Marx pretty much expected Meta Knight to be the first to answer his rather bold lie. Sure, the cosmic jester was friends with Kirby, but by no means were they best friends. He chanced a quick glance at Fumu, who – by the way her eyes had narrowed considerably – looked as if she was about to explode with questions. She had a look of utter disbelief on her face, which made him want to burst out laughing right there on the spot.
Meta Knight, however, just stared on, as silent as ever. His sharp gaze cut through him like knives, the yellow color of his eyes briefly flashing orange before settling on a shimmering green. Marx was surprised by this unnatural change, for he had yet to see Meta Knight's eyes change color like that. It honestly surprised him.
His eyes returned to their normal amber hue when he finally spoke.
"You're one of Kirby's friends?" The knight began, his tone calm and collected – it revealed absolutely nothing to anyone who would search for hidden meanings within his words. It was one of the many things that really annoyed Marx about the knight, and his mask only added to this so-called mysticism he kept up. Talk about being paranoid.
"Yep." Was his clipped answer.
"I see." Meta Knight stated. "You would do well not to fight Kirby's battles in the future. That is not a friend's responsibility, but a warrior's."
Marx spared him an incredulous look. "Hey, hey, hey! Who's to say I'm not a warrior?" He began, jumping up and down briefly. "I mean, you just saw me take down Kracko!"
"Indeed I did." Meta Knight nodded. Then he took a step forward, his gloved hand on the hilt of his sword. "For your sake, I hope you stay a friend of Kirby's. That is all."
And with that the blue masked knight spun around and took his leave, his dark cape billowing behind him as he vanished from sight. Marx knew he was able to disappear this quickly due to the guy's teleportation, and he wondered how many knew of that skill here. It seemed like this version of Meta Knight held more secrets than the one he had gotten used to.
Fumu narrowed her eyes even further and placed her hands on her hips.
"Now hold on!" She began while trudging closer, her little brother following close behind – Lololo and Lalala too. "Meta Knight might not seem to care, but I do! Your arrival here is really suspicious! Where did you come from? Who are you? Why did you come here? And why Kirby? Why Pupupu Land? Why now?!" She breathed, having spoken all of that in one go.
"Yeah!" Lalala said.
"You look strange too. I've never seen someone like you before!" Lololo added.
Marx giggled. "Whoa, calm down! Your friend Marx here will answer aaaaall of your questions, because I'm just that nice."
Never mind the fact that he didn't plan on answering any of their persistent questions. Why should he? He held no obligations to them whatsoever. Besides, no one needed to know where he came from, least of all why – that situation was honestly kind of embarrassing too, like how would that conversation even go?
'Hey, hey, hey. I pranked another version of Kirby in an alternative universe, and the result landed me here and now I'm stranded and can't get back. Oh and I also plan on taking over your world, tee hee!'
Yeah right.
"You better." Fumu said.
"Poyo poyo!"
Marx looked at Kirby with a deadpan expression. "Well jeez, thanks Kirby. I'm glad you're on my side."
"Just answer my sis' questions, Marx!" Bun shouted.
The purple jester's eye twitched. He owed these people nothing; absolutely nothing. When he got around to taking over this pathetic version of Popstar, he would make them all his servants, doing his bidding until their arms and legs fell off. Marx giggled again, which only earned him more weird looks.
"Actually, he began, closing his eyes with a smug look on his face. "I don't feel like answering your questions anymore."
Then he began whistling as he turned around and trudged on his merry way.
"Wha- Now hold on just a second-!" He heard Fumu shout as footsteps followed close behind him.
"If you want your questions answered that badly, you'll just have to befriend me to find out, hey, hey!" He said matter of factly, glancing behind himself to watch the girl falter in her steps.
"Hmm…" She eventually said. "Well, I guess I can't just expect you to answer me right away…" Then her eyes gained a determined glint. "But I will get my answers, Marx!"
"Yeah!" Bun shouted, holding up a fist.
Marx summoned a ball and jumped onto it, feeling more comfortable at this level of height. Fumu huffed and turned her head away, her eyes closed in what appeared to be exasperation.
She huffed. "At least you don't seem like a bad guy, or a Demon Beast. I guess I'll back off...for now."
Easy. Way too easy. These people were so very soft – and thus also easier to break. Marx had a feeling this Fumu was wary and cautious by nature, but also open and kindhearted – she probably expected they could become friends, or something equally foolish. Let her have her dreams.
"But how did you defeat that Demon Beast from before? The way you took it down seemed so effortless, while Kirby was having such trouble! Are you a Star Warrior too?"
"In a sense." Marx nodded.
"In a sense…?"
"Yep!"
Fumu stared. Marx stared back, unblinking.
"I won't get any answers from you, will I?"
Marx just smiled.
Fumu sighed. "Just behave and we'll get along fine."
After an awkward silence, Bun added his own comment.
"Hmm...I guess if sis is okay with you, then so am I! Marx, do you play football?"
"Poyo, poyo!" Kirby cheered, apparently wishing to play this 'football' game too.
"Nope!" Marx said. "But if it involves a ball, then I'm game."
"Poyo!"
"Wait!" Fumu exclaimed, stopping the three of them before they could start a round of football.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat. "Allow me to introduce myself first. I'm the Cabinet Minister's daughter, Fumu."
"Oh, right!" Bun said. "And I'm her little brother, Bun!"
"And we're Lololo and Lalala!" The two floating beings said in unison.
Marx kind of forgot those two were still there. They had been so quiet this whole time.
The cosmic jester nodded. "And you all know me as Marx!" He giggled.
Fumu smiled, apparently feeling satisfied with their greetings. She walked over to a nearby tree, and with a sigh she sat down and enjoyed the day, watching as her brother, Marx and Kirby played.
Marx was fine with having a little fun for the time being. He would visit the Library later on, to gain some much needed information.
Right now, though, he had a ball game to conquer.
Marx left the other three children by the time afternoon rolled around, and at the moment he was tap-tapping away on his ball, his next destination the Library. The jester had already memorized the way from his scouting earlier on, so getting there was no problem. It was a good thing too, because Marx did not like wasting any time he could use on either mischief, pranks, beating enemies or making his dream come true.
The Library itself was more of a bookstore, but the place also held a basement filled to the brim with books crammed into rows upon rows of bookshelves– from fiction to non-fiction. One could also find a lot of information and resource material there, selected by Biblio himself. If you had a library card, you could even borrow books to take home with you.
Marx learned all of this from Biblio, whom he was currently speaking to.
"So you're saying I can borrow as many books as I'd like? And study down in the basement too?" The jester asked eagerly, looking up at the Cappy with those huge eyebrows and mustache.
Biblio nodded. "Yes, indeed. As long as you return them in due time, of course. And the basement is free for everyone to use. I must say, it is so very refreshing to see another young person so interested in the written world of literature."
"Yep! I'm totally studious." Marx agreed just for the heck of it. As long as he could get what he wanted, he'd let this man believe whatever he fancied.
"I'm glad to hear that. Stay as long as you'd like and help yourself to the books downstairs. If you want to become a member, I can offer you a library card."
"Maybe later. Thanks!" Marx said, and then hurried past the man and down the stairs.
The basement was relatively large, and several tables and chairs had been set up so one could rest while reading.
Perfect.
Marx went over to the history section and skimmed through the large collection of books.
'The Extensive History of Pupupu Land'. Nah, sounded boring.
'Dyna Blade and Her Awakening'. Psh, no thanks.
'Pupu Village's Origins – A History'. Again, boring.
Marx had no use for this town's trivia and history. His plan was to take over all of Popstar, not just this small place. But then again, knowledge could be useful in certain situations...He eyed the books a second time and shrugged with a foot.
Maybe another time.
It was funny, really, how fast his objective had changed from wanting to return to his own universe, to taking over this new one.
After an extensive search, Marx finally found what he was looking for – more or less. Near the end of the last bookshelf, the purple puffball came across two very special titles.
'Universal Rumors and Secrets' and 'Defenders of the Galaxy'.
'How very interesting.' Marx thought as he picked them up with his mouth, careful not to ruin the books with his teeth or saliva.
Then he started pushing them forward until he arrived at a bean chair and a small coffee table, and he promptly made himself comfortable.
Time to get ahead of the crowd.
Marx spend two whole days down there, pouring over the large tomes like his life depended on it. They turned out not only to be riddled with valuable knowledge, but also extremely fascinating as well. He pretty much lost his sense of time down in that basement, and it was only when his gnawing hunger arose did he realize how much time had passed. No one else had visited the basement while he studied, which Marx preferred anyway, but he wondered what Kirby and the others had been up to while he was gone.
They probably thought Marx had left for good or something. Heh, what a surprise he would give them – in more ways than one.
He eyed the two finished books lying before him.
"A galactic war, huh…?" Marx muttered as he went over what he had learned. "This Nightmare guy sounds like a real pain in the ass, but not unbeatable. If he tries to take over Popstar before I do, then I'll just have to kill him first, easy peasy!"
Marx nodded to himself. "Yep, Marx is gonna kill him, heeheeheehee!"
If someone asked Marx why he did the things he did, Marx would answer that he didn't know. Did he even need a reason when he was naturally inclined to do whatever pleased him? Destruction and suffering just so happened to be among those pleasing things, you see.
Marx was allowed to dream too, after all. So what if his dreams were slightly different from most people? That didn't make him any less normal, just your typical villain. Why should the 'good guys' be the only ones to dream?
It didn't matter, as long as he had fun. Fun and power. Fun and power and complete control.
Okay, so maybe he had no reason at all. Still perfectly valid though.
Yep, Marx was perfectly valid.
"I should probably get something to eat..." He said to himself, realizing how strange his thoughts had become. Then he immediately thought the opposite, telling his own mind that he had every right to think such things.
As he left the Library, the cosmic jester continued to ponder on the contents of those books. He had learned quite a lot from them, and some of the texts told various tales and stories about the ongoing war. Meta Knight was apparently one of the only Star Warriors to survive a direct confrontation with Nightmare's horde of beasts...It was amazing, really, how those Demon Beasts could wipe out an entire galaxy army such as the GSA. Amazing and oh so very pathetic.
Another thing he had gathered was that this Nightmare dude – weird name to choose for yourself – had taken over almost all of the universe by now, which was kind of a bummer.
It was okay, though. Marx would leave him in the dust and laugh in his face with his next brilliant plan. In order for him to execute this newly formed scheme, though, Marx would have to find Nightmare first – and thanks to the contents of the other book, the one titled 'Universal Rumors and Secrets', Marx had a pretty good idea where to start.
He giggled uncontrollably, gaining a few odd looks from the passersby.
"This is so much fun!" He laughed, bouncing up and down as he skipped through town and over to Kirby's house.
Kirby wasn't home, but that bird named Tokkori was. Marx briefly considered blasting him again, but he kind of figured he could use the guy to find his little pink friend.
"Hey, hey, hey." Marx began as he stood before the bird. "Where's Kirby?"
"Shhh!" The bird shushed, his eyes glued to a screen displaying King Dedede stomping on a doll that vaguely resembled Kirby. "Puhahahaha!" The bird laughed.
Marx blinked at the display, but then kicked the bird away from the screen to inspect it more carefully.
"What's this?" He demanded.
Tokkori whimpered as he got up. Then he flew up in the air and circled the jester.
"Hey, knock it off! This is the second time you've hurt me, you- you brute!" So said the bird.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Hmph!" Tokkori looked away from Marx. "Why should someone such as I tell you anything?"
Marx gave him a bright smile. "That's okay, I can always just hurt you again!"
"N-now wait just a second here, you-" Tokkori shrieked when Marx summoned a ball, ducking behind the strange box showing Dedede doing weird things. "Okay, okay already! This is something called a television, provided by King Dedede himself – for free! It broadcasts stuff, as you see, like commercials and movies and stuff. It's pretty funny."
Marx nodded while he watched the screen change to a Dedede commercial.
"And Dedede is using this to brainwash people into hating Kirby?"
"I-what?" Tokkori questioned.
"What?" Marx repeated. "Hey, it's pretty obvious that's what he's doing. Isn't it?"
"N-not like I care or anything." The bird huffed. "What are you even doing in my house?"
Marx had almost forgotten, getting distracted like that. "Oh, right! I'm looking for Kirby. Have you seen him?"
"No, I haven't seen Pinky. Go look somewhere else, will you?"
"Sure, okay." Marx said, walking out of the door now that the bird was useless again.
The sun was slowly setting and the moon was getting ready to take up the mantle for the night. The stars shone brightly, almost invitingly, and the peace and quiet went undisturbed. Marx realized almost no one roamed the streets, and when he looked into some of the villagers' windows, all he saw was people watching this television thing that had apparently become a huge trend while he was away.
Still no sign of Kirby though.
Not even twenty minutes later where he still couldn't find Kirby, a whole horde of villagers came rushing after a distraught little puffball, his friend running for his dear life as the angry people drove him out of their village with…
Pitchforks and torches? Really?
Marx summoned his wings and flew after them. Then he swooped up his startled friend and brought him along for the ride, heading towards the tyrant king's castle.
"Marx poyo?" Kirby questioned from atop Marx's head.
"Hey Kirby, ready to put a stop to whatever this is? I've got some business with Dedede anyway, so I was heading to his castle myself."
"Poyo?"
"No, I will not pick up Fumu and Bun on the way."
"Poyo poyo!"
"Whoops, we're already here!" Marx giggled. "Too late."
Kirby began chatting excitedly as the two of them navigated through the castle in search of Dedede, having to avoid the detection of several Waddle Dees along the way.
"Poyo poyo, poyo poyo poyo!" Kirby said.
"Hey, hey. You went on a picnic without me? Oh, hehe, that reminds me!" He turned to his friend once they stopped around a corner. "Kirby, remind me to eat something after this, okay? Thanks!"
"Poyo!" Kirby nodded, and then patted his own stomach.
"Yep, I'm famished too." Marx agreed.
After turning several other corners – the purple jester's frustration rising for each second they spent looking – Meta Knight suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere. He walked briskly over to them, nodding at Kirby – who was greeting the knight with happiness – and then turned his gaze to Marx.
"Fumu told me she saw you carry Kirby here. It appears she was right." He said. "I have relieved the Waddle Dees of their duty, so should you head down to the basement, you might find what you are looking for."
Then Meta Knight left again, like he was just a passing breeze carrying a message.
"Great! Let's go, Kirby!" Marx cheered.
Exposing King Dedede and his goon – who he found out was named Escargoon – was beyond easy. Sure, they got trapped behind bars at one point, but Marx quickly cut through them with his four sharp crescent blades. Kirby helped too by inhaling most of the equipment and burying the king and his goon underneath the rubble.
Fumu and Bun had joined them as well, and the rest was history.
Just as they were about to leave, Marx turned around to relay a message to the downed king.
"Hey, hey, hey! Dedede, tell this Nightmare guy I said hi!" Marx giggled.
This would do. Getting Nightmare's attention would be the first step to his plan. The rest would come in small bite sizes. Yep, one step at a time.
It would be perfect.