Flowers and Stars 2
Why Things Get Taken?
A/N:
Brody: I'm glad you like it, there is gonna be a lot more sad before the end.
A Unimpressive name: Thank you :) Hope you enjoy the chapter.
SonicMax: No promises but it may not end out the way you think at this point.
Kozmos: Thank you very much for you comments glad you enjoyed the first part.
Unknown: No he's not related to any of the characters by blood.
Useful76: Pair o' ducks? I'm not sure if you got it and didn't wanna spoil it or didn't get it o.O and Nope :) not related and not another Marco :) Read and you will see.
"Earth?" They all repeated staring at Dox not knowing how to follow up.
"Yeah its sort of a small dimension that's usually not well known since it doesn't have magic." Dox tried to explain.
"That's not possible" Marco whispered to himself. His words were mainly unheard par one person. Kelly.
"How is that possible? You need dimensional scissors ✂ to travel through portals and I've only ever heard of one Earthling to have achieved that?" Kelly quizzed. Dox paused for a second and then smiled at the girl.
"Well as lovely as Heckapoo is she isn't exactly the easiest person to get Scissors from, plus you have to be recognised before your even offered a trial. I don't need to have scissors because i have.. Magic" he waved his right arm and the group watched as a black coloured portal appeared next to them. He waved his arm and closed it.
"So who is the Earthling that beat her game? They must be the one i locked onto?" He asked the group ignoring their looks of confusion.
Marco raised his hand without saying a word. Dox gave him a puzzled look and then smiled widely.
"Marco.. I see.." He quickly leant forward and touched the back of Marco's head. He sprung back in self defence and Dox was forced to dodge a sword from Kelly but wasn't as successful as a blast of magic struck him in the chest. He brushed off the sparkles and laughed loudly.
"Sorry i forgot about the personal space thing; after 2 years in the slime dimension you forget about that sorta thing. However, you are quite the ladies man Mr Diaz, to be travelling with two beautiful ladies and also carry the mark of Heckapoo, i have to wonder what you did to impress the girl so much." The other three hadn't lowered their guard and tried not to react to his comments. He looked at them and sighed.
"Oh come on i said sorry?" He looked down at his watch, he was behind schedule. "Look kids I'm on a tight schedule and i don't really have time for you to question my every action" his smile returned however it was clear that it wasn't genuine.
"What are you planning?" Marco spat at him. Apparently Dox had hit a sore spot with Marco.
"Why should i be planning anything?"
"You said you don't have time, you know more than your letting on about us clearly. You claim to be from earth but you wouldn't be able to use magic or even open portals if that was the case!" Marco gritted his teeth not moving from his position. He didn't know why but he felt the man in front of him would cause trouble.. The same kind of trouble as Ludo and Toffee.. Big trouble.
"Marco.. Marco.. Marco.. Is that how your mother raised you? To judge people on face value?" Marco's heart wavered a little untill Dox finished his statement. "Now i hope she doesn't do the same to Marco Jr."
Marco immediately leapt at him bringing down his fist. His hopes of a surprise attack were quickly dashed as Dox sidestepped his assault and kicked him away. Marco did a roll on the ground before rising back to his feet as he ran at the red haired stranger, he was in awe of how quickly Star and Kelly had followed his charge. Kelly had quickly lunged with her great sword swinging at a diagonal angle to avoid the same dodge Marco experienced. Dox, moving effortlessly, flipped sideways and used her sword as a foot hold to jump out of the way of Stars Narwhal blast. He landed back on the ground and met his palm to the fist Marco threw at him. He stopped the hooded boy in his tracks before swinging him into Kelly knocking them both to the ground.
Star began to circle him firing blast after blast of colourful magic at him. He danced around each blast as if he didn't even see them and then suddenly fell into the ground. He appeared from a portal behind Star and tripped her up. She went to use her hands to push against the ground hoping to send herself back to her feet but fell through a portal and landed on her fellow beaten friends.
"Ya know.. We don't have to do this? I never intended to fight you i just need you to know that. In regards to my plan Marco I'm here for you and the wand. I will be leaving with them both and won't be returning them for a while." His smile beamed down at the trio but was returned with anger.
Marco rose back up to his feet and ran at the stranger. He did a flying round house kick but was easily blocked. Before the man could stop him again he dropped and tried to trip up the person with his foot. Dox let the boy do it but quickly just rolled to his feet. Marco continued unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks when a chance rock behind him caused the red head to trip. Instead of striking him Marco pulled his scissors and turned to Star. He threw then at her.
"We can't beat him trust me. Take the scissors and get out of here" He turned back round to see the ground empty. Dread filled him as he turned to see Dox standing behind him scissors in hand.
"Good plan Marco, it takes tremendous strength to know when you cannot win. The ability to know that living to fight another day rather than fighting a losing battle is a remarkable quality. Kudos to ya" Dox was honestly impressed with the boy. It hadn't been what he had expected. By all accounts Marco of this time should still be rather rash but he was learning.
Before Marco could respond a sharp strike to the back of his head turned his world black. Star and Kelly watched as Marco fell through another portal followed by his scissors.
Dox almost didn't dodge what came next as Kelly ran at him having thrown her sword at him to distract him. She grabbed his top and threw him to the ground before pulling another blade down onto him. It missed slightly cutting his cheek. He fell through a portal followed by her only to end up standing with her in his arms. She kicked herself away from him before turning back to Star. She looked broken as if unsure what to do. "On my own" Kelly reasoned as she picked back up her first sword dual wielding the pair.
She raised one sword above her head facing towards the ever smiling man her other sword she flipped in her hand so as she ran at the man and turned he was forced into action. He dodged left and right gaining speed as she picked up the pace. He could see drops appearing on the ground and looked up to her face to see these were not sweat but tears. The girls face was red with rage as she unleashed her fury on him. He didn't want to draw this out too long so raised his arms and stopped her swords. He gripped down onto them shattering them into many pieces. The girl didn't have long to be shocked as Dox head butted her forcing her unconscious. He picked Kelly up and threw her into a portal. Not part of his original plan but he remembered something important about her that he could work with.
Dox turned to meet Star, in the brief time he had taken his eyes off her she had dropped to the ground with tears streaming down her face. He recalled what he was told before "She is vulnerable still after losing her inner magic.. After almost losing everything.. At that time the smallest trigger could break her.. And you must break her". He sighed. Hurting children wasn't really his idea of a good time. He picked up the wand, threw it through a portal and sat down in front of her. He should really leave but he wanted to wait for something.
"You felt the rift energy? Are you sure?" Moon quizzed the blue man as they both flew over the walls of the kingdom heading towards the edge of the forest.
"Yes a small time ago i felt it as well as several portals opening in the same proximity. I messaged Heckapoo and she said no portals have been opened there. Whatever is doing it isn't using normal means. The only problem is that is in the same direction i saw Star running to earlier." His face filled of an unusual amount of worry.
"We need to hurry. Whatever this is.. It might hurt them and they aren't ready to face it."
"I thought you told me they were fine? Telling lies is not very becoming of a Queen, Moon."
"I didn't lie" She hissed furiously at Glossaryck. "They have been fine but that's day to day. They are teenagers who have been forced to fight in two battles they shouldn't have had to. I had to as my parents were no more but i should have been there to stop the threats they faced. Not push it onto an innocent boy and my baby girl"
"I see.. Well i hope everything is okay as we're almost there."
The fight between the trio and Dox may have seemed simple and quick but the attacks that were used had scarred the land. Giant pieces of earth smashed into craters by Kelly's swings. Burn marks and glitter filled the rest as the magic from Star had decorated the land. Moon and Glossaryck winced as they saw the devastation. Their eyes soon fell onto Star and a stranger beside her.
"..gi..ck" Star whimpered to him.
"Pardon Princess I can't hear you"
"GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE THEM BACK TO ME! GIVE THEM BACK NOW!" She reached forward and pinned the man to the ground. She rained her fists down onto his face with all her strength. She stood up with bloody cut fists as she stared down at him.
"STAR!" She turned to see her mother and Glossaryck flying towards her. She turned back to see Dox standing as blood poured from his nose and cut lip. He went to speak but then paused. He waved his hands over his face and like magic it was restored. He did the same over her hands and she was fine.
"Give the-"
"I can't and won't Princess. I'm Sorry"
She went to grab him again only to have him disappear again. Moon ran forward and wrapped her arms around Star. She pushed her mother off and scanned for the man but he was gone.
"Star what happened?" Moon brushed the hair out of Star's face only to see tears flowing down her face.
"Where is the wand Princess?" Glossaryck asked tonelessly. Moon looked up in horror at the question before holding Star by her shoulders and meeting her eyes.
"Star.. What happened?"
"He took them. He took the wand he took Kelly and he.. He took Marco" was all Star managed to say before burying her head in her mothers chest crying her heart out. Moon looked up at Glossaryck both sharing the same face of dread.
Marco had gotten used to being kidnapped. He'd been there and done that the best of times. He and Star had plenty of enemies after all. He had woken up in dark dungeons and haunted houses. Glass cages and grass mazes. So many adventures he never told the rest about but he and Star had faced a lot. He even got mannapped a few times in Hpoo's dimension. He got himself out of every situation. However, in all his times of being kidnapped he had never woken up on a comfortable bed with a warm meal beside him. He had shot up. It wasn't a cage, a cell or every very prisoner like. He ran to the door and it opened easily. It was a long dark corridor leading down to a lit room. He scanned the room he was in and saw a sword on the wall. He took it before moving stealthy down the hall. He burst into the room in front of him with the sword draw. He let his eyes readjust to the light before locking eyes with his kidnapper. Dox sat in a chair facing the boy sipping a cup of tea. The wand was by his side on a table along with Marco's Scissors next to them.
Marco scanned the room. A mix of treasures and weapons decorated the walls. A grand fireplace was behind Dox as he continued to sip his tea. Marco wanted nothing more than to run at the man and slice him in two but chose to fight with his mind. He put the sword on a side before walking up to Dox and taking the seat opposite him.
"Talk" Marco demanded. He had tried to sound firm and strong. Dox took one more sip of his tea before placing it back onto a saucer and making it disappear with a wave of his hand.
"Hello Marco"
"Hello?"
"Are you feeling well? I hope i didn't strike you too hard?" Dox replied with all the politeness one could muster.
"I'm fine." Marco replied coldly.
"Wonderful I mean I'm glad your rested but sleeping for 16 Hours was really pushing it." Chuckled Dox.
"16 HOURS! What happened to Star and Kelly! WHERE ARE THEY!?" He managed to remain in his chair but his fists were so tight in anger that he had started to cut into them with his nails.
"Yes 16 hours, Miss Kelly is fine she awoke a while before you. After relinquishing her of all her many weapons and finally talking to her she calmed down and returned to her room. I believe she checked on you and made you a meal in case you were hungry when you awoke. The Princess, last time i saw her anyway, was in the arms of her mother safe although not sound and also with her magic guide." Dox explained carefully so Marco didn't get any more angry than he already was.
Marco thought of everything he was told. "Kelly's here? And she isn't trying to fight him meaning either he did something to her or there's something else i don't know.. She cooked that meal? I wish i had eaten some now and Stars safe. Magic guide? Must mean Glossaryck... Why is he back?" All these thoughts raced round his mind before he was interrupted by his red headed kidnapper.
"I'm open to questions if you have any? I'll try to answer the ones i can?" Marco stared at him as he spoke. There was some apprehension visible when he said it, almost like he didn't want to say it.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you kidnap us?"
Dox sighed, "Straight to the point huh?" Dox thought of how best to answer the boy's question. "I guess i can answer that but before i can i need to tell you a bit about myself." He looked at Marco who didn't move so he took his silence as permission to continue.
"As i have stated my name is Dox A. Par, I am a human from the Earth dimension however from a different period in time. A year and one day to be exact. As a baby I had been abandoned by my parents dumped into a bin and left to die. I would have done so as well if not for my adopted father. He found me in that bin almost like he was looking for me. He took me to a dimension where time flows differently but unlike your time in Heckapoo's dimension the timed stayed with me. 1 day in our time was 21 years in that dimension. A day had passed and i had lived my life. In them 21 years my father taught me the ways of magic and might. How to fight like a warrior from any dimension. How to bend space and time to my whim and control the magics of the universe. My hair turned red as did my eyes thanks to being so exposed to pure magic. My father however didn't do this out of kindness nor love he did this out of purpose. You see, he needed someone to right a wrong that had happened in the world and he picked me. An insignificant. A blimp on the cosmos. An existence so small and meaningless i couldn't be detected by the Magical High Commission when i returned to this time at the same time as him. I returned because exactly 1 year from now Marco Diaz. You die." Dox finished swiftly before waving his hands again and making a set of tea cups appear. He placed one beside Marco and waited as he sipped on his.
"Wait.. What?" Marco managed to ask as this new information blew away all his anger and left him confused.
"Hmm was that not simple enough? I'm from the future and I've come back to save your life before you die 1 year from now? Simple enough?" Dox quizzed again. He hadn't really spent time with other people other than his father and a few people who could make a difference to his cause. He wasn't sure how much to say to the teenager.
"I die?"
"Yep"
"How?" Marco's voice was quiet as he asked the question.
"I'll show you" Dox waved his hands and a small crystal ball fell into Marco's lap. He looked down at the crystal to see himself standing at a balcony. Dox stood up and walked back through the corridor. He didn't want to see the boy watch it after seeing Kelly do so.
"This can't be true"
"It is"
"YOUR LYING!" She screamed at him. She rocked in her chair trying to free herself from the many ropes and chains that bound her. Dox had tried talking to her calmly but after spending a whole hour confiscating her weapons he grew bored. He had just tied her up and gagged her till she was willing to listen. He regretted removing the gag now as she screamed insult after insult at him.
"I am not Kelly, I am telling you the truth. I am from a future where Marco has already died. I came back here because of it"
"And what are you here to do exactly?" She spat at him.
"Save him. That's my purpose to save the life of Marco Diaz"
"What makes you so special?!" She kept tugging at the ropes before stopping when she saw the hurt look on his face.
"What?" She asked again.
"What did you say?"
"I said what makes you so special?"
"Nothing" Dox said loudly he leant forward and whispered something in Kelly's ear. Her mouth dropped in shocked before closing it and releasing the strain she was making on the ropes. He waved his hand and removed them all allowing her to get up. He gave her back all her weapons which she slid into her hair. She looked at him with a pained expression.
"Do you have a kitchen.. I want to make Marco something to eat?" She couldn't look at him.
"Down the hall 4th door on your left"
"Thanks.. And Dox?" She waited but it was a few minutes before he replied with a weak "Yes?".
"I'm sorry" And with that she left the room her aqua hair waving as she span. He didn't blame her. Aside from the fact he had kidnapped her and took her some place unknown she was dealing with the knowledge the guy she had started to fall for was going to die. Dox sighed as he realised he forgot to tell her something. The reason he took her too.
He returned to Marco to find the boy re-watching the clip in horror. He had left enough time for the clip to loop at least 5 times but he was paused at the moment that Star stabs him from behind. Her words ringing out on a loop "Was it worth it?". Dox cringed slightly remembering how she had cried when he had taken the boy.
"Marco.. Are you ready to talk?" Dox asked he looked at the tea beside the boy realising it was now probably cold he waved his hand and made a fresh brew appear.
"What causes this?" Marco's voice had become more quiet and strained. Tears were visible on his cheeks and his eyes had become puffy.
"I don't know" Dox admitted. Marco's face left the crystal to meet with his.
"You don't know? How can you not know?"
"The future.. The future i came from, where you die, was never meant to be possible. It just shouldn't exist. No matter what timeline, no matter what happens one fact is certain. Marco Diaz does not die 1 year from now. But you did? And that's what the problem is really. You aren't suppose to die."
"Why? I'm just some boy from Earth what makes me so special?" He stared at Dox as a big smile spread over his face.
"Everything Mr Diaz. Everything. You may not believe it but right now you are the most important person alive. You are the very core to our life and everything around it. What you are to do in the future will shape the whole of our existence for millennia to come" Dox's smile never faded.
"But I'm just me? Marco Diaz. The safe kid? A loser from Earth who chased after his best friend. Why am I so special?" Marco was being to get stressed. His hands pulled at his brown hair as he began to hyperventilate. Dox leant forward and put his hand on his shoulder to calm him.
"Why not? You really do seem to underestimate yourself. You are Marco Diaz the first person on earth to earn Dimensional Scissors. The first man of Earth to step into the multi-dimensional spotlight and represent our planet. You are a warrior who fought against an army of monsters and an immortal lizard. You led a resistance against the oppressive rule of both Ludo and his forces. You became a beacon of hope for Princess' everywhere sparking them into being themselves 'It's not criminal, to be an individual'. Wise words Mr Diaz. You have saved countless lives of Monsters and Mewman's alike bridging for peace between them. The tales of your exploits in Heckapoo's dimension are still being told generations later of Marco the Red Knight, Dragon Tamer. You rose to the rank of squire with the respect of the royalty of not just Mewni but many kingdoms. You may not realise this but many nobles of this dimension and also others write to Queen Moon daily in hopes of being your official backer and gain ties not to Mewni and Star but to you because they see a bright future for you. You are Marco Diaz the Red Knight, Squire to Star Butterfly. Best friend of Prince Tom and the hope of the future. Stop downplaying your own hype. Even right now their are at least 15 dimensions up in arms searching for you. Peace treaties are being signed with decades old grudges being put aside so that nothing will stop you being returned safely." Dox's smile was bigger than ever. All 21 years of his life he was told the tales of Marco and for Dox. Marco was his Hero. He would do anything to save him.
Marco once again was speechless. If someone he loved had told him these words he might have brushed them off thinking of them as nothing more than empty biased praise but the stranger in front of him. He had described in many words all the thing's that Marco had done. He thought back to all the adventures, all the fights and every moment of his life so far. Yeah most of it flashed past with bullies and in security but the last few years had been a blur of amazing and beautiful memories. He looked at the man in front of him and thought that he had somewhat of a glint in his eyes.
"You are Marco Diaz and you are important". Dox repeated.
"He's not wrong Marco" Both men turned to see Kelly standing in the door way. She walked over to Marco before holding him tightly in her arms. She felt him break down into tears being overwhelmed with emotion. She could sense his feelings. Sadness, Worry, Fear, Anxiety and many more dark emotions she had sensed on him before at the sunrise. But now.. There was Pride, Humility, Hope and Joy. She held him tighter as she felt his hands tighten on the back of his jumper. She decided that day at the Sunrise that she would protect him. She promised herself again in that moment that she would protect him. Her Marco.
A/N: And so another chapter ends :) I would like to thank everyone who reviewed i hope you enjoyed this chapter and it answered the questions you may have had. Writing the next chapter now so hopefully put it up either tomorrow or the following day. If you have any questions just PM me and i'll answer them :) Thank you again.