Chapter 1: What happened to you?
Lightning. Thats what was in his hands, Marco's hands to be precise. His eyes were glowing an electric blue with a glare that could strike fear into a dragon. But when did he learn to do this? When did he get so bad ass? Why was he here? So many questions flooded star's mind but she couldn't find answers to any of them. Marco had stopped in the middle of his date with Jackie to come help her out, he saw the blood moon and knew immediately that she was in trouble so he rushed to find her in the graveyard doing their ritual. When he got there star had been on the losing end of a fight with ludo. Ever since he got his hands on a wand he had become increasingly more dangerous, it seemed like every time they fought he got stronger and stronger with no end in sight. Marco figured ludo practiced his magic more than star did, but he never had the heart to tell her that. Unbeknownst to him, the blond princess had also come to that conclusion, but she still couldn't devote herself to practicing her magic like she wanted, it was incredibly boring and repetitive and she'd much rather spend time having fun with Marco. It was times like this, though, that both of them regretted doing nothing about her lack of practice. Ludo had turned his wand into a sword and managed to augment his speed to compensate for his lack of physical ability. In the heat of the moment he caught star off guard, she couldn't remember a spell to make a magical sword so all she could do was dodge, but her dodge wasn't fast enough and ludo slashed through her dress, creating a small gash on her stomach. Though it was small, it stung incredibly bad and star fell to the ground, trying to rub the pain and trickling blood away. It was then that Marco appeared in the blink of an eye, swatting ludo away with a bolt of blue lightning. Now star wasn't even thinking about the pain, all she could think about was Marco and this incredible power he had never told her about. She rose to her feet "Marco... what is this?" she asked, touching his shoulder. He seized up and star removed her hand, a sad expression on her face. Marco felt bad she had to find out this way, that she had to find out at all really, but the situation called for it.
A few months ago
Marco and star had just gotten home from their battle with toffee. Even though Marco had come insanely close to death and star had to go through the pain of destroying her wand, both of them seemed content with the fact that the other was ok. They were headed to the bathroom to clean up, but Marco had to get something off his chest. "Star...?" he asked. She stopped and turned to face him "Yeah Marco?" he stood there for a moment, trying to gather all his thoughts into a sentence, or a speech rather. "W-well, I wanted to say thanks for saving me." he said. "Oh. No prob-" "I'm not done." he interrupted. Star nodded for him to continue. "I know it had to be really hard to destroy your wand like that, but you were really willing to go that far for me..." he started blushing and rubbing the back of his head, trying to find the words to go ahead with his little speech, he was never very good at emotional things. "I just wanted to let you know that it means a lot to me, you know, saving my butt all the time and going the extra mile just to make sure I'm ok." the princess was starting to develop a blush of her own. "Its not just that either, you're someone I can talk to, someone I can connect with and you're like super awesome! You've brought so much excitement into my life star, I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that we met." Star smiled and looked away, her cheeks a bright shade of pink "Ok Marco I-" "Look I know that it's probably really sudden to hear something like this from me, but after something like that I just have to get this off my chest. I wanted to let you know you mean a lot to me and if you ever need anything don't hesitate to ask ok?" the boy had finally managed to get it all out and he finally looked up from the floor to see his best friend with tears pricking at her eyes, but with a big smile on her face. "Oh no, star I'm so-" the boy was cut off by star wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly. He was stunned at first, but smiled and hugged her back just as tight. "Thank you Marco, I really needed that right now." star admitted. Marco always seemed to know just what to say to her, regardless of how awkward he could be. They hugged for what seemed like a long time, Marco had to guess it was at least ten minutes. Star buried her head in his chest and he could feel wet spots in his shirt, but he could also feel her wide smile. He felt his heart beginning to beat faster, there was just something about her that made him feel comfortable, like no matter what happened everything would be ok. He wondered if she got that feeling from him. He started wondering about other things too, about his own strength and how this whole situation could've been avoided if he had just been strong enough to avoid being captured. She pulled away from him and sniffled "I'm going to my room to clean up, you should get in the shower, you're pretty dirty." she giggled, trying to wipe her tears away. Marco reached his hand up and wiped the tears from her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. She seemed to nuzzle into the palm of his hand, but he couldn't really tell. "Seriously star, thanks, for everything." star let herself feel the touch of his hand on her face, she felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks. Am I actually enjoying this? She wondered. She shook her head out of Marco's grasp "No problem buuuuuuddy, its nothing you wouldn't do for me, now, SHOWER DIRTY MAN." she shouted, pointing to the bathroom. "Y-yes ma'am!" he agreed nervously, running inside and taking his shower.
Later in the night when everything had calmed down Marco was sitting in his room doing some homework he had to catch up on. While having fun with star was amazing, it wasn't without its share of drawbacks, almost every time something happened he had work that he had blown off or forgotten to do. It was worth it though, at least in his mind, he'd rather be out having fun with star than doing lame homework anyway. It was funny, before star had come around he had always been the straight edge kid that no one expected to miss any work or days of school, but since she had become a part of his life he was no longer a straight A student and his absences had increased exponentially. It was really starting to throw people off. Now, sitting down and trying to finish up an essay he had to do for school, he found himself oddly distracted. It was a feeling of incredible guilt and sadness. But why...? Is there something I should feel bad about? Nothing happened out of the ordinary today. He thought. In truth it was something that had been nagging at him for a long time, but he couldn't place quite what it was. "Something the matter?" a voice whispered, making Marco fall out of his desk chair. "Glossaryck? What're you doing here!" Marco shouted furiously. "Well star asked if she could read her spell book to herself for now and I get terribly bored when I have nothing to do, so, here I am." he explained. Marco didn't know what to say "Well, I don't know what I can do to help you, but you're welcome to stay if you want." Marco said. "Well my boy, I think you should be asking me what it is I can do to help you." Glossaryck riddled. Marco raised an eyebrow "What is it that I need help with exactly?" he asked. Glossaryck sighed "Something that has been troubling you for quite awhile it seems, I can see it, why can't you?" Marco was starting to find Glossaryck's riddles slightly annoying until the little blue man pointed toward his computer screen. At the very bottom, where he had just gotten done writing it read 'Not strong enough'. When did I even type that? Marco wondered. "It seems subconsciously you're feeling inadequate with the state of things, perhaps that a girl can kick more butt than you hm?" Glossaryck teased. Marco was starting to understand it now, this sense of guilt he was feeling was because he felt like more of a burden to star than a help. It seemed like she just did a bunch of magic and saved both their butts, while all his karate did was slow the monsters down. It was like he had told her once before, she was this awesome princess from outer space and he was just some regular earth kid. Marco sat down, his head hanging low "It's not that she's a girl, it's just that she's my friend and I can't ever seem to help her as much as I want to." he admitted. "So what do you plan to do about it?" Glossaryck asked. Marco thought about it for a second, he could become a black belt in karate, but that would take too long and in the end it probably wouldn't even be effective. So what else was there? What did star have that he didn't? Their strength was about even, reflexes and speed too, so what was left? Magic he thought. "I need magic." Marco said. Immediately he felt stupid "But isn't that something you're born into? You can't just learn it or get it like any other skill right?" Marco asked. "Not necessarily." Glossaryck said. He couldn't help but smile that the boy had figured it out so quickly, now he just needed to be guided on the right path. Marco looked at him curiously, was there really a way to gain magical powers? "While it is true you can be born into magic, that doesn't necessarily mean that's the only way to receive magical powers." Marco was listening to Glossaryck's explanation with intense focus. "There have been many throughout the ages who have gained magic through other means." Glossaryck explained. "What kinds of means?" Marco asked. "Well, some have stolen it, some have killed very powerful beings to gain it, and all others could only gain it through rigorous training and hard work." Marco wasn't a thief and as it was he could only handle fighting lower level monsters and killing a powerful being was a bit of a stretch, so training would have to do. "What kind of rigorous training?" Marco asked nervously. Glossaryck opened a portal with the gem from his forehead "Follow me." he said. Marco followed behind him and suddenly they were on a cliff overlooking a valley. Marco had to admit, it was a beautiful sight, but what was the purpose? "Why did you bring me here?" the boy asked. Glossaryck simply pointed across the valley to several figures flying around. "Are those... dragons?" Marco asked. Glossaryck nodded "The strongest beast alive, no matter what dimension you're from." this wasn't helping much for Marco's confidence "You still haven't answered my question, why did you bring me here?" he asked again. "Do you happen to know what dragon scales are made of?" Glossaryck asked. Well that's a random question if I've ever heard one Marco thought. "No, I don't, why?" "They're made from solid stone, something that can only be penetrated by lightning." Glossaryck explained. "So what does this have to do with me?" Marco asked. "By the end of this month I want you to kill every last one of those dragons." Glossaryck said plainly. Marco was stunned, had he heard him right? "Kill them? All of them?" Marco repeated. "Yes, every last one. You wanted to become strong, what better way than to defeat one of the mightiest creatures in existence? You'll need to learn to wield lightning first though, the whole process should only take you two weeks if you rush your progress." Glossaryck stated. Marco had no idea how this would all turn out, but he'd do anything not to be a burden to star anymore. "Let's get to work then." Marco said confidently.
After training for the first day Marco was exhausted, he'd spent the better part of the last five hours doing intense physical workouts and beginning to learn how to channel magic through his body. He hadn't made any significant progress yet, but he knew he'd get there in time. He just had one question left for Glossaryck after they stepped through a portal back into his room "Why do I need to kill all those dragons? What'd they ever do to anyone?" Marco asked. Glossaryck sighed "You are a very curious one indeed. It's not so much what they've done, it has more to do with what they will do if left unattended. If left as they are now, they will become an incredible threat to you and the princess, I have no doubt Ludo will be looking for the strongest monsters and beasts to rally in his army. It is also a rite of passage, of some sort, for all lightning mages. If your lightning is strong enough to kill a dragon, then it can be counted among some of the greatest sorcery in the entire universe." Glossaryck explained. Marco found himself in awe over the fact that this was really happening, he couldn't believe that Glossaryck of all people was being so helpful in making him not useless. "Hey Glossaryck, before you go..." "Yes?" the blue man replied. "Thanks a lot, really, you don't know how much this means to me." Marco finished. Glossaryck just smiled and disappeared without another word, which was good because Marco really needed to get ready for bed. As soon as he stepped foot in the bathroom he was met with the worried face of star in her nightgown "Oh my gosh Marco where were you!" she yelled "I looked everywhere for you and I tried to call your cell phone, I thought you got captured again or something crazy!" she ran and hugged him "I was so worried." She mumbled into his chest. Marco rubbed the top of her head "I'm sorry star, I didn't mean to make you worry, I just needed to go do some stuff for a few hours, not a big deal." he said, trying his best to be comforting. She looked up at him with her big blue eyes, her worry and sadness coming straight through to make him feel like a jerk for not telling her where he was going. Her eyes eventually went back to their normal shape, coupled with a big smile only star could pull off. She leaned her head on his chest "I'm just glad you're safe Marco." she sighed contentedly. Marco was relieved on the inside, at least she didn't ask what he was doing, cause then he'd be in trouble. He hoped she would just drop the subject and go to bed. "So what was it that you needed to do?" she asked. So much for that Marco thought. He knew it was shameful, but he wanted to keep this a secret, at least until she absolutely needed to know about it. He didn't need her finding out so she could get in the middle of it and star it all up. He never liked to lie, especially not to star, but just this once he decided to make an exception. "I was just walking around town you know? Swung by Jackie's house a few times but never managed to actually knock on the door to talk to her so, that sucks, but there's always tomorrow." Marco said nonchalantly. Star had gone back to the mirror to brush her teeth "Well I wish you good luck in your quest brave knight, for love is the true battlefield." she mused into her toothbrush. She turned to look at him and they both busted out laughing. Marco was holding his gut and star could barely keep herself propped up on the sink, they were almost crying, but when the insane laughter finally broke Marco started getting ready for bed too. He took his shirt off and started getting his toothbrush ready "Marco!" star shouted. "What?" he replied worriedly. "What happened to your chest?" she asked. He had no idea what she was talking about until he actually looked down. There was a burn mark from where Glossaryck had thrown a mini bolt of lightning at him on accident, trying to teach him the proper throwing technique. Dang it Glossaryck, how am I going to explain this?! He internally screamed. Star was staring at him with that worrying face again, god he hated that face, he really didn't like to see her worry about anything, she was so innocent and she didn't need him adding to the stresses of her life. "W-well I kinda slipped and fell down a hill, my shirt came off and a patch of dirt hit me square in the chest, it's kinda stuck on there, but it'll probably go away after a little while." Marco tried to explain. "Are you ok though?" she asked. Marco smiled, that was all she really cared about. She never cared about his excuses or his reasons, she only really cared if he was happy and ok. "Yeah, I'm fine star, it's gonna take more than a hill to strike down the great, the powerful, MARCOOOOO DIAZZZZ!" he posed, flexing his muscles and star lost it. She was laughing so hard she thought her gut was going to burst. "Alright tough guy, as long as you're alright." she giggled. They both finished getting ready for bed and wished each other a goodnight, giving each other a big hug before they parted to their separate rooms. Marco passed out almost immediately, he had no idea how he was going to keep up with school, training, and lying to star for a whole two weeks, but he had to if he wanted to be stronger.
It was the fifth day of his training now, or rather, the fifth day of training was over. He had finally managed to summon up some lightning and he was a lot more impervious to it than before. There was no doubt he was making considerable progress, he was also toning his muscles very nicely thanks to the rough physical training. He found himself becoming less tired with each passing day, he was finally becoming accustomed to the way his body was exercising. He sauntered into the bathroom, ready to take a shower and get ready for bed, but star was there, like she always was. It seemed like their schedules were synced perfectly with each other, which made sense, usually when they came back from a long day of adventuring they tended to do everything else together too. "Any luck today?" she asked, still blissfully ignorant of the truth. "Nah, but I went all the way up to her door today." Marco said. "Oooooh makin progress marcooooo." she cooed. He laughed a little "Yeah I guess." he took his shirt off and suddenly star caught herself staring at his body. Usually she just did a once over to make sure he wasn't hurt or anything and maybe to peep a little bit at his developing body. She was a teenager after all, living with someone her age and of the opposite gender, but today she was full blown staring. His muscles were looking more defined and toned than usual, his chest was poking out a lot more and abs were beginning to take shape, his biceps and triceps were looking pretty nice too, she had to admit he was pretty darn sculpted. Whoa butterfly, cool it, that's Marco over there. You can't be staring at him all hungry like that! He's your best friend! She screamed internally. But she couldn't bring herself to look away, he was very appealing, as much as she didn't want to admit it. Then something important caught her eye "Marco!" she yelled running over to him. "What?!" Marco was shocked at her sudden outburst. She grabbed his arm and lifted it between them "What happened to your arms?" she asked worriedly. His forearms were filled with cuts and bruises, his knuckles were rough and looked like he'd been fighting. She couldn't take her gaze off his arms now, she was too worried. "I just got into a little fight, nothing to worry about." he said. "It is something to worry about Marco! Your arms are all scraped up, tell me what happened!" she insisted. "It was just some thugs, they thought I made an easy target I guess, but I took care of them with my karate in no time flat." She still looked worried, she wouldn't let go of his arm. "Marco...?" she asked lightly. "Yeah star?" she paused for a moment and looked him in the eye "Is there something going on with you? You know you can talk to me about anything... right?" Marco couldn't help but feel bad, he wanted to tell her the truth, he really did, but he didn't want her to get upset because he thought she would mess it up. He really didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't back down on this now. "Star I'm fine, nothing is happening and nothing is wrong ok? It's all in your head I swear. I know you've got my back no matter what and I've got yours just the same, so trust me." the last part of his sentence stung his heart as he spoke it aloud. But you shouldn't trust me, because I'm an idiot and a liar. "Alright Marco, I trust you." she let his arm go, but she couldn't shake the feeling Marco wasn't telling her something. They said goodnight and Marco got in the shower, his mind filled with guilt over lying to his best friend.
"Alright boy, it's time to show me what you've learned." Glossaryck said. Marco breathed in deeply and breathed out through his mouth. His eyes opened and he started to channel the magic across his skin, covering his whole body in blue lightning. He extended his hands outward, a large bolt of lightning appearing in each of his hands, he gripped them as though they were physical objects, swinging them around as he would a blade. He cleaved a rock in two, then a tree, and threw the bolt straight at a boulder, blowing it up in the process. "Four trees, two seconds, go." Glossaryck said. He didn't even have time to finish his sentence before Marco had cleared the gap and chopped down four trees in the blink of an eye. It didn't take him anywhere near two seconds, more like two milliseconds. The boy had gotten a lot better since they had first started his training two weeks ago. His body was completely impervious to lightning and he could move faster than lightning as well. Not only that, but he could channel it throughout his whole body, making it stronger where he needed it as well as further augmenting some of his physical abilities. The greatest power he gained though, was to make bolts of lightning from thin air, he could hold them in his hands and they could do a variety of things. They could be wielded like blades, thrown like spears, they could even be used as whips or smashing tools if he willed it to be. Now would be the true test of the boy's strength. "Now, kill those dragons." Glossaryck commanded. Marco showed no fear or cowardice, his eyes filled with a new confidence and sense of purpose. This was a brand new Marco, the likes of which had never been seen before. He stood at the cliff side and formed a bolt in his hand, hurling it clear across the valley and striking one of the dragons in the head, killing it instantly. The other four dragons turned and flew in his direction at incredible speed. Marco didn't even flinch, he formed two more bolts in his hands and waited for them to come to him. When they were about a mile out Marco rushed to meet them, slicing one of their heads off without them even seeing what happened. The three remaining dragons turned their gazes, but he was already gone, plunging one of his bolts right into another's hide and sending it down to the valley floor. Only two left. Marco hurled his other bolt right through both of another dragon's wings, letting him fall as well. Only one dragon left, and it looked like it wanted to fly away, but Marco didn't intend to let it. Before the dragon even got a chance to consider retreat, Marco was already upon it, his lightning coated fist crashing into the dragon's skull and sending it to the valley floor with the rest. He appeared back on the cliff side, waiting for further instruction. "You did well my boy, you shouldn't be a burden to her any longer, though there is still room to improve, but that is a story for another day." Glossaryck riddled. They stepped through the portal back into his room like they always did, but this time it was different. There was no see you tomorrow, no good job today, no nothing. He stared at Glossaryck "I have taught you all that I know, but there is still more you must unlock on your own. See ya later kid." he said, vanishing into thin air. He wondered what else there was to learn, but at the same time he didn't really care, he was just glad he had gotten to a level where he could proudly say he would never be weak again.
The present
Marco knew there was no way he could run away from this, he had to accept the fact that he lied and tell her everything straight up, like a man, but it would have to wait for later. Ludo stood in front of him, poised to attack, but retreating as well. He recognized the boy's power, he knew he had to be careful or risk an early grave. "So you possess magic now too eh?" Ludo questioned. "Sure do, sorry to disappoint you." Marco said sarcastically. Marco rushed forward with incredible speed, kicking Ludo square in the stomach and smashing him in the head with a lightning fist, sending him flying backwards through several gravestones. Ludo whined and picked himself up, but Marco was already on him, his shadow towering over the small monster. "Leave, before you really get hurt." Marco threatened. There was an oddly intimidating presence to him now, something Ludo had never gotten from him before. Star was so absorbed in thought she didn't even notice Ludo's spider had swiped her book of spells. "Star! Your book!" Jackie yelled. Star snapped out of her trance and ran after the spider, shooting narwhal blasts and cotton candy storms at it, but not managing to land a single hit. Her magic wasn't working right again, she had noticed by now that her wand was affected by her emotions and right now this Marco thing was really messing with her head. It was like he was a completely different person now, but just earlier today he acted like the same Marco she had always known. What had happened? Why hadn't he told her about this? Weren't they best friends? Didn't he promise her they would share everything? It was enough to put her off, the spider was getting away with her book of spells. "As you wish Marco." Ludo finally replied, giving him an evil laugh. Ludo was snatched away by his bird and he opened a portal for all three of them to go through. Marco couldn't let them get away, not with her book of spells, not with Glossaryck. He appeared in front of the portal, but they were already through and before he could stick his hand in, the portal had closed, leaving no trace of Ludo or his minions. "Dang it, they got away." he looked at star "I'm so sorry star, it's all my fault. I should've been faster, then they wouldn't have gotten away." Marco said remorsefully. "My book of spells." star said sadly "He took it and he took Glossaryck too." she was starting to cry now, all she could do was run to the place she found safest in the world, the place where she found nothing but comfort and peace of mind in her darkest of hours. She ran straight into Marco's arms. She hugged him tight and pressed her face into his chest, letting out choked sobs and drowning Marco's shirt with her tears. She tried to make sentences through her sobbing, but she could only get a syllable or two out and it would fall apart. Marco didn't have to understand her words to know what she was saying, she felt terrible for letting her spell book fall into the hands of Ludo, for letting all of her family's history and knowledge on magic, not to mention Glossaryck, be taken away from her without being able to put up much of a fight. He felt her pain, it was because he felt something similar at a time that he chose to gain these powers after all. Marco couldn't help but feel responsible somehow, if he had just been a little faster the whole outcome would be different. If he hadn't bolted in with his new display of magic it wouldn't have messed with stars head and she could've fought with a clear mind instead of her wand fizzling out on her. Star cried into Marco for what seemed like forever. She cried herself into exhaustion and, eventually, to sleep. Marco could feel she wasn't standing on her own anymore, she was leaning on him and her heart rate had decreased. She was breathing softly and she had stopped crying, so he knew she was out like a light. He picked her up like a bride "Hey Jackie, Janna, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow, I need to put star to bed." Jackie and Janna both nodded "Goodnight Marco." Jackie said, giving him a peck on the cheek. Janna was surprised, but she would find a better time to tease him about it. The girls walked away with a wave and Marco used his incredible speed to get him and star home in just a few moments. He leaped into her window, no sense in trying to walk through the whole house and explain what happened, he felt his own fatigue catching up with him. He placed star in her bed and pulled her blanket over her, tucking her in. "I'm so sorry star, this is all my fault. I swear I'll make it up to you somehow. We'll get your book back and show Ludo not to mess with us." he clenched his fist with anger and regret, berating himself for his own weakness. He looked at star, he never noticed before, on account of him not looking at star while she slept, but she looked adorable when she was sleeping, like she didn't have a care in the world. Looking at her now you would never guess she had all the problems she did, what with worrying about Ludo and stressing over having to become queen of Mewni one day. Marco touched her forehead "Goodnight star." he said, smiling. Marco made his way down the hall to his room, flopping down on the bed and immediately passing out, school was going to be a nightmare after a night like this.