"Hey, hey, hey!" Marx exclaimed.

Magolor drifted out of the black hole that opened on the Lor's interior just fine, but Marx went ungracefully flopping on the pristine white floor after being yanked in. The jester's flippant expression reflected off the floor for its glossy sheen, as did that of the magician's unfazed but certainly less-than-amused face. Their surroundings could certainly be called extravagant, for everything was crisp and ornate. A fancy indigo rug with gold tassels and white geometric patterns took up in the middle of the room, and the walls were decorated with classy paintings of what looked like ancient heroes and fanciful galactic landscapes. A bed much too big for Magolor alone (but one he most certainly enjoyed having all to himself) was situated against the middle of one wall, upon which was a thick indigo comforter and multiple stark white pillows with gold ruffles, and over the headboard was a showy touch if ever there was one- a framed painting of the ship's pilot himself. Next to the bed was a glossy white mini fridge upon which sat a gold lamp, and on the other side of the room was a pair of gold nesting tables with two white tulip chairs. A few smallish bookshelves stood against the walls, full of thick tomes and grimoires that likely few people could read.

Shortly, Marx's eyes were narrowing on his company as he demanded, "What's the big idea, huh?! We're buddies and you've been acting like you're pissed off! Did someone put dirt in your cereal this morning or something?!"

"First of all, no, and I didn't even eat cereal this morning," Magolor replied, floating towards the mini fridge. "Second of all… Oh, where do I even start?" He shook his head haplessly and opened the fridge door, where quite a few bottles, some more fanciful than others, lined the shelves. "What are you in the mood for? I just stocked up not long ago."

Marx skittered over, quickly eyeing the bottles with a big grin on his face. "You sure do like to live a luxurious life, don't you?" he jested. "I can't read any of these fancy otherworldly labels! What's the closest you've got to something sweet and fizzy that tastes like berries?"

The magician reached in and grabbed two bottles, one made of brown frosted glass with a shiny red and gold foil label, and the other of simple clear glass with a magenta liquid inside. "Soda made from shrieking berries grown only around acidic hot springs about seven dimensional hops away from here. It's pretty good- you can taste the sugar and the danger."

"Ohoho!" Marx laughed, his eyes glinting.

Magolor floated over to the nesting tables and twisted the caps of the bottles off, Marx's bottle giving a loud hiss as he did so. "Let's just… start from the beginning, shall we?" he mused, setting the magenta bottle on the table opposite him and getting situated in one tulip chair. "It's been a while."

"It sure has!" Marx exclaimed, jumping up into the other chair. "I haven't seen you since you dropped me on Planet Floria! Man, it was such good luck having you drift by to pick me up after the whole Nova incident, ohoho~!"

"Well, it was good luck I was passing through," Magolor mused, taking a sip from his bottle. "Hearing all about your encounter with Nova and what happened with Kirby was… really useful at the time."

Marx shook his head, getting a shifty expression. "You know, I couldn't say it earlier with the others around, but yes, I was trying to summon Nova again," he said with a smirk. "Maybe it'll put itself back together or something, maybe I'll have to sucker someone else into putting it back together, but I'll figure something out! The first wish I got didn't go over so well because of Kirby, so I needed a redo! And I was getting close until this whole homicidal-dragon-invasion-thing started!"

"I knew it," Magolor mused simply, taking another sip. "Even after getting launched into Nova and getting blown up along with it, you're still trying to gain ultimate power?"

"Well, yeah!" Marx replied easily before sticking his tongue out, grabbing the soda bottle with it, and pouring some into his mouth. He set it down again, giggling a bit as he said, "I'm pausing it for now- these dragons need to go. But afterwards?! I'm gonna cause all the mischief I want! Ohohoho~!"

Magolor studied him for a moment, taking another sip. "Well, there's something fun about mischief," he remarked, his eyes drifting around without ever actually looking his company in the eye.

More giggling came from the jester. "You get it," he said simply before his eyes got a little more intent and stared directly at the magician. He poured some more soda into his mouth before asking, "What happened to you, huh? You've got a fancy new ship, you're adventuring with Kirby, and you're acting like we're not friends." His eyes narrowed slightly. "What's up with that?"

The magician took another, much longer sip, before setting the bottle on the table and returning the gaze. "Marx, we're friends. You were damn good company and seeing a crazy jester split himself in half is fun and all, but…" He let out a heavy sigh, his ears and his head drooping. "Look. I was after ultimate power too, and I got it."

At that, Marx perked up, jumping on the table with his eyes bulging out of his head even more than they already did. "You did?!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Show me, show me, show me-!"

Magolor, however, had other ideas. "It's not like that!" he swiftly cut him off, his eyes turning unamused. "Marx, I made a mistake."

And just as quick, the jester deflated, slumping back into his chair. "A mistake?" he asked incredulously before drinking more soda.

"A mistake," Magolor affirmed, easing up. "This ship, the Lor Starcutter… I stole it, along with an object known as the Master Crown, the source of unlimited power. I didn't tell anyone what I was really after, but I had the bright idea to get Kirby's help after hearing about your escapades. And it worked- I couldn't defeat Landia, the crown's guardian, even using the Lor, but Kirby could, so I swooped in and stole the crown when the opportunity arose."

Marx's eyes started to twinkle mischievously again and he voiced, "Oho~?"

Magolor, however, haplessly shook his head, taking another long sip. "It was a mistake, Marx. I almost lost my soul to the crown and became its puppet. I'm glad Kirby defeated me when he did, otherwise the entire universe would probably be a dusty, desolate mess like Halcandra. Ultimate power is cool, but to actually have it isn't worth the price."

The jester studied him, still grinning with a mix of incredulity and uncertainty on his face as if not entirely sure of the words being spoken to him. "So it… didn't go like you planned," he said awkwardly, one eye narrowing.

"No," Magolor easily replied. "The same ancients that made the Master Crown also made Nova. It wasn't as simple as just putting on a crown and ruling the universe for me, and honestly, I doubt it'll be as easy as making another wish if you actually go through with what you're trying to do. It's not worth it, Marx."

Marx's bulging eyes studied him a little more, but after a moment, he replied, "Sounds like I just need to try harder than you.~"

At that, it was Magolor's turn to not be so well-behaved. "Oh, seriously, Marx?!" he exclaimed, slamming his bottle down and his eyes narrowing. "That's how you take it?! You little-!"

The jester, however, burst into laughter. "Ohoho, I got you good~!" he chirped happily. "You should see the look on your face!"

A few more giggles followed, to which Magolor studied the jester incredulously for a moment before easing up and slumping back in his chair. Marx appeared perfectly content, dumping the rest of the soda into his mouth before pulling the bottle into his mouth with his tongue, glass and everything, and chewing it up with the distinct sound of glass breaking and grinding. The magician wasn't quite sure what to make of him- not because he was eating glass without flinching or even because of a tiny red trail of blood trickling out of Marx's mouth, but because he seemed completely unfazed by anything that had been said. Maybe that was to be expected… but it was still a bit concerning.

"You know I was messing with you," the jester chuckled, grinning.

Magolor sighed, haplessly easing up. "You always do…~"

"I guess that is kinda rough," Marx acknowledged, wiggling his feet as he leaned against the back of the chair. "But still- losing your soul? Only works if you got a soul to lose.~" He gave a playful wink, giggling some more. "We both know I don't.~"

The magician couldn't help but to giggle a bit himself, taking another sip. "You snarky little bastard," he remarked. "Do you believe me, then? Marx, you're my friend, and friends tell friends when they're being stupid."

"Oh, I believe your story," Marx easily replied, smirking a bit. "But I'm not giving up.~ If Nova turns me into a zombie or something, you can be a friend and kick my ass."

Magolor sighed, but nonetheless relented and chuckled haplessly himself. "Well, I just might have to do that," he replied before finishing off his bottle. "But if you're here to keep us company and help us out… I'm glad to have a crazy little bastard like you around.~"

The jester cackled happily, kicking his feet and smirking. "Ohoho, Magolor, I have missed you.~"

. . . . .

On the beach, though, four figures took up on the water's edge, belonging to Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Nem, the Buccies fanning them all with palm leaves (but giving unenthused expressions whenever anyone but the king looked them in the eye). The stars glittering over the ocean's waves and the moonlight reflecting on the water's surface made for a lovely sight, and enjoying it was fairly easy. The damp sand was soft to the touch, and feeling the water on their feet whenever the waves came closer was pleasantly cool. Though the starscape would undoubtedly change, the pink puffball and the bandana-wearing one had no trouble finding shapes in the ways the stars arranged themselves, pointing them out with gusto.

"Those ones look like a fishing rod with a Blipper!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed, pointing at the sky as the stars glittered overhead.

"Oooh, which ones?" Kirby inquired, nestling close and following his friend's hand with his eyes as best he could.

Bandana Waddle Dee pointed some more, standing on his tiptoes as if he could somehow reach the celestial bodies. "Right there! You see that bright yellowish-looking one? Look down a little, and the smaller one under it starts the fishing line!"

The pink puffball's eyes lit up. "Oh! I can see it now!"

"Hey, you're right!" King Dedede said with a grin, squinting a little. "I can see that!"

Nem too squinted, her intact eye narrowing on the sky. "Gyah? You see a fish on a line? I would've called that an eye with something stuck in it…"

Kirby and his bandana-wearing friend shared a glance, while King Dedede gave her an odd look.

"Well, that's one way of looking at it," the pink puffball acknowledged simply.

"You worry me sometimes, Nem," the king remarked.

"Shut up," the robot said, albeit grabbing the brim of her hat as the words left her mouth. It likely wasn't a statement directed at the king, but it nonetheless garnered some odd glances.

Kirby, though, took his turn pointing up at the sky, piping up, "You guys see that small reddish one? If you follow it to the purplish one next to it, then the yellowish one a little underneath it, then that longer string of white ones that wrap around with a bluish one in the middle… it kinda looks like a cake!"

"Yeah!" Bandana Waddle Dee agreed, bouncing a bit and pointing. "And that big orange one can be a candle!"

"I wonder what a cake made of stars would taste like," the pink one mused, happily pensive.

"Must be out-of-this-world," King Dedede added contentedly.

"Probably tastes like fire and death," Nem remarked. "I'd eat it."

… More odd looks followed, but looks of surprise graced everyone's face when the ground in their midst was suddenly coated by a purple mist, followed by a black hole opening that a certain jester with a beach ball sprang out of as it closed. Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee, and King Dedede jumped back in surprise, but Nem grabbed her axe, not budging at all as the quartet gained another member.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Marx greeted, bouncing on his ball as it landed in the sand. "Whatcha doin'~? Stargazing, huh~?" He looked to Nem, still grinning, but said, "Put that axe away! Sheesh, can't a guy drop in on some buddies without getting an axe in his face~?!"

Nem relented, stowing the axe on her back again with a smirk. "It's a perfect greeting for a freaky little bast- scoundrel- like you.~"

Marx grinned some more. "Ohoho!"

"What're you doin'?" King Dedede, though, inquired amiably but pointedly of their purple company. "Weren't you with Magolor?"

The jester giggled. "You act like you're not happy to see me!"

The king didn't respond.

"We're stargazing," Kirby cut in simply. "Marx, you wanna join us?"

"Yeah!" Marx easily replied, jumping off of his ball and perching in the sand. "Maybe we'll see a big one passing through!"

Bandana Waddle Dee and King Dedede had an idea of what he referred to- Nova- but Kirby didn't think too much of it. The pink puffball perched, Bandana Waddle Dee on one side and Marx on the other, Nem next to Marx and King Dedede next to the bandana-wearing one. Marx kicked his feet happily as though he were just incapable of sitting still, and the others were rather serene.

"Those stars look kinda like a whale!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed, pointing up at the sky again. "You guys see that cluster with a bluish one in the center? That's water coming out of its blowhole, and if you look down, there's a yellowish one that connects to a reddish one, and some white ones that make a triangle. Those kinda look like a snout, and if you look to the east-"

"It looks like a puppy that's missing its back legs and has to drag itself around everywhere," Marx cut him off, grinning mischievously.

Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee both gasped in horror at the idea while King Dedede shot him a pointed look. Nem clapped one hand over her mouth, her expression contorting between a grin and a flustered look.

"Marx!" Kirby exclaimed with wide eyes. "That's horrible!"

"What is wrong with you?!" King Dedede cried in exasperation.

"How sad…!" Bandana Waddle Dee's voice trailed off.

Nem, though, looked down at the ground, saying with stifled words, "Th-that's not f-funny…~"

The jester, though, kept right on with a big grin. "Oh, don't worry! He's a trooper! Maybe it takes him an hour to crawl up the stairs, but just you wait! He's gonna invent the triple decker ice cream sandwich when he grows up!" His grin spread. "At least, if he doesn't fall in a hole he can't get himself out of first! Ohohohoho~!"

Kirby frowned and looked at the ground with distressed eyes, and Bandana Waddle Dee gave him a hug, getting misty-eyed himself. King Dedede practically stared holes in the jester, one of his arms reaching out to comfort the smaller figures too, but Nem, on the other hand, had a much different reaction and bust out laughing.

"Gyahahahaha!" she cackled, slapping the ground with one hand. "Marx, that is fucked up! Hell, you could-!"

"Hey!" King Dedede hollered, staring daggers at her too.

The robot clapped her hand over her mouth again, trying in vain to stifle her laughter with her whole body shaking as she tried to hold it in.

"Don't worry, Kirby!" the bandana-wearing one exclaimed, pointing up at the sky again. "You see that big yellow one?! That's-!"

Their attention was caught by a streak lighting up the sky, something traveling through the heavens and leaving a burning orange tail behind it. Across the horizon it flew, getting brighter for a moment before starting to flicker.

"Oooh! A meteor!" Kirby cried, perking up.

"Pretty!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed.

King Dedede grinned, giving the smaller figures a pat. "Alright, make a wish!"

At the mention, though, Nem's expression immediately turned from content to dismayed, her mouth going from a smile to a frown in a single moment. "NO!" she cried, lurching up and sliding in front of them where they couldn't see the bright trail on the horizon. "Don't do it!"

Her company looked at her with puzzled expressions, the jester in particular seeming amused at her sudden shift in mannerisms. With daylight gone, it was easy to see the sparks dancing in her empty socket, and they certainly were noticeable for her oddly worked up state.

"What's up with you, huh?" Marx teased, studying her incredulously.

"What's wrong with wishing on a star?" Bandana Waddle Dee asked, not sure what to make of her.

"You okay?" King Dedede inquired, studying her.

"You look worried," Kirby noted softly.

The armored lass didn't hesitate to answer, her hands tensing up as if she were about to strangle someone. "You don't know who or what you're wishing to," she said intently, her eyes staring holes through them. "You don't know anything about their motives or what they want out of you. That's-" she pointed up at the sky for a second, "-how they lure you in, with something pretty that can give you whatever you want just because you asked, but it's never really like that when you get to the fine print no one bothers to read because they're too distracted by the sparkles."

The ones she addressed couldn't help but to be taken aback. Her voice was aggressive and forceful as though she were yelling at her hat again, but she wasn't swearing like she did at her hat. It didn't even seem like she was talking about stars- her words were more befitting of a shady moneylender, a dishonest politician, or someone selling magic beans on the playground. Maybe she was, yet again, attributing things to inanimate objects that just didn't make sense.

She shook her head, her hands tightening up more as she turned to look at the horizon herself, as if she were talking to someone in the distance no one could see. "The powers-that-be drift around in space or wherever the hell it is they like to hide, watching us and playing with us like we're toys," she kept on, voice noticeably more aggressive. "You really think they'd just give you whatever you want because you asked, when they're up there laughing at us or cursing us, sometimes both at the same time?" Her fists clenched with an audible clanking sound. "Not a chance. Don't ask them for anything, or you'll play right into being one of their playthings. Wishing on a star is a terrible idea."

When she got it out of her system, she eased up just as quick as she'd tensed up and plopped back down, growling under her breath and reaching up to adjust her hat. Marx looked puzzled, albeit more amused than anything, snickering under his breath. Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee couldn't help their bewilderment, studying her without saying anything while taking in her oddly hostile words about something so unproblematic. Somehow, this seemed different than her rantings at her hat- she wasn't just ranting and throwing out horrible names. Her words had reason, strange reason though it may have been, behind them.

Marx was the first to speak up. "You know, Nem, I wished on a star, got what I wanted, and turned out fine," he remarked without a care.

"That's debatable," Bandana Waddle Dee said under his breath, eyeing the jester unamusedly.

Nem, however, lurched up all over again, looking at the jester like he'd grown three heads. "You WHAT?!" she exclaimed, reaching her hands out as if she were going to grab him but stopping just short.

"Nem!" Kirby exclaimed, jumping up and giving the robot a nudge. "Hey, Nem!"

"Easy there!" King Dedede too tried to calm her, watching her as if she might start swinging her axe.

"Yeah!" Marx, though, affirmed with a big grin. "I wanted to rule the planet, and I got the power to do it! I'm doing juuuuuust fine, ohoho~!"

"You don't rule Popstar," Bandana Waddle Dee remarked, mostly to himself.

"You don't even rule Dream Land," King Dedede likewise said under his breath. "Nor will you."

Yet again, Nem seemed to have another strong reaction. Her eyes shot wide and her hands tensed up as she studied the jester, albeit freezing up as still as a statue once she did so. "Gyah…?" she said, her voice oddly soft. "You really did…?"

"Sure did!" Marx affirmed with a nod.

Nem was silent. Her mouth hung open, but no words escaped her. Sparks danced in her empty socket, and something shimmering coalesced around the lower edge of it- a single golden tear that dripped down her face, then along the golden edge of where her armor touched her body, down the black metal plate over her midsection, and onto the ground. A single golden drop had escaped her empty socket before when she'd become flustered at Kirby swallowing her axe in the forest, and maybe robots did indeed cry metallic tears, but without Whispy Woods or dragon hatchlings around to command their focus, it was much easier to see just how odd her tear behaved. When it hit the ground, it appeared to grow, for the golden splash the droplet left was noticeably bigger than it should've been… but it didn't linger. Moments later, the splash was pulling back in on itself, condensing back into a small droplet, and dissipating altogether like water turning to steam.

"Nem?" Kirby asked, nudging her again. "Nem, are you okay?"

"You must not have gotten your wish…" Bandana Waddle Dee's voice trailed off.

At that, Nem snapped out of her bizarre trance, her countenance quickly turning to an awkward smile and her hands ceasing to be so tense. "So that's how it is here," she mused awkwardly, reaching up and grabbing the brim of her hat. She broke into a grin again, laughing, "Gyahahahaha, never mind~!" before getting a less jovial voice and snapping at the object on her head, "You don't have to remind me, bitch-ass pile of-!"

"Hey!" Kirby cut in, giving her a harder nudge.

"Oh, keep going," Marx snickered, watching her mischievously.

Wordlessly, the king smacked Marx upside his head, getting a mischievous but fiery gaze back for a moment, but the jester nonetheless shut up for the time being.

After one last hiss of wrath, Nem calmed down, plopping down again and saying simply, "Well, if you guys wish on a star and that star starts wishing back, just tell it to fuck off- er, go away. Those filthy little degenerates will try anything."

Bandana Waddle Dee studied her, still not quite sure what to make of her words. "Are they like your hat…?" he asked haplessly.

"Oh, yeah," Nem answered with ease, reaching up to adjust the object on her head. "Exactly like my hat."

Kirby, though, had other thoughts, piping up, "What's a degenerate…?"

"Me, Kirby, me," Marx answered without missing a beat.

Nem, though, broke into laughter. "Gyahaha! A degenerate that's honest! I love it, gyahahahaha~!"

King Dedede merely rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.

Bandana Waddle Dee, though, leaned closer and said softly to the pink puffball, "That means someone who likes doing bad things."

"Oh," Kirby acknowledged, nodding. He thought for a second. "Well, he's not doing bad things right now, so is he still a degenerate?"

Bandana Waddle Dee too had to think, getting a pensive expression. "You know… I never thought about that."

Either way, Nem and Marx went back to making dubious constellations in the stars above moments thereafter, Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee joined back in, and King Dedede kept an amiable but watchful eye on the questionably-behaving ones. The lot of them watched the celestial bodies twinkle, the eventual meteor showers painting the sky with colorful burning streaks.

. . . . .

As the stars were twinkling overhead, lights and lasers were twinkling in Digi's study as he ran analyses on the collected meteorite fragments. A mechanical arm reached out from his UFO to tap keyboards as data and strings of numbers and symbols danced across his screens, some devices scanning or tapping the golden shells or their rocky insides, but the smallest Squeak himself didn't interfere with them too often. No, his main focus was a pile of bolts and metal sheets laying on one of the platforms, some mechanical arms bending them into shapes while other devices with sharp spinning blades cut them down to size or another device holding a soldering iron stuck them together. It was certainly a busy room, but the smallest Squeak didn't mind- the sounds of metal cutting or Spinni throwing a fit upstairs because he couldn't win a game of checkers was drowned out by music in his headphones. He hummed and his UFO bobbed around to the beat as he watched his mechanisms go, a smile on his face all the while… at least, until something caught his attention.

"Hum, hum, hmmmm…~ Hm-hm hmmm-!" A tapping sound on the back of his UFO's dome made him give a jolt, the smallest Squeak whirling around while shouting, "Unknown presence detected! Initiating extermination-… Oh."

A certain robe-wearing magician giggled as he turned around, waving amiably and greeting, "Hi, Digi~!"

The music in Digi's headphones stopped, and he eased up. "The far-flung magician has appeared in my study unannounced and unauthorized without activating the security systems that would otherwise fire lasers at a speed of fifteen beams per second with heat as intense as five hundred degrees Kelvin," he noted. "Nice to see you, Magolor."

Magolor chuckled some more. "I guess my black holes are good for getting around security," he said with a laugh. "What are you up to?"

"Well," Digi said, turning back to his metal-cutting and metal-melting mechanisms, "To tell you the truth… This airship is in need of some combat-oriented upgrades, and at the moment I'm trying to capture the picture I have in my head with a reasonable degree of accuracy and precision. I was thinking that perhaps a mobile assault unit would be the ideal solution- something small, adaptable, and maneuverable… kinda like my UFO, but super deadly." He turned to look at one corner of his room, where a sheet was draped over a large object. "And then there's this," he said, floating over to it. "It has a high degree of qualitative potential! I just… am having trouble getting a mental picture in the first place, never mind executing that vision with a reasonable degree of accuracy and precision." A grabber device came out of the outer shell of his UFO, grabbed the sheet, and pulled it off to reveal the golden crustacean-like body of Heavy Lobster. He turned back to Magolor. "I need inspiration."

At seeing it, the magician's eyes went wide, and instantly he was zipping over to check it out. "Wow!" he cried, reaching out and touching one of its claws. "This isn't ancient tech, but it's still pretty cool! Did you make it?"

"I salvaged it," the smallest Squeak explained. "I came across the wreckage of a sky- and space-faring vessel that was doomed to be swallowed by the ocean's depths and inevitably lose its luster to tarnish and rust on account of its metallic properties. It was much to valuable to let it be reclaimed by the forces of nature. Or, put simply… Meta Knight crashed his ship into the ocean one time and I looted the good stuff."

Magolor nodded, albeit eyeing Digi in his periphery for a moment at the mention of 'looting.' "I see," he said, floating around it and studying it. "And I see what you mean by potential… This thing seems like a beast! What can it do currently?"

"Its claws are equipped with flamethrowers and mechanisms to drop miniature, less complex versions of itself, and it does have a rocket thrusters on its back end for fast propulsion," Digi noted, looking the heavy machine over. "Aside from that, it's really only good for crashing into things and battering targets with its claws." His UFO zipped around for a second, quickly darting around the giant mechanical figure. "And none of that is bad, I just… want some flair, you know?"

Magolor nodded again, looking the smallest Squeak directly in his eyes (or at least, where they would've been under his eyepiece). "Oh, I get it," he affirmed easily. "Flamethrowers are cool, but you know what's cooler than that?"

Digi perked up. "What?"

The magician darted closer, right up to the dome on Digi's UFO. "Plasma cannons!" he exclaimed, grabbing the sides of the travel mechanism. "Plasma cannons and bombs! And some lasers for good measure!"

The smallest Squeak grinned. "… I like where this is going," he said excitedly.

Magolor giggled, turning loose of the UFO. "And by the sounds of it, it's not as maneuverable as it could be. There's a time and a place for big, hulking robots lumbering around, but something sturdy and quick is where it's at, no?"

Digi nodded, grinning some more. "Force is mass times acceleration, after all! There's no use in generating a large amount of force if the target of that force is unable to be reached!"

More giggling followed. "See, we've got something going! Maybe we should-!"

At that moment, though, the door to the study opened, which caught the attention of the magician but not so much Digi. The figure of Daroach met their eyes, the Triple Star cane held in one hand as though he intended to use it, but the head Squeak too paused on seeing Digi and Magolor apparently perfectly content.

"Hey, Daroach!" the magician greeted, giving a friendly wave.

The head Squeak studied him for a second, eyes narrowing slightly as he nonetheless lowered his cane. "… Hello there," he said simply. "I heard another voice that didn't belong to a Squeak or Meta Knight coming from this room, and I was concerned we had an intruder with the shouting going on." He seemed to ease up, getting a much friendlier look than a scrutinizing one as he stowed his cane away. "But it's only you."

"Only me," Magolor amiably affirmed.

"If it had been hostile company, I would have activated the lasers," Digi noted. "It's an oversight I'll need to patch seeing as people that casually rip holes in space to travel around with are such a rare occurrence that their percentage in the population has several zeros behind the decimal point and another zero in front. He totally bypassed the shields."

"So he did," Daroach acknowledged suavely, still studying Magolor. "I was actually wondering about those black holes… Magolor, might I steal some of your time?"

"Oh, sure!" Magolor agreed easily. He turned to Digi. "We can yak it up about mechs later, okay? Let's give this thing some upgrades together!"

"Sounds good!" Digi agreed with a nod. "Don't you forget!"

Daroach turned and strode out with his cloak wavering behind him, and Magolor darted out right as the door closed again, leaving Digi by himself amongst the machines again. Back to messing with sheets of metal and scary-looking mechanisms he went.

"Deception from the boss detected," he mused to himself, zipping over to a keyboard and a mechanical arm tapping a few buttons. The display changed to camera footage in the hallway, where Daroach and Magolor could be seen walking and floating along. "Potential for a fight to break out at approximately forty percent…"

On the other side of the door, though, Daroach seemed as fine as any other day, wearing a smile as he strode towards the front of the airship. "It certainly must be nice to be able to transport the meteorite shells to a safe place at a moment's notice," he mused nonchalantly.

Magolor giggled. "Well, it's useful! If their inner surfaces got scratched up while we were in the midst of a battle or something, it'd be hard to read them!"

"It would decrease their value as well," the head Squeak added. "I certainly noticed you making liberal use of them- treasure falling out of the sky is a wonderful thing."

"Well, there's some treasures I wouldn't be happy to see fall out of the sky," Magolor replied nonchalantly. "Mostly my ship, but some of those ancient treasures can really get out of hand…"

Daroach chuckled. "A flying ship falling out of the sky would be troublesome indeed," he concurred.

"But what's up, Daroach?" the robed one inquired, glancing to the one in red beside him. "Do you need a black hole for something?"

At that, the head Squeak quickly turned to face him, busting his magic wand out of his cloak and borderline jabbing it straight into Magolor's belly. Magolor was certainly taken aback, one hand grabbing the wand while the other had the beginnings of a magic sphere forming in it. Daroach still smiled, but the way his eyes narrowed said that he wasn't in a friendly mood despite the suave, warm tone of his voice that followed.

"… It was you, wasn't it~?" the head Squeak asked.

It was Magolor's turn to study him. "What was me?" he asked, more flat than he had been moments prior.

"The Buccies.~ The Buccies that King Dedede has running around for him appeared in this airship without tripping the security systems, and I had to swing my cane to get them to stop looting it. You just appeared in this airship without tripping the security systems."

The robed one giggled a bit. "They were trying to loot your airship~?"

Daroach jabbed the wand harder, to which Magolor vanished entirely. The head Squeak perked up, his eyes darting around but not seeing the other magician anywhere visible. "Where did you-!" he started to shout.

"Wow, you're pretty upset, huh?"

The red-clad one whirled around to see Magolor behind him, albeit keeping some distance and aiming a magic sphere that he held back but was certainly ready to fire. The head Squeak too pointed his magic wand at the robed one, practically staring holes through him.

"You cunning little fiend," Daroach said pointedly. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"I guess so," Magolor said indifferently. "They were causing us trouble, so I sent them to the first place I could think of that would make it hard for them to reach us again."

Daroach's eyes narrowed some more. "Why my ship?!" he demanded. "Why not yours?!"

"Because mine is special!" Magolor shot back. "I can't just drop those little sword-swinging weirdos in it! It'll never talk to me if I treat it like that!"

'Special.' As if an airship full of gemstones, precious metals, marble carvings, ancient armor, a myriad of other valuable objects, and the meteorites themselves wasn't special. Maybe the Lor itself was a treasure, a treasure with a mind of its own… but the airship was full of treasure. It was like throwing rubbish on someone else's lawn to not take out one's own trash can.

The logic and the audacity was baffling, and Daroach couldn't help but to laugh at how ridiculous it was. "Does no one love you, Magolor~?" he taunted, laughing. "Are you lavishing your attention on a ship because that's the best you can do~?"

Magolor's eyes narrowed. "Oh, now, that's just-!" the robed one fussed, shooting the magic sphere off.

Daroach parried it with his wand, getting a bigger grin. "Would you care to duel~? A hallway isn't conducive- we should take this outside.~"

"Not a fucking problem!"

A black hole opened behind Daroach, and Magolor practically tackled him into it.

. . . . .

Maybe finding shapes in the stars had gone by the wayside when the meteor showers started in, but Kirby and the bunch on the beach were certainly content to watch them and the fleeting but pretty glowing trails they left behind. Maybe they were indeed dragon eggs flying off to find their next set of targets… but at least they were enjoyable to watch before that happened. Bright trails of orange, red, blue, and yellow lit up the starscape, and to most of the figures watching, it was mesmerizing even if foreboding.

"I bet you could grill a mean steak on those trails," King Dedede remarked as two yellow and red trails flew by on the horizon.

"A steak cooked by the stars!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed, giving a happy clap. "No such finer dining exists!"

"That sounds really good…~" Kirby's voice happily trailed off as his eyes sparkled.

"I'd eat a million of those," Marx said with a smirk.

"Not if I eat them first!" Kirby playfully shot back, casting the jester a glance.

"Just settle it with a fight," Nem mused with a smirk, giving them a quizzical look.

"Yeah!" Marx concurred, getting an even bigger smirk.

"No!" Bandana Waddle Dee and King Dedede simultaneously exclaimed, not looking thrilled at the idea in the slightest.

Marx giggled. "Oh, come on! We could-!"

"Try harder, knave!"

"Prepare to beg for mercy!"

Several more streaks of light lit up the sky, all coming from behind the ones perched in the sand, and judging by the shouting voices accompanying, those streaks weren't supposed to be pretty. All five of them whirled around to see two more figures clearly kicking up a fuss- Magolor and Daroach falling out of a black hole, a set of sinister purple needles springing up from the sand as the robed one seemingly tackled the red-clad one into them… or at least, tried to. A bash from the Triple Star cane flung Magolor off and Daroach floated over the needles before they dissipated, swinging his cane with reckless abandon. Starry projectiles and balls of energy fizzled out against each other, Magolor putting up a magic barrier to fend off what he couldn't counter and Daroach parrying the magic spheres with his cane.

Kirby's face fell. "You guys!" he hollered.

Nem immediately perked up. "Ooh, mage fight, mage fight, mage fight!" she exclaimed, pumping her fists in the air. "Hell yes! Kick his ass!"

"There's two dudes over there," Marx piped up, playfully kicking Nem's side. "Who are you cheering for?"

The robot laughed, looking at him with amusement. "Who cares~?!" she easily replied.

The jester too laughed. "You're right!" he concurred before turning back to the fighting ones. "Kick his ass!"

Bandana Waddle Dee shook his head, glancing between the ones egging it on and the two fighting. "Not good…" his voice trailed off. "Kirby, we should-!"

"I need to grab a Copy Ability!"

The pink puffball, however, was darting off through the sand, scurrying towards the Lor as fast as his feet could carry him. Whatever Bandana Waddle Dee was going to say was a moot point, thus he turned to King Dedede, but the king too was darting off… towards Magolor and Daroach, hammer held over his head for smashing.

"Go to hell!" Magolor hollered, charging up an attack for a moment.

"That's where you belong, you devil!" Daroach hollered back, reaching into his cloak with his free hand and pulling out his magic wand.

The head Squeak fired a beam of ice, but Magolor's sphere turned more into a ball of flame that completely nullified it. King Dedede took a leap at them shortly, swinging his hammer and intending to slam them both… but as Daroach swung his cane, Magolor flew off towards the water while sending a barrage of magic spheres, and the head Squeak certainly wasn't going to let him get away.

"You two little-…!" King Dedede exclaimed, going sprawling on his belly in the sand.

"Get back here!" Daroach shouted, swinging his cane and giving chase.

"You're the one issuing the challenge and you can't even keep up!" Magolor taunted, a small black hole opening that he reached into. "Here, you like shiny things?! Catch!"

Daroach paused for a second as the robed one pulled out a sparkling red object with a faceted surface like a diamond and lobbed it his way- a Gem Apple. Immediately the head Squeak's face lit up and he stowed his cane away, reaching out to catch it with his free hand. Maybe it was a roundabout way of making amends- those beautiful shining fruits were valuable, after all…

BOOM!

"Aaahhhh!"

Maybe the fruit exploding could be classified as "sparkly" too for the way the embers wavered in the sky before dissipating, but it certainly wasn't anything Daroach wanted to see. Magolor burst out laughing, clearly amused at his target's misfortune, and Nem and Marx whooped and hollered.

Bandana Waddle Dee drooped, not thrilled at all with the goings-on. "You guys…" his voice trailed off as his eyes bounced between everyone.

However, Magolor was quickly flying further out over the water and dodging when Daroach was on the move again, starry projectiles filling the air as his target swung his cane. The robed one was still laughing, putting up a magic barrier that cracked under the barrage but nonetheless kept him safe. "Heeheehee, did I accidentally throw a shiny bomb instead~?" he taunted flippantly. "My mistake.~ Here, maybe these are the real ones!"

"You scheming little wretch…!" Daroach breathed in exasperation, grabbing his wand in his other hand again.

A flurry of apple-shaped bombs filled the air as Magolor tossed them one after another, giggling and laughing all the while. Daroach wasn't going to be fooled again and pointed his wand at the other magician, an even bigger beam of ice following from it that froze the Gem Apple bombs solid before they could detonate. With a splash, each one fell into the water, and Daroach watched the water to see if the figure of Magolor himself also went plopping into the sea. However, some chunks of ice seemed to float in the air when they too should've been falling into the water, hanging there in a star-shaped formation. A small groan of frustration escaped the head Squeak when Magolor's giggling face peeked out from behind it.

"Nice try!" the robed one laughed. "Let me show you how it's done!"

Daroach swung his cane again to fire off some starry projectiles, but Magolor didn't care- a glowing glyph appeared at his fingertips, followed by a huge magical laser that dwarfed them both. The head Squeak got wide eyes for a second when he saw it coming, but quickly flew out of the way, the edge of his cape getting brushed by it as all the energy went shooting into the sea. A big splash followed, a group of Blippers and Barracus getting thrown into the air for a second with flailing fins and snapping jaws.

On the shore, Nem and Marx were cheering and shouting, Bandana Waddle Dee shook his head and haplessly pleaded his case to no avail, and King Dedede likewise shouted, albeit not in a friendly or happy way.

"Yes!" Nem hollered, bouncing in place and pumping one fist in the air. "Fuck him up, gyahahahaha~!"

"Yeah!" Marx yelled likewise. "Come on, let's see some eye-gouging and banishing people to hell!"

"Why are you encouraging this?!" Bandana Waddle Dee exclaimed haplessly, shooting them both a perturbed look.

"You two are not helping!" King Dedede declared, lifting up his hammer again.

Wham! Whomp!

Marx and Nem both went flying when the king smashed them both with his hammer, albeit the former much more so than the latter. Bandana Waddle Dee sighed haplessly, shaking his head as he turned back to the fighting ones.

"Come on, guys!" the bandana-clad one fussed. "Whatever it is, let it go!"

"You two are acting like complete morons!" King Dedede hollered, cupping one hand around his beak for extra projection. "You're upsetting Kirby!"

The ones fighting simply weren't paying attention, firing attack after attack and laughing, yelling, or dodging all the while. Starry projectiles, magic spheres, icy shards, and starry shields lit up the sky in their own version of a much more hectic, threatening light show… at least, until another set of lasers added to the mix.

"For someone taking shots, you sure can't hit!" Magolor taunted, firing off a barrage of magic spheres. "You and your-! AH-!"

He was shortly slammed by a laser coming from the direction of the beach, cutting off whatever he was going to say. Daroach didn't even bother to see where it was coming from- he simply burst into laughter.

"Serves you right, you-! Heavens-!" the head Squeak started, but was likewise shut up by a laser.

The two of them both cast a glance towards the beach, from which Kirby came flying up to them- not by inhaling air and floating along, though, but rather with two cannons on his back functioning as a jet pack. Around his hands were two big mechanical fists and covering his face was a blue and white helmet with orange accents and an orange visor- the hallmarks of the Mecha ability. He darted between them, shooting them both a pointed glance which made them pause.

"Seriously, guys?!" he fussed, his mechanical fists shaking. "What's wrong with you?!"

"He almost got my treasure stolen by some swashbuckling birds!" Daroach protested.

"He called me a loser!" Magolor too protested. "While jabbing me with his wand, too!"

"Only a hit dog hollers!" Daroach shot back. "The word 'loser' never left my mouth!"

"It was implied!" the robed one fussed.

"Guys!" Kirby cut in, his cannons glowing and pointing at Daroach and Magolor to shut them up again. "Apologize! Now!"

The fighting ones stared each other down for a second with narrowed eyes, neither one saying a word, but when Kirby's cannons glowed brighter, both of them quickly broke down.

"I'm sorry!" Magolor cried hurriedly.

"It was uncouth of me!" the words practically jumped out of Daroach's mouth.

"I should've picked a different place to send them!"

"What I said was uncalled for!"

"You're right to be upset!"

"I don't think you're a loser!"

At that, Kirby's cannons lost their glow and he eased up, albeit still giving them both a stern look. "Are we good now?" he asked.

"We're good!" Magolor affirmed with a nod.

"No problems here!" Daroach concurred.

Even if Daroach and Magolor cast each other some dirty glances, the pink puffball seemed content with those answers and flew back to the beach with them following along. The ones that had witnessed the entire ordeal had to relay the happenings to the other Squeaks along with Meta Knight, all of whom came scurrying out to see what the matter was, but with it all behind them, everyone decided it was as good a time as any to call it a night and head in to get some rest. Meta Knight flew off to wherever the Halberd was docked, promising to be back for the voyage the next day, while the Squeaks ducked into their airship and Magolor dragged Marx to the Lor for the night despite the jester's claims that sleep was 'for the weak.' Nem took night watch again, patrolling while Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee made another fort, which the two of them actually managed to convince King Dedede to join them in. Quickly the pink puffball and his friend were lulled off to sleep by the king telling them a bedtime story, and while King Dedede's eyes certainly felt heavy too, he tried to stay awake for just a bit longer…

Nem certainly didn't see the king's eye watching her, for he closed it whenever she turned to face his direction, but he was certainly watching. Maybe she was indeed a friend, but her unhinged musings and bizarre mannerisms nonetheless caused him some concern. Maybe the chance of her deciding to turn her axe on everyone in their sleep was slim, but somehow, the idea was something King Dedede didn't ignore, especially considering the smaller figures sleeping so peacefully on the sand nearby. The armored one walked around the water's edge, along the trees, and around the boats, all the while clutching her axe and occasionally stopping to glance in every direction. Oddly enough, she seemed to be fussing at her hat more often than she did during the day, grabbing its brim or shaking her fist even while patrolling the area, but at the very least, if she was hissing and cussing, she was doing it soft enough for no one to hear.

Still, the king's eyes didn't stay open for all that long, King Dedede himself drifting off to sleep while the armored one seemed to be scratching something into the ground with the end of her axe's staff before kicking sand over it again.


The meteor shower was still happening into the god-forsaken wee hours of the morning. The ones in the fort were sound asleep, Nem's armored footprints littered the beach, and the streaks of light did their best to light up the world below when the moon decided to hide behind some puffy clouds that rolled in from afar. The only sound in the air was that of the waves lapping at the shore or Nem's footsteps in the sand- everything was quiet and serene as it should've been.

… At least, for the most part.

"Your temptations are as useless as they've ever been, you know that?" Nem softly muttered, wearing an unamused expression as she scratched lines and markings into the sand. She chuckled sardonically. "You think you're gonna outlast me, don't you~? That one day I'll just… snap~?" She shook her head, getting a smirk instead. "Gyahaha, it'll never come to that.~ I know what you-"

However, she cut herself off when, as she was scratching the ground some more, purple smoke started to gather over the sand followed by a small black hole opening. She jumped back, clutching her axe with both hands as a certain jester popped out of it along with his ball, which he perched himself on.

"Did I interrupt you talking to yourself~? Man, that's awkward," Marx greeted softly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Nem inquired with a low voice, her empty socket narrowing. "You might be a freaky little bastard, but you still need to sleep, don't you?"

The jester giggled. "You're no fun.~ I guess technically yes, but sleep is for the weak!"

Her empty socket went back to normal, but her intact eye narrowed instead while her mouth curled up in a smirk. "… Okay, you freaky little bastard, I guess you're taking the last half of night watch with me.~ Just don't disturb the ones in the fort."

Marx gave a playful wink, and Nem went to kick sand over the scratchings she had made, but before she could get very far, the jester's wings sprouted from his back and he flew a few meters overhead to get a look. It was a picture he could certainly appreciate- people running for their lives while the ground was engulfed in flames. Nem shortly had it covered up and resumed patrolling, the jester landing and rolling on his ball alongside her.

"I like your taste in art," Marx mused mischievously.

Nem eyed him in her periphery with her intact eye, musing back, "… You got a good look, huh?"

"Yeah.~ Things on fire and people running- looks like something I'd cause.~"

The robot chuckled. "That was my homeworld," she noted. "A smoldering heap of junk, just as it should be.~"

"Ohoho," Marx laughed under his breath. "I can appreciate a smoldering heap of junk or two.~"

Her smirk spread a bit. "You are the smoldering heap of junk, Marx," she said with a snicker.

"Hey, hey, hey!" the jester protested with a smirk, almost letting his voice get too loud. "You're the robot with the sparking empty eye! Who's the smoldering heap of junk, huh~?"

"Gyah, you got me," Nem acquiesced, albeit shooting him a playfully pointed look. "But if I have you here, I have to ask you something."

The jester giggled. "Yes, I am the greatest, thanks for asking.~"

Nem wordlessly jabbed his ball with the end of her axe's staff, knocking it out from under him and making him faceplant into the sand. Thankfully, the sand muffled his shout, and she smirked while watching him pick himself up.

"Jerk," Marx said flippantly, shaking himself off and jumping back on his ball. "What is it, huh?"

Nem still eyed him as she answered, "About you wishing on a star. You weren't lying, were you?"

"Nope," Marx affirmed, rolling alongside her. "Have you ever heard of Galactic Nova?"

Nem's intact eye narrowed slightly. "That's the star you wished on, isn't it?"

"Yep!" the jester answered. "I had Kirby summon it for me! I made the sun and moon fight and told him to go gather power from the other planets around us so we could summon Nova! But before he could wish for the sun and moon to stop fighting, I swooped in!" He giggled some more, albeit with his eyes narrowing in spite of his cheeky grin. "It was all according to my plan…~ I wished to rule Popstar, and it granted my wish, but Kirby still beat me, and Nova got busted up too." His eyes narrowed some more. "I'll get him back for that one day.~ I won't forget.~"

The robot eyed him some more. "Gyah…? So the only thing standing between you and world domination is Kirby?"

"Ohoho!" the jester laughed softly. "If you want to say it that way, yes.~ But it won't be that way forever!"

Nem looked back ahead as she patrolled, saying flatly, "You ever think maybe it was a good thing you got your ass kicked and Nova got busted up? Maybe it realized you weren't worth fucking with after the ass-kicking, or maybe it got busted before it could get you."

"Pffft!" the jester scoffed. "You're crazy!"

"You're one lucky dumbass, that's for sure," Nem brushed him off.

Marx eyed her amusedly. "Oh, go tell your hat to fuck itself.~"

"Oh, fuck off!" the robot hissed under her breath, grabbing her hat.

Marx had to stifle his laughter, eyeing both her and her hat. "That thing really has a lot to say, huh?"

"Fucking too much," Nem mused flatly, adjusting it slightly. "See, you fuckwad?" she hissed under her breath. "They'll think I'm the problem, not the gutter-licking hellspawn that sits around in god-forsaken nowhere thinking about all the ways to fuck everyone else over, you soulless voidbeast!"

The jester immediately perked up with an excited look. "Go on," he egged her on.

Nem had no trouble doing so. "Fifteen ancient sages of fuckery must have gathered for a fucked-up convention on the defiled peaks of Mount Fuck Everyone to declare your existence, and then thousands of years later you're stuck with me, acting like some kind of god when all you can do is point to a flaming monument of failure like those were the good old days! What the hell have you ever been good for except being an example of what not to do, huh?!"

Marx's grin spread even more. "Go on," he pressed.

"You're like the piece of bread at the end of the loaf- everyone touches you but no one wants you! Before I succumb to the cosmic rust pile, I better have the chance to fold you into a pretzel and hurl you into a hot, flaming celestial body that makes this world's sun look like a firefly, or I'll die a miserable third-rate bitch that never moves on to the afterlife and haunts the shit out of some gold-plated sack of spare parts like a jackass! Fuck you, everything you stand for, everything you are, and everyone that ever smiled at you, too! Gyah, what a fuck-up!"

The jester couldn't help but to break into a giggling fit, to which Nem turned and pressed two of her fingers over his mouth to muffle it. The robot smiled a bit herself despite her narrowed empty socket, glancing at the fort on the beach to make sure her muffled hisses and snarls hadn't made anyone stir.

"Tell us how you really feel," Marx said sarcastically, keeping his voice down.

"I just did," the armored one replied. "Felt good to say it uncensored and have someone listen.~"

"Well, Kirby isn't listening, so we can cuss all we want to.~"

Nem's grin spread. "You fucked up little freak," she chuckled softly. "You aren't bad company.~"

Maybe no dragons attacked, no creatures surfaced from the sea, and no meteorites came crashing onto the ships from above, but the night watch certainly became more eventful. Nem's footprints littering the sand were flanked either by the indent of a rolling ball or the jester's footprints, and the two of them grinned and giggled under their breath into the early waking hours.