Dark strode through his palace, inky black coat trailing behind him. He was of royal blood in this world, once the crown prince but now the king following the fall of Dark Mind. His castle reflected both his opulent tastes as well as his sense of style. The main corridor to the throne room was a thing of wonder. Its walls were entirely lined with flawlessly cleaned mirrors, intricate light fixtures hanging down from the tall vaulted ceiling. Priceless artifacts lined the hall, resting atop velvet cushions and carved obsidian pedestals.

Nothing, however, could compare to the throne room itself. It was an enormous, circular room, with intricate carvings of black stone lining every wall panel. The gorgeous carvings told the history of Dreadland through their glimmering black tapestries. The throne itself was Dark's pride and joy. It was a flawlessly etched combination of polished platinum, shimmering obsidian and sparkling sapphire.

"Ah, my taste is flawless," he breathed, gazing at his throne. Humility was only for beings less flawless than he, after all. The only thing that shattered the perfect ambiance was the smaller throne beside it. It was a rectangular, almost utilitarian fixture of black marble and grey cushions. It was like a sad, bootlegged version of his glorious masterpiece, though he supposed it suited the personality of its creator who was currently occupying it.

"New coat?" Shadow Kirby drawled, not even glancing up from his novel. He didn't need to look to know Dark was wearing something new. He went through expensive couture at an incredible pace, and Shadow swore he didn't let anything with a price tag under four figures to touch his skin.

"Of course," Dark preened, doing a brief heel turn to show it off.

"Looks nice," Shadow mumbled.

"You aren't even looking," Dark snapped. Shadow closed his book with a sigh, and looked up. He stared the man up and down, before shrugging.

"Looks the same as the rest," he deadpanned.

"What?! Do you know how many endangered animals went into making this coat? It's practically a wearable mass extinction!" Dark sputtered.

"You can't go one day without being horrible, can you?" the child sighed.

"Nope," Dark quipped, emphasizing the 'p'. Shadow rubbed his temples. If only his dear brother had an ounce of morality, his life would be so much easier.

"You were talkin' to your Dreamland self, right? Try being more like him. He's got those pesky things called honor, a sense of duty, and morals," Shadow huffed. He recoiled slightly when Dark loomed over him, eye glowing a malevolent red. He hated how he could do that on command.

"I tried those, remember? I got my eye gouged out in exchange for my kindness and mercy," he hissed, voice low and dangerous. Shadow flinched. He remembered all too well, finding Dark crouched on the steps of the castle, screaming as blood pooled below him. It had run down the steps like some sort of twisted red carpet, leading him to his broken sibling as he clutched his eye.

"Right, got it. Sorry," Shadow said quickly. Dark flashed a smile that was more akin to baring his teeth than anything.

"Good! The sooner you learn how dangerous being kind is, the better," he said brightly. The sound of someone clearing their throat caused Dark to turn and Shadow to gaze over his shoulder. A large man in a silken black robe stood in the archway, a perfectly neutral expression on his face.

"My lord, I have urgent news. We've located the last shard of the Dimensional Mirror," the man said, booming voice echoing through the open space. Dark grinned wider, fully exposing his wickedly sharp set of teeth. Shadow Dedede only offered a thin smile before returning to his usual neutrality. Brick walls were more emotional.

"Excellent!" Dark said, turning to look at the space behind his throne. The cursed mirror stood there, golden frame missing one final chunk of glass.

"Of course, it will only be one-way until the Dreamland side is restored as well," Shadow Dedede interjected.

"I am aware," Dark snapped. Ugh, dimensional portals were such a pain.

"He's gonna go in himself and fix it himself," Shadow supplied. Dark raised his hand to smack him upside the head, but Shadow Dedede interrupted the imminent assault.

"You what?!" he cried. Dark gave Shadow a look that promised future pain, and turned back to his subordinate.

"The Dreamlanders have no doubt hidden away the pieces after the havoc I've caused. I intend to teach them a lesson about taking things that aren't theirs," Dark said venomously.

"With all due respect, sir, you technically only own this side-"

"Shut. Up."

"Right. That is irrelevant. Even so, you cannot just go off into another dimension for an unknown amount of time! You have a kingdom to run!" Shadow Dedede urged. Dark waved his hand in dismissal.

"You and Shadow are more than capable of filling in. It isn't like it's hard. Threaten to slaughter our enemies, follow through if necessary, and pretend to care when the next inevitable tragedy happens! It's easy! I only laughed twice when that hospital burned down last month!"

"You told the grieving families that you 'expected a warmer welcome'," Shadow deadpanned.

"And I kept a straight face, didn't I?" Dark retorted, puffing out his chest.

"You did proceed to ask them if anybody smelled bacon, sir," Shadow Dedede added. Shadow snorted.

"He also told them that they might as well designate the whole place as a burn ward."

"And how he didn't know that they provided in-hospital cremation."

"And when he decided to-"

"ENOUGH!" Dark roared, grabbing Shadow Dedede by his collar and yanking him down to eye level. "Shut your insipid mouth and go retrieve that shard immediately!"

"Of course, your majesty!" he sputtered. Dark released his iron grip, and the larger man scampered away down the hall, not even glancing back. He then turned to his brother.

"Jeez, I was only teasing," Shadow muttered, hunching his shoulders and crossing his arms. Dark closed his eye and took a deep breath, his usual smirk sliding back onto his face. His eye then snapped open, glowing blood red. Shadow gave a terrified smile, and skittered out of his throne, dodging under the enraged man's legs and sprinting out of the throne room. Dark let out a suitably evil cackle as he watched him flee.

"Don't sleep!" he called out gleefully. They may be a king and a prince, but first and foremost they were siblings. And as the elder of the pair, it was his duty to torment his dear little brother every day of his miserable life.

Dark turned back to gaze at the dimensional mirror. He strode around his throne to stand before it, admiring his reflection. Finally the ugly missing shard would no longer mar his beautiful mirror. And then...

He held out his hand, lightly touching the cool glass. An unnatural band of light slid across the mirror, distorting his reflection. Dark gazed at his handiwork, grinning. The person in the mirror had two golden eyes as opposed to his single remaining pale yellow one. Wild indigo hair sprouted from his head, and his skin was a warm brown as opposed to Dark's pallid complexion. A flawless replica of Meta stared back; following Dark's every move like a true reflection. His grin looked so unnerving and wrong on the facsimile's face, and only became more twisted as it widened.

Then he would pay his dear counterpart a little visit.