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It was another beautiful morning in Dreamland. Kirby awoke bright and cheerful just like every other regular morning, but today wasn't meant to be just another day. No, it was going to be far from that. Today was the day that Kirby would try to convince Marx to stay in Cappy Town.
He wouldn't just come out and ask him though. This might put pressure on Marx, so Kirby decided to instead show him the best places in town and see if the little jester was interested. The pink puffball did his morning routine, then headed out the door. Just as Kirby was leaving his house, Tokkori stopped by seeming somewhat irritated.
"Tokkori, poyo. What's wrong?"
"There's this weird purple kid that's camping out in a box nearby! I told him to scoot last night, but he just moved his box somewhere else! You're the hero, you do something about it!"
"Marx, poyo!" Kirby dashed off before the yellow bird could say anything else.
Sure enough, Tokkori was right. Not too far from his house was a box with the lavender clown snoozing inside. The pink puffball worriedly shook Marx awake, wondering why he wasn't over at Gooey's cabin.
"Marx!"
"Objection!" The little jester's eyes flew open. He tumbled out of his box and onto the cool grass in his shock.
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"Hey, Hey, Hey! How many times do I have to tell you?! Don't touch me!" Marx frowned.
"I'm sorry, poyo. But Marx, why were you sleeping in that box? You told me yesterday that you were staying at Gooey's, poyo!"
It was true that Marx had said he was going to stay at Gooey's house after their adventure in the cave. However, it seemed to Kirby that the opposite had occurred.
"About that…yeah I made that up." Marx replied bluntly.
"Marx! Why didn't you stay at Gooey's house, poyo?"
"I told you yesterday. I had enough insane tomfoolery for the day and I wanted some peace, you know?"
"But I would've let you stay in my house, poyo! I said you were welcome." The pink puffball frowned.
"Yeah…but you wouldn't want me there for long, nope nope." Marx avoided eye contact.
"Yes I would, poyo. You're my friend, and I don't like knowing that you don't have a warm safe place to sleep…"
"Kirby, why do you have to talk like that? Now you're making me feel bad!" Marx wiggled his feet as he sat on the grass.
"Don't feel bad, poyo! We've got a big day today!"
Marx frowned. "It isn't gonna be like yesterday, is it? Because I think I don't ever wanna see another cave again, you know?"
"It's different this time! I'm gonna show my best friend Marx to everyone in town, poyo!" Kirby exclaimed proudly.
Marx frowned again. "I…I don't know if that's such a good idea, Kirby. I've been trying to be inconspicuous."
"What's that mean, poyo?" The pink puffball asked.
"Inconspicuous means to not attract or draw attention to oneself." Marx answered without even having to think.
"We're just going to the town, poyo. Everyone is friendly, and we won't do anything that you really don't like."
"Really? Really really? So that means I won't have to do anything embarrassing, like you showing me to everyone in town wearing a salmon suit?"
"No, poyo! I just want you to feel happy and have fun today!" Kirby replied cheerfully.
"Well…" Marx looked away from the pink puffball, appearing as if he was in deep thought.
Kirby played with his hands nervously. This wasn't how Kirby had thought this conversation would turn out. What if he was still mad about yesterday?
"Well…I suppose you should lead the way, you know?" Marx replied.
Kirby uttered a happy squeal and almost hugged Marx, but then he remembered the little jester's sensitivity. So instead, the pink puffball decided to walk next to him. Kirby wasn't touching him, but he was close enough to let Marx know that he would be there for him.
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Soon enough the two arrived in the village, and their first stop was at the town's square. The villagers began to murmur and stare at the little jester. Marx tried to conceal himself behind Kirby.
"Kirby…they're staring at me…" Marx whispered.
The pink puffball thought it was odd that the little jester, a performer, was so nervous in front of a crowd. He was so adorable and funny, so why would he be shy around a few people?
Chief Borun and his wife Sato approached them.
"Hello Kirby. Who's that behind you? Never seen you before." Chief Borun stared at Marx.
Marx shrunk further behind Kirby.
"Aww, dear your scaring the child." Sato giggled. "He's so cute too!"
"Hey, Hey, Hey! I'm not cute! …I'm handsome." Marx puffed up his cheeks, only proving Sato's claims.
"This is Chief Borun and his wife Sato, poyo. Borun is the town's officer." Kirby explained.
"So…there's crime in this village?" Marx asked.
"Well, there's only one criminal in town, but he's not dangerous." Sato stated, noticing the look of worry on the jester child's face.
"Not dangerous?!" Chief Borun crossed his arms. "Doron will steal anything that isn't nailed down! He's got the stickiest hands I've ever seen on anyone! He'd take everything in Cappy Town if he could, kitchen sink and all!"
Marx looked at the beach ball by his side. He really didn't want to lose it…
"Don't worry, poyo. We won't let anyone take your ball." Kirby reassured.
"Ahem, anyway…" Chief Borun coughed. "It's quite rare for visitors to travel through here. Who are you and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Marx. I'm a jester and I travel all across Pop Star, mhmm!"
"A jester? Are you here to work for the king?" Sato asked.
"No, I'm just traveling, you know? Kirby thought I should stay here for a while." Marx answered.
"This is a nice village to stay in. It's quiet and nothing usually goes on here." Sato said.
"If you count a penguin stealing all the food in town, a giant metal bird stealing crops, and a cave that has it's own alternate dimensions nothing…" Marx thought.
"I'll keep that in mind." The little jester said.
Kirby continued his tour for his little jester friend. As they walked by the watermelon fields, the pink puffball's stomach began to growl. As much as he wanted to eat a few watermelons, he would likely get into trouble. Today was about Marx after all.
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"Oh no you don't!" A Cappy ran from his house and towards Kirby. "You're not destroying my crops again! Eat eat eat! That's all you do!"
"That's not it, poyo! I was just leaving." The young Star Warrior answered honestly.
"Don't you lie! You were going to eat all those watermelons and make a run for it!" The Cappy argued.
"No! I was just showing Marx around the town today, poyo!"
Marx could feel the Cappy's eyes scan him over, silently judging him.
"I don't like outsiders in this town. You're a suspicious kid running around, and to top that you're pretty stupid looking."
The little jester frowned, seeming hurt. Then he narrowed his eyes. "I may be stupid looking, but I bet I'm smarter than you, you know?"
The Cappy growled, then suddenly a voice was heard.
"Kirby! Marx! What are you two doing?" Fumu and Bun were running to them.
"Those two were going to eat all the watermelons in my field! Then they were going to run away!" The Cappy pointed at the two.
"Kirby, is this true?" Fumu asked.
"No, poyo! Honest! I was taking Marx around Cappy Town." The pink puffball answered.
"You don't honestly believe him, do you?!" The Cappy yelled.
"If Kirby said he's innocent, then I believe him." Fumu frowned.
"Besides, you have all of these watermelons and you never eat any of them!" Bun said. "You won't even sell them! So what's the point in having them here if they're just going to rot?"
"They're MY watermelons on MY property. They can stay uneaten and rot for eight months if I want em too!" The Cappy yelled defiantly.
"See, people like you are why I never stay in one place for too long, you know?" Marx retorted.
"That's a great idea! Go! Don't stay here. Go somewhere else far from here where we'll never see you again! Armless freak…" The Cappy grumbled as he retreated to his house. "Stupid brats…"
"Sis, I hope you report him…" Bun sighed.
"Oh, I am. I'm telling Papa and Mayor Len about this. Ever since he moved here, he's done nothing but complain and harass any passerby." Fumu replied angrily.
The little jester frowned and looked at his feet. He wanted to go back to his box…
"Don't take it personally, Marx." Bun said. "That guy doesn't like anybody. He's just a jerk, plain and simple."
The little jester still frowned, desperately wanting to go back to the outskirts of the town. Kirby noticed his troubled behavior and gave a pleading look to Fumu. He didn't want Marx to leave.
"Hey…why don't we go to Kawasaki's? You're hungry, right Kirby?" Fumu suggested.
"Who's Kawasaki?" Marx asked.
"He runs the town's best restaurant, poyo! Well, it's the town's only restaurant…" Kirby explained.
Bun stood next to Fumu. "I thought you wanted to make Marx feel better, not land him in the clinic!" He whispered.
"Kirby likes the food there, and if Marx doesn't like the food then I'm sure Kirby would get him food he would like from somewhere." Fumu replied.
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The four walked to Kawasaki's restaurant. Kirby wiggled with glee as he told Marx about the food and what he would recommend. The lavender clown seemed to be in good spirits by the time they all sat down at a table in the restaurant.
Chef Kawasaki arrived at their table, noticing the new customer. "Hello there! I haven't seen you here before."
"This is Marx, poyo. He's a traveling jester." Kirby introduced his friend.
"Ooh! A traveler! You've probably tasted all sorts of cuisine from all over Pop Star! You've decided to visit this humble little restaurant?" Kawasaki clapped his hands in glee.
Marx felt a little overwhelmed by all the attention, especially since the Cappies from the other tables were now looking at him.
"So, what would you like? If I can make it, then it's yours!" The chef asked.
Fumu had told Marx on their way to the restaurant about Kawasaki and his failures in cooking. One of the only things that Kawasaki made that was a smash hit was his extremely hot and spicy food that he made when Dedede had opened his own restaurant with a chef Demon Beast.
"Hehe. I bet you to order the hot ramen." Bun said.
"Bun! That could actually hurt him!" Fumu scolded.
Marx thought it over. "I actually prefer sweet things instead, you know? I like spicy things every once in a while, but…I'll have a lemon meringue pie."
"Right away!" Kawasaki ran into the kitchen.
"Aw, I wanted to see how you'd handle hot food…" Bun sighed, only to be nudged slightly by his sister.
"I really don't like spicy food that much…" Marx sighed.
In the kitchen, Kawasaki was scrambling around trying to complete everyone's orders. In his haste, he accidentally spilled a jar of red pepper juice without his notice. Into Marx's pie.
Kawasaki arrived with the dishes. He set the pie in front of Marx.
Marx sniffed. "This pie smells a bit funny, mhmm…"
"Well, that's to be expected if it came from Kawasaki." Bun answered.
"True, very true!" The chef laughed.
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The little jester carefully took a bite of the pie, when suddenly everyone gasped. They could see and smell the red pepper juice from the pie. Everyone in the restaurant began to murmur, some covering their eyes waiting for Marx's reaction.
They were expecting the little clown to jump in the air and begin screaming, but it never came. Instead, Marx stuck out his tongue and scrunched up his eyes.
"I asked for a lemon meringue pie! Why would you put pepper juice in my pie?!" Marx frowned.
He obviously wasn't happy with his pie, but the spiciness of the peppers seemed to have no effect on him. His face only had a small red tint, and he seemed perfectly capable of talking.
"Well? Was this some sort of prank, you know?" Marx narrowed his eyes at the chef.
"This was an accident! I promise you it was an accident! Please don't be mad!" Kawasaki apologized.
Marx frowned while Kirby gave him a worried look. The lavender child sighed.
"You promise this wasn't a sign of hostility towards me?" Marx asked.
"It was an accident! I wouldn't do that to a customer on purpose!" Kawasaki defended himself.
"Really really? You mean it?" He asked with big eyes.
"Really!"
"…Very well then. I believe you. Mhmm."
Kawasaki sighed with relief. A half an hour later, everyone had finished their meals. Marx didn't order anything else, which was probably a good thing for his health.
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The four headed out of the restaurant with the little jester being very silent. Kirby wanted the day to go perfectly, but…
"Marx, it really was an accident." Fumu said.
"I…I know…" Marx sighed.
"Then why are you still sad?" Bun asked.
"Sad? Who said I was sad?" Marx said unconvincingly. "No sadness here…nope nope…everything's peaches and cream, you know…"
"Then why do you sound like that?" Bun questioned.
"You know what? Just forget it…" Marx began to walk away.
"No, wait poyo!" Kirby stepped in front of Marx. "I'm sorry you're having a bad time! I promise to make it up to you, poyo! Don't leave…"
Kirby pleaded with Marx to not go. He didn't want to lose his friend, and the way things were going it seemed to be a high possibility.
Marx looked at the pink puffball and sighed. "…How can I say no to that kind of face?"
The young Star Warrior cheered and almost hugged Marx, but remembered his friend's policy on touching. However, Kirby was very surprised when the little jester gently bumped into his side. Kirby assumed this was Marx's way of showing appreciation.
"Well Kirby, where are you going to take me now, hmm?" The lavender child asked.
"Uhh…" Kirby looked at Fumu and Bun for assistance.
"We could go to Professor Curio's house and see if he's found anything." The Cappy girl suggested.
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The four made their way to the professor's museum. Fumu knew that it Marx would be more comfortable if he was in a less occupied area. This comforted the little clown somewhat, though he still seemed somewhat uneasy.
Marx gazed in awe at the ancient artifacts on the shelves. Kirby was happy to see that he was enjoying himself. Then the professor greeted them.
"Hello Fumu. It's always nice of you to stop by." The older Cappy said.
"Professor Curio, we're showing a friend around Cappy Town. This is Marx." The Cappy girl motioned to Marx, only to see the little jester across the room admiring a vase.
"Be careful not to break it. That vase is an ancient artifact of the early Cappy settlers." The professor explained.
"Mhmm!" Marx nodded. "Judging by the vase's appearance…I'd say it's 20,000 years old, you know!"
Fumu and Curio gasped. He got the exact age of the vase correct.
"It warms my heart to see someone so young so informed about history…" The professor said in awe.
Bun stood next to the jester. "How did you know that?"
"Uh…it was a lucky guess! Yup! Just a lucky guess. Mhmm." Marx answered.
Fumu crossed her arms. She knew that he had exact knowledge of the artifact, but why would he try t hide his knowledge? Something was suspicious here…
"Marx…how did you know about that vase?" Fumu asked.
"Uh…Hey, Kirby! Doesn't that pot over there have nice pictures on it? Let's go look at it!" Marx dashed off with Kirby, ignoring the persistent girl.
After a while of looking at the various pottery and artifacts, the four left and tried to decide where they would go next.
"Marx…where do you want to go, poyo?" Kirby asked, deciding it was time the jester got to do what he wanted to do for once.
"Well…" Marx thought. "Does the town have a library?"
"Yeah, there's one in the castle." Bun answered, slightly surprised. "Out of all the places here, why would you want to go to some library?"
"Bun! If that's where he wants to go, then that's where we'll take him." Fumu scolded.
"Really?!" Marx beamed. "I get to go to the castle? But won't the king get mad if he sees me, you know?"
"Cmon, what's he gonna do?" Bun scoffed. "Besides, I'm sure he's still hurt from that landing after he fell from that other castle."
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The children headed into the castle's library without any disturbance. Bun headed off to the paranormal section as usual, but dragged Kirby along to show him some comics. Fumu watched Marx scurry to the history section, her interest growing. The little jester read the titles of the books, then settled on one named 'Life, The Gamble Galaxy, and Everything.'
The book was very thick and it was a challenging read, even for Fumu. She stared somewhat amazed that someone as young as Marx was trying to read it, and actually seemed to understand it. He seemed genuinely interested by the book's contents, and it seemed the world around him was forgotten for the moment.
Fumu sat next to Marx, the little clown not noticing her movement. "Marx." She tried to get his attention.
He continued to read his book, her voice not reaching him. She spoke a little louder, but it seemed to have no effect.
"MARX!" Fumu yanked the book away from his sight.
"Bad noise!" The little jester's eyes went wide, and he nearly fell off his chair.
Fumu knew it wasn't polite to yell in a library, but she hated being ignored. When Marx seemed to recover his wits, he narrowed his eyes and frowned.
"Hey Hey Hey! Why would you do that?!"
"You weren't answering me."
"Well? Don't just leave me in suspense, you know. What do you want?" The frown on Marx's face was still there.
Fumu looked at the book in her hand. "Why did you pick this book?"
"Because I wanted to read it." Marx answered, still slightly bitter.
Fumu decided to ignore his smart reply. "This is a very advanced book. Why would someone as young as you choose that as your first choice? I thought you might like books with a lot of pictures in them."
"This book has pictures in it."
Fumu stifled a groan. "Yes, but they're very complex pictures. Some of them are maps and diagrams, or pictures with subjects like frightening creatures."
"So? What's your point? Are you jealous that there's someone else rivaling your intellect around, you know?" Marx asked.
"My point is, that isn't something that a normal child would pick! What is there to be jealous of?!" Fumu answered, somewhat exasperated.
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"…" Marx looked down at his two feet, avoiding all eye contact with the girl.
"I know that…" He continued to stare at his feet.
She slowly looked down to see the blank look on Marx's face. He still wouldn't look at her. Then what she had said began to sink into her mind.
"Marx…I…"
"I know that I'm not like other kids…I've known it for a long time…"
"I…I didn't mean…"
"And you're right. I can't be like other kids either…" A quiet sniffle went unheard by the Cappy girl.
"Well…why can't you?" Fumu asked.
"Because…because I'm not like them…you know?"
Fumu began to feel slightly guilty for her earlier outburst. She had no idea it would've affected the lavender child this way. However, it was about more than the book or his intellect. She continued to forget the fact that he didn't have arms. Life was probably difficult enough without them, but her comments had just rubbed salt into the wound.
"Marx." She spoke more gently. "You aren't like other children, but you're very smart for your age. How did you learn such advanced material when you're so young? Who taught you?"
"…" The little jester slowly looked up at her. "I…I did…"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Fumu asked, slightly puzzled.
"You wouldn't understand…nobody does, you know." His voice sounded somewhat shaky. "Why should I tell you?"
Fumu was getting tired of nearly begging him to talk to her. She wasn't understanding that the little jester obviously didn't want to talk about it. Just when she was about to open her mouth again, she heard another voice.
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"You can trust me, poyo. I promise I'll keep it a secret." Kirby suddenly appeared next to Marx, sensing his discomfort.
"Kirby…how long have you…?" Fumu started.
"A while, poyo." Kirby turned to Marx. "It's okay, you can tell me when you want to."
Fumu was about to argue, still not getting the answers she wanted. Then she had a better idea.
"Come on, Bun. We need to go." The girl said.
"But…but why? You dragged me here so I might as well- Hey!" Bun was being dragged by his sister out of the library.
"Sis, what are you doing?" Bun asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Ssh! I think they're talking." She answered, staying just outside of the library's entrance.
"…You need help. Do you always have to know everything about everyone?" Bun retorted.
"If you don't like it, then just go." Fumu narrowed her eyes.
Bun rolled his unseen eyes covered by his hair, then left his sister by the door. She tried to hear their conversation, but found that their voices were to soft. She decided that she would just ask Kirby what the little jester told him. Surely the pink puffball would tell her, right? He's known her much longer than he's known Marx.
Giving up with a sigh, she walked down the hallway in thought. In the library, Kirby gave a sigh of relief.
"I think she's gone, poyo. Do you wanna talk about it now?"
Marx frowned and began to stare at the ceiling.
"You don't have to if you don't want to, poyo!" Kirby said reassuringly.
"No…I…I think I might feel better if I talked about it, you know."
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Marx gave an uneasy breath. "Well…where do I start? When I was little…littler…I had a lot of free time and spent most of it reading. I had so many questions that I wanted answered…I read so many books trying to find answers to those questions, you know."
Kirby listened with growing interest. Marx was talking as if his explanation was coming directly from his heart. The pink puffball scooted closer, nodding for the little clown to continue.
"I continued reading. I read all the books made for my age, and I still didn't have my questions answered, nope nope…So I moved on to higher level material. The content became more difficult to understand, but I continued to read…I often read with a book on one side and a dictionary on the other."
Kirby had his own questions that were stirring around in his mind, but he decided to wait until Marx was at a stopping point. The pink puffball understood what it was like to have questions but none of the answers.
"Eventually, it became easier and easier to read the books, you know. I read every one that caught my eye, then I moved on to the next reading level. I learned so many things, and so many questions were answered and many still remain ambiguous…but the most important question of all is still as far from being solved as it was then…"
"…What was it, poyo?" Kirby asked in a very quiet voice.
"I can't ever tell anyone what it is! It's too much for anyone to comprehend besides me, you know!"
"Okay…you don't have to tell me, poyo." The pink puffball smiled sweetly.
Marx gave a weak grin. "Thank you…It's just…it's so personal…it's one of the reasons I became a traveler, you know…I thought that if I could move around Pop Star, then maybe I could find the answer to my most important question…"
"Well, poyo. I hope you find it someday."
"Haha…I think that maybe I might be on the right track, you know. I might find my answer in this very town, but I'll probably have to stay a little longer. This is the longest I've ever stayed in one place, Mhmm!"
Kirby tried his hardest to hold in his excitement. Marx was staying a while longer, despite the pink puffball's plans for the day not going exactly according to plan. He could squeal from the amount of happiness he was feeling at the moment.
"Hey, Hey, Hey. Maybe…you could show me the rest of the town sometime? And maybe… we could try making that picnic happen again sometime…you know?"
This time Kirby did squeal. The pink puffball grabbed the little jester in a hug, only to let go when he remembered the 'no touching' rule. Kirby was surprised beyond belief when he felt the jester slowly lean on him for a few seconds.
Most likely… it was Marx's way of hugging someone.
Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait everyone! Life was giving me lemons and it took a while to make life take them back.
In this chapter, Marx gets a little more familiar with the town and we get a better look at his personality. It would seem there's much more to this little jester than a cool hat and being funny. Now they're really starting to connect, and Marx is beginning to let Kirby get closer to him. I always thought that the two were good friends until...well, those that have played Super Star/Ultra know.