The sky was dark. Blanketed by a wave of clouds that rivaled the color of blood. What roamed above left only to the imagination from the occasional silhouettes that swam the deadly sky. The land below was bare, littered with torn down monuments that once stood tall. Cities burned to the ground, civilizations killed to extinction, and anything left alive became slaves to the demon lord. Fated to roam the wasteland for eternity. Soulless...
Perched atop a cliff stood a tall man, staring down at a map before looking over into the horizon. Taking one last glance at the map, he nodded and stored it away. As he walked back to the cave that doubled as a makeshift home, he passed by his sword sticking out of the ground. Strewn across it's blade read Marco Diaz. The memory of the beasts that have fallen to that weapon made him smile.
"She would've been proud." He said, thinking of his red headed dragon cycling buddy. He could never forget their time together. Even after she chose the wrong side of the playing field.
Pulling the blade from the ground, he gave a good few swings. One of the deadliest weapons in his arsenal, sharp enough to cut through the hide of the leviathans that ruled the sky. He could vaguely remember the very first time he held the sword.
Flashback
"If you ever plan on beating me, you have to at least learn to hold it correctly." A hysterical Hekapoo mused as she watched the young man struggle.
Finally finding his footing, Marco gave her a glare, accompanied by a hardy 'ha ha'. He'd been learning to sword fight from the scissor forger herself. He wouldn't normally ask her for help, but he had no other choice. Star was off on a spontaneous father-daughter bonding trip with king River. It had been 3 weeks and she still hadn't returned. Marco would have been concerned if it weren't for stars' numerous reasons why he shouldn't worry so much. Her dad was there. He'd definitely keep her from unintentionally starting chaos. Right..?
Marco readied his stance, trying his hardest not to fumble with it. Though it seemed the more he thought about it, the harder it got. Eyes front, feet steady. Eyes front, feet steady. Those words repeated in his head like a dial. If his obsessiveness wasn't an indication of his nervousness, his uneasy stance sure gave it away.
"BEGIN", Hekapoo yelled as she started her charge towards him. Her speed was impeccable. Her outfit was far from that of her go to attire. Sporting white button down with an oak colored vest that could pass as a crop top on her figure. Finishing the look was the black skintight pants with heels to match the vest. Even then, the movement was on another level. She closed the distance quickly, leaving only a split second for Marco to strike. He took it. Using all his might, he swung the hefty weapon, eyes shut tight as the whoosh through the air let him know he missed.
Marco opened his eyes, taking in the sight before him. Hekapoo, crouched down low with a smirk plastered on her face.
"Whoa there, a second too late and you woulda maimed me.." the tone of her voice playful.
Marco eyed her with visible concern. Noticing, Hekapoo stood and gave him a warm smile. As adorable as she thought he was, his worrying would surely get him killed.
"From the top, and this time leave the worrying at home. You'll never make it if you're worrying every second."
And with that, he was back where he started. The only difference being, he didn't need to worry too much. This time, he'd try something different.
It was his turn to charge. Before Hekapoo could even signal for him to start, he was already barreling towards her. She took in his form. She had watched him grow from a measly highschool kid, to a slimmed out young adult that now stood a good few inches above her. What was once noticeable weightless muscle was now toned to suit his body type. Nothing too extravagant, but enough to cause a few longing glances from time to time. She even found herself involuntarily touching him in some way on their numerous training sessions.
Her focus was brought back as a determined Marco brought his sword up, in an uppercut like fashion. Presumably trying to take her from below. It was a new approach, but she was ready for it. With a strafe to the side, she avoided his attack with ease, even kicking his foot from under him which caused him to fall effortlessly.
"You forgot one of the first rules I taught you. Always keep a heavy footing. Your opponent can take your feet if you aren't careful," she said, turning away from marco. "Plus, you never charge first. Wait for your opponent to make the first move so you can calculate your next one."
Stretching out a hand, she helped Marco up, giving him a teasing glare. "Now, let's go eat. You promised me some tacos, whatever that is."
Flashback End
Marco geared up, pulling the steel chest plate over his torso. Attached to it was his cape, even after years of fighting, it was still intact. It was the cape he received when he was bestowed the honor of squire. He swore he'd where that thing to the end of the earth. And his promise was kept.
Sheathing his sword, he gave his little shelter a few final glances before heading off.
#
Night fall came quickly, making the already dark world into that similar to a void of blackness. The air grew cold, a gentle breeze whisking through the still trees and out passed the wandering hero.
Marco had made it to the first mark on his map. The Forgotten Forest. The trees were bare and deformed; bending in on themselves in a claw-like fashion, like hands stricken with rigor mortis. It used to be so breathtaking. Now… the same can't be said. When earth went to shit, this once lush and lively forest became home to many vicious creatures. Most notably: Sabueso De La Muerte.
Though they were on the smaller side compared to the other monsters that inhabited, their ferocity was not something to be taken lightly. Alone, one could give you a hard time. In a group? None have lived to tell the tale.
Marco was aware of these creatures. He'd encountered his fair of them. Each one uglier than the last. He would have to be cautious because they were excellent hunters during the day, and impeccable one's at night.
Taking out his map, Marco gave it a quick once over and nodded, "this should take no time at all. Granted I keep on track… just have to continue along that path and-" he silenced himself at the sound of leaves rustling. His hand was already pressed against the handle of his weapon, ready to attack anything that jumped out.
"Now is NOT the time." He spoke.
Step by step he crept closer, holding out his hand to see exactly who or what the culprit was. His hand reached the bush and out jumped a rabbit, quickly scurrying away in a hurry.
Marco sighed in relief, "phew...it's just a rabbit. That could've been a lot worse." He smiled to himself and relaxed. That was until he heard a low guttural growl come from just out of sight.
"I always speak too soon", he thought, turning his body to face the sound. There they were, the glowing red sets of eyes. multiple, all from different points like a poorly designed light show. There was no telling how many there were, only by the ones that showed themselves, Marco deduced there to be about five.
No time to draw his sword. No time to slowly divert the situation. All he could do...was run. Within a split second, he took off deeper into the forest. Looking back was not an option anymore. And with him having to keep his eyes on where he was running, looking at the map was definitely out of the question.
What could he do? Where could he go? Any wrong decision and he'd surely meet his end.
He had to think fast. "If I turn and try to fight them, I could probably get a few. Though there's no telling exactly how many there are." That was a no-go. "I could keep running until I reach a clearing? But what's to say I'll find one on time." He was coming to a wall with every idea he thought of. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. Remembering back to another fond moment with Hekapoo, he could somewhat recall a similar situation like this.
Flashback
Marco ran through the thick brush, ducking and dodging the occasional branch that stood in his way. After Hekapoo had dropped him into this endless forest dimension, she'd given him a head start on their next intensive training practice.
The rules were simple: Hekapoo and her clones would search and try to get a hold of Marco. Marco's one task was to stay hidden and stealthily dispose of the numerous Heka-Clones as best as he could.
"Remember Marco, the trick to success is to stay out of sight. A stealthy chicken is an alive chicken." Hekapoo spoke with a cheeky smile plastered across her face. She was planning on thoroughly enjoying this.
"That makes sense- wait?! Why am I a chicken in this analogy?!" Marco questioned, taking some offense to it.
"Well, if you must know… I recently have found the idea of humans chasing runaway chickens amusing. So think of this as "chase the Marco"." She said, air-quoting smugly. "Besides, the one that catches you gets to do what she wishes for an hour!"
The blush was prominent on Marco's face, Hekapoo knew how to get under his skin and he knew she enjoyed watching him have a nini freakout.
"So, uh- ahem- should we g-get started..?" Marco's nearly choked on his words.
"Oh right yes! You will have a 5 minute head start!" Hekapoo duplicated herself until there were about a dozen of her. "Blow out the flame, and poof, that's one down. You will have 3 hours to complete this practice or it's back to the slug dimension! GO!"
Marco came to a halt and hid behind a tree, looking upon two clones chatting next to a rock. All he had to do was blow out the flame and they disappeared. Easy enough..right? He looked down and mentally prepared himself. He wasn't exactly the most stealthy person, honestly, it seemed that with Hekapoo, he was as clumsy as Star normally is with him. So his confidence was very shotty at the moment.
"Here goes nothing, stealthy and clean. I can do this." He looked back up to where the clones were and noticed that only one remained. "Where did the other one go? She was just there a second ago-"
"Where a second ago?" A voice asked next to Marco. He practically jumped up a tree from the sudden friendly appearance.
"Jesus fucking chri-" the Hekapoo covered his mouth and quickly made haste to calm him down.
"Listen, I'm kinda bored of this already. I could easily win right now and call it a day but where would the fun in that be? So here's the deal," she pulled her hand back as soon as she was sure Marco wouldn't scream, "I will let you blow out my flame- on one condition! You do something for me. Whaddya say?"
Marco was at a loss for words but was able to nod his response. Hekapoo spoke, "you remember a few weeks ago you gave me that horn polishing? That's what I want from you." She said it breathlessly.
"Didn't you say you hated that?" Marco retorted.
"What I said or didn't say does not matter, do we have a deal?"
With another nod from Marco, the clone stood up and smiled, "good! Now remember, stealthy and clean, take your time and be efficient. If you have to question whether or not you did the job, finish your work!" And with that, her flame was blown out and she vanished.
Flashback End
"Stealthy and clean…" Marco heard it echo in his mind. Hekapoo taught him everything he knew. He couldn't help but hear it said in her voice.
Marco knew what he had to do, discarding his sword in a place he'd surely remember before brandishing his dagger and climbing the nearest tree.
Closing his eyes and listening, Marco could hear the sudden stop of his pursuers. From the pitter patter and various sounds of sniffling below him, he could tell there was only a matter of time before they caught his scent. He had to move. As quietly and quickly as he could, he leaped to a nearby tree, now allowing him to get a good look as to how many Death Hounds there were.
"Nine."
His voice dropped to a whisper as he spoke to no one, "if I create a distraction, I could take out a couple quickly and vanish without being seen."
Over the years, Marco had mastered the art of throwing his voice. That, and his animal calling skills had definitely gotten better. He used this to his advantage; using a blue jays call that caught the attention of a few of his attackers.
"Now or never." He thought as he dropped down, making sure his blade broke through the skull of the hound as he landed on it.
"Eight."
He subdued another one, trying with all his effort to keep it from making a sound. His knife was driven right through its neck, causing a bit of blood to squirt out onto Marco.
"Seven."
His plan was going smoothly, he had taken down two and was not yet spotted. All he had to do was get to higher ground. That, or get to his sword.
Sneaking around, Marco could tell that the pack had split up. There were three in his sights, yet he couldn't see where the others had gone. He was about to go in for the strike when he was charged by one of the hounds he lost track of, and was sent into a roll. For its size, it had a lot of strength and that was the bad part. Marco didn't expect one to spot him. He wasn't careful.
The hound bit at Marco as they tumbled, trying to get its teeth on anything that would give it leverage. And it did. Closing it's jaws around Marco's shoulder, it bit down hard, a few of its teeth piercing his skin.
"Augh! Fuck, you stupid dog!" Marco yelled in pain, managing to throw it off of him. There was no way he could take on the rest, and he had surely alerted them.
"G-Gotta get out of here.." he spoke, the pain setting in as he found his footing. He spotted his sword and grabbed it, looking for the best way to get out of the current situation. He ran and noticed a fairly steep hillside dropping down into more thick brush. He could lose them there.
The hound that he threw started to get up and was looking ready for more, turning and taking a charge in Marco's direction. Wasting no time, Marco started down the hill, falling into a tumble all the way to the bottom. He landed hard with a thud and stifled a groan as he slowly crawled into a well hidden spot. This was not how it should've gone. He shouldn't have gone knowing the sun was falling soon. And as he sat there in pain and exhaustion, he spoke weak and halfheartedly…
"I wish I could just go back…" as a tear rolled down the side of his face.