Hello everybody! Welcome to chapter two of 'Ace of Spades'! So I hope you guys like it so far. I personally do.
I do not own 'Star vs the Forces of Evil'.
(Chapter 2)
Marco felt someone nudge his shoulder. He rolled onto his side and muttered "Ten more minutes, Mom." He didn't really feel like getting up.
This time Marco was grabbed by the arm and shook back and forth. Marco grunted and opened his eyes. "Come on, Mom. Can't I-"
He immediately stopped talking when he rolled over and saw Eclisse standing over him, smiling with amusement.
Marco sat up on his bed. "You again? What are you-" he then realized he wasn't in his bed, or in his house even. He was in a large bedchamber. The walls were stone and violet drapes blocked the windows. The bed Marco was in was way bigger and more elegant than anything he had ever slept in. It was a white and purple canopy bed with a silk veil. It was easily the most comfortable thing Marco had ever laid in, and he was willing to bet the bed was worth more than his house.
But something was wrong. Everything looked to be covered in some kind of ethereal mist, as if Marco really was drugged this time. The confused boy looked over at Eclisse. "What is this?"
"A memory." she replied. It sounded like she was speaking through maple syrup, it was hard to hear her clearly. Eclisse took off her hat and put in on the nightstand. She really was beautiful. Her mischievous smirk and the playful look in her eyes must have driven countless men mad. If Marco were to be honest, Eclisse was like a combination of Jackie and Janna. Jackie's air of cool calm and Janna's mysteriousness. The thought was a bit unsettling to Marco. Eclisse's eyes and the spades on her cheeks glowed like the eyes of a phantom.
"Why am I here?" Marco asked.
Eclisse walked over to the bedchamber entrance, a large oak double door, and motioned for Marco to follow. Marco was still skeptical. But despite his gut telling him otherwise, he got out of bed and followed. Eclisse opened the door and entered a large corridor. It looked like they were in some kind of ancient temple. Eclisse led Marco to the temple's main hall. There were statues of monsters here and there, along with a few potted trees for decoration.
Marco looked around. "What is this place?"
"This is where it happened." Eclisse said. Her voice was still muffled, but Marco heard the agony in her voice as clear as crystal.
"Where what happened?" Marco asked. All this was doing was confusing him even more.
Then he heard the crying.
As an older brother, and a pretty good one at that, Marco could easily recognize the sound of a baby's cry. And as a good older brother, his first instinct was to run to the baby's aid. And that's what he did.
Eclisse watched him run off with a pained look on her face.
Marco ran through the temple, following the cries of the infant. The sound of the baby's wail led him to a hallway leading to a broken down, iron door. Marco entered the broken door into what looked like a nursery. In the nursery, a crowd of men stood in front of a woman wearing a sunhat. The crowd of men and the woman were like shades. Their images were hazy and kept shifting, making them nearly unidentifiable. The men looked sort of like medieval knights and the lady was fending them off with a parasol. It didn't seem like a very formidable weapon to Marco, but the knights didn't seem to want to get near the woman.
Behind the parasol wielding woman was a crib, where a baby's scared cry could be heard. Marco suddenly understood. The woman was protecting her baby.
"Hey, stop! Get away from her!" Marco tried to push away the knights but he might as well have tried to push away smoke. He just went right through them. Marco ran up and planted himself between the woman and the crowd of knights. "Back off!" he shouted.
A larger being suddenly stepped through the wrecked door. He was bigger than knights and his head looked oddly pointy. Other than that, he was a painting in the dark. The large being raised his hand, or what looked like a hand, at Marco, and a bright beam shot from it. The beam went right through Marco like an illusion and struck the woman. "No!" Marco shouted. The baby gave one last frightened shriek.
Then they all disappeared, as if blinked out of existence. Even the baby's cries had ceased. Marco hurried over to the crib and looked inside. It was empty.
"Dios bueno." Marco remarked. Marco turned around to leave but came face to face with Eclisse again. Instead of demanding answers, Marco gave her a sad, sympathetic look. "That… that was you, wasn't it? Trying to protect your baby."
Eclisse looked like someone had shattered her soul. She suddenly reminded Marco of his mom more than anybody else. A mother who loved her child. Marco didn't even want to think about what would happen to his mom if she ever lost Mariposa.
'Or me, for that matter.' Marco met Eclisse's heartbroken gaze. "I am so sorry." he told her.
Eclisse just closed her eyes and hung her head in response.
"Is… is there anything I can do?"
He barely finished that sentence when Eclisse suddenly grabbed Marco by the shoulders and looked desperately in his eyes. "Find her." she pleaded. Her voice now clearly audible. "Please."
The world went dark before Marco could ask anything else.
"Now now babies, no fuss." Buff Frog said. "I know stroller is small, but is only stroller ve have."
Buff Frog's twelve tadpoles just glared up at him from the cramped stroller.
Buff Frog sighed. "Okay, okay. Ve can take break from stroller ride. Just a little farther down river. That vhere the good mushrooms are." Buff Frog smiled down lovingly at his tadpoles. As big and intimidating as he was, the large frog monster was incredibly sweet and caring towards his children. Buff Frog was a tall, green frog man built like Dean Norris. Although the weight of parenthood seemed to have widened his waist size. His green tunic was an XXL and his skull buckle belt was extended to its limit.
Buff Frog strolled his kids down the river to a small clearing in the woods. Buff Frog smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. "Okay, babies. Here ve are-" Buff Frog stopped when his yellow eyes spotted the boy. A young Mewman boy appeared to have washed up from the river and was lying on the riverbed, either dead or unconscious.
Buff Frog grunted. "Vait here, babies." Buff Frog ordered. His tone had become deadly serious. Every Monster knew that Mewmans meant trouble. Even if they were unconscious or dead, the risk wasn't worth it. Buff Frog walked up to the Mewman boy carefully and looked him over. He was the strangest looking Mewman Buff Frog had ever encountered, that was for certain. He wore an odd, red, hooded shirt and black trousers. His skin was a tan and his hair was brown. He had a tiny black wart under his right eye.
The weirdest thing about the Mewman was the golden gunk that he was covered in. It was like someone had come along and poured a bunch of shiny, golden paint on the Mewman. It was even weirder when the golden gunk began to absorb into the boy, as if he was some kind of sponge. The unconscious boy soaked up the gunk until there was nothing of it left.
Buff Frog gave the boy a quizzical look. "Did not know they could do that." he remarked.
One of the tadpoles that escaped the cramped stroller came up to the boy curiously and hopped onto his chest.
"Katrina, no!" Buff Frog picked the tadpole up off of the boy. "Bad girl, no touch Mewman. No idea vhere he's been." he scolded.
The boy began to moan and he tilted his head slightly.
"Oh, look. Mewman boy not dead."
Marco felt horrible, worse than when Janna had tricked him into getting drunk at that New Years party. Everything hurt. It was a struggle to just open his eyes.
"Hey, Mewman boy. Take it easy." said a deep, Russian accented voice.
Marco finally managed to get his eyes open and saw blue skies above. He could hear the sound of a flowing river nearby. Marco sat up and winced as he rubbed his head. "Uuuugh… what happened last night?"
"Passed out near river covered in goop. I vould guess bachelor party." said the Russian voice.
"Not a bad guess, but I can assure you I-GAHHHHHHH!" Marco shouted when he saw who he was talking to.
The frog creature rolled his eyes. "Dah, dah. Go ahead and do part."
Marco crawled backwards until he hit a rock, stopping his progress. "W-W-W-W-What are you?!"
"I am big, scary monster, I have green skin and sharp teeth, my belt buckle is skull, blah blah blah." replied the frog man, sounding pretty annoyed. "Look, can ve not do this? I have kids vith me today."
Marco steadied his breathing. "W-Where… where am I?" he asked in a panicky tone.
"You are in eastern part of Molda's Voods." said the frog man. "Follow river upstream, and you vill reach Mewman town in few hours."
Marco blinked in confusion. "Molda's Woods?"
"Dah, Molda's Voods. It is vestern forest of Mewni. Did not pay attention in geography class, eh?"
"...W-What's Mewni?"
Now it was the frog man's turn to look confused. "You don't know Mewni? But you are Mewman, dah?"
"Don't you mean human?" Marco asked.
"No, I mean Mewman. Vhat is Human?" the monster replied.
"That's what I am, a Human. What's a Mew-man?" the word felt strange on Marco's lips.
The frog monster knelt down and studied Marco, who flinched under his gaze. The tadpole in his arms regarded Marco excitedly, like he was a potential new playmate. "You are… not Mewman?" he asked.
Marco shook his head.
"So you are not from Mewni?"
"Uh… no." Marco replied. "I'm from the states."
"Vhat states?" the frog man asked.
"America." Marco said.
"Never heard of place. Is it in different dimension, maybe?"
Marco wasn't sure he heard the monster right. "I'm sorry, did you just say 'different dimension'?"
The frog monster nodded like it was perfectly normal.
Marco felt like lead was being pumped into his veins as panic took a hold of him. "You're… you're telling me… that I'm in another dimension? As in, I left my world and wound up in another one?"
"Seem like most logical explanation." the frog man stated.
Marco rubbed his temples. "This can't be happening, none of this should be possible. Hugh Everett's multiverse theory may have suggested the possibility of infinite universes, but this is just crazy!"
"This Hugh Everett you speak of does not sound so crazy." said the monster. "There are, in fact, infinite dimensions. A new von being discovered almost every year."
Marco took a deep, calming breath. "Alright. So assuming this isn't all just some crazy dream, I have apparently found a way into another dimension separate from mine." Marco's voice was calm but laced with worry and a pinch of madness. "Is there any way to travel to different dimensions?"
"Dah. Vith a pair of dimensional scissors, you can travel to any dimension you vant." The monster said.
Marco tilted his head. "Dimensional scissors?"
The monster nodded. "Dah. Dimensional scissors crafted by Hekapoo herself. They can cut open fabric of time and space and allow you to enter any dimension."
"You make it sound like it's magic."
"It is."
Marco blinked. "Different dimension, different laws of physics I guess." he muttered.
The frog monster rubbed his skin in thought. "I am curious, Human boy. If you do not even know about dimensional travel, then how did you end up in Mewni?"
Marco tried to remember what happened. He had gone downstairs to look for jalapenos, he had heard a sad voice call out to him, and then… something terrifying. Marco couldn't recall any exact detail after that, aside from the weird dream with Eclisse.
"I… have no idea how I got here." Marco confessed.
"Then you vill need pair of dimensional scissors." the frog man confirmed.
"You wouldn't happen to have a pair of these scissors, would you?"
The monster shook his head. "Afraid not. Used to have own pair, back vhen I vork for Ludo. But had to return them vhen I quit."
"Who's Ludo?" Marco.
"Let us just say, it is good you do not know him." the monster grumbled. "Anyvay. If you vant to go to own dimension, best bet is to seek audience vith Queen of Mewni."
"Queen? You guys have a monarchy?"
"Unfortunately."
Marco stared off into the distance in deep thought for a while, then stood up off of the ground. "Which way to the Queen?" he asked.
The monster pointed to the west. "Like I say, upstream of river. Take you right to castle."
Marco offered the monster a smile, then reached out for a handshake. "Thank you. Sorry about freaking out earlier, Mr…"
The monster seemed quite surprised by Marco's politeness. He returned the boy's smile and firmly shook his hand. "Name is Yvgeny Bulgolyubov. Friends call me Buff Frog."
"Marco Diaz. it's nice to meet you." Marco replied.
"Heh heh heh, it vould seem you truly are not Mewman." said Buff Frog.
"What do you mean?" Marco asked.
Buff Frog shrugged. "Mewmans hate Monsters." Buff Frog said matter of factly. "It has been this vay since first Queen of Mewni. All they vant is us gone, all ve want is to be left alone. But they keep harassing us, as if very existence is crime." Buff Frog sighed. "Ve used to live in peace, free of Mewman rule. But vhen Mewmans came, our ancestors vere no match for Queen's magic. Ve have been living in shadows ever since."
Buff Frog lament certainly tugged at Marco's heartstrings. "I'm… I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." Buff Frog said. "But, thank you." The frog monster looked up into the sky and saw the sun beginning to dip below the horizon. "Say, do you need place to rest before you go?" Buff Frog asked. "My home is deeper in voods, in the swamp, but you may stay for the night and join me and babies for supper if you like."
"Oh no, I don't want to be a burden. Besides, I think I should be on my way immediately. I gotta get home as soon as possible." Marco responded. "Is it very dangerous up the river?"
"For Mewman, or someone that look like Mewman, no. You should be fine." Buff Frog walked over to the stroller and pulled out a burlap sack. He then walked around and picked a bunch of red and white mushrooms and put them in the bag. Buff Frog walked back to Marco and handed him the bag. "Here, mushrooms for road. Remember to cook them first, or you vill get sick."
Marco looked into the bag, the mushrooms were red with white spots like the ones from Super Mario. He looked back up at Buff Frog and smiled. "Thank you, Buff Frog."
"Safe travels, Human boy." Buff Frog said before walking to the stroller and carting his kids away. "Nice kid." he said to himself before disappearing into the woods.
Marco looked into the direction Buff Frog had pointed and let out a heavy sigh. "I had a date." He complained to himself before beginning his trek through the foreign world.
(back on Earth)
"Come on, sweetie. Say 'Mama'."
"Mawco."
"No no, say 'Maw-maw'."
"Mawco!"
Angie sighed in defeat and sat down at the kitchen table. "Oh, it's not fair. I gave birth to the both of you, and I can't even be you or Marco's first or even second word?"
Raphael laughed and looked up from his book. "Oh yeah, I think Marco's first word was 'Da-da'. His second word was 'Nacho'."
Angie huffed. "We just might have to have another one if Mari's second word doesn't end up being 'Mama'."
"Mawco."
"Oh, come on!"
The kitchen phone rang. Angie recomposed herself and answered the phone. "Hello? Diaz residence… Oh, Mr. Curry! What can I… What?... That can't be right, Marco's always on time, you know that… He had to of shown up, we saw him leave for work this morning… You most certainly will not fire him, he's the best worker you ever had!... Yeah, that's what I thought."
Angie hung up the phone, concern brimming in his eyes.
"Who was that, Angie?" Raphael asked.
"Mr. Curry, Marco's manager. He said Marco didn't show up for work."
"What? Well, that certainly doesn't sound like Marco."
"I know." Angie grabbed the phone again and dialed in Marco's number. She twirled the cord nervously as the line rang.
"Unable to connect."
Now Angie looked really worried. She dialed in the number for the Ordonias. "Hello, Christina? It's me, Angie. I'm sorry to bother you but can I talk to Janna real quick? It's about Marco." A few seconds later, Janna's voice answered.
"Yyyellow, Janna here."
"Janna, I'm Marco's mom. Remember me? You used to sneak into our house and steal from Marco's stash of Mike and Ike's when you were both little."
"Oh yeah, hey Mrs. D. whatcha need?"
"Listen, have you seen Marco since your tutor session? He didn't show up for work today."
"Haven't seen him since the… tutor session." she oddly hesitated for a bit. "He really didn't show up for work? That's a first."
'Well, call me if you see him, okay?"
"No problem." Janna said before hanging up.
Angie dialed another number.
"Now who are you calling?" Raphael. "He's fifteen. Teenagers are always doing things they shouldn't. Even Marco tries to enjoy his youth from time to time. I'm sure he's fine."
Angie made no indication that he heard him and waited for the phone to be answered.
"Waddup, Oskar speaking."
"Hello, Oskar Greason? You work with my son, Marco, at Britta's Tacos, right?"
"Yeah. No offense, but your son is really kind of a nark."
"Do you know where he is? I can't get a hold of him."
"He's working stereotypically at Britta's Tacos. Guy's a total buzz, but he's one hell of a chef, gotta give him that."
Angie covered the phone's mike with her hand. "Good god, everything your mother says about you is far from exaggeration." Angie uncovered the mike. "He's not at Britta's Taco's, your manager called and said Marco didn't show up."
"Sure he did. He even called me and complained about me not showing up. Not my fault I have more important things to do."
"Wait, he called you?... From Britta's Tacos?"
"Yup. I still have the voicemail 'cause I can't figure out how to delete them. He was at Britta's Tacos when he called me."
Angie was still for a moment, then she hung up and dialed another number.
"Now who are you calling?" Raphael asked.
"The police."
(Mewni)
The sun had set on Mewni's horizon, and the night sky was filled with countless stars. Marco had made camp under a large, smooth-barked tree. He was currently roasting one of the mushrooms Buff Frog had picked for him over an open fire he had started. Believing the mushroom was perfectly roasted, he raised the stick from the fire and took a bite out of the cooked fungus. It tasted pretty good. Marco finished the mushroom off and put another one on the stick to cook.
Marco looked up at the night sky. It was an incredibly beautiful sight. It didn't seem like this world suffered from any kind of light or air pollution, so the stars shined like an army of lights. Mewni's four moons of different sizes hung in the air like guardians of the night. Marco found it at first strange that this world had four moons, but he knew many planets had more than one moon. Back in Marco's solar system and dimension, Earth was really the odd man out with only the one moon.
Marco closed his eyes and listened to the flow of the river he was following. All around insects were sounding off in a serenade of chirps and buzzes. Marco took in a deep breath of clean, forest air. "This place is pretty nice." He thought to himself.
The sound of frightened shouting broke Marco out of his trance. He put his mushroom skewer down and listened. There it was again, a pleading voice shouting in despair.
Marco ran towards the noise before he could tell himself it was a bad idea.
He ran until he came upon the source of the shouts. Marco hid behind a tree and watched from the shadows. In the small clearing in front of him were a pair of medieval looking knights hogtying a pair of teen Monsters. One of the monsters looked like he was taking a shot at being a millennial. He was an elephant guy with mud-grey skin and a gold ring hung from one ear and another one was in the tip of his trunk. He wore ratty clothes and a grey cap sat on his big head. The other monster was a squirrel girl (hey, that rhymed) also wearing torn clothes. She tried to chew through the ropes but she wasn't having any luck. The two monsters were tied back to back like a pair of outlaws in an old western picture.
The two knights were both tall, big and intimidating. One of them was a dark skinned woman with massive velvet hair and intense amber eyes. She grinned like a lunatic as she fashioned the knot to keep the monsters tied up. A yellow star decorated her armor and helmet, which had a purple plume sticking out of it. The other knight was dressed in a more fancy fashion. His chest plate and naval guard were bronze and his arms were covered in scale armor sleeves, with a pair of grey gloves. His iron greaves and boots looked like they were recently polished. He had a blue crystal belt buckle that matched the color of his cape. His skin was also dark and his chiseled features made him look like a comic book hero, his magenta hair was even slicked back. His hazelnut eyes regarded the Monsters with disgust.
"Aw, come on. Please let us go." the elephant Monster begged. "We were just looking for mushrooms, they always pop up this time of year like… well, mushrooms."
"Silence Monster!" the lady knight shouted. "Sir Stabby, can't we just dispose of them now?" the monsters began to shiver.
"Calm yourself, Lady Whosits." the male knight said. "We lock the monsters up, since all they did was trespass."
"Sir Stabby and Lady Whosits? That's seriously their names?" Marco thought.
"That's a load of piggoat manure!" the squirrel girl shouted. "All we did was pick a few mushrooms!"
"You two are Monsters, what other reason do we need for locking you up?" Sir Stabby asked like it was an actual question.
Marco narrowed his eyes. Putting his already formed plan to action, he brought his hands to his mouth and threw his voice. A trick he taught himself a year ago. "Over here, assholes." It apparently worked, because the two knights turned their heads away from Marco and towards the opposite direction.
"Who said that?!" Sir Stabby demanded.
Lady Whosits drew her sword. "Come on! Another Monster to bag, I'd wager!" Sir Stabby pulled out a pair of steel knives and followed her into the forest. The second they were gone, Marco ran up to the two confused Monsters, who stared wide eyed at Marco.
"Who are you?" the squirrel girl asked.
"Dig the hooded tunic, man." the elephant commented.
Marco untied the two Monsters and helped them to their feet. "Go. You're free now." he told them.
The monsters just blinked at him, as if he just spoke a language they didn't understand. "You're… helping us?" the elephant guy asked.
"Yes." he did all he could not to raise his voice. "Now go, before they come back."
That's all they needed to hear. The two monsters gave Marco one more odd look, then turned around and ran east into the forest. Marco bolted back to his campsite, when he made it back he sat down and continued his cooking. Although if Marco was being honest, he didn't feel very hungry anymore. Apparently, Buff Frog wasn't joking. Those two Monster teens would have been thrown in jail just for picking mushrooms. Marco's world had its own dark history of prejudice. But he got the impression that here in Mewni, prejudice was a normal part of reality.
Marco looked up into Mewni's night sky. It now looked less beautiful.
The next morning, Marco grabbed what was left of his mushroom supply and headed back down the river. He took out his phone just to see if he could get some kind of signal, but with no luck. Marco opened up his gallery and swiped to the picture he took on the day Mariposa was born. Marco was holding the phone for a family selfie with his parents behind him and Mariposa cradled in his arm. Marco smiled at the picture. He felt a tear escape his eye and flow down his cheek. 'You can't rule out the possibility that you'll never-'
Marco put the phone back in his pocket before he could finish that thought.
Marco looked up and saw a castle in the distance. A tall palace with pink and white towers. Flags flew in the air on the tower tops. Marco pressed on, growing anxious over meeting a completely different species. As he got closer, Marco saw that the castle had been built into a mountain and a town was settled at the foot of that mountain. He felt pretty tuckered out from the long walk when he stopped in front of the town entrance. Marco took a deep breath and exhaled, then entered the kingdom of another dimension.
He was disappointed almost immediately.
It looked like Marco had walked into an incredibly historically accurate renaissance fair. The streets were made of dirt, the houses were built of wood and stone and everyone was dressed like peasants with clothing straight out of a Brothers Grimm fairytale. Marco never really dressed to impress, but he managed to turn a few heads as he walked through the town. Most regarded his cherry-red hoodie with confusion and puzzlement. Some looked down at their own clothes though, as if wondering how a red hoodie would look on them. The Mewmans, as Buff Frog had called them, looked identical to Humans. Nothing about them was noticeably different from Marco's species.
'This is certainly anticlimactic.' Marco thought to himself. He made his way through town to the castle gates, where a pair of knights stood guard. The two knights were identical, with helmets that hid their faces and matching armor. They both wielded tall, steel halberds.
"Halt." the left knight said when Marco reached them. "State your business."
"Um… I'm here to see the Queen." Marco replied. He raised his bag full of fungi. "I've… brought an offering of delicious mushrooms."
"Queen Moon isn't seeing anybody right now." the knight said. "Go home."
"Oh, come on. I need her help." Marco pleaded. "I brought mushrooms."
"You should've brought some corn, instead." replied the knight.
"Picky, aren't we?"
Marco couldn't see his face, but he could imagine the knight was glaring at him now. "Listen here, boy. Leave now, or-"
"What's going on here?"
A short, bearded man in blue, royal attire with a gold crown on his head made his way down the stone steps from the castle to the gates. The guards stood at attention.
"King River. I was just telling this boy to leave. He wanted to see the Queen."
From the other side of the golden gates, the King regarded Marco suspiciously. "Is that so?" he asked. "State your business, boy."
Marco gulped. "Uhhhh… I was hoping the Queen could help me get back to my dimension… your highness."
"Your dimension?" said King River. "Aren't you from Mewni, son?"
"No, I'm from Earth." Marco said.
"Earth? Never heard of it."
"We're… pretty off the grid."
The King stroked his beard in thought. "Hmmmm. Well, that would certainly explain your strange choice of garb."
Marco looked down at his hoodie and mentally sighed.
"By the way, boy. I am the King of Mewni and you have not bowed or even addressed me as such." the King narrowed his eyes.
Marco began to sweat. "Oh, uh… well I apol-"
"I like this kid!" the King exclaimed. "He's got spunk! Go ahead and let him in, you two."
The knights opened the gate and King River stepped up to Marco. "So, need help getting home, eh?"
Marco nodded. The King was about a foot shorter than he was but his fierce and stoic demeanor made Marco nervous all the same.
"Well, I don't see why my dear queen wouldn't be able to send you home real quick." the King turned around. "Come along, my boy. I'll take you to her."
Marco followed the King up the stairs to the castle, not quite believing his own luck. "Say, what's in the bag?" the King asked.
"Mushrooms."
"Oh. I was hoping you had brought some corn with you. Oh well, mushrooms are nice as well."
King River led Marco through the halls of the castle. Marco couldn't help but admire the place. Everything looked so expensive and well decorated. A servant had taken Marco's mushrooms away to the royal kitchen, so now he walked through the castle empty handed.
"This place is amazing." Marco marveled aloud.
King River chuckled. "Yes, the Butterfly family has been reigning supreme for hundreds of years. And Butterfly Castle has been a symbol of that supremacy for just as long."
"The Butterfly family? You mean your family?" Marco asked.
"Oh, goodness no! I meant my wife's family. I merely married into the title of King." King River explained. "I'm from the Johansen Kingdom. A proud kingdom of hardy warriors." The King pounded his chest with pride. "We're a tough lot, strong as stone. But, I married the Queen and had to leave my kingdom to be with her."
"You must miss your home." Marco empathized.
"My dear boy, my home is with my family and the ones I love." said the King. "That's something you'll one day understand." the King turned his head towards Marco. "Say now, I don't believe I got your name."
"Oh, yeah. I'm Marco." he replied. "Marco Diaz."
King River stroked his beard. "Hmmmm. Marco Diaz, eh? It leaves such a strange feeling on my tongue."
Marco didn't know how to respond to that. "So, it's the Queen's family that rules over Mewni?" he asked instead.
"Oh yes, quite so! The magical Queens of Mewni have been ruling over and protecting Mewmankind for centuries." King River answered.
"The Queens? So the royal line is matrilineal?"
"No, but the throne goes to the first born daughter of the Queen."
"That's what I… nevermind."
King River led Marco to a large, red double door. A pair of knights were standing guard in front of the door, but moved aside when they saw their king.
"Now, fair warning, Marco. The Queen and the Magic High Commission are in a meeting right now. And let me tell you, my wife hates it when I interrupt one of her meetings."
Marco gulped. "Can't… can't we just come back later then?"
"Nah, It'll be good to distract her from her work. If only for a moment. Come along." the King opened the door and led Marco through. The room they entered was a large meeting room with a big, rounded table in the center. Seated at the table were a group of beings that looked like they came straight out of an intense D&D story plot.
One of them was some kind of demon chick. Her whole body was covered in bone-white fur and she wore a large, flame-orange dress with a pair of red boots. Her huge, blood-red hair went down to her ankles and was put in a black scrunchie at the neck. A pair of jagged, yellow horns protruded out from her hair and a small black tiara nestled on her head with a ball of fire hovering over it. Her hair was folded back behind her pointed ears but one of her orange eyes were hidden behind her bangs. Her fanged mouth was set in a bored frown.
Another one was some kind of ogre. He wore little clothing on his emerald-green, buff body except for a purple cape and speedo. His most bizarre features were his snake arms and literal diamond head, which had an elongated pupil in the center like some kind of crystal cyclops. For some reason, he seemed familiar to Marco. Although Marco would have sworn on the grave of his grandmother that he had never seen anything like the diamond headed ogre before.
One was a tall goat man with bat wings, as if a vampire had gotten lazy and just went for the goat instead of the farmer. He had a pair of curled goat horns and a long goatee (Haha) and wore a large grey cloak over his furry body. His yellow goat eyes held a surprising amount of warmth and wisdom.
The last one was just a bowling ball with a skull design on it. Or so Marco thought at first glance. Upon closer inspection, he looked like some kind of phantom in a crystal ball. His head was a scary looking skull with horns that were just swords stuck to each other, like a weird piece of artwork. Behind the skull, a foggy mountain could be seen. Or maybe, the foggy mountain was the skull.
At the head of the table sat the Queen of Mewni, dressed in royal attire and with her light blue hair set in a heart shaped hairstyle. Marco found the purple diamonds on her cheeks rather strange, they looked like some kind of weird birthmarks.
"I'm telling you, it's Toffee!" the Queen stated to the others. "It has to be him. He's planning something!"
"Queen Moon, you are being paranoid." the skull in the ball said. "The Immortal Monster hasn't shown himself in years. He's probably hiding in whatever hole he calls home."
"Omnitraxus Prime, I do not appreciate being called paranoid." the Queen said coldly.
Omnitraxus Prime developed a nervous look in his eye sockets. "Er, uh… I meant no disrespect, my Queen. I just meant that you have no proof, or even any good reason to suspect that it's Toffee planning something."
The goat-bat bleated something at Queen Moon, and everybody turned their heads to the crystal ogre.
"Rhombulus, care to translate?" the Queen asked.
"Oh, right! Uh, Lekmet said that you're letting fear and anger cloud you're thinking." the one called Rhombulus replied in a deep, gruff voice. "If it is Toffee, what do you even plan to do?"
"That's what I am trying to figure out, it is called strategizing!" the Queen spoke with so much authority and command even Marco felt compelled to find Toffee, whoever he was. "Hekapoo, can't you locate Toffee if he uses a portal?"
The fire demoness brought out a pair of red scissors with a flame design handle and twirled them in the air. "Like I've already explained, Queen Moon. I can't pinpoint someone using dimensional scissors unless they're the one who earned the scissors, but some scissors do find their way in the hands of the unworthy from time to time. Scissor users are murdered, rich brats steal and lose their parents' scissors, illegal and untraceable copies used by mercenaries and assassins, et cetera, but nothing that could help locate Toffee if he were to use a pair of my scissors."
"Maybe you should do your job a little better." Rhombulus taunted.
"Maybe I should take my scissors and jam them up your-"
"Enough, you two!" Queen Moon commanded. "I have no time for children."
Naturally, King River chose that moment to intervene. "Moonpie, do you have a moment?"
The Queen and the Magic High Commission turned their attention towards Marco and King River. "Not now, River, We are discussing the monster problem." the Queen said.
"What monster problem? The Monsters have been incredibly quiet for over a year now." River said. "Why, my Johansen brethren haven't been this bored since the Treaty of Rhina."
"That is what worries me. I suspect the Monsters are planning something. I have no time to dawdle." the Queen looked at Marco curiously. "And who is this boy with you?"
"This will only take a minute, my dear. This is Marco," the King gestured to Marco. "He's trying to get back to his home dimension."
Marco raised his hand awkwardly in greeting. "Hello."
Queen Moon narrowed her eyes at the boy in red. "Marco, was it? A rather odd name. What dimension are you from?"
"Uh, Earth." Marco said.
"Earth? Even I've never heard of it, and finding dimensions is part of my job." Hekapoo said.
From somewhere in the room, a voice spoke out. "It's a pretty neat place. The pudding there is phenomenal."
Marco's eyes widened. 'That voice, I know that voice.'
From one of the empty seats at the table, a small, blue, bearded man floated up into the air in a meditation pose. "Greetings everyone. Sorry I'm late."
"You!" Marco shouted, recognizing the gremlin he saw in his room.
"Ah, Mr. Diaz! Right on time!" the bearded man greeted. "Your reputation for punctuality is well earned."
Everyone stared at Marco as if he had just caught on fire. "You know Glossaryck?!" the Queen asked.
Glossaryck?" Marco looked over at the small, floating figure. "That's your name?"
"Corrrrrrrrect!" Glossaryck exclaimed by rolling the 'r'. He raised his hands in a dramatic pose. "I am Sir Glossaryck of Terms!" the words magically appeared above and below him, causing Marco to flinch. He was still getting used to the concept of magic. "And FYI, I am not a gremlin."
"You had us fooled." Hekapoo commented.
"I am a being of pure magic. An embodiment of the Book of Spells passed down from Queen to Queen."
"You're a jinni." Marco summed up. "A genie of the book."
"Indeed, my dear scholar." Glossaryck replied. He gestured with his hand towards the table. "You could say my children are jinn as well."
Marco looked over at the table. The Commission, minus the Queen, cringed at being called Glossaryck's children. "They're your kids?" Marco asked.
"And an ungrateful bunch, yes." said Glossaryck.
"Glossaryck." the Queen said, sounding like she was losing patience. "Why have you brought this boy here?"
"A good question." said Marco.
"Well, I didn't technically bring him here. He came here on account of his own actions." this earned an angry growl from Marco. "But to answer your question, my queen; I told you I would find someone who could help, and I did."
Disbelief invaded the Queen's face. "You're telling me this boy is supposed to be my daughter's new tutor?!" she asked.
"You're telling me this whole ordeal with me ending up in another dimension is just an elaborate job interview?!" Marco demanded.
"First question; yes." Glossaryck replied. "Second question;...yes."
Marco finally lost it. He grabbed Glossaryck out of the air and squeezed him until his eyes bulged out of his head. Everyone but Queen Moon regarded Marco with newfound praise, like they were hoping to see him pop the tiny genie's head off.
"I oughta stick you in a blender, you little-"
Glossaryck bit Marco's hand before he could finish, causing Marco to yelp in pain and release the small jinni.
"What is wrong with you?!" Marco shouted.
"A lot." Glossaryck said.
"Yeah, that's for damn sure." Rhombulus said. "You want this outsider to tutor the princess? He's not even a Mewman! He might as well be a Monster!"
"Says the six foot, crystal-clops with diamond nipples and snakes for arms." Marco countered.
"Screw you, brown boy!" the left snake said.
"Aw, dude. Not cool." the right snake said to the left.
"I'll have you know, non-Mewman, I am the head jailor for the Magic High Commission." Rhombulus' crystal head began to glow. "None can escape from my crystal prisons, and I have half a mind to put you in one!"
The one called Lekmet bleated what sounded like scolding to the jailor. Rhombulus shut his glow off and looked down at the table like a pouting child.
"Any other objections to my choice?" Glossaryck asked.
Marco raised his hand.
"Not you."
"What exactly qualifies this boy to tutor my daughter?" Queen Moon asked skeptically.
"More importantly, I am not fond of the idea of this teenage boy hanging around my precious little angel, who happens to be in the same age group." said King River, shooting Marco a look that said 'I will kill you.' Marco felt himself tremble under the King's glare.
"First concern: The boy is multilingual and the top of his class. He's a patient caretaker, and has a history of tutoring a troublesome teen. Also a brilliant and strategic young lad and competent fighter."
Marco was genuinely surprised by the genie's compliments.
"Second concern: The boy is near completely hopeless, King River. You really have nothing to worry about."
Marco pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
King River stroked his beard, he still looked unimpressed. "You say he's a competent fighter?" he asked.
"I have a red belt in karate." Marco offered.
"I have no idea what that means."
"If you want his martial prowess to improve, I have an idea for that." Glossaryck turned to Hekapoo. "Give him the test."
Hekapoo raised an eyebrow. "If you want him dead, I can just kill him right now. Or better yet, just have Rhombulus put him in a crystal."
Rhombulus looked up hopefully.
"I'm not asking you to kill him, I'm asking you to test him." Glossaryck replied calmly.
"You're basically asking for the same thing." Hekapoo argued. "You want me to send this guy to the Neverzone? The most dangerous dimension in the known multiverse? He's not even Mewman, he's just some off-brand species from a backwater dimension. What the corn makes you think he has any hope of surviving my trial?"
"The first thing you should know about Humans, dear daughter, is that they are an unpredictable and surprising lot." said Glossaryck. "Now do as I say and give him the test."
Hekapoo grimaced at Glossaryck calling her his daughter. It must have erased any pity she had for Marco because she got up from her seat and walked up to Marco. Hekapoo gave him a criticizing look before taking her scissors out and using them to cut open an orange portal, which Marco gawked at in both fear and amazement.
"You walk through this portal, and I can promise you'll be dead in less than thirty minutes." Hekapoo warned before heading into the dimension.
Glossaryck gave Marco an encouraging smile. "Alright, in you go, Marco. Hey, that rhymes."
"Yeah, I just heard all of that 'he's gonna die' stuff and now I can safely promise you that there is no goddamn way in hell I'm going through that portal." Marco said.
"Yes, this seems a bit excessive, Glossaryck." said the Queen with concern. "He won't survive in the Neverzone."
"Sure he will. As long as he doesn't die." Glossaryck gave Marco a shooing motion with his hands. "Come now, Mr. Diaz. Into the portal with you, chop chop."
"I am not going through that portal." Marco stated.
Glossaryck stroked his beard. "Hmmm… so you will not go into the portal willingly?"
"No."
"Okay then… How about unwillingly?"
"What do you-"
A giant purple hand shot out of Glossaryck's head jewel and grabbed Marco before he could finish, then tossed the startled Human into the portal.
"Glossaryck!" Queen Moon shouted.
"Oh, come yourself, Moon." said Glossaryck. "He'll be fine… probably… hopefully."
Marco landed on the hard ground with a painful thud. He winced as he picked himself up and dusted himself off, promising to kill Glossaryck next time he saw him. Marco looked up and saw that he was in another world yet again. Only this world seemed entirely unfriendly and dangerous. The world's landscape was mostly barren, with the occasional crag, mountain, or volcano. The night time air was so cold, Marco could see his breath. There wasn't any visible sign of life other than the dead vegetation scattered here and there, but the sound of nightmarish beasts howling into the night was near constant. Everything about this dimension screamed 'You're gonna die.'
"Welcome to my world."
Marco spun around and saw the demon chick sitting on top of her portal. She hopped down to the dirt and the portal vanished. The demoness stared at Marco with a look that was twenty percent pity, thirty percent patronizing, and fifty perfect amusement. Marco felt the incredible urge to smack that smirk right off of her face, even if she was a girl.
"Welcome, knockoff Mewman, to Dimension X-103. Otherwise known as the Neverzone."
"Peekaboo, was it? Why am I here?" Marco demanded. He refused to show this demon any fear.
The demoness growled and narrowed her eye at Marco. "It's Hekapoo, smartass."
"Yeah, like that's any better."
Instead of getting even more ticked, the scissor crafter just regained her smirk. "Ya know, I think I'm gonna enjoy watching you get ripped to pieces."
Marco decided to attempt reason. "All of this is unnecessary. You can open portals, just open open to my world so I can leave. You and I will never cross paths again."
Hekapoo shrugged. "Sorry, knockoff. Even if I felt like it, I wouldn't be able to send you back." Hekapoo brought out her scissors. "See, the scissors can cut open a portal to any dimension you wish to go to. But, it has to be a dimension you've been to. You have to be able to see where you're going." Hekapoo grinned at Marco. "You are the first of your kind to ever leave your dimension. So-"
"I'm the only one who can cut open a portal to Earth." Marco finished.
"Aw, what a clever little thing." Hekapoo mocked.
"So give me your scissors and let me cut my way home." Marco insisted.
"You don't touch my scissors. But I'll tell you what I'll do." Hekapoo opened another portal about the size of a dinner plate. She reached in and pulled out another pair of scissors. This pair had bronze blades and purple handles and the pin was covered with a red flame design. Marco never thought that a pair of scissors could ever look impressive but he had to admit, Hekapoo was pretty good at making dimensional cutlery.
"Fresh from the forges. One of the nicest pairs I've ever made. You can use these." said the demoness. "That is, if you can take them from me."
Then to Marco's astoundment, Hekapoo began to split into multiple copies of herself. It was like a fire was spreading in front of him. The Hekapoos didn't stop multiplying until Marco was facing a hundred smug, fire ladies.
The lead Hekapoo tossed the bronze bladed scissors behind her and one of her clones caught it. "Best of luck, you're gonna need a lot of it." she said before she opened a portal and hopped in. the portal blinked out of existence once she was gone.
The rest of the Hekapoos rushed Marco at lightning speed. He was bombarded with smacks upside the head until he managed to deliver a strong roundhouse kick to the naval an unsuspecting clone. The clone poofed out of existence from the blow and the rest scattered in every direction, laughing and shouting taunts.
Marco cringed in pain as he rubbed the now bald spot where the clones had smacked him. He looked around at his new and incredibly dangerous environment. "...This may take awhile." Marco looked at the ground and gave a sad sigh. "I had a date."
"You guys would love Earth, it has something for everybody." Glossaryck was telling everyone in the meeting room. "Their whole social and political system makes zero sense even to them though, and they all blindly worship machines and celebrities. But still, not a bad place for a vacation."
"No one asked you, Glossaryck." Omnitraxus Prime said.
They were interrupted by an orange portal appearing before them, which Hekapoo hopped out of.
"Ah, Hekapoo. You've done as I asked, I presume?"
"Yup, Mango or whatever his name was is probably dead by now." Hekapoo stated.
The King and Queen looked saddened by this news. Neither of them as parents enjoyed the thought of a child losing his life.
"Are you sure?" Glossaryck asked. "What if he's alive and doing quite well against the dangers of the Neverzone?"
"No way." Hekapoo replied. "Even without the time differentiation. He would have been killed by now. I almost feel bad about it."
"Small wonder you have no friends, my dear." Glossaryck replied.
Hekapoo growled at the tiny magic man. The flame above her head intensified.
"How about you look into your clones' progress?" Glossaryck suggested. "Just so you can prove I was wrong."
Hekapoo narrowed her eye suspiciously, but was apparently unable to pass up an opportunity to prove Glossaryck wrong. She looked off into the distance as if she was watching an invisible program. After a few seconds, her unhidden eye widened in shock. "Oh my corn, he's still… he's not dead."
Everyone leaned in curiously except Glossaryck, who smiled like he knew exactly what was about to happen.
"He's taken out almost all of my clones… he's at my forge… Woah, that's what he ended up looking like? Damn… He's fighting his way into my forge." Hekapoo turned to Glossaryck, who grinned triumphantly at her. "Who is this guy?"
"As I said before, I have brought someone that can help." Glossaryck said. "See, out of all the potential candidates for the job, I chose Marco Diaz of Echo Creek for one reason in particular. Bones may break, skin may burn, and limbs may be hacked away. But the spirit is where true strength comes from. And Marco's spirit is one of the strongest I've ever seen, rivaling even the princess's."
Hekapoo just stared at Glossaryck for a little while before continuing her check in. "Well, he's not going to take the job. He just got the scissors and he's about to cut himself a portal home."
"Wrong again." Glossaryck snapped his fingers and a blue portal appeared in the room. It was Marco that came through the portal, but he looked completely different. He wore an open biker jacket and a torn red scarf. His ripped fur pants were held up with a hemp rope and his boots and gloves were black. A silver hilted sword hung on his back. Everyone stared at him in utter disbelief. Except Glossaryck, who smiled like nothing had happened. "Hello again, Marco. How was the Neverzone?"
When he noticed that he was back in the meeting room of the Butterfly Castle, Marco looked around in a panic. "Wha… where am I?!" Marco grabbed his throat. "And my voice!" the confused boy looked down at his body and gasped. "What th… I… I'm…"
"Yeah, time is a lot faster in the Neverzone." explained Hekapoo, who stared at Marco with newfound interest and even a hint of admiration. "It might have been… what, fifteen years?, back in the Neverzone. But here, it's been like, a few minutes."
"You survived fifteen years in the Neverzone?" marveled the Queen.
"Incredible!" King River exclaimed. "You must join me on my next hunt, lad! You can share tales of your harrowing adventures and show all of your survival tactics!"
Marco just blinked. "But I… I'm fifteen again? I thought I was about to go home and see my family for the first time in fifteen years. I dreamt of this day for years. I… I-"
Glossaryck snapped his fingers. Marco blinked and shook his head. "Woah… what happened."
"I've reversed your memories." Glossaryck explained. "Tell me, what is the password to your computer?"
"Mackie Hand is the master. All caps, no spaces." Marco blinked again. "How do I remember that?"
"Like I said, I reversed your memories. Your welcome."
Hekapoo stepped up to Marco and reached her hand out. "Give me the scissors for a second, would ya?" Her voice was no longer condescending, but rather held an air of respect.
Marco didn't seem to want to, but he did as she asked and handed her the scissors that had brought him back. Hekapoo snapped her fingers and her index finger lit on fire. She then slowly traced that finger across the front scissor blade and the name 'Marco' appeared on the metal.
Hekapoo offered the scissors back to Marco. "Here, these are yours, Marco." Hekapoo smiled. "You've earned them."
Marco hesitated, then carefully took the scissors back from Hekapoo. He stared at the scissors in silence.
Glossaryck cleared his throat. "Well, now that that's out of the way. How about we continue-"
As quick as a cobra strike, Marco pulled out his sword, a katana with a silver blade that glowed with a faint, white light, and leveled the tip at the genie's throat.
King River whistled. "Nice sword. I'm an ax man myself, but not a bad piece of metalwork. Moonlight Steel?"
"Oh, yeah. Enchanted metal. I used to have a different one with a golden, dragon-design hilt, but I had to return that one in order to-wait, wait. Getting off track here." Marco turned his attention back to Glossaryck, who had barely flinched at getting a blade aimed under his chin. "Listen, Glossaryck. I'm going home, end of story. No more magic, no more craziness. I'm leaving." Marco sheathed his sword. "Adiós para siempre, molesto duende."
Glossaryck just stared at Marco, completely poker faced. Then he gave his fingers another snap. Marco looked down and realized his red hoodie and black jeans had returned. Even his skin and hair felt cleansed and free of dirt or grime. "Alright, go on."
Marco blinked. "What, just like that? No tricks? You're not gonna throw me into another hellish dimension or something?"
Glossaryck just shrugged. "Nah, you can go."
Marco stared suspiciously at Glossaryck for a solid minute before he took his newly acquired scissors and cut open another portal. Marco gave the genie one more skeptic look before stepping towards the portal home.
"It's a shame the princess has to die, though."
That stopped Marco in his tracks. He spun around and gaped at Glossaryck. "What?"
"Hmm? Oh right, the princess. She's gonna die. Killed by Toffee, Queen Moon's worst enemy." Glossaryck explained way too calmly. "I was hoping you would save her, but it's fine. Go home and forget about it. No skin off your bones, right?"
Marco looked over to see why everyone else was so silent about this, but everyone appeared to be frozen in place. They didn't blink, they didn't breathe, even the fire above Hekapoo's head was still. It was like someone had hit a pause button on reality.
Marco looked back to Glossaryck. "What did you do?"
"Made sure that this conversation is just between the two of us." the genie explained.
"The King and Queen deserve to know their daughter is going to die!" Marco shouted.
"Anything they attempt to do will end in failure and heartbreak." said Glossaryck. "The only possible outcome where Princess Star lives to see tomorrow, is with you coming to her aid."
"Tomorrow?!"
Glossaryck nodded. "Yup. But that's none of your concern right? Go back home to your friends and family. It's not like you owe the princess anything."
"You're trying to guilt trip me!" Marco complained. "That's not fair!"
"You getting to live while Star gets to die?" Glossaryck shrugged. "Seems fair enough to me. Cycle of life, and all that."
"I thought you wanted me to just be her tutor?! Tutors don't risk their lives to protect princesses from villainous monsters, they help with algebra!"
"I expect you to be more than just her tutor, Marco."
"You can't make me risk my life for some princess I don't even know!" Marco stated.
"I'm not making you do anything. I'm simply giving you a choice; go home and let the princess die, or risk your own life to save someone you've never even met before. The smart thing to do would be to go home and forget about Mewni completely. but that's up to you, of course."
Marco stared at Glossaryck for a long time, then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. It had died a day after he was thrown into the Neverzone, but being back in this timezone had brought back what was left of it's battery power. He opened up the gallery and looked at the picture of his family. Marco wanted more than anything to hold his baby sister again, and to see his mom and dad and tell them he was okay. Marco didn't even know the princess, he wasn't even from this world. Why should he risk his life for her? But Marco knew that his mother would have been ashamed of that kind of thinking. And his dad, who taught him to always do the right thing, would have been ashamed as well.
With a frustrated cry, Marco slashed at the portal with his scissors and it blinked out of existence.
Marco turned to Glossaryck and gave him a resentful look. "Alright, I'll help you save the princess." Marco crossed his arms. "So, where to?"
Glossaryck gave an almost proud smile. "A place you would have never expected to to find yourself. You and I, Marco, are going to reform school."
End of chapter two. Please review and tell me what you think so far.