He wished he had realized sooner. Damn it all, it was so obvious. How could he miss what was right in front of him?

He winced as he remembered the injuries they had all sustained in the fight. Kirby was hurt the worst, being the main target of the crown's rage. Dedede and himself were merely annoyances, and they did their assigned role well, allowing Kirby to deal the final blow. (Was it wrong of him to feel proud that one of Kirby's Ultra Swords was a giant replica of his own?)

He sat on the same hill he was on when it all started. He had the same book with him as well- he never did finish it. But he just couldn't find it within him to do anything, something he hasn't felt in a long, long time.

"You too, Medapoy?" Kirby had long since grown out of his childhood, able to speak as well as Meta Knight himself if he so chose. The name, however, stuck, and if Meta Knight was honest, he was sort of glad it did. A little bit of childish innocence was preserved in the young puffball despite all the hardships he had faced while trying to protect his home.

The younger sat down next to his elder, looking forward but not quite seeing, much like Meta Knight himself a few moments ago. He shrugged, not knowing for sure what the question that Kirby was trying to ask was exactly but being able to ballpark guess.

The pink puffball exhaled. "He just seemed so… genuine. Back then, at least. But now I'm wondering how I was fooled… I dragged you all into that mess…"

Meta Knight patted Kirby on the back. "We didn't have to agree to help… we could've left at any time. None of us figured it out until it was too late."

Kirby stayed silent, taking only a miniscule amount of comfort from the gloved touch. "Medapoy…" Kirby trailed off, unsure of how to phrase his thoughts. Meta Knight remained quiet and still, giving his former student plenty of time to figure it out.

"I just… I can't help but think that maybe we weren't. He really did want the Lor Starcutter fixed… he just… doesn't seem the type to do…that."

Meta Knight stayed silent, but both puffballs were thinking the same thing: "Neither did Marx."

Kirby shook himself. "Doesn't really matter now, does it?"

The question was rhetorical, but Meta Knight answered anyway. "Depends."

Kirby exhaled loudly. "Do you ever give a straight answer?"

"No."

Meta Knight smiled slightly under his mask as he saw Kirby look at him with a glare that was ruined by the laughter the pink one tried to hide. The happy moment did not last long- the solemnity of the previous conversation hung around like a dense fog and was not so easily blown away.

A few minutes later, Kirby continued. "There's just… so much about this that bothers me."

Meta Knight hummed in agreement, not wanting to speak and interrupt Kirby's train of thought.

"…There are just too many questions and not enough answers. And it's not like Landia knows much either, not that we could ask them for more."

"That is the way of life. There will not be answers to every question."

"Doesn't mean you just have to lie down and take it," Kirby retorted.

"No… I've had my doubts about the situation as well."

Kirby nodded. "As do Bandana and Dedede. Even they're less lively today. Not even cake snapped Dedede out of it!"

Knowing about the strange tradition between Kirby and Dedede of strawberry shortcake, Meta Knight was surprised. The self-proclaimed king always jumped at the chance for cake. For not even the pastry to be able to snap him out of whatever funk Kirby said he was in meant it was serious indeed.

Given the day, he supposed, it wasn't that surprising.

"There's just one thing that's eating away at me more than everything else…" Kirby started, once again needing to arrange his thoughts in a sensible manner.

If Meta Knight had eyebrows, they would've been raised. As it was, he just tilted to the side in a curious manner.

"Was it really Magolor we fought… or was he a victim of circumstance?"

Meta Knight paused. It was an insightful question, but one that could never truly be answered.

"I know it can't be answered… but given what Landia said, is it possible that… Magolor was just… convenient?"

It wasn't the subject that prompted Meta Knight to answer. It was the look Kirby was giving him. It was some mixture of desperation, like the younger puffball was hanging onto the edge of a cliff and needed Meta Knight's help to get up and hope, as if the older puffball would.

Meta Knight had never seen the look on Kirby's face. He had seen pain, anger, betrayal (more than once), joy, and even mischievousness, but never desperation. He never wanted to again.

"…Yes, it is possible. The Master Crown had powers beyond imagination, so it is a valid idea that the crown found Landia but couldn't latch on completely and thus tried to find someone else. Magolor would be the best option; he was lonely, tired, and naïve. The Master Crown could easily take over his mind…"

"I think, in that case, he fought back in a different way from Landia."

Meta Knight stared at Kirby. "Oh?"

"Why else would he drop the Ultra Powers that would break his shield? Magolor didn't seem the physical type… again, maybe I'm wrong, but he seemed to be more intelligence-based. Maybe he was able to fight back… in a roundabout manner, obviously, but still."

"It's an idea."

Kirby nodded. "I'm going to hold onto that. He was strong, in his own way…" Kirby grinned nostalgically. Meta Knight recalled himself saying those same words to the younger some time ago.

Meta Knight nodded, words he was told long ago ringing through his ears.

"We never stop learning. At some point, we all just start teaching each other."

A/N: I feel as if what the heck is being said here deserves some form of explanation. So, here it is:

Landia somehow got possession of the Master Crown. The crown itself is magic and can grant said power to its user/wearer, but at some point in its existence it became corrupted. Landia put it on and… well, they weren't evil but they weren't the friendliest neighbor either. But Landia noticed and fought back, not entirely succeeding but able to not become an evil overlord.

The Master Crown didn't want that and started seeking a new host. Lo and behold Magolor. He seemed to be the lonely type; he only seemed to have the Lor as company. And I'm sorry, but just a ship, even if it is sentient, isn't enough (look at Doctor Who for a good example. What's he like without his companions?). He was just as Meta Knight said – lonely, tired, naïve. He'd make a perfect target, no one to help him out. So the Master Crown implanted the thought of retrieving it into Magolor's brain.

But Magolor noticed as well. He didn't have the same mental strength as Landia, but he had an unmeasured amount of time to learn from the best trickster of all- the Master Crown. (And possibly Marx, but seeing as how I only know him through word of mouth, he is not included in this theory except in relation to the Master Crown directly.) So he fought back in the only way he could- making sure they would be strong enough to take down the Master Crown and giving them the chance to via the Ultra Powers.

Of course, Kirby and Meta Knight had more extensive knowledge on the background, as they were obviously in the game. Landia explained what happened on the way to fight Magolor.

…This wasn't at all the idea I wanted to share in this story. What I wanted to share was this: Magolor's name. Hear me out, I'm not that crazy.

Mag is a Latin/Greek prefix meaning large. Like the word magnitude. Lor. I pronounce it "lore" (so his name sounds more like "mag-lore" than "mag-a-lore"). Lore, as in stories or fables. Magolor literally means "large story"… which is exactly what happened. That's why Meta Knight was saying that it was "obvious", because he said right what he was doing from his name. Of course, the hint was obscure and well-hidden, apparently too well. Might it have been a try from Magolor as a warning? Or just his name? The world may never know…

Furthermore, the odd tradition mentioned about Kirby, Dedede, and cake comes from the games. Many of them start with Kirby eating strawberry shortcake- which is the cake he's carrying in the beginning of Return to Dreamland.

A special thanks to the Runaway Guys who played Return to Dreamland- namely, NintendoCaprisSun, chuggaconroy, and ProtonJohn. All of them have their separate Youtube channels, and I highly recommend them if you want something to watch.