Chapter Text
With a crack echoing through the forest clearing the last of the aurors had left. The dream friends (and extras) were finally alone again. They waited a few moments in silence, listening to make sure no wizards had stayed behind to spy. Who knows with strange, magical governments.
A few looked towards the more magic sensitive members of their group, asking their opinions with a silent look. A handful of head shakes let the group know they were truly alone now, breaking the tension.
There was a collective sigh of relief throughout the group. It was a miracle the Dreamlanders managed to get through that without a fight breaking out or revealing their inhuman nature with how little most knew about the species.
The relief was short lived as Dark unsheathed his sword, pointing it at Magolor’s throat. “Open the portal wizard. Shadow and I will be taking our leave from this escapade of yours,” he growled, his eyes glaring behind his mask.
Several of the friends let out startled yelps at the unexpected action, a few gave angry ‘heys’ as they moved to stop the mirror copy.
Magolor, not expecting to suddenly be assaulted with a sword, threw up his hands in surrender. He took a few hasty steps backwards before tripping on a root sending him to the ground. Scooting backwards to put more distance between him and the sword still pointed at him, Magolor tried to talk Dark down, “h-hey there buddy! There’s no need for that, all you had to do was ask.”
“Hey! It’s not nice to threaten your friends Dark,” Kirby stepped between Dark and Magolor. The pink child puffed out his chest and gave Dark a disappointed glare. Really, it’s like none of the friendship lessons were getting through to the mirror copy. “You’re supposed to ask nicely, this is not nice,” Kirby continued to scold the monochromatic knight giving Magolor time to get back on his feet and put more distance between himself and Dark’s sword.
Dark glared at the child standing in front of him. He didn’t lower his sword but made no moves to use the blade either. Both narrowed their eyes at each other, refusing to back down.
The glaring contest between them was interrupted by Meta Knight. Meta grabbed Dark’s arm and forced him to lower his weapon, earning him an irritated hiss from his mirror copy. “There is no need for fighting Dark. Sheath your weapon and we can discuss our next actions like mature adults or I will be forced to defend the others from your unnecessary aggression,” Meta’s eyes flashed behind his mask as he released Dark’s arm.
Dark pulled his arm back with a growl, shifting his glare to yet another person. He shoved his version of Galaxia into its sheath. Pulling his cape over his shoulders, he straightened his back ready to begin an argument with his original. His words were halted by a quiet mumble by his side.
Shadow was standing next to Dark, his arms were crossed as he glared at the ground with an irritated expression.
“Speak louder if you wish to say something Kirby,” Dark said turning some of his attention towards the grey child.
Shadow startled, not expecting to be heard. He quickly pulled his face back into an irritated glare. He pulled his arms closer to himself as he spoke in a mumble again.
“Kirby I am not in the mood for such games. We should be going back to our home, I have no time for this if you do not speak up.”
“I said maybe I don’t want to go back!” Shadow raised his voice.
Everyone was silent. The friends watching the argument turned to see Dark’s reaction. The mirror knight stood still, his mask hid his expression but it was hard to miss how his eyes seemed to darken.
“And what do you mean by that?” Dark asked in a calm tone.
Shadow huffed and glared at the ground. “I didn’t mean forever or anything like that. I just thought it be cool to at least look around a magic school. You’re always telling me where I can and can’t go and you didn’t even ask to see if maybe I didn’t want to leave yet.”
Dark gave a displeased hum, but refrained from voicing his thoughts.
“We need to plan our next move carefully as well Dark,” Meta moved to change the subject. “The moment Magolor opens a portal the ministry will be alerted. I’m unsure of how forgiving they’ll be with a second offense so soon after the first. I would rather avoid creating trouble with them, so we must be prepared to act swiftly if that is what we want to do. And as young Shadow has stated some may wish to remain and explore. I say we discuss our options and take a vote of action,” Meta stated. He turned to look back towards the group without waiting for Dark’s response.
“I think we should start with the pros and cons of staying,” Daroach suggested, “I’ve learned it’s always good to plan for the adventure ahead of you.”
“Oh oh! I know a pro!” Kirby waved a hand in the air, his arm practically a blur, “We can learn all kinds of new magics! And it would be fun!”
“There would be a lot of interesting knowledge and history we could learn if we went, not just about using magic but for creatures and artifacts too,” Magolor added, standing behind Kirby. His suggestion earned a few flat glares from the group. Magolor rolled his eyes and huffed at their reactions. “I can be interested in knowledge without planning something evil you know,” he muttered.
“We could have a chance at making new friends and allies here,” Fluff suggested.
“Those of us that already know some magic can learn how to use it better,” was Chilly’s addition.
“And I believe that exploring this world could be an exciting adventure. Who knows what treasures you can find in a magical school,” Daroach said, adding his own pro. “Alright let’s look at some cons.”
“We don’t know any of this worlds culture or laws. And we know nothing about the people and their potential hostility or how they will react to us,” Taranza was the first to speak.
“Con, it’s a school. School is boring, I doubt even a bunch of wizards can change that. Plus they expect me to do it too,” Dedede argued.
“Taranza has a point. We don’t know the laws of this world and anyone who remains will be under the supervision of the ministry. A foreign government we know little about but is able to track our use of magic,” Meta Knight said.
“About the tracking-,” Magolor tried to say before being spoken over.
“Where would we even stay. The school doesn’t open up until later in the year and we don’t have anywhere to live until then if we wanted to stay since Magolor can’t summon the Lor,” Susie added. She scrunched her face in distaste, “and I’m not going to be sleeping outside in the middle of the woods if I have the choice.”
“You know I could just-“ Magolor tried again.
“What if something happens to dreamland while we’re away? It’s been peaceful recently but disasters are pretty common and we don’t have any form of contact,” Adeline said talking over him.
The conversation was picking up and people were talking over each other, each throwing out their own ideas. Magolor could feel the ears of his hood fold back, annoyed at being ignored. He hated being ignored, especially when he was actually trying to help. Raising his own voice Magolor joined into the loud argument, everyone trying to be heard over the other.
The argument had quickly turned into a shouting match, the quieter dreamlanders quickly backing out while the more confrontational friends continued to get louder.
A piercing whistle brought the argument to halt, causing several members of the group to flinch in pain. Holding their hands over their ears they glared at Daroach. The leader of the squeak squad twirled his wand with a smile, “Well now that I have your attention once more, I believe it’s time to move on to the next part of planning for an adventure. How can we remove some of these cons from our list?”
Magolor was quick to step forward and quicker to speak, “I know how to solve a few of our problems.” The halcandran gave a smug look as the attention returned to him, “With some simple runes I discovered while studying magic, and a bit of help from Taranza, I’ll be able to create a small area where our magic use will be untraceable.”
“As long as they’re quick spells and we take turns,” was muttered under his breath. Raising his voice again he said, “Meaning I’ll be able to summon the Lor Starcutter again. My offer of shelter for those who chose to remain here still stands.”
“Well that sure is convenient,” Dedede said skeptically, raising a brow, “got any more solutions you wanna pull out of your hat?”
Magolor huffed at the dismissive tone, “I do actually. You act like this is my first time exploring a different dimension. Anyways,” He brushed off his cape and stood taller, “With the runes I’ll be able to open the rift briefly without detection so some can stay and the others can leave without the ministry noticing. As for communication with dreamland I should be able to set up some way for us to talk between worlds, the Lor already has the capability to do so, so it shouldn’t be to hard too upgrade some phones to have the same ability. This way anyone staying will be able to know if some world threatening event happens while we’re away.” He finished with a smile and a cheerful tone, pleased to be the center of attention. He’d show them all what a good friend he was. Kirby said friends help each other right?
“That… actually does sound helpful,” Dedede grumbled out. The king crossed his arms and shot Magolor a smirk, “though since you are the reason we’re stuck here in the first place you’d better know what you’re doin.”
“Wha- None of you had to follow me!” Magolor said in a harsh voice, bristling at the comment he glared up at Dedede. It wasn’t his fault these people would jump in strange rifts without second thought, at least he knew what he was doing when he decided to explore the portal.
“Sheesh, take a joke wiz kid,” Dedede rolled his eyes at Magolor’s dramatics. “Well if that’s everything everyone has to offer I guess it’s time to start voting on who stays and who goes.”
Magolor gave a small huff but backed down. “Well I believe I’ve made it clear that I’m staying here. Anyone else who remains is welcome to stay with me,” he said, his voice returning to its usual singsong tone.
“Well don’t count me out of the fun,” Marx said with a grin, slapping Magolor on the back with an oversized sleeve.
Chilly gave a small shrug and stood by his friends, “I’ve always wanted to explore more of our world so why not this one as well. Besides I can’t really trust you two alone.”
“Pssh you’d be bored without us frosty,” Marx laughed, swiping at Chilly’s hat in revenge.
The former snowman snorted, pushing the other away with one hand and keeping the bucket on with his other. “Guess your right shorty,” he joked earning him an indignant ’Hey!’
“Daroach will be staying as well,” Daroach said with a tip of his hat, “who would I be to deny the call of adventure in this strange world. I’m sure there will be mysteries and treasure aplenty even in a school.”
“I guess it would be fun to meet some other humans,” Adeline added, “erk, no offense to you guys of course!”
“It’s fine Addy,” Ribbon said with a giggle. She gave Adeline a small pat on the head from her perch on the artists shoulder. “Well if my bestie is staying guess I’ll be coming along for the ride.”
“I wanna stay too,” Kirby cheered, bouncing in place. He turned to the still undecided members of the group, “Don’t you guys wanna stay for at least a little bit. It’ll be like a fun adventure!”
“Any day with you is an adventure,” Fluff said with a laugh and eyeroll. “But Patchland should be fine in its own and you did say I’d still be in contact with them,” the prince said, considering the offer. He smiled, “guess I’ll stick around too. Like you said Kirbs it could be fun and I’m happy to meet new friends. Shadow?”
The mirror puff shrugged his shoulders with a bored look, “sure why not? It beats hanging around the castle all day.” Despite the act it was easy for his friends to see the curiosity and excitement in his eyes.
“Since arrangements for our living space have been made I’ll remain here as well,” Susie commented with a flip of her hair. Her blue eyes sparkled in a way that set some on edge, “afterall there’s still so much new data to collect from this world. Even if it seems a little, behind the times.”
Dedede made a noise of frustration and crossed his arms, “Well what sorta king would I be if I just left my subjects to run around some weird dimension without any guidance.” The decision was met by a cheer from Kirby, and Dedede struggled to keep his annoyed facade up.
“Your only the king of like half of us. And self proclaimed at that,” was muttered within the crowd but Dedede couldn’t point out the offender, opting to glare at the majority.
“If the great king is staying then so will I,” Bandanna said with confidence, raising their spear. Dedede chuckled at the sight and patted his loyal servant on their head, pushing the blue bandana over their eyes.
“I will remain as well,” Meta Knight said curtly.
“What, do you not trust us or something,” Marx jeered with a fanged grin.
“No.”
“Well it looks like most of us will be staying after all,” Daroach said, looking over the crowd. His eyes landed on the last member to decide, “Taranza have you made a decision yet?”
The former spider had stood silently, wringing his hands in thought while the others called their choices. On one hand he was truly not fond of messing with other dimensions and their inhabitants. On the other most of his friends would be here and it be quite lonely to go back alone. On the third hand he only had two now which was rather unpleasant, but not unbearable. On the fourth training his magic further could be interesting as well as learning new spells. But on the-
Taranza flinched as a hand snapped it’s fingers in his face, breaking his train of thought. “You still with us buddy?” Daroach asked with a laugh.
He adjusted his scarf, trying to hide his obvious distraction, and looked over the crowd. The others looked back expectantly, most with happy smiles on their faces. Taranza cleared his throat before speaking, “I’ll stay as well. Magolor said he needed my help right? And it could be fun!”
Kirby was practically vibrating with excitement as he crushed Taranza in a hug. His loud cheer causing several of the friend groups ears to ring.
“Alright, alright. Kirby please stop crushing my lovely assistant,” Magolor said, floating over to separate the two, “especially if you’d like to have a place to sleep tonight that isn’t the ground.”
“Oops sorry,” Kirby said, releasing Taranza. He gave a small gasp for air as he was let go.
He wasn’t given much time to recover as Magolor grabbed his now free arm to drag him away, chattering about the runes needed and how to place them.