-Chapter 10-

It was a small temple, brown and had a rough texture as though it were made of sand. It had a large dome-shaped roof, with pillars on the sides of the road leading to the temple. The temple itself was located in desert, under a dark brown, stormy sky. The wind was treacherous and harsh, in fact this maybe the same desert that Magolor landed in when he first got here. It was bring back some memories to Magolor, not that he wanted anymore trips down memory lane.

The group of villains left over an hour ago from the mansion, all knowing it would be the last time they see it and its subspace sky. They all liked the mansion, except for Magolor. Even with it's comfortably, he had his eerie and scary moments in there. The crown giving him nightmares, sending frighten illusions and transforming him into a monster. He trailed behind the rest, sulking at the ground. He should have been triumphant, but he felt depressed and overall tired.

They all approached the temple grounds, broken pillars scattered everywhere across the sand, lighting striking at random. A pink force field was formed around the temple, protecting it from the unworthy. The place was abandoned, miserable…. Like a treasured item that was just thrown away and left to ruin. Nightmare was in front of the group, watching the shield in a worry some manner, brushing his skeletal hand across his chin.

"A shield?...perhaps we need the keys…" He raised his hands and the keys emerged around him: the colors of grey, light blue, green, and red. They floated toward the shield as if to shatter it, but they stopped midway. The shield's color turned blue, a warm deep blue. Nightmare watched, puzzled. The keys returned to him.

"What sort of treachery is this?" Dark Mind moved to Nightmare's side. He glared with his one fiery eye at the blue shield. "We collected all of the keys! Don't tell me there is some sort of choosing ceremony!" Mind was furious, to have their troubles be in vain?

"Don't be so flustered! It's probably just another puzzle." Galacta Knight came up from behind. He was aggravated too, but patience is key. "Surely you did not expect the last temple to be a cake walk."

"Step aside!" Drawcia formed a purple paintbrush and came close to the shield; she drew a line quickly in hopes of slashing the shield. Nothing happened however; Drawcia slashed many more timing before sighing from frustration. "Unbelievable!"

"So we came for nothing huh…" Marx finally broke his silence, he was disappointed. Yet at the same time, it seemed as though it were no surprise to him, as though somewhere deep inside he felt failure pinching at him from the beginning.

"Hush up! We need to try other things!" Dark Mind snapped. Marx moaned.

"Silence! There must be another way, let me think!" Nightmare hissed.

"Face it, we came for nothing! Shield probably doesn't deem us worthy! It's the only reason it would block us, otherwise the real challenge would have been inside and we would have been facing it already!" Marx bellowed.

"Stop it! All of you!" Drawcia shouted. They all began to argue.

"How dare you taunt us!" Galacta Knight growled under his mask and continued to study the shield. He didn't feel like partaking in the arguing next to him.

Magolor just felt defeated, come all this way and the shield rejects you. He figured he wasn't worthy anyway. But something yearned for freedom, and if he couldn't get that; He just wanted to die…again. It's as though the world around him was mocking him, to struggle and mess up all your life and then when you finally are within reach of a second chance, a wall is in front of it. He did not realize when he started walking, he passed his bickering allies. He felt something as if the blue force field was calling him.

Approaching the shield, he passed Galacta, who took little notice of him. The blue…like the color of the sky on Popstar, oh how he loved that place, the lush green grass and hills, the wispy white clouds and colorful flowers. He wanted paradise not this underworld, he just wanted to be happy. Popstar gave him what Halcandra didn't: happiness. That's all he wanted in life, to be happy…but he couldn't have it, he couldn't get it either. The force field was in his face now, closer and closer he could almost feel the energy. Before he knew it, the blue tint disappeared and the temple was down the stone pathway. The bickering behind him ceased, his allies stared at him in bewilderment. Magolor had now realized what he had done.

"Can't you just walk through it?" Magolor turned and called out back to them. He saw Marx come toward the shield but he could only press against it. The other got the same effect.

"Just go on! You got all the keys last time didn't you?" Marx called out. Magolor hesitantly obeyed the command and continued down the path, approaching the entrance.

How come only I can come through? Magolor thought.

The darkness was warm but unsettling, Magolor turned around from where he came but could no longer see the entrance, it was as though he were floating in the abyss again.

Just like when I first got here. He thought. And when he first got here, it showed him memories. God, how he hated that word…since ninety five percent of it was dreadful. A faint, white square appeared before him, floating. An image began to appear: he could see the Lor Starcutter fleeing into a portal with a four headed orange dragon breathing fireballs fiercely at it. Landia… This was when he failed to get the crown from her and had to flee. Typical, the abyss would show him his failure.

More squares appeared behind it showing him pictures and memories of Popstar. When Kirby and his friends brought all the Lor's pieces back, and when they finally left for Halcandra. Magolor saw the excitement on his own face at the time, a time when he was unknown of his awful fate; Magolor was standing next to Kirby and had never been so delighted in his life. Magolor looked fondly at the memory and smiled under his scarf. Someone in his life, aside from Aureole and Marx, helped him and was actually willing to be his friend! He remembered when it felt so warming to feel friendship even in an unknown world. Shame a foreign world was more kind to him than his own…home.

But then the image changed to when Magolor obtained the crown, the Defeated Landia on the side and Kirby and his friends in front of him. Magolor saw the bewilderment on their faces when Magolor revealed his plans to him. But his plans came out twisted and more deranged than they actually were. He almost hated seeing his wizard form at the time. Everything changed that day, if only he just put the crown down. This would have never happened.

But then I would have been killed, or force into hiding on Halcandra! He pondered. But the Lor could have provided him with everything he would ever need, he could have taken Aureole and left Halcandra. But the crown moved itself onto his head, surged it's glorious power into his body and took control. It's not my fault…he denied…It's not my fault! He shook his head.

"But you played your part in it." A voice spoke out, cold and somewhat sad.

"You!" Magolor recognized it. The voice from when he got the first key.

"You betrayed Aureole to get your desires of freedom, broke your promise to her. You betrayed Kirby to get the crown-"

"But I did it for a good cause!" Magolor argued desperately.

"Was it worth it? In the end you got next to nothing accomplished. You saved no one, you only caused pain." A new square appeared before Magolor, in the image showed Aureole. Her face was buried in her brown gloves, sobbing to no end. "Behold what your best friend has been doing for the last two months in your absence!" the voice said crossly.

"I-I….I"

He doesn't need her! He got limitless power! Even the universe almost! A cold, high pitched voice bellowed.

"Who's…..the Master Crown?" Magolor looked around desperately. No one would appear however.

I gave you power!

"You made me selfish! You made me into a demonic monster!"

I could give you glory and rule over all!

"Something I would never want! I would be my own worst enemy!"

YOU WOULD BE A GOD!

"I would be a monster! I WOULD BE YOU!" Magolor shouted, breathing heavily. This everlasting battle with the Master Crown had to end.

You need me!

"I don't need you! Go to Hell!"

"He's already there, so are you." the voice jumped in.

"Shut Up!" Magolor barked.

"The reason you're here truly is because of the crown." The voice ignored Magolor's growing anger. "You died with a corrupted soul because of the crown, and for that you were sent to the inferno." Magolor's expression soften at the realization.

"So this is all the Crown's fault, no surprise…" Magolor responded bitterly.

Fool! The only reason you're getting a second chance is because of me! I got those keys, not you!

"You only got the forth key yourself. I used you to get the others…" Magolor said despondently. He clenched his fist "But I'm not using you this time!" he growled.

What? Fool you are helpless without me!

"What do I need to do to get the last key?" Magolor called out to the voice, ignoring the crown.

"Accept your mistakes as you cannot change the past." The voice said. "Let them be lessons to you…they will only haunt you if you don't face them" Magolor jumped a bit at the request, but it needed to be done. He sat down and closed his eyes.

Magolor screwed up, but was about to get an extra life. He can go back and fix what he could, but he wasn't exactly aiming to be a hero like he intended before. He sighed in disgust with himself. His plan was stupid and doomed to fail from the start, trying to make daydreams beyond his reach a reality. Did he really think he could beat the Metal General and free his people? Ha, it was like trying to live a happy fairytale on a miserable volcanic wasteland like Halcandra. In fact following his dreams may have been his problem, immersing himself in them as a way to escape his harsh reality, then to come back and try to make it real. Daydreaming and planning took away most of his childhood, trying to make his dreams real took away his life. Some people can make their dreams come true; Magolor wasn't one of them though.

Wake up! The Master Crown growled. We need to obtain this key! Magolor got up, but his eyes remained shut.

"Magolor…" The voice said. "Have you come to a sudden epiphany?"

"Yeah…I was trying to do the impossible. I pushed reality away for my fantasy, I pushed away and used people to try and get my own dreams. I was pretty selfish, even though I thought I was trying to help people, It was for my own gain. To make myself feel good because I hardly knew what being happy was like. Because of isolating myself in my own world….I saw friends as tools. I saw glory as happiness." Magolor lamented. "This is what I felt inside of my soul, my mind and conscience just covered it up in some façade that I could be a savior. So maybe I did want peace, but I also didn't want to be weak which was what I felt as a child. The world did some things to me that I felt helpless against and I wanted to be in control and stop that!" Tears fell from his eyes. "If I can just get a chance to maybe apologize to even if it's just one person for what I did-"

Oh please! Why apologize, what done is done! They will never forgive you! The crown taunted.

"I can try you stupid crown!" Magolor snapped. His eyes opened, they were furious.

Don't snap at me! I am your master! I gave you everything and I can take it away!

"Go ahead, dealing with you was like dealing with the devil! You're probably Satan HIMSELF!" Magolor screamed at the top of his lungs. Hyperventilating, his voice was echoing. There was silence. The floating memory squares disappeared one by one, Magolor looked around in awe, what was happening? The darkness started to take a dark green tint.

"If you want this key Magolor," The voice said. "You must face the very thing keeping it from you…"

"Myself?" Magolor asked.

"No…you are no longer the obstacle. It is now the very thing that has been helping you all along." The voice faded away. A dense dark fog enveloped the area. Magolor coughed a little, adrenaline flowing his veins. It fog swirled around him in a very large circle. Frightened indeed because he knew what it was that helped him, the Master Crown.

The ground began to rustle; a large grey light appeared in front of Magolor on the ground. He stepped away from it, a large creature began to emerge. It had grey horns like a rams, two grey gaseous wings, black pointy hands with pink hexagonal emblems, two white eyes and a broad smile with a bloodshot eyeball inside. It made shriek at Magolor and shook the ground in the process. The demented, now silver and horned Master Crown sat on top.

"No…." Magolor remembered that smile…it was painfully forced on his face in mirror. This was the monster that he transformed into, the monstrosity the crown created out of him. Magolor clenched his fist, it was the monster that split Marx in half and almost killed him. His anger was boiling, remembering Marx's exhausted face and bandaged wounds.

"Behold your soul Magolor! What has been living inside you for quite some time! I simply brought it out of you for my use." The crown crackled. Magolor was a mix of furious and petrified, both feelings kept him frozen in place.

"That's not me! Not anymore!"

"Foolish Child I will show you who is dominant!" Magolor Soul created star portals at both Magolor's side. Magolor turned around too late to escape however, a brown beam burst its way into him from both sides. Caught in the powerful stream, he screamed in unrelenting pain and agony. The electricity made him feel as though he were on fire. Soul's laughing was hysterical.

The beam dissipated and Magolor dropped to the ground. His regal outfit tarnished and his cape with gaping holes, barley intact. He moaned in pain, struggling to get up. His body throbbed and begged him to lie back down, Magolor refused however. It would simply show his defeat and weakness. He swayed, seeing double of the wretched monstrous Soul.

"Admit it boy! You need me and that I am your master!" It laughed triumphantly.

"N-No… y-you…aren't…my…m-master!" Magolor shrilled weakly. The pain was sudden, the beam was from above now. Magolor bawled louder. The beam disappeared and Magolor dropped again moaning. His body felt more and more drained and weak, he would die soon and he knew it. But he held on, for that key. If he couldn't leave, then he wanted Marx to still have a chance!

Soul approached Magolor's limp body he stretched his diabolical hand and wrapped it around Magolor and holding it up to his face. Magolor want to struggle and fight, but he was too weak. Soul giggled at the Halcandran.

"Pathetic, weak… accept me and accept you need my power."

"No…" Magolor lifted up his head and glared at not the creature, but the Master Crown with his tired golden eyes. Soul applied pressure to his grip, Magolor groaned in discomfort. Desperate, Magolor only knew thing that could potentially get him out of this death grip. It was almost silly, but it was worth a try. He pulled down his white scarf and hulked up and spat one good glob of saliva at the face of Magolor Soul. Soul groaned in disgust, but did not let go. Magolor used both of his tarnished mitten hands and grabbed the crown's horns.

"This is for Marx…and the hell you caused me!" He applied his last bit of strength and pulled the crown away from the creature's head. Soul moaned in pain, releasing Magolor and the crown. Both were plummeting to the ground as Soul's body began to destroy itself. Light piercing out and eating away at it.

Magolor felt as though he was flying he was falling so slow, the crown had reverted to its golden state. It's gem glowing all the colors of the rainbow, shaking violently as though it would explode. Magolor shut his eyes, he was sure he was dying his second death. But it would be somewhat worth it, he did something good that actually had a good effect.

"Well done Magolor…" It was the voice.

"W-what…about the….key." Magolor asked faintly, he landed on the ground softly. His body was battered and bruised and his clothes were torn all over, he coughed up a bit of blood and sighed. The fog disappeared and the darkness became black.

"Oh…I will lower the shield for your allies to obtain it, you have done enough. Rest… be assured you will not die a second death."

"How do you know?"

"You have proven yourself worthy of a second life, surely I would not let you perish!" It said in a more gleeful tone. The last thing Magolor heard was a loud ping of metal dropping to the ground, the crown rolled toward and emerged in his clouded vision. The gem had stopped flashing and a crack slowly appeared on it. Its gem's red color faded to grey. Magolor let out a sigh with relief and closed his eyes.

The shield around the temple slowly faded… then completely disappeared. The group had stared in awe, then all rushed toward the entrance immediately.

"Did Magolor gain the key?" Drawcia asked, following the others.

"He should have if the shield is gone, I hope he did… and I hope he's alright…" Marx looked downhearted as he ran. He had been constantly trying to reassure himself since he had been standing waiting on his friend to return.

The temple's inside was sand-like brick and it wasn't that large. The ground was a smooth bronze. Pillars were on sides, a dim bronze as well. In the middle of the room was a small altar and there sat a purple key. Below the stand it was sitting on, was a critically wounded Magolor and a cracked Master Crown. Marx's eyes widened and he shrieked, pushing through the other villains he rushed to his friend's body.

"Magolor? Hey! come on!" He nudged the Halcandran, the body was motionless. "No…" Marx closed his eyes and a tear slipped down. The group stood with a moment of silence, Nightmare lowered his head.

"Poor thing…" Drawcia whispered to Dark Mind who nodded. No one could really tell how Galacta Knight felt under his mask, chances are: he probably didn't really give a damn, didn't know Magolor for that long anyway.

But the body twitched, it was quick but enough for Marx to notice. He stared at the Magolor as a grey dust began to envelop him. Slowly the wounds started to heal, his clothes seemed to be repairing itself. When the dust cleared, a few cuts and bruises remained but his clothes were as good as new. Magolor opened his golden eyes slowly, he looked around dazed. He turned slowly, toward Marx. The two looked at each other in disbelief.

"M-Marx! errr…hey." Magolor grinned. Marx returned a broad smile slowly and started to giggle.

"I…I knew you could do it." Marx tried to brush off a bit of the overwhelming contentment and relief within him. Even at times like this he had and image to keep up.

"Good to see your alive Magolor." Nightmare approached the altar and grabbed the purple key above them. Seems like Nightmare expected this outcome, he rejoined the others and started discuss plans, Marx remained at Magolor's side however.

"So…did you fight some monster or what?" Marx asked, Magolor's grin faded under his scarf.

"I fought…I fought myself…my…soul." Magolor replied softly. A chill went up Marx's spine. Magolor Soul didn't exactly leave a good impression on him nor Marx Soul.

Wait…but if he fought his own soul, then the crown must have… Marx pondered. Magolor looked away for a moment, Marx's eyes followed his direction and met with the broken crown, cracked, beaten and battered. Marx didn't know how to feel at this point, and he felt a burning, blazing anger inside of him. But he himself wasn't angry at all, it was most likely Marx Soul. Damn demon lusted for that Crown's power all this time, keeping dreams that even Marx didn't want anymore. Marx just wanted to get back at Kirby, he could care less about what happens to Popstar at this point. But Marx Soul was once Marx's own soul and still kinda is…this can also mean Marx didn't let go of his old ambitions…completely anyway.

"You broke…you broke the crown." Marx just didn't know how to comprehend this. But he did feel some relief that it would shut Marx Soul up about stealing the crown. "But no crown also means you're powerless and Nightmare will…"

"But I got all the keys! I should get let off the hook shouldn't I?" Magolor asked with panic in his voice. Marx was silent for few moments, he shook his head.

"The only way to find out …is talk to them." Marx looked over to the group, they were chattering away in pure bliss of the freedom they were about to about to obtain. Magolor got up and dusted off his cape, he looked at Marx with apprehension. Marx made a nervous smile in return, and they slowly walked over…to an uncertain fate.

-End of Chapter 10-

Author's Mini Note:

Finished and posted at 1 A.M. and I'm proud. Only a few chapters left...