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It had been a few days since Magolor first crashed on planet popstar. Thanks to Kirby and his friends, Magolor managed to restore the Lor Starcutter’s oars and its right wing. At the pace they were going now, Magolor would have that crown before he knew it. It can’t be long now! But something felt wrong. He just didn't understand why Kirby and his friends wanted to help him in the first place! He was a stranger compared to them, and not only that, but didn’t they realize the danger of trusting a stranger? He was planning to betray them for Nova’s sake! Heck, Magolor had even seen some of the injuries Kirby and his friends had sustained getting those ship parts for him. How could they still trust him even after enduring all of that? He just couldn’t understand…
Magolor blinked. In front of him was the keypad he hadn’t realized he had been typing on. He was trying to pinpoint the exact locations of the remaining ship parts, to make the search easier, but had gotten lost in his own thoughts. Again. He really needed to stop doing that. Time was more crucial now than ever, and he had been wasting it by daydreaming. He never learned, did he?
He looked out the window to see the sun was already setting. Gosh, this late already? What have I been doing this whole time? Magolor couldn’t complain though. The sunsets in dreamland were spectacular, unlike anything he had ever seen. He watched as the colors in the sky blended into each other, the rainbow of hues cascading against that warm, radiant sun. It was one of the many things he loved about dreamland. He watched the sun go down for a few extra moments before turning his attention to the door. Huh. Magolor thought. They’re usually here by now. Did something happen?
As if on cue, the Lor Starcutter’s door swung open. Magolor let out a relieved sigh as he heard the familiar voices of Kirby, Meta knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Waddle Dee fill the room.
“Heya Magolor!”
“Greetings Magolor.”
“We found another ship part for ya!”
“We found a bunch of energy spheres too!”
Magolor smiled as he turned to face the group.
“Hey guys! You found another ship part? Wow! You guys are soooo reliable! Thank you so much!”
He spoke in his usual cheery tone that he used to address the group. No matter how he feels about Kirby and his friends, if he is to keep up this facade, then he must stay in character whenever necessary.
“You’re welcome Magolor!”
“It’s no problem, don’t worry!”
Kirby and King Dedede spoke at the same time which got a groan of annoyance out of Meta Knight, and a light chuckle out of Bandana Waddle Dee.
Who Magolor just realized was wearing bandages on his right foot.
In fact, he realized that all of them look injured in some way. Waddle Dee and Kirby had light scratches all over, and Magolor was sure he noticed small burn marks on Kirby’s hands. Was Kirby also shivering? Magolor couldn't tell. Meta knight was physically alright but looked like he may pass out of exhaustion at any moment. King Dedede had bandages wrapped around his left shoulder, and he also looked very tired. How they managed to get this hurt, Magolor didn’t know, but needless to say, he was rather concerned. They should be resting for Nova’s sake! Not getting themselves injured because of him! The thought of something terrible happening to Kirby and his friends made Magolor’s stomach churn in a feeling he couldn’t quite describe. If something happened to Kirby or any one of them, he wouldn’t be able to…t-to……?
Realization dawned upon Magolor as he realized why he had felt so weird in the first place. Oh no , Magolor huffed, oh no, I can’t be- I Shouldn’t be- but then- why...? He was planning to betray these people! to manipulate them into doing his work for him! He can’t be getting attached now! Especially not when he was closer than he’d ever been to reaching the master crown. These people were brash, loud, and very reckless, and Magolor would be lying if he said didn’t find them somewhat annoying.
But , Magolor thought, looking at Kirby and his friends, they are also kind, thoughtful, and caring. They’ve never treated me with anything less…
The four had been engaged in quite the conversation for a while now. Mainly about which of Chef Kawasaki’s desserts were the best. As they talked, Bandana Waddle Dee noticed Magolor, who had been muttering to himself, not participating in the conversation. He was frowning, which was weird for his usual cheery demeanor. It worried Bandana Dee, so he decided to ask Magolor what was wrong. Magolor flinched, blinking a couple of times before turning to the group.
Now, typically, he would ask the four about the ship part, and the amount of energy spheres they’d managed to recover for the Lor. He wouldn’t even bother with much of the details, or even ask them about their adventures. It was always ‘ship part this’ and ‘energy sphere that.’ Magolor would always make the excuse that he was just really anxious to get home.
So imagine their surprise when he instead asked if they were ok.
“Huh?” Kirby began, “Oh yeah, we’re fine!”
“Yeah!” Dedede agreed, “Nothing can get past us! No Worries!”
“Indeed.” Meta knight nodded, “You’ve no need to be concerned, Magolor.”
Somehow their answers made Magolor worry even more.
“Well, uh, m- my foot still kinda hurts…” Bandana Waddle Dee said quietly. He was always so honest. Magolor was willing to bet he’s never told a lie in his life.
“O-oh, really?” Dedede immediately softened up, clearly worried about Bandana Dee’s condition. “We have more bandages if you need them. Just take it easy, ok?”
“Yeah.” Kirby agreed, much quieter than his usual self, “that big rock hit you really hard after all. You can rest if you need it.”
Wait… what rock?
“Thank you.” Bandana Dee said shyly, “But I think I’ll be ok, I just need to be careful for now.”
“A rock hit you?” Magolor asked, a frown beginning to form on his face. “Are you ok?”
Meta Knight answered before Waddle Dee could say anything; “That ‘rock’ was a stalactite, and yes, Magolor, Waddle Dee will be fine. He got lucky and got away with only a bruise.”
“...what happened to you guys?” Magolor whispered, just loud enough to be heard. The frown on his face was growing deeper and deeper.
“Well,” Dedede began, “when we got to Onion Ocean, we ended up encountering a bunch of sphere doomers.” He gestured to his arm with the bandage, letting out a light chuckle; “One of ‘em managed to get me real good. It hurt a lot at the time, but it feels better now.”
“We also found a bunch of new super abilities there too!” Kirby chimed in, holding out his hands for everyone to see; “I got these burn marks from that fire one. Monster Flame, I think it was called?”
“I would’ve thought you’d be great at using Monster Flame.”
“Hey! It was a new copy ability! I’ve never used it before!”
“You use fire. Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Fire is completely different compared to Monster Flame! I’ll have you know there’s a dragon involved.”
“I’m aware, Kirby. I was literally there.”
“Controlling it was hard…”
“I know.”
“It was so different!”
“But you could control that snowy ability just fine!”
“Snow Bowl.” Bandana Dee said quickly.
“Yeah, ‘Snow Bowl,’ whatever.”
Kirby let out a little pout; “No! Snow Bowl was hard to control too!”
“So, you get burn marks from using Monster Flame but nothing for using Snow Bowl?” Dedede wore a small grin as he stated that last remark.
“I literally have frostbite everywhere right now!”
“Sure you do.”
“I’ll fight you.”
“I’ll win.”
“Since when?”
“Guys,” Meta Knight let out an annoyed groan, “Could you please stop bickering? At least lower your voices.”
They didn’t stop bickering. Or lower their voices. If anything, they got louder. Magolor couldn’t help but giggle at that. These people were surprisingly good at making him smile, something he’d hardly done before coming to Popstar…
...
Ok, now he was annoyed. They were too loud. Magolor decided to sneak outside of the Lor to find some peace and quiet. He found a comfortable spot on top of the Lor Starcutter, and sat down, gazing at the stars. They were beautiful, twinkling in the sky like that. Magolor had never really seen the stars much where he was from, but here they were, clear as day, or- well, night.
However, now that he was alone with his thoughts again, it didn’t take long for his mind to wander. He kept thinking back to what Kirby and King Dedede had said about their injuries. They got hurt for me, Magolor thought, why would they do that? They’ve just met me.
…
No. Magolor inhaled, why should I care? Why do I care? I’m supposed to be lying to these people! We won’t be friends for very long anyway.
But deep down, Magolor didn’t want to lose the friends he just made. He exhaled.
He took a few moments to stare at the sky some more before he noticed that someone was out there with him.
A shy, quiet sounding voice confirmed it to be Bandana Waddle Dee. He came outside to look for Magolor after he noticed he was missing.
“Hey Magolor.”
“Hey Waddle Dee.”
“I noticed you weren’t inside anymore.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Kirby and his majesty are at each other’s throats right now.” Bandana Dee chuckled nervously before continuing, “I’m surprised they haven’t started a fight yet! Sir Meta Knight’s just barely keeping them under control.”
“...Hey Waddle Dee?”
“Yes?”
“Why do you guys trust me so much?”
“What!?” Bandana Waddle Dee was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
“Well-” Magolor started, a lump forming in his throat. “When I first crashed here, you guys jumped to help me immediately, without even thinking for a second the kind of person I may be. I was a complete stranger, and yet you still trusted me. And- well, seeing all the struggles you’ve had to go through and all the injuries you’ve sustained, it just makes me wonder: Why bother helping me at all?”
Bandana Dee looked at Magolor with bright, thoughtful eyes. He didn’t say anything for a moment, likely figuring out how to respond to Magolor’s question.
Eventually he said: “It’s the right thing to do.”
“What?”
“We helped you because it was the right thing to do Magolor!” Bandana Dee adopted this determined look in his eyes as he went on. “Not only that, but we’ve spent time together, and you’ve been nothing but kind to us! I think I speak for all four of us when I say that we consider you as a friend. We promised to help you restore your ship and get you home, and we intend to keep that promise. It’s what you deserve!”
It’s what you deserve. Magolor winced. If only he knew the kind of person Magolor truly was.
“Really?” Was Magolor’s response. “You think so?”
“Of course I do!” Bandana Dee replied, looking Magolor in the eyes, “You’re our friend Magolor!”
What? Magolor felt this warm, pleasant feeling from within, and he could feel the edges of his mouth curve into a light smile. “Friends?” Was all Magolor could say.
“Yes!” Bandana Dee responded “You’re our friend! Helping each other is what friends do!”
Friends…
Magolor liked the sound of that. He felt his eyes light up and his face warm up. He hadn’t been this happy in a long, long time. Magolor thought he felt his eyes begin to water.
And then a low, contented purr escaped from his throat.
“Magolor! You’re-” Bandana Dee could hardly believe what he was hearing. Magolor can purr? Since when!?
However, Bandana Waddle Dee noticed that this was the first time he’d seen Magolor look genuinely happy.
With a small chuckle, Bandana Dee told Magolor that he was going to go to bed for the night, and went back into the Lor, leaving the purring Magolor under those beautiful, bright stars.
Meanwhile, Magolor’s heart fluttered at the thought of finally having a friend, four, even.
They think I’m a friend? W-we’re friends? They don’t hate me? Magolor’s purring was getting louder, and happier sounding too. His mouth was hidden under his robes, and couldn’t be seen, but under it he wore a genuine smile, nothing like his usual fake grin.
They truly consider me a friend. I’m their friend! I feel so light, like I could fly right now! Oh, when this whole adventure is over I…..I..
And then his purr disappeared faster than it came.
R-right, the Master Crown…
He was planning to betray Kirby and everyone else for the Master Crown. It was the plan from the get-go. He wasn’t supposed to get attached.
The Master Crown is what he truly wanted. It’s what he’s always wanted! And now he has his chance!
But…
No.
Something doesn’t feel right.
Was he doing something wrong?
No. Can't be. He’s wanted this crown as long as he can remember, and nothing’s getting in the way now.
But- why was he suddenly worried about what his friends would think of him?
He shouldn’t worry. He’s planned to betray them since the beginning!
Hurting them is inevitable. Even he should be aware of that.
But, the thought of hurting his new friends made Magolor feel wrong.
Maybe he could have both?
And obtain the crown without losing his friends?
But, Magolor doubted that would work, especially when that blasted dragon was still guarding the crown.
It seems he will have to choose.
His friends? Or the crown, and all the power he could want?
…
Is the master crown really worth it?
He didn’t know anymore.