I'm back with a new chapter! Plans are a bit different (spiting the original Chap. 13 into two unique chapters) but I hope you enjoy the story. The next chapter will hopefully get released later this week.
It feels good to have the morning air brush across your hair…or hoodie cape, or whatever. Since venturing to Mewni, I am going on a new quest, or mission rather. With Star by my side and many close friends joining us, we will venture across Mewni. Goal A: Find Ludo's family and hope to learn about where Toffee might be hiding.
Tossing on my leather jacket over my now armored hoodie and strapping my crystal shield across my back, I feel ready for anything. Turning to my friends, everyone looks ready for a war…which is good; Mewni is quite dangerous.
"So wild man, are we leaving yet?" Star asks impatiently, donning a modified version of her Valkyrie Battle armor. "I mean…we spent just the past ten minutes getting ready."
"Better to be ready then fight with nothing!" I hear John shout from behind, fixing his armored chest plate. "Don't want anyone to impale me or anything…"
"Don't worry, Marco and I will keep an eye on you buddy." Steven says warmly, patting the shoulder of our ogre friend. I spot Janna and Jackie tossing supplies over Nacho's back. I rub my forehead; they should never just throw something on a dragon cycle. Thankfully Nacho's is a kind girl.
"Can't wait to ride this baby…" Janna purrs as she rubs the dragon's scales. Jackie rolled her eyes and fixes the belts holding the supplies. "You aren't excited? You are going to be riding this thing."
"Janna's right you know." I respond back. "Figured you would like riding Nachos." I lean down and scratch Nacho's chin. "You will be good to Jackie and Janna, right girl? Daddy was a jerk to Jackie, so please be nice to her." Nachos purrs and rubs her head into my shoulder. I love my cycle a lot, such a sweet creature.
"You wasn't a jerk Marco…" Tom interrupts me, kneeling down near Nacho's. "Okay, you were but still. You are trying to make things right. Don't beat yourself up man."
"Thanks buddy." I give Tom a warm smile. "Hey, want to ride Nachos once this whole mess is dealt with?"
"I love ridding dragon cycles. Have my own stable of them in the underworld." Tom grins and lightly punches my arm. The two get up and turn toward Jackie.
"Jackie, maybe Tom could teach you how to ride Nachos!" Jackie and Tom look surprised but I lightly punch Tom's shoulder. He gives me a look before turning toward Jackie. "Janna, you can ride on Cloudly with Star…you are summoning him right?" I turn to Star. She grows a grin and laughs. "Sounds like a yes."
"Come on girl! I will teach you how to make your own Cloudly!" Star grabs Janna's hand and the two drat off somewhere. Jackie gives me a strange look though…one that is both annoyed and, I think, thankful? I just give her a smile and walk toward Steven and Joe.
"You guys ready for an adventure? This is going to be a bit wild, considering Star is with us." I give a playful smirk, causing my two new friends to chuckle a bit. We ready our warnicons for travel as we hop on top of them.
"I remember when you told me about them in the mines." John says with a grin. "Can't wait to see magic go nuts."
"I just hope things don't get to hectic." Steven gulps. "The kingdom is in a strange time after all."
I sigh, completely agreeing with him. But with Star around, you strange stuff isn't too far away. For all I know, we could accidently summon the undead with an off spell. I laugh to myself but it's a bit too loud, as everyone is looking at me. "What?"
"You are remembering the time where I thought football meant war?" Star teased, which I respond with an eye roll. "Oh…that was fun."
"That was fun." Recalling these memories with Star and our friends is nice…but we need to leave. "Okay team, let's head out!" Star charges ahead with a battle cry while Janna holds on to Cloudly tight. Steven is relaxed on his warnicorn, with John feeling unease riding the creature. I feel calm, as I remember riding one of these during the trials. But I look over to Tom and just smile. Jackie is holding on to him tight and is smiling. After she dealt with my issues for so long, happy she might be with someone that will take the time to get to know the real her…something I failed to do.
We park our rides as we enter a nearby town. Getting off our rides, I turn to Nacho's after Tom & Jackie walked away. I pet her head to calm her down a bit. "Girl, let us know if anyone tries to bother you. I will come like that girl. Remember our special whistle?" The dragon grins and makes a cat like screech. "That is my girl." I nuzzle her head and I help John get off his warnicorn. "You had fun buddy?"
"I feel sick…don't ever let me ride one again Marco…" My ogre friend responds. I walk toward Star, with her getting off Cloudly with Janna.
"That was FUN!" Janna shouts with joy. "Can't wait to make my own Cloudy. Maybe I will make him rain blood." I think she might be the next queen of darkness if the magic gets to her head…
"Yeah…but maybe without the blood girl." Star answers quickly. She turns my way and grabs my hand. "Sooo…now we can explore Mewni together!"
"It wasn't too lonely traveling alone Star." I say with a grin. "I bumped into great people like Steven over there."
"…Don't involve me in your flirting." Steven groans. "But where are we exactly? This is just some random town?" Star looks around and spots a sign.
"It reads Town of Beginnings…that is odd." Star rubs her chin. "Don't remember Mom ever telling me about this place." I just groan hearing that name though. Star gives me a puzzled look seeing my expression. "You know this place?"
"No, but the name reminds me of some game I really don't like much." I mumble…hate how dense that main character was all the time. "But maybe we will find some place to stay for the night, if we don't get very far." Everyone nods to my comment.
"So…let's say hello to the good people of the town 'prince' Marco." Tom teases, but after hearing so many people on Mewni call me that…the effect is starting to get me less annoyed. We walk across town but we soon enter the town square. The poor place was in shambles, with buildings not being in great condition. People running around with torn up clothing didn't make me feel any better either. Guess this is one of the poorer towns in Mewni.
"Star…what happened here?" I ask earnestly, but she is just as surprised. Her face looks angry, likely annoyed her parents didn't help the people here enough. But she soon grows a defeated expression, as the threat of Toffee likely made things worse. "I didn't mean too…"
"No Marco, you just was wondering is all. It's okay." She takes a deep breath and sighs. Star darts to the center of town and leaps toward the center a fountain. "HELLO FRIENDS!" The entire town runs toward the bubbly shout, spotting their princess. "I just came to visit and I want to help! What do you guys need us to do? I got my prince over there and my demon buddy who can build things, my girl Janna is mean with her magic, Jackie can beat people up and the duo of Steven and John can help too!" Star just…okay then. I will roll with this; going to have to deal with sudden burst things like this in the future. Wait a minute, I'm not going to be…don't think about that now Diaz.
"Um…what she said!" I respond calmly. I turn toward an annoyed Tom, Jackie, Janna, Steven and John…this is going to be fun. Looking at a little girl, she runs up to Jackie.
"Miss? There is an evil monster that keeps attacking our town. My mommy is gone and I haven't seen her. Can you find her?" Jackie looks horrified at the girl, but soon smiles. Gently holding the girl, she embraces her in a hug.
"I will beat the crap out of that mean ol' creature little darling." Jackie puts her down and pats her head. The girl jumps like a spring and soon people come up to us for help. Even John, which I was honestly worried about getting attacked, had people being kind to him.
After about a good hour of getting requests and recording them, we all gathered up in a tavern within the town.
"Sigh…so our stay here is going to be longer than expected. Sorry guys." I say with annoyance. I love helping people, but we really need to find Toffee.
"Marco Diaz, you need to be ready to help every person in need once you become king." Star shouts before shutting her mouth shut. "I didn't mean…"
"I heard that so many times…that I really believe that might happen at some point." I respond casually. Jackie gives me a look but just sighs, sitting closer toward Tom. "Anyway, I have a list of requests and they don't seem so bad. Gathering fruit from a nearby forest, defending the town for two nights and looking for that little girl's mom. We could do that with no issue." But I fold my hands and look at everyone.
"You are going to say something." John and Steven say in unison, with me giving them a smirk. They know me well...
"Yes, no one here has to do anything if they don't want to. Star signed herself and me up for this…and I guess Jackie signed herself up too, offering to help that little girl." I look toward her and spot her somber eyes; she really felt for the poor girl. "But the rest of you? You could stay here and relax if you want."
"Dude, we are here to help." Tom says with confidence. "But kudos for giving us respect."
"You are my friend Tom, why wouldn't I respect you?" We both chuckle as Janna stands up.
"I like this confident leader-type Marco." She purrs. "Maybe you could…"
"His cards full Janna." Star hisses, folding her arms. Janna smirks and sits back down. "But we all agreed to help. Defeating Toffee is more than us storming to his fortress. It's about making everyone feel happy and safe."
"Spoke like a great future queen." I respond proudly. Star is taken aback, but picks up my earnestly in the comment. She will be a great queen one day…but I can imagine a few more flaming rainbows to come out in the future.
"Thanks Marco. That was sweet." She leans on my arm and the warmth makes me feel content. "Oh! Why don't talk about one of our adventures." I rub my chin but that might be a fun way to kill some time.
"So one magical night, in a land far away…" I begin speaking, but Star gives me a glare. "Okay, okay." I cough and begins sharing a bit from one of our more recent adventures.
Random Dimension, 3 Months Ago
"Look out Marco!" I leap away as a large cat-like monster lunges at me. "Geeze…this guy doesn't give up…"
"Great idea for a dimension Star!" I shout. "Let's visit the one with massive jungles and wild cats. Sounds lovely…"
"Aw, ease up buddy. We got this." Star lands a powerful punch directly into the cat monster's face. I sigh and land a few kicks toward surrounding monsters. They back off eventually and I meet up with Star. She brushes off her squid-design dress and smiles. "Now…were is that red gem."
"Um…I don't know." I shrug my shoulders. "I mean, you wanted to visit this dimension."
"I thought you brought the map…" Star pouts.
"What map? Ugh…we will find it somehow. Come one." I grab her hand and we venture deeper into the jungles. Trees were covered with strange patterns and the vines were thick like tree trunks. The ground felt mushy, as if we was walking on mud. But…it was red. Strange. But one look at Star's face made me feel a bit confused. She really wanted to get this red gem.
"What is so special about this gem anyway?" I ask, wondering why it's so important. Maybe it unlocks powerful magic or something.
"Well…I just want it. It seems pretty." She says in a low voice.
"Okay then. We will get it Star…if we can defeat THAT thing." I point to the giant cat monster blocking the entrance to the cave. "If my history of watching movies taught me anything, the treasure is always guarded by the big creature. So…" I crack my knuckles and get into a fighting stance. "Ready to get that treasure?" Star grins and lets her wand glow a radiant pink.
"AHHH!" We both shout as we charge into battle. The creature tries to land powerful swipes with its large tail, but I slam my leg into it. Screaming from impact, Star leaps into the air and launches a Narwhal Blast into its face. The creature stumbles back a bit, but soon shakes off the pain. It charges into us but I charge ahead, landing an aerial roundhouse kick. The creature moves back again, giving Star enough time to launch a Crystal Heart Dagger spell. A wave of sharp hearts attack the creature, but it gets rather angry.
"I think we upset the kitty." Star mumbles as the creature charges toward us.
"Want to go home? We can try this another time?" I offer, afraid of the creature slicing us into bits.
"Yep." Star nods. I frantically make a portal for the two of us, before it closes. We paint from the long battle, but I notice Star looking sad. "I really wanted that gem to give to…"
"We will get it for Oscar. I'm sorry I couldn't help you." Star looks taken aback by my comment and makes a smile.
"Thanks Marco, but it wasn't for him." I scratch my head.
"Um…then WHO were you getting it for? The guy better be worth almost dying over…" I mumble.
"I think he is Marco." Star says dreamily.
"So…how about we move on from our failed hunt with nachos and a movie?" I offer, making Star jump around like a spring. "I take that as a yes."
"So…Star made you join her on a hunt for a ruby gem…for you?" Jackie asks in confusion.
"I guess so…though now that I look back on things, I was too dense to notice she liked me." I rub my neck sheepishly. "I told you about that adventure though Jackie."
"Well, I thought it was for Oscar." Jackie shrugs and relaxes in her seat.
"Funny how you got me a red ring Marco…did you remember that adventure when you found it?" Star asks…maybe she's right? That adventure didn't spring to mind when I picked it up. Thought it looked cool.
"Maybe?" I respond, making her chuckle. I spot Tom rolling his eyes while Steven & John snicker in the background. "Keep laughing guys…"
"Better then you telling us about Mewberty round two…" Janna teased…but this brought my eyes wide open. "Oh? Star didn't tell you? I locked her in my spare guest room when she went boy crazy again. It wasn't long after some concert…"
"JANA BANANA!" Star shouts. "No one is supposed to know about that…"
I was about to ask how she got back to normal, but I could as that later. Looking at my phone, I notice how it's quite late. "Okay team, now we should get ready. Since Tom, John, Steven and I will be doing guard duty for the night, you guys should get some rest."
"I can helps!" Star says with excitement, but soon yawns loudly.
"You will be going to sleepy-time-junction before you do any guard duty princess." I tease, earning a light punch on my arm.
"Fine. Janna and Jackie will join me for some girl fun!" She runs up to the girls and races up to their guest rooms. I just laugh, watching Jackie's shocked face and Janna's slightly amused one as the trio run away.
"They ran off fast." John smirks. "So…we should split up?"
"That sounds good." Tom responds. "From what I heard, the town gets attacked often."
"Okay, we will each guard one direction of the town. Is there some way we can keep in touch with each other?" Tom grins and snaps his fingers, making a four small flames appear in his hand. "Um…what's that man?"
"Special communicators that are linked to my magic." Tom answers as he shoots them into John, Steven and myself. The demon closes his eyes and his third eye opens, being pure white. "You guys hear me?"
"I hear you…this is cool!" Telepathy…such a cool ability. Magic keeps getting more and more interesting… "So we just use our minds to talk with one another…"
"Sounds like it." Steven answers. "Let's head out."
The four of us get up and leave the tavern, getting our stuff ready for battle. I hold my crystal shield and dagger-sword tightly, guarding the north edge of town. It's where most people enter the town through, with a long road spanning at least a few miles. I spot unicorns and bird creatures roaming around, reminding me I'm not on some farm-land on Earth. In the distance, I see a green figure race up to me. Getting my shield ready, I charge it with my dark magic. A bright light shines from my shield, making the creature back off a bit.
"Ah…Marco Diaz. Seems you tapped into my mother's magic already." The voice hissed.
"T…Toffee?!" I take out my sword and point it at the creature, charging it with fire. "Give me one reason not to burn you alive right now?"
"Because you learned that monsters are people." I freeze hearing this…but Toffee is right. Want to at least hear him out.
"What do you want? We will come after you." I make my voice stern, never loosening my grip on my weapons.
"Maybe I could be a voice of reason here…you come off way to strong Marco…" I hear a small voice emit, sitting on Toffee's shoulder. I look in utter shock, that blue traitor acting so calm being with Toffee. "Seems like you remember me kid."
"The annoying master of the spell book that never made any sense and betrayed Star when she needed her most." I hissed…before calming down. "But I let her down too…sigh. Look, I don't want a fight and I want this town to be at peace for the night. What do you two…three want?"
Glossaryck gives a understanding look towards me, with Toffee rubbing his stubby chin. The creature still is inside Ludo's body. "I just wanted to inform you, that I have reasons for my actions. But I want to explain to you and Butterfly my history with her mother. You would be very surprised to know I fell for a Butterfly too."
"W..What?" I respond, my body feeling cold. No, my flame must remain strong.
"I will see you when the time comes prince. But be aware, I'm not done yet." Toffee vanishes in a puff of green smoke, with Glossaryck hovering near me.
"Look kid, I will be blunt. You are doing a good thing with monster and Mewni relations here. But the battle is going to be tough." I push the blue man back in frustration, he could try to fix things like I'm doing now. "I see you are upset with me still…I deeply love you and Star kid."
"…Okay, but…please, just don't let Toffee kill anyone." I plead. "I know he is very powerful."
"I won't make any promises." The blue man vanishes and I get off the ground.
"Marco! We need back up." Tom shouts into my head.
"What is going on?" I mentally respond back.
"Monsters are storming from the south side!" John and Steven shout in unison.
"Will be on my way soon. Get Star, Jackie and Janna up!" I rush over to the south side, hoping that no one is in any real danger. Toffee showing himself to me…monsters attacking…this can't be a coincidence.