Keeping Your Promise

A/N: After the positive feedback from Flowers and Stars I have decided to continue the story for a sequel. This will focus on the future for the characters and the unanswered questions from the first part.

Responses to Reviews in Flowers And Stars:

Kerbolious: I'm really happy you enjoyed it and thank you for the support, I love RVB and am loving the mystery of the new season. It's probably sooner than you expected but the story continues and you'll be glad to know that meeting Tom's dad shall be a part of the story.

Fanguyperson: Thank you :) I tried to keep pace with the characters and sorta like in a tv show where you'd miss a lot of the stuff in between.

Macky125: Thank you for your comment :) I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Lerans: As I said in the PM this will be a continuation and will have some of the answers you wanted from the first part. If you still have things your unsure of I'll try to incorporate the answers into the story to make more sense.

The song sung in the first part is inspired by that of Bill Cipher in Gravity Falls, I found a version on youtube where someone sings the whole song in a billish voice. It is great and the second half goes well with the song 'In Our Bedroom After The War'. :) Hope you enjoy.

/

The room was pitch black and empty except for the man lying on the floor. He sat up quickly and patted himself down checking his body.

"All still there at least". He brushed his hands through his red hair before rising to see a mirror. He used his illusion magic to make a light appear and stepped forward. He waved into it, with it literally mirroring his movements. He looked at his reflection straightening his tie he looked to see if everything was as he remembered when he noticed the reflection didn't copy him. He went to poke it when his reflection slapped his hand away.

"Are you done Jester?" It rolled its red eyes at him before stepping through the mirror. It looked down at its form and frowned. With a wave of it's hand its appearance changed. It was now a beautiful young woman with long flowing red hair. Her red eyes made all the more piercing by her eye lashes. She sat down in a chair staring at the man.

"Well aren't you going to sit?" He looked confused but shrugged taking a seat. He waved his hands to make something appear but nothing happened. He tried again but still nothing. He looked over at her as she sipped the tea in her hands.

"Not all working as it should do.. I suppose not, really."

"Am I dead?"

"Yes"

"Then why I am here?" Index of Knowledge looked down at his body. His clothes were the same as the day he had died. He had no injuries like he remembered and even looked through his skin and saw that Glossaryck's enchantments were gone.

"Well Index of Knowledge.. Or should i use your other name?"

"Please do.."

"Well Dox A. Par.. You know full well that the whole Blood Moon scenario is a part time deal for me and that i have a full time responsibility, don't you?" She asked this with some force as if it wasn't so much a question but an accusation.

"You.. You're the Goddess of Fate.. You only do the Blood Moon blessings to give those you favour a better fate.."

"You really did know! How marvellous! However did you find it out!? I'd erased all texts of my true existence from written record." She was genuinely impressed. Out of all the Jester's she had chosen over the many hundred years this one amused her more than any other. He not only went about his role in the most unorthodox way but had given his role to another, something none had ever done before. She had watched him with as much interest as she had her champions.

"It was mainly a theory. In the deepest parts of Heckapoo's dimension i found a cave with drawings all over the walls. The drawings were old.. Even older than her and I know my Dad would have told me about them if he thought it connected to the Blood Moon in any way. But he didn't so I guessed he didn't know about them, meaning something before my father. It depicted an ancient symbol that i recognised as Fate and around it were drawings of men and woman dancing under a crescent red moon. I saw that there were two who were blessed and a keeper of their "blessing".. Their fate. The closest word that i could find was Jester and it seems I was right. You're Fate?" Dox rubbed his chin remembering the strange drawings.

"Remarkable.. Well yes I am a Goddess, you can just call me Fate. You see Dox, my lovely Jester, I am not the only god and the other gods were also watching you and my champions. The Goddess of Love and the God of War were particularly interested. They seemed fit to lecture me on not rewarding you for your efforts. I do not like being told i haven't done my part so I'm prepared to offer you one of two options.

One, I can restore you to life and let you live out your days along side the champions.

Or two, I can reincarnate you into a happier life, a blessed life with fate smiling down onto you." In her hands Fate held up two images. One was of him, Kelly and Marco sleeping on a sofa 🛋 and the other a young boy with loving parents hugging him.

Dox smiled at the woman realising how amazing this offer was but..

"No can do I'm afraid Milady, I promised Marco to wait in the afterlife and hear about his life from him. I want to keep that promise and anyway I lived my life I don't need to do it again. Plus I feel like they have already grieved me and said their goodbyes to me, to go back now I would be insulting the feelings they overcame to say goodbye to me. So if possible I'd like an option 3. I want to be able to meet him again when his time comes, Kelly too." Dox wasn't sure what to expect from the Goddess but she simply lit up with the biggest most unsettling smile he had ever scene.

"You continue to amuse me.." She clapped her hands and Dox found himself falling through the air. He landed on an arm chair and looked up. He was in his study inside the Parahouse.

"You can wait here, I've linked the TV to let you watch over him. I can't always watch over them when I need to so I will appoint you as the Guardian of the Blood Moon. If you feel like maybe that fate isn't on their side I want you to change their fate. You'll know what to do when the time comes." Her voice flowed straight into his ear as he smiled at the TV.

"Thank you Milady but I do have one more question before you leave?"

"What is it Jester?"

"Why did you help both Marcos, my one and the one from the dark dimension?" He waited patiently for a reply.

"I chose the existence known as Marco Diaz as one of my champions, that means every version of him. Good or Bad. I gave them both my aid and my affection. It was their choice to prove they were worth my blessing. The Marco of the future you came from did not have the help, love and support he needed at the right times to make the choice I truly expected of him. He chose to give into anger and hate letting rage consume him and murdering his equal, doing so doomed him to his final fate. Your intervention let the natural flow of things return. He followed your path, walking with Kelly beside him and Star and Tom behind him. He had all the support and guidance he needed.

If you are wondering why Glossaryck of the future and present could not predict the future intervention with the other Marco it is because the light and dark dimensions are not supposed to co-exist. By bridging between them the other Marco changed fate. I have to warn you now that isn't supposed to be possible. Something, or someone created the bridge between the light and the dark and interfered in my fate. It's why I need you to watch over my champions while I try to find out what caused all of this to occur. Do your job and keep your promise."

"Wait.. Someone else was behind all of it?"

Dox waited for a response but she was gone. Cursing to himself he started to think about what sort of being could break the rules and wishes of a Goddess and nothing came to mind. He just hoped whatever it was it wouldn't be an issue for his friends in the living. He stood up and walked through the house. It looked like he had left it. It was as if him, Marco and Kelly had just popped out for an adventure and they had returned. He walked to the front door and opened it to see a bricked up wall. He walked back down the corridor to a locked room. He pulled a key from his pocket and opened it up.

"Why is this door locked? It's the only one in this weird house of yours that isn't opened. I mean you even have that one door on the second floor that leads to the room full of teddy bears?"

"Marco I thought i told you not to bring up the teddy bears?"

"I just.. Anyway what's with this door?" Dox looked down at the boy and smile.

"It's something special, you'll find out one day. Anyway we better get going or Kelly will make us sorry for being late again to training" He ruffled the boys head and ran off with Marco following suit.

Dox smiled remembering the time he shared with the young man. He walked over to the only object in the room and pulled the cover off.

He couldn't stop himself from staring at it. A black Steinway Grand Piano. Along the side was gold engravings and white marble legs. He took a seat at the stool and ran his hand over the keys. They felt cold to touch. He cracked his knuckles and began to play. Once he had the rhythm going he started to sing.

"We'll meet again, Don't know where, don't know when,
But i know we'll meet again some sunny day.
Keep smiling through, just like you always do,
Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away.

Would you please say "hello", to the folks that I know,
Tell them I won't be long.
They'll be happy to know, that as you saw me go,
I was singing this song.

We'll meet again, Don't know where, don't know when,
But i know we'll meet again some sunny day.
We'll meet again, Don't know where, don't know when,
Keep smiling through just like you always do,
Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away

Would you please say "hello", to the folks that I know,
Tell them I won't be long.
They'll be happy to know, that as you saw me go,
I was singing this song.
We'll meet again, Don't know where, Don't know when,
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day!". He stopped playing the piano and instead listened to the sounds of his tears hitting the keys and the silence that followed.

/

Marco ran his hands across the keys and began to push down on them playing a small tune. He closed the lid, put back the cover and walked to the door. He smiled before flipping the light switch and locking the door.

A month had passed since the day he was destined to die and the Parahouse was finally repaired. Marco and Kelly had gone inside to find everything as they left it. The only room that wasn't as they remembered was Dox's Study. It was ruined in the fight against Darkco and when the pocket dimension was returned it had reset that room to its base settings. The two had walked in still somewhat expecting to see the man they admired sitting in his chair to find the room completely empty. Marco had to hold Kelly tight as she cried in his arms. They had been hoping to spend time there and remember him. After leaving her return to her room to unpack her stuff he had decided to check out the locked room to find that piano alone. He had no idea why that was so special for his mentor and made a mental note to ask Heckapoo and Glossaryck if they had any answers.

He headed to his room to unpack. In the month after the fall of the dark dimension and after Dox's funeral the group had sort of gone their separate ways. They all mostly kept in touch but they needed time.

Star and Tom put all their time and effort into rebuilding the Butterfly Kingdom. With the relief effort from the other kingdoms and much hard work the kingdom was back to normal shape with the royals taking the chance to extend the outer wall and build better living conditions for the lower classes. They had set in motion plans for the next 5 months and were preparing for the return of the others. Tom had spent some time in the various dimensions he visited to finalise the peace treaties established in the pursuit of Dox. He had worked hard to ensure that the treaties stood firm. Dox's name still hadn't been cleared as a villain and it was decided that due to the positive influence the news of his death had on the general public he would be remembered as a villain. Marco hadn't been happy with the decision but he knew more than anyone that Dox would happily be remembered as the villain he wasn't than the hero he was proven to be. Tom was successful and for the first time in the history of multiple dimensions peace was established without threat or worry. Star had continued her efforts for equality and thanks to both sides working together to survive and fortunately timed engagement announcement of Ruby and Professor Barnus she had managed to quell a lot of the stigma against Monster Kind.

Janna and Heckapoo ran off to go on an epic adventure through her dimension and no one had seen them in a month. Marco was incredibly worried that Janna might have either died of old age or turned immortal in Hpoo's dimension. They all agreed to meet the day after the Parahouse restored to decide what comes next. Unbeknownst to Marco, Janna had stolen the pendant Glossaryck had found to repel curses and it worked to negate the ageing effects of Heckapoo's dimension. The two had been on lifetimes worth of adventures togethers even lifetimes when they just lived ordinary lives. Janna had helped her with overcoming the loss of Dox and find peace with everything that happened. After the war Heckapoo was in a bad condition with the effects of dark energy magic eating away at her life force. She had Janna help her hide it from the others until they disappeared on their adventure. Janna stayed by her side and took care of her until she recovered several years later in her dimension. From there they got matching tattoo's, explored all of her dimension land and sea, ushered in a new age of prophecies and superstition in order to scare people. One lifetime they even opened up an orphanage named 'Each Their Own Paradox' making it so no child should be abandoned for death. They eventually passed it onto the oldest of the children they raised and carried on their adventures. They did everything they could think of and everything they couldn't before returning to earth to spend the last of the month in Janna's house. They kept it secret from the others and just relaxed ready for what comes next.

Glossaryck had also left for a trip, the loss of Dox had hit him pretty hard and he needed some time to himself. After two weeks he had resurfaced and he had plans to open a magic school. To teach anyone who was willing to learn about magic. He promised private advanced lessons for Star, Marco, Janna and Kelly but he seemed to want to build a brighter future. Higgs was his first student and apparently she showed promise. Thanks to her countless efforts in the war and assisting Star and the people she was Knighted as part of a new group of Knights under Stars supervision. The Order of The Crescent Moon was to be a specialised group of knights to deal with the weird and worst of the problems Mewni faced. Star later explained that it would give them more freedom in their efforts. Marco was told he'd have to squire for a bit longer to "prove" to the people he was worthy but it was really just a way to give him some space. Kelly also was to be Knighted for her accomplishments in the war but like Marco she was given a condition to work for the castle for a while as a technicality. Janna, Heckapoo and Tom as members of the MHC already outranked Knights but they took the knighting anyway just to give the group some unity.

Marco and Kelly had actually spent the whole month apart, both with their families. They spoke every night and day never letting each other feel lonely. They needed the chill time and the time to reconnect with their loved ones.

Marco had enjoyed spending time with Alessandro, with him there they could take the suppressor off of him and Marco enjoyed watching the array of powers Alessandro had. He wasn't so sure that one time he'd got outside and started floating up into the sky like a helium balloon 🎈 being set free but Nachos had flown up and brought him back down. Angie and Rafael had loved having Marco home and were amazed at how much he had grown. He had always been a helpful boy but the pair would find themselves waking up to Marco cooking them breakfast. Apparently it was tradition in the Parahouse that each person cooked at least one meal and he'd been on breakfast duty last. He'd help tidy up before heading off to study and train. Marco had spoken to the school board and under the condition that he completes all his tests with at least 95% or higher he'd be able to graduate from high school early. He'd done it in a week with 100% on everything.

The school were so impressed they contacted a local college and persuaded them to allow Marco to take part in courses of his choice. He'd easily aced all his subjects he'd taken from modern science to history. With full marks and his college degree under his belt he was being scouted by all the top universities as a genius. He'd had to refuse for the time being saying that he wasn't ready with his research and had to finish his squireship. They had been hesitant to accept but he showed them some magic and talked about his research and they realised when he was ready for university he would change everything and they knew it so he was offered an unconditional place at every one.

His parents were so proud of him for finishing his education and when they asked what had driven him to want to do it all he'd told them that Dox had him studying for two months straight and then after that he'd set aside 2 hours a day to study. He had made it his mission to ensure that Marco could be self-sufficient on both Earth and Mewni. Doc had particularly focused on his earth education after becoming friends with his parents. They were so proud of Marco and thankful to the man they considered their guardian. Marco had given his parents the picture of himself, Kelly and Dox to put on the wall. They wanted to remember him and wanted Alessandro to know of him. Marco spent the remainder of his time on Earth rebuilding his friendships and bridges. He even returned to the dojo and earned his black belt much to Jeremy's disgust.

Kelly had gone home to see her parents and siblings. The moment she had stepped in front of the house her little twin brothers had both jumped onto her tackling her to the floor. Having heard of the war for Mewni and seeing the dark dimension above it they had feared for their sisters life. She reassured them that she was fine before going inside to meet with her parents. Their reactions were pretty similar. She had spent the whole day and night telling them everything that had happened from the sandwich beast to the funeral the day before. They listened attentively and ooh'd and ahh'd when Kelly had pulled out all her new exciting weapons. They comforted their daughter seeing how much hardship and loss she had gone through.

The next day they woke to loud banging outside only to see Kelly was building something. When asked about it she explained that she wanted to build a forge so that she could work from home and also so that her family could learn her techniques. They had always provided from mercenary jobs and it was actually in a guild that her parents had met. They were two of Mewni's most famous adventurers and it was on one of their missions from the Kingdom that Star had met Kelly. She hadn't really remembered the green haired girl as they were quite young but it left an impression on Kelly.

Over the month Kelly and her family bonded over the experience. Her father would take the boys to the quarry to find large rocks that Kelly could use and her and her mother would work out the schematics of the building and started the wood work. Together the five of them built the forge Kelly had envisioned. When it was done she set to teaching the others about forging weapons and enchanting. Her father had more experience with weapons so took to the forging while her mother was the source of the families magic and pocket dimensions so took to enchanting. Together they made their first sword as a family. It didn't exactly work out all that well but it meant a lot to all of them so they hung it in front of the forge.

When the time finally came for her to head out again her little brothers had ran up to Marco who had come to pick her up and told him to look after their sister. Her parents had hugged her and wished her good luck promising the next time she returned home they'd have the forge working wonders.

Marco and Kelly walked through a portal to the field they had first met Dox. They had sat down and faced the scene where everything started.

"It feels like it was just yesterday Marco, that we were running for our lives from our lunch.."

"I know Kells, it's strange.. If I could go back to the me that got kidnapped I don't think I'd know what to say.."

"I do.." Marco turned to her seeing a brilliant smile on her face. She hadn't taken her eyes off of the battlefield and didn't notice him staring.

"I'd tell the young versions of us to prepare themselves. To get ready for the start of the rest of their lives. For Love, for adventure, for highs and low. For meeting the best person they'll ever meet and for having the time of their life. For hardship and fatigue, for working out until you dropped. For studying until your head ached and for loving every single second of it. The year ahead of them will be the year they truly discover who they are and if they aren't sure they want it then they just need to let themselves be kidnapped as they'll know it soon enough". She turned to see Marco staring at her and blushed. The two stood up and cut a portal. Marco pulled the key from his neck and turned it in the portal.

"This is registered pocket dimension #650, code name "Parahouse"

"Dimensional stability restored. Access to Dimension restored. Greetings 'Marco Diaz' and Kelly Diaz', Welcome Back." They both had smiled and held hands walking through the door.

/

Marco looked up from the frying pan to see Kelly enter the room. She was wearing a red checked shirt and jeans, her black boots and her hair was tied up as it had been at Lava lake. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Your still cooking breakfast?" She raised her eyes before sitting at the counter opposite him.

"It was my turn, dinners on you if I remember and I figured we'd grab lunch at work from now on." He passed her a plate and loaded it with eggs and bacon. He caught the toast as it flew into the air and passed that too before taking a seat opposite her.

"Okay hotstuff, you excited to see everyone?" She tucked into her breakfast aware he was smiling at her do so.

"Yeah, it's been a month now and we haven't seen anyone. We have the next 5 months to finish our squireship and royal work before we can be knighted. Once we have that I will be able to start the process of introducing human medicine to Mewni and you can open your shop. That's if everything goes to plan.." She could sense worry coming through their connection. She reached forward and held his hand.

"Sorry Kelly, I'm just worried that everything we went through before.. That it's not over. I don't know why but I couldn't sleep last night thinking maybe we missed something." He started to eat his breakfast not realising she was thinking herself.

They finished their breakfast in silence and washed up. As they were on their way out she stopped him.

"Tonight come sleep in my bed with me, I think you'll feel better if I was there. Don't worry handsome I won't steal all the blanket and I don't snore. Just.. I don't like the idea of you alone not sleeping and if anything does come well.. We're ready." The two walked to the door and before leaving both turned to the entrance way and said together.

"We're heading out now, Be back soon." The door closed behind them leaving the house silent and lifeless.

A/N: I will say now that Dox will not be coming back to life, he is content with his afterlife and waiting for Marco hence Keeping Your Promise. I wanted to set the scene for the next part of this story with all of them having to have moved on from it, not fully there but mending. The next chapter will have a timeskip of the 5 months straight into the story arc. There was someone behind what happened in the past with Darkco and it's this person who will cause issues for our characters.

Thank you to anyone who supported me in Flowers and Stars and I hope to do justice to the story in this sequel. If you have any questions feel free to PM me otherwise please review and let me know what you think.