Work Text:
Being a member of the Star Allies was a taxing job. Sure, Dark Meta Knight could leave at any time, it was practically volunteer work.
But it wasn’t that. Dark enjoyed Kirby’s company, as much as he loathed to admit it. No. It was the simple fact that meetings ran long into the night. As much as Dark Meta Knight loved the darkness, he also, unlike his counterpart, loved sleep, and staying up until 1 am wasn’t exactly aligning with that.
It didn’t exactly help that if meetings ran past 9 pm (which they often did), getting home was hopeless. Dark had learned their lesson after Kracko nearly shot them out of the sky because it was too dark out to see it coming. Usually, on nights like that, Dark would simply crash wherever Daroach was staying. The rat owed them a debt, after all.
But tonight, Daroach had a stakeout, so that wasn’t exactly an option.
“Are you sure about this? You seem… uneasy,” Magolor tilted his ear, floating alongside Dark.
“I am fine,” Dark didn’t make eye contact with the mage. It was hard to lie to a liar.
“I know that this is the first time you’ve ever been on the Lor, but I promise you it’ll be fine!” Magolor smiled at them.
“Mmm.” Dark hummed, not quite convinced.
Magolor sighed, his ears flattened, and he turned away.
The field around them was dark. The meeting they were leaving had ended just before midnight, and the walk back to the Lor Starcutter, due to Magolor’s poor parking job, was roughly 30 minutes. It didn’t help that, due to Dark’s inexperience with Planet Popstar, it felt as if it was the middle of nowhere that Magolor was taking him.
“We’re here.”
Dark looked up towards the Lor Starcutter. It was… a lot bigger than he thought it would be.
Magolor entered, Dark picked up their pace to follow him.
The Lor was somehow even larger on the inside. The entrance contained Magolor’s work desk, where he could freely control the Lor. The room had been partially made into a living room, probably because Marx had moved in after the initial creation of the Star Allies.
Marx wasn’t at the meeting Dark had just attended. They found that odd, usually Marx was there, even if just to poke fun at them.
“You’ll be staying here, in the main hub. The guest rooms are currently under renovations unfortunately…” Magolor looked away apologetically.
“That is fine.”
“... you can make yourself comfortable, you know. You don’t have to just stand in the doorway.”
Dark slowly moved away from the door. This felt wrong. Daroach let them stay because he owed them a debt, but Magolor? Magolor was doing it for no reason. There was no motive behind his actions… and that scared them.
Dark sat down on the nearest couch, keeping his cape wrapped around himself very tightly.
Magolor broke the fairly uncomfortable silence, “Do you have any questions? Concerns? Comments? I know this can’t be easy for you.”
“... No.”
“Do you want a tour or anything? I’m happy to offer!”
“I will be fine without one.”
“You don’t need to be scared, I don’t bite, promise!” The mage raised his hands and smiled.
That really only made Dark more uncomfortable. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around Magolor’s… kindness?
Dark didn’t fully connect the dots, but Magolor was their friend. This is something friends do. Did Dark know what friendship was? No. Not in the slightest.
Magolor floated over to the couch and sat next to Dark Meta Knight. He leaned away, on defense.
Magolor sighed, “It’s alright to be uncomfortable, you’re used to the Squeaks, not me. But I promise you, it’ll be fine. You can leave the moment dawn breaks if you’d like.”
Dark slowly loosened his grip on his cape, relaxing, “Mhm.”
“If you want some alone time, I could go hang out with Marx instead? He’s just in the other room so-”
“Stay. I do not mind your presence.”
“Oh! That reminds me,” Magolor reached over to an end table and grabbed a book, offering it to Dark Meta Knight, “I remember you saying you wanted to learn some of my native language, so I made a little journal. There’s no official records of my language left, but I did my best!”
The book was poorly bound together. Although there was clearly a lot of care put into it.
Dark stared at the book, “...” Magolor was being awfully nice to them. They unwrapped themself fully and grabbed the book gently. They couldn’t read the front, but that was to be expected, it wasn’t in a language they spoke yet, “... I will see what I can learn.”
He tucked the book into his cape. It had a similar pocket dimension to Meta Knight’s, except his was more cluttered. He’d never bothered to clean it out.
Magolor was the one carrying the conversation, which was normal. Dark had only recently started talking to anyone but Daroach, Adeleine, and Ribbon, and even then it was only Kirby, Magolor, and Marx that they’d actually spoken to.
Magolor went on and on about whatever crossed his mind. Dark wondered how quickly dawn would come so he could leave. It wasn’t that he disliked Magolor, but sometimes the mage was… a lot.
The Lor’s screen flashed red for a moment, and Magolor immediately got up.
“Oh! Right! Sorry, Dark Meta Knight, I have to go help Taranza with something. Feel free to help yourself to exploring and stuff. Marx is in the other room if you need him!” Magolor was already rushing to leave.
Dark Meta Knight couldn’t get a word out if they wanted to. Magolor was gone by the time they processed his words.
Dark stood up and began to explore. He hated guided tours, blind curiosity was more fun either way.
They walked over to the desk, and studied the controls. There had been no rule in place not to touch the Lor’s controls, but Dark wasn’t stupid enough to test their luck with buttons they didn’t understand.
He turned, wandering down the left hallway. Most of the rooms were locked, the only one open to Dark was the one at the very end of the hall. It was a kitchen.
Nothing of interest to them would belong in a kitchen. They turned back around, heading back to the couch, planning to just study the book Magolor gave them.
Dark was midway through figuring out the alphabet of ‘Magolorese’ (since it didn’t have a real name, Magolor got to decide. Dark found the name stupid, but that’s his opinion), when he heard… crying?
Dark, almost moving on instinct, walked over to the source of the noise. It was down the right hallway, where they assumed the bedrooms were.
He pushed open the second door on the left side of the hall, and found Marx’s room.
The jester was sitting in the middle of his floor, breathing heavily and sobbing. His golden wings were laid out beside him, the rainbow hexagons flickering faster than Dark had ever seen.
Marx’s eyes were unfocused, constantly moving around the room. Dark could hear his clock-like heartbeat, louder and faster than usual.
Dark… froze. They weren’t exactly equipped to handle a panic attack. Ever.
Regaining his focus, Dark slowly approached Marx. Kneeling down in front of the jester.
Marx glanced up from the spot on the floor his eyes had chosen to land on. Dark could tell the jester was looking right through them.
“... Marx?” Dark wasn’t sure what the emotion he was feeling was. Concern? Care? Empathy? It couldn’t be, he hadn’t felt those things in years.
Marx didn’t even look up.
“Are you alright…?” What a stupid question! Obviously he’s not. Dark removed his cape, and gently wrapped it around Marx to the best of his ability (it was a little hard with Marx’s wings in the way).
It took getting just that much closer to Marx for them to realise that the jester was shaking.
“Do… you need anything?” He wasn’t exactly sure what to do. The last time he had seen a panic attack, he was the one having it.
Marx shook his head. Lips sealed tight.
Dark turned to leave. He doubted he was helping, and maybe leaving was for the best-
Marx’s wing grabbed his hand frantically, stopping Dark dead in their tracks. After realising what he’d done, Marx pulled away, coiled into himself, and started to sob harder.
Dark turned back to Marx fully, sitting down beside him, and wrapping his wing around him. To Dark’s surprise, Marx leaned into the touch.
“Just breathe. Take your time…” Dark wasn’t fully sure of what to do.
He thought back to the last time he had a panic attack. Shady, or Shadow Kirby, had taught him something. Maybe it would work here?
“Marx, can you name 5 things you can see for me?” Dark looked at Marx, awaiting his response. If he could give one, that is.
“... you,” Marx started, his voice was weak, “... my bed, the window, the lights, my wings…”
“4 things you can feel.”
“The cape… my hat, the ground, and you…”
“3 things you can hear.”
“Me, you… the Lor’s engine.”
“2 things you can smell.” Admittedly, Dark had struggled with this one when Shady told them to use it.
“... uhh… umm… the laundry I did earlier…” Marx paused, and laughed a bit, “Heh… you smell like blood.”
Dark couldn’t help but smile at that (mostly because the blood scent was from a papercut they got from handling the book earlier, and not from another living being), “One thing you can taste.”
“... the candy I had earlier…” Marx had stopped shaking by now. Almost fully calmed.
Dark sat there with Marx a while longer, before Marx pulled away, his wings vanishing into golden light.
Dark moved to collect his cape and stood up. Putting it back on. He turned to leave.
They paused at the door, turning to face Marx, “Would you like to join me in the living room?”
Marx stood up, composing himself, “Why?”
“Silence is less quiet when someone else is nearby.”
“...” Marx thought for a moment, “Have you ever seen the movie ‘Palace Alone’?”
Dark was a little caught off guard by the question. Why exactly was Marx asking that? “That movie is usually reserved for the Holidees, is it not?” Dark tilted their head.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Marx smiled, “But it’s one of my favourites.”
“I have not seen it, no.” Dark admitted. They weren’t exactly well-versed in Popstarian movies.
“Then that’s just what we’ll do!” Marx had the same grin he always did plastered across his face again, but it seemed a little more genuine than normal.
Marx led Dark back out into the living room, and sat down on the big couch that faced the television. Dark grabbed the remote and offered it to Marx.
“I’d rather… not use my wings right now…” Marx looked troubled. Dark nodded and sat down on the other side of the couch.
“Could you guide me through this? I am not… the best at navigating Popstarian streaming services.” Dark tried not to recall the time they nearly broke Daroach’s television on ‘accident’.
Marx nodded. It took a while, but eventually Dark was able to successfully navigate the search function of the streaming service and find the movie Palace Alone. There were many sequels, and Marx told Dark that none of them were as good as the original, and that only the second one was okay in his opinion.
“What exactly is this movie… about?” Dark asked, it occurred to them that they had only heard of this movie in passing, and that they had no clue what they were getting themself into.
“Really?” Marx looked at him incredulously, “This movie’s a classic! How do you not know?”
“I doubt we have it in the Mirror World.” It was a shock to Dark to even find out about the Holidees in the first place. They didn’t really have holidays in the Mirror World anymore, not since…
“Well, it’s about a young prince who gets left behind by his family when they leave for the Holidees. During this time, the prince is completely alone in his palace, with no staff or family members. That night, a pair of Tacs, Hac and Mac, decide to invade the palace! It’s really funny in my opinion.”
“Hm.” Dark couldn’t lie, they were intrigued by Marx’s words.
The movie started. Marx actually shut up for once. Dark was still concerned for Marx’s well being after the panic attack… but he knew better than to push.
Around halfway through the movie, Marx fell asleep. Dark got up to go grab a blanket or something…
--------------------
“Marx rarely sleeps.” Magolor said, sitting across from Dark.
“... really?” Disbelief. Dark was… confused, to say the least.
“Marx, since he crashed into Nova and all, is kind of… like a clock?- Hear me out here! I swear I’m not deluded.” Magolor was a little frantic.
“Marx’s heartbeat follows the rhythm of a clock, and one thing about clocks is that they never slow down or speed up. Marx’s heartbeat can speed up, beating every half-second instead. Marx always has a heartbeat of 120 or 60 bpm, no in between. He blames his lack of sleep, despite being a Noddy, on that.”
“... Marx is a Noddy?”
“Yep! At least, I think he is? He doesn’t really look like one, but he claims to be.”
“...”
Magolor’s ears slowly sank, “... if you ever see him sleeping… could you do me a favour?”
Dark tilted his head, he doubted that would ever happen, but he listened anyway.
“Don’t leave his side, please? He always wakes up if whoever he falls asleep near leaves, even for only a few minutes.”
Dark nodded.
--------------------
They stopped. Right, don’t leave Marx alone. Dark walked over to Marx, and draped their cape over him again. It was really the only thing they had on them at the moment to keep Marx from freezing (the Lor Starcutter’s interior had always been below average temperature).
Dark sat back down, and continued watching the movie.
They couldn’t help but laugh at some parts. It had been a while since anything had made them laugh.
Eventually, after the movie had ended, sleep took Dark away too.
--------------------
Magolor entered the Lor Starcutter. The living room was empty. It was just past dawn now, and he assumed Dark Meta Knight had left.
He sat down at his desk, exhausted. Taranza needed help opening his library, and Magolor had agreed to help. But he hadn’t really thought through the sheer amount of books he’d have to move!
He was about to prepare for takeoff, when he heard voices coming from the kitchen. 2 of them, even though Marx should be the only other one on board right now.
Magolor headed to the kitchen, and found Marx eating a bowl of cereal, while Dark Meta Knight sat across from him at the table.
Dark Meta Knight had a cup of coffee sitting in front of him, and his mask sat on the table.
Dark’s face was exactly like the few glimpses of Meta Knight’s Magolor had seen. Except for the faded scar over his left eye, and sharp teeth, even when that species wasn’t meant to have teeth at all.
“And when the two Tacs, Mac and Hac, get their first tastes of the Young Prince’s traps?! I mean, the acting there!” Marx was rambling about one of his favourite movies, Palace Alone.
“I can see why you enjoy it so much.” The unmasked knight didn’t emote.
Marx paused for a moment, turning his full attention to Dark Meta Knight, “... did you like it?”
“I do not like expressing emotions.” Dark turned away, “... but I will admit, a chuckle escaped me a few times after you fell asleep.”
“YES!” Marx beamed, “I KNEW YOU’D LIKE IT!”
Much to everyone’s surprise, Dark Meta Knight smiled, just a little, at Marx’s enthusiasm.
Magolor blinked a few times, confused by the scene in front of him. Last time he checked these two… well, they didn’t quite get along.
Magolor knocked on the wall to the kitchen. Dark Meta Knight sat straight up and immediately slipped his mask back on, having finished his coffee a little bit prior.
“Did I… miss something?” Magolor tilted his ear.
“Nothing important.” Dark Meta Knight sounded mildly amused.
“I just showed him Palace Alone.” Marx said, grabbing his bowl and moving over to the sink.
That really only left Magolor even more confused. Why were they acting so casual? What really happened last night?
“I suppose I should take my leave now.” Dark grabbed the corner of his cape, preparing to warp away.
“Hey, hey, hey! You should stop by sometime soon! I’d love to show you more of my favourite movies!” Marx smiled.
Dark nodded, and just like that, he was gone.
No matter how hard Magolor pressed, neither Marx nor Dark Meta Knight would tell him what really happened that night.