hollow emptiness floating aimlessly in the vast vacuousness of space. I am nothing. I am Zero."
There was an implacable sadness tinging his words. Marx was tempted to make a smartass comment about his bleak introduction but decided it would be best to avoid offending him. He wasn't exactly in a position to make a run for it. He opted to remain silent and waited for him to continue.
"I require information from you." said Zero. A green eyed Dark Matter appeared at his side carrying a golden necklace. It glowed dimly, radiating with power and madness. It seemed oddly familiar to Marx, but he couldn't place it.
"Where did you get this?" asked Zero. Marx dug around in his mind as best as he could. The last thing he remembered was being on Popstar, loathing the people there who thought of him as crazy. That's what everyone he'd ever met seemed to think. He frowned at the memories and pushed them aside, turning his attention back to Zero's unrelenting gaze.
"I really don't know," said Marx, "but I think it might have something to do with the planet Popstar. Do you know of it?"
"Yes," said Zero, his eye narrowing and his voice filling with unmistakeable hatred, "I am familiar with this planet." Marx was rather surprised by the sudden change in tone. It was the first time he'd met someone who seemed to hate that sickeningly happy little planet just as much as he did. This common ground between them made the jester feel a little bolder.
"Sounds like you're not a fan of the place either," he said.
"Someday I shall make it and the rest of the universe like unto myself," said Zero, "Without light. Without love. Without happiness."
"You don't say," said Marx, a wide grin spreading on his face. This time it wasn't a forced smile, and in his eyes fear was now replaced with a sadistic sparkle.
That sounded like fun.