When Marco opened his eyes, his first instinct was to panic. He didn't have a clue where he was to begin with, and Star wasn't by his side.
He was laying on some strange surface, wrapped in some layers of white cloth. Immediately, he leapt out of the bed, staring at the strange wires that were latched into his arm. The fact that he was still in his human form at all was surprising. Was he still that weak?
He pays no mind to the peculiar white dress that had replaced his usual attire, shifting successfully. The room was painfully bland, even more so to his bestial eyes. There was too little color, mostly everything was either white, gray, or some mix of the two. The room was also meticulously cleaned, looking artificial in every corner. It unnerved him.
He steps over the wires that had fallen out during his transformation, sniffing at the liquid that came leaking out of the torn ends. They had been pouring liquid into him? Why? Was it anything like the gas?
Marco didn't know, and he growled to himself, his fur standing on end. This place was far too much like the Lizard's captivity for Marco's liking.
As he walks forward, he starts to sniff the air, desperately hunting for even a trace of Star's scent. If he had been separated from her again he, he, he- he didn't know what he would do just yet, but his panic was growing. He couldn't find it, not even the smallest hint. Then, with one desperate inhalation of air, he caught a trace clinging to a chair that had been pulled up beside the strange thing he had been laying on. It was faint, but he could detect the tiny trail it left. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.
He ran to follow it, but he slammed his head against the wall. Shaking the pain away, he discovered that the exit was only large enough for a human to fit through, much to his ire. Still, he did what he must, shifting back just long enough to fit through the entrance.
His paws nearly slid on the shiny floor beneath him, and it took him a few moments to really get a grip on the new surface. A human rounded the corner he was about to turn at, and he narrowly avoids slamming into them.
Instead of attacking though, this human simply gave him a glance, screamed, and ran away. Marco snorts, but he is relieved that he doesn't have to fight anyone. The drag in his step showed that he wasn't up to top capacity yet.
But he still had Star's scent, and he followed it doggedly. Most humans simply ran, although he avoided the ones who didn't, sometimes giving them a warning snarl. He accommodated for any humans that looked seriously ill though. He was worried but he wasn't about to turn cruel.
It didn't take him too long to track the scent down to a single room, but as he neared, the smell of others inside the room drifted into his nose. Pausing, he took a quick peek around the corner, spying two girls sitting in chairs, both facing away from him.
Still, he relaxed as he spotted what he had come for. Star was laying in the center of the room, on a thing similar to the one Marco had awoken on. She too, was wrapped in white cloths, with even some winding around her head, but from here, Marco could spot the even rise and fall of her chest, and that was enough for him.
The humans in there would just be a nuisance though, so with a low growl, he activates his stone, smoke trailing from his jaws and into the room. It coiled around the two girls, and before they could notice, it had tightened itself against their skin and pushed them against the wall.
Marco shifted only enough to get through the entrance way, not trusting these girls nearly enough to reveal his human form. He couldn't really see them, but from their height, he knew they must be young. And wherever there were young humans, adults were bound to follow not long after. He had to work fast.
Both humans were staring at him now, wide eyed and shaking. The smoke only trapped them up to their necks, and Marco was curious as to why they weren't shouting for help yet. Sure, he didn't want them to, but it was curious all the same.
He was determined to pay them no mind, that was, until he catches a trace of Star's scent on one of the girls. Turning, he growled, "Why do you have some of Star's things?"
"Leave her alone!" The girl's companion, the one with short, dark hair shouted, struggling against her bindings in vain. "I'm serious, you mess with her and we aren't going to have a good time."
Right. Marco had forgotten that humans couldn't understand them. That was irritating. He rumbled softly, trying to sound non-threatening. "Like you're one to be making threats here."
His attempt to diffuse the situation went unnoticed though, and the dark girl just kept spouting promises of 'what she would do to him if he laid a hand on her' and other things. Marco ignored most of them, sniffing curiously at the lighter haired girl in front of him.
The smoke moved when his nose touched it, revealing the girl's hand, which was wrapped around Star's headband. Carefully, he removed it from the girl's hand, wincing when one of his teeth accidentally drew blood.
"Sorry." He rumbled, even knowing that she wouldn't understand. Then he moved away from her, stalking over to Star. Something weird was swirling inside his stomach from where he had smelled the girl, Marco could only pinpoint it as nostalgia. He didn't have time to think that over though, not when he was running out of time to get Star out of here.
He slid the headband where it should be, mindful of the bandages. It was a little awkward trying to do it with his teeth, but once he got it on part of the way, he was able to push the rest of it on with his nose.
With a snarl, he found that they had wires connected to her arm as well. He stared at them, trying to figure out the easiest way to bite through them. As he opened his jaw to sever them though, a loud cry stops him.
"Don't, you'll kill her!" It was the lighter haired girl this time, and the panic in her eyes made Marco pause, considering his actions. He wasn't dead, but then again, he hadn't been injured like Star has. Marco swallowed the nausea that came with the memory of Star's limp and bloody form. She was alive. She was still here. And Marco would be damned if he was going to leave her.
So with a sigh, Marco curled himself around the thing that Star was laying on. He released the two girls, snarling at them in warning before turning his full attention back to Star.
Whispers of their conversation still reached his ears, but as long as they didn't try to attack him or Star, he couldn't care less what they did.
"It doesn't seem like it wants to hurt anyone. It's protecting her."
"I know J, and I usually dig this kind of stuff, but this is just freaky. Who even knows what's going on in the rest of the hospital right now?"
"Maybe we should try and talk to it, it seemed like it was talking to us, sort of."
"But what if it's with the same dudes who hurt them? It got pretty close to you too."
"I'm fine, but what do we do now?"
"I could go check on Marco if you want."
Marco's head shot up at that, and he tilt it, staring at the two girls.
"Um…"
"Wait J, this is gonna sound weird, but doesn't that thing kinda look like Marco. I mean, in his normal clothes."
"Kind of, but not really. Look at the tail and horns, I don't think Marco has anything that looks like that."
"I know, I know, but…" The dark-haired girl glanced at him, and Marco narrowed his eyes in response, snorting. "…Marco?"
"So?" He rumbled back, his tail flicking upwards to reflect his surprise.
"Holy crap."
"Hey-" The dark-haired girl was cut off when two other humans raced through the entryway. Marco could only handle looking at them for a second before he turned his head away, staring at Star instead. He didn't want to face whatever it was that had lodged itself in his gut. Whatever it was, he didn't like it.
"Oh, are you two alright?" Marco could recognize it as a woman's voice, and something in him ached when it reached his ears.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the beast." Marco looked up at that, just so he could check on what the man was actually doing. The man had placed himself in front of the other humans and was raising his hands as some sort of threat. Marco snorted, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation. Wait, where had Marco felt this before?
"Mr. Diaz, wait a sec." Marco hardly heard the dark-haired girl's statement, trying in vain to push away the feeling of familiarity, to shove down any longing he had to be by these humans' side.
Everything else faded as Marco fought a war within himself. He had to look after Star, he didn't have time to be chasing delusions. Even if he did, he knew he couldn't rely on his instincts alone, and he wasn't about to turn into a hypocrite.
But with a risky glance towards the humans, Marco was starting to see what Star had meant. These humans felt right, and nothing he's doing was changing that in his mind.
"Marco?" It was the woman again, and it took everything in him not to immediately turn into his human form at the sound of her voice.
His tail was lashing furiously now, and Marco kept having to shake his head to try and regain control of himself. He shouldn't; but he should. He couldn't; but he could. He won't; but he might. None of it makes sense to him, he couldn't trust anyone besides for Star, let alone these random humans.
But a part of him did trust them, and he was tearing himself apart trying to find the reason why.
"Marco?" The woman asked once more, and Marco snarled, not at her, but at everything. Still, he gave an ashamed whimper when he saw her flinch away.
"I'm sorry." Marco curled tighter around Star, tucking his head in between his paws. "I don't understand. I don't understand any of this!"
Only now the humans were all looking at him with wide eyes, and Marco looked downwards to see that he suddenly had hands instead of paws. He moved his gaze back to the humans, all of which had traces of tears in their eyes, even if the dark-haired girl was trying to hide hers.
"Sorry." Marco let himself whisper before shifting back and burying his head in his paws to hide himself once more.
"Marco," The woman reached for him, and he shrank back. The woman paused, holding her hand midair as she eyed him with teary eyes. "oh Marco."
The man began to walk towards him, spreading his arms out wide as he said, "Marco, just let me wrap you up in-"
"Rafael. Don't. Just look at him." The man's approach was blocked by the woman's arm, her free hand gesturing to his bristling fur and curled lips. "I-I want to hug him a-and kiss him too. But- but that isn't what he needs right now."
"But-" The man sighed, backing away slowly, his arms lowering to hug the woman.
The woman returned the embrace readily, whispering so softly even Marco had a hard time picking it up, "I know, I know, but this isn't about us, it's about him."
The woman turned to the other two girls, facing them with a small smile. "Janna, Jackie, thank you for what you've done so far. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."
"No problem." Janna- Marco was sure of it- spoke first, looking resolutely at the floor in what Marco assumed was embarrassment.
"Yeah, Mrs. Diaz, don't worry about it." Jackie was next, sliding her hand into Janna's as she spoke. "We're their friends, it's the least we can do."
"Really girls, you've done too much." The man wrapped both girls in a hug, and Marco could almost hear the air being squeezed from their lungs. Something in Marco softened at the interaction, and for the first time, the familiarity wasn't choking him.
Of course, the calm couldn't last forever, and soon a new brand of sirens was blaring from somewhere outside the building.
All the humans turn towards the entryway, as if they were expecting something to come crashing through at any moment. Even Marco rose to his feet, to the human's surprise, but he didn't move away from Star, simply readied himself for the inevitable fight with whatever accompanied the sirens.
"We'll protect you guys." Jackie reassured him, and for some reason, Marco believed her.
"Yeah, they aren't getting past us." Janna was standing beside Jackie, an easygoing smirk on her face.
"I'll try and see if I can't talk them down." The woman said, glancing to Rafael. "Come with?"
Rafael nodded, the two of them slipping out the entryway.
The air was thick with tension as the three of them waited, no one said anything, save for Janna's faint muttering. Jackie turned to her, her eyes asking a question. Janna shook her head, her muttering stopping immediately.
Marco stared at them, trying to figure out what seemed different about their relationship. They were too young to be mates, but still, there was something unusual about their relationship. Then again, who was he to even begin to analyze human relationships? It wasn't like he knew enough about them to do so. So, Marco shoved the train of thought into the back of his mind, focusing instead on the pounding of footsteps that was steadily nearing.
Soon, there was a horde of humans outside the entryway, all dressed in a similar fashion, and all of them pointing obvious weapons towards him and Star. Obviously, the other human's attempt to hold them off had failed, and since they still hadn't returned, Marco could only guess their fate.
The thought of those humans dying gave way to a new kind of rage, and Marco gave a loud snarl. Some of the men flinched at the sound, but others only looked more prepared to attack. Two could play it at that game though, and Marco took a step forward, hoping to scare them off.
"Girls, please step away from the monster." One of the men ordered, his voice harsh and grating.
Jackie and Janna looked torn, and Marco rumbled softly, "Don't trust them."
"Please move away," The man ordered again, and Marco's fur bristled. "if you don't we'll be forced to open fire for the safety of the patients here."
"Bu-"
"No." The man cut Janna off, to Marco's frustration. "We don't have time for games."
That was it. Marco was done putting Star and the girls in danger, his stone started to glow. He ignored the shocked whispers of the men, instead concentrating on the wall surrounding the entryway, struggling to get it to do what he asked. Slowly though, the walls began to merge together, melding over the entryway to seal it off from the outside.
The men were near panicking, but the man who had given the orders threw something through the entryway before the walls could seal it completely. Nothing else made it through before the walls solidified and any exit was cut off.
In terms of the kinds of days she could have, Janna supposed this wasn't the worst of options, although it certainly was one of the weirdest. Her and Jackie were stuck playing hostage negotiators between the police and Marco- a statement she never would have associated with the safe kid of their school before today. The cops had managed to throw in a walkie talkie before Marco had cut them off from the world.
As of now, they had managed to get Marco to agree to allow food to be passed inside. It was difficult, when they could only get jerky nods or shakes of his head for answers. He wouldn't leave his dog/wolf/ whatever it was form, and even though it felt like he was talking to them by growling, it wasn't like her and Jackie cold understand him. He still hadn't moved from his spot around Star's bed, and he got antsy if her or Jackie got too close. He didn't growl at them or anything, but he started fidgeting, his lips twitching up into a half snarl.
Honestly, it was starting to get kind of annoying. But if Jackie could keep her cool than so could Janna. And it wasn't like Marco didn't have any reason for it, Janna just didn't know what those reasons were yet. But if he ever snapped at Jackie again, just returned from the supposed dead or not, Janna was going to kill him.
"Now, would it allow a doctor to come in and see the patient?" The poor negotiator, some woman who sounded like she definitely needed some more coffee in Janna's opinion, asked with a sigh.
"It's a he, but I'll ask." Janna replied before turning back to the half-asleep lump of fur. "Hey Marco, do you mind if they have a doctor come in here to see Star? They need to make sure she won't die."
Marco rumbled, his eyes narrowing in thought. While he was thinking, Janna gave Jackie a shrug, one which Jackie returned with a helpless sigh.
Janna had to look back to Marco when, with what sounded like a begrudging growl, nodded his head.
"You're good to go. He'll let a doctor in."
"Will he let any of you out?" The negotiator asked the same question they had been repeating for hours, and Janna didn't even have to look at Marco to see him shake his head in denial.
"Nope." Janna said, popping the 'p' for fun. She didn't exactly have anything to entertain herself, save for Jackie, but Janna wasn't going to bother her when she was stressed. It may not be obvious, but Janna could see the way Jackie kept fiddling with the wheels of her skateboard, and Janna knew that Jackie was trying to not to show her real anxieties.
It didn't take long for the hesitant knock on the walls, and for Marco to let the walls open just enough for the doctor and a nurse to step inside before closing them again.
"Ah, hello." The doctor gives them all a hesitant wave, Janna nodded at him before smirking at the way his face pales when he really looked at Marco. The nurse was silent, but Janna made a game out of counting the amount of times the woman swallowed.
"I'll just-" The doctor reached out to touch the IV drip in Star's arm, only to freeze when Marco snarled at him. "-um."
"I got this." Jackie slid in past the doctor to whisper something to Marco, of course, she still was at a distance, but Marco lowered his head at her request. Jackie gave the doctor a small smile, saying, "You should be good to go now."
"So, what'd you say to him?" Janna whispered once Jackie came back to sit.
"I just told him what they were actually doing." Jackie frowned, and Janna inched closer. Janna was never one to initiate things between them, but even she could tell when Jackie needed a little reassurance. "I think he just doesn't understand how things work anymore. It's weird, because you think he would, right?"
"He's always been the smart one." Janna remarked, noticing the way Marco's eyes never left the doctor or the nurse, flickering between them.
Jackie pushed Janna's shoulder lightly, rolling her eyes, "You're smart too."
"Yeah, yeah. But I'm like, street smart. Marco's all book smarts." Janna snorted, accepting Jackie's offer to hold hands. "At least, he used to be."
"Who says he isn't? We just don't know what he's thinking."
"Yeah, and it's annoying." Janna grumbled, earning her a reprimanding flick on the cheek.
"Janna." Jackie drawled.
"J." Janna deadpanned back, smirking as Jackie finally smiled.
"Come on, it's not like this can go on forever." Jackie leaned to rest her hand on Janna's shoulder, sighing slightly.
"Can't it?" Janna shot back, chuckling slightly.
Jackie groaned into Janna's shoulder, "Why are you like this?"
"You love me."
All Janna got in reply was an indiscernible mutter.
To anyone still wondering about Moon, all I can say is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
All I can really say about the Janna/Jackie is that I've always seen it as a cute relationship, so I figured, why not? On that note, what exactly is their ship name? At least the most widely used one. Because I still don't know. Granted, I haven't really gone looking for the ship on the internet yet, but like, would it be Jackna? Jankie? Junkie? I'm just saying that last one would be hilarious. That may just become my personal name for them.