Hello everybody! Chapter five here for ya! Quick shout out to The-Yodakawk (cool name, by the way) for his appreciation PM. It was super encouraging, thank you so much, it really made my day when I read it. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Especially you, Yodahawk.
I do not own 'Star vs the Forces of Evil.'
(Chapter five)
Marco zipped his last bag closed. "Okay, that's everything." he said to himself. "I hope the castle has wifi."
Marco's three bags were on his bed. His two suitcases and backpack were filled with all of his stuff. They weren't exactly on the verge of overflowing, since Marco didn't really own a lot of stuff. Marco stared at his three bags and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm really doing this." he said to himself. "I'm really spending a summer abroad in another flippin' dimension."
"Your other option was cooking tacos all summer."
Marco jumped at the sound of Glossaryck's voice. The little genie was sitting on Marco's nightstand, filing his toenails.
"Maybe cooking tacos might've been the safer option," Glossaryck continued. "but going to Mewni will definitely be the thrill of a lifetime."
"A lifetime that I'm afraid will come to a sudden conclusion." Marco commented bitterly. "Why are you in my bedroom… again?"
"I thought I'd see how you were doing." Glossaryck replied. "I take it you didn't get a lot of sleep last night, eh?"
Marco rubbed his tired eyes. Glossaryck was indeed correct, insomnia had hit Marco like a gallon of five hour energy. The worst part was knowing he wouldn't be sleeping in his own bed for a while. "Couldn't I just sleep in my own house? I have dimensional scissors, I can portal to wherever I want."
"To wherever you want that you've been before." Glossaryck corrected. "And to answer your question; the Queen, and myself for that matter, prefer to keep you close at hand."
Marco groaned. "How did I get suckered into doing this? Am I that easy to guilt trip?"
Glossaryck chuckled. "Don't feel ashamed for being a good person, Marco." he said. "A lot of people would have let the princesses of St. Olga's be killed or taken."
"Well… whatever." Marco replied.
Glossaryck held out his hand. "May I see your phone for a minute? I can give it an upgrade so you can receive and make calls outside of your dimension."
Marco raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but pulled out his phone and handed it to Glossaryck. "What are you gonna do, put a dimensional chip in it or something? My computer's over there if you need to-"
Glossaryck shoved the phone in his mouth and swallowed.
Marco blinked a few times. "...Glossaryck… Why did you just eat my phone?"
Glossaryck burped into his fist and stuck out his tongue. "Ew… for a phone that's called an apple, it sure doesn't taste like one." The genie covered his mouth with his hand and his cheeks puckered.
Marco took a step back. "Oh, come on. Not on the carpet-"
Glossaryck puked out… something that was not his phone. It fell to the floor with a thump. Marco studied the regurgitated object. It looked like one of those makeup mirrors women keep in their purses. The thing was perfectly circular and cherry red, with the initials MD engraved on the face in caramel gold letters.
Marco gave Glossaryck an annoyed look. "An upgrade, huh? You eat my phone and throw up a compact mirror, and that's supposed to be an upgrade?"
"Not just any compact mirror, an interdimensional compact mirror!" Glossaryck exclaimed. "These hand held mirrors are how people communicate between dimensions, assuming you're not using a standard interdimensional mirror like the Queen uses. Go ahead, it's clean."
Marco carefully picked up the compact mirror and true to the genie's word, it was clean. Marco flipped the phone open and saw that it had a mirror screen on the top half and a phone keyboard on the bottom.
"So I have a flip phone now?" Marco asked. "That's cool I guess. I heard flip phones are making a comeback."
"You know, you could show a little gratitude." Glossaryck complained. "That's Reflectacorp's latest model. A mirror like that would normally cost you an arm and a leg. In some cases, quite literally."
"Reflectacorp?"
"The interdimensional version of Apple. And don't worry about your phone coverage, by the way. As it would happen, Steve Jobs made a… few deals, before he died. So now, you can get interdimensional coverage. It's like when you go to a restaurant and order the secret item that's not on the menu."
"...Okay… really raised more questions than it answered, but… okay…" Marco coughed into his fist. "Is all of my data on this thing?"
"All of your contacts, all of your photos, and all of your Sev'ral Timez albums, yes."
"O-Oh uh-how'd that get on there? I-I must have-m-my sister must have-I don't listen to-I have a friend who likes to listen to-oh, shut up." Marco stammered.
"It's works like an Earth phone, but with the addition of being voice operational." Glossaryck explained. "It has mobile hotspot for your laptop, a calculator, candy crush, everything a non-social, awkward teen like yourself needs."
"Oh, go to hell." Marco responded.
"Been there before, actually. Not an ideal vacation spot. Lava Lava Beach is nice, though. And they have this spicy shrimp pasta salad that's out this world… literally, since we're on Earth."
"...Again, so many questions, but I'm still not touching that."
Glossaryck shrugged. "You do you. When you've said your goodbyes, cut open a portal to the castle gates. Castle employee or not, the guards aren't going to appreciate you suddenly popping into the castle."
"Gotcha." Marco replied.
Glossaryck smiled. "See you in Mewni, my boy. It's going to be nice having you with us.'' With that said, Glossaryck disappeared with a comical pop sound.
Marco sighed. He pocketed his new mirror phone and grabbed his bags. With his backpack on his back and a suitcase in each hand, Marco exited his room and headed downstairs. In the living room his parents and his friends were waiting for him. Angie had Mariposa in her arms, and Janna, Ferguson, and Alfonzo were sitting on the couch waiting for him. Marco didn't see Jackie, but that was probably a mercy. Marco knew he wouldn't have been able to keep his cool in front of his friends and family, and Jackie probably knew that too.
"You're leaving now, Marco?" Angie asked when she saw Marco coming down the stairs.
"Yup. I'm all packed and ready to go." Marco answered. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, Janna got up off the couch and walked up to Marco. She crossed her arms and smirked. "Look at you, expanding your services to other worlds." the spooky girl said. "Gonna be hella boring here for me without you."
"It's hella boring here for you with me." Marco pointed out.
"Yeah, but at least you made it less so. Also," Janna's tone had become surprisingly serious. "if, during your time in Mooni or whatever it's called, you discover that demons exist, you call me immediately. Got it? I don't care if they're Doom 3 demons or Disenchantment demons, you call me the second you find one. Understood?"
Marco silently nodded.
"Okay, good. That's all I wanted." Janna smiled. "Best of luck, Diaz. I hope you have fun." Janna leaned in to whisper into Marco's ear. "But not too much fun, yeah? I don't think Jackie would appreciate you fathering a princess's bastard." Janna backed away from the now red-faced and flustered boy to let Alfonzo and Ferguson have their turn to say goodbye.
"Dude, I can't tell you how jealous I am of you right now." Ferguson began. "You get to go to some magic kingdom with princesses and stuff? So unfair!"
"I can promise you, it is not as luxurious as it sounds." said Marco.
"Well, regardless. Me and Ferguson hope you have a blast." said Alfonzo.
'A blast is likely to get me killed.' thought Marco. "Thanks guys. That means a lot to me." The three guys hugged it out, then Marco picked his bags back up and walked over to his parents.
"Promise me you'll be safe, okay sweetie?" Angie said.
"I promise, mom." Marco said. Although deep down, he knew that was a lie. The princess didn't seem too keen on safety, and yours truly was going to be her chaperone.
"Take care, son," said Raphael. "I hope you have a good time."
"Thanks, dad." Marco put one bag down and offered a finger to Mariposa, who eagerly grabbed it and gurgled happily. "Bye, Mariposa. If I need to come tuck you in at night, I promise I'll be right over."
"Mawco."
"Love you too, little sis."
"Oh, boy. It's gonna be rough not having you to babysit Mariposa." said Angie. "We just might have to hire a nanny."
"I could babysit her." Janna offered.
"A nanny sounds like a good idea." said Raphael.
"Yeah, screw you too." Janna muttered under her breath.
Marco pulled his finger away and pulled out his scissors. He cut open a portal in the living room, earning some 'oooo's and some 'aaaaa's from everyone in the room. Marco pocketed his scissors, picked up his bag, and walked through.
Once he was gone, Janna pulled out the wallet he had pickpocketed from Marco. "Ah, I feel almost bad for taking this." Janna opened the wallet, only to find that it was completely empty. "What?! Oh, that cheap, clever jerk!... gotta say, I'm a little impressed, though."
Star gave the room one more survey. The guest room Marco was going to be staying in looked simple and comfortable enough. It was the smallest guest room the castle had that didn't normally house the underpaid castle servants. A queen sized bed, a bookshelf, a lounge chair, a wooden wardrobe, and a desk fitted with drawers and a portable oil lamp for reading or midnight strolling. The original plan was to give Marco one of the castle suites, but the Queen thought it would be better to give the self-effacing Marco something a little more humble.
Star grinned at her unseen handiwork. She was excited to see the look on Marco's face when he discovered all of Star's magical improvements to the room. Even though Glossaryck had consistently advised against it, Star went ahead and tried to do something nice for Marco. 'I bet he'll love it.' Star thought to herself. 'What could go wrong?'
"This is where you'll be staying, Mr. Diaz." Star heard one of the servants say outside of the room.
"Thank you." she heard Marco reply.
Star readied her wand and got posed for a surprise welcome.
"Will you be needing anything else?" Star heard the servant speak again.
"No, I'm fine, thank you." Marco responded politely. "I'm just going to get settled in."
"Very well. Ring if you need anything." Star head footsteps as the servant walked away.
Star was hopping on her heels in excitement as Marco opened the door. He was carrying two suitcases and was wearing a backpack.
"SURPRISE! WELCOME TO MEWNI, MARCO!" Star shot a trio of tiny fireworks above her head. One of the fireworks flew off course, flying right into the startled Marco's face. The tiny firework exploded on impact, blasting Marco off his feet and back out the room, leaving his two suitcases behind.
"Oh, corn!" Star ran to Marco's aid. In the hallway, Marco was lying on the ground on his back, staring at the ceiling in pain and incredulity. Smoke rose from his body like he was about to catch on fire. "I am so sorry! That went way differently in my head!"
"'Have fun' they said." Marco mumbled miserably. "'Have a blast' they said."
"Well… you did have a blast, right?" Star laughed nervously. "So… yeah."
With a grunt of pain, Marco got back to his feet. "Well, princess, thanks for-"
"Hold up. Please don't get into the habit of calling me princess. Just call me Star." said the princess.
"...Okay then, Star." Marco resumed. "Thanks for the surprise. But if you're done trying to kill me, then I think I'm just going to get settled in." Marco walked back into the room and took off his backpack and tossed it onto the bed.
The bed came to life. It developed a mouth full of teeth and pounced on Marco with a roar. Marco screamed in fright and used all of his strength to keep the bed's teeth away from his face.
Star zapped the bed with a blast of energy, and the bed returned to normal. Marco crawled out from underneath the bed wide eyed and panting.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Star exclaimed. "It was supposed to be like a dragon bed! With wings and stuff, so you could fly it around… and stuff."
Marco pushed the bed back to its original position and gave Star a tired look. "Is there anything else I should be warned about?" He barely finished that question when the lounge chair tackled him.
"Oh, yeah. I tried to turn your chair into a massage chair." Star said as the chair put Marco in an armlock. "I guess I turned it into a wrestling chair instead."
"Oh yeah!" the chair bellowed as he flexed his cushion muscles. "You can't see me!"
"Sure I can." said Star. She zapped the chair, turning it back into a normal lounge chair.
Marco got up off the floor and pushed the chair back to where it was. "Anything else?" he asked. "Or am I going to spend all day getting attacked by furniture?"
Star tapped the wand against her chin. "Hmmmmmm… nope. That's it."
Marco sighed in both relief and despair. "Listen, princess-I'm sorry; Star. I appreciate the warm welcome, but right now, I think I just want to unpack my things in non-magical solitude."
"Oh." said Star. She couldn't help but feel a little crestfallen. "Okay. I guess I'll just… go now."
Guilt made its way onto Marco's face. "Well I mean… we can hang out later, if you want. I'm your tutor and chaperone, after all."
Star seemed to perk up a bit. "Well, I was planning on going to buy a get well gift for Pony Head. you remember her, right? She got her horn broken off by Toffee back in St. Olga's?"
"Do I remember the floating, sparkling, unicorn head with the sassy and holier-than-thou attitude? Yes, yes I do. Kinda hard to forget."
"After you get settled in, you can come with me if you want. I mean, you're my hired tutor slash chaperone, so you kinda have to."
"Yes, I know. I signed the contract." said Marco. "And besides, a shopping trip sounds both safe and fun."
Star smiled.
"Hey, do you know where the bathroom is?" Marco asked.
"Oh, this room has its own bathroom." Star pointed to the door off to the side of the room. "It's in there."
"Thanks." Marco said before he went to the bathroom.
Star's eyes shot wide open as Marco closed the door. "Wait, Marco! I forgot to tell you that turned the toilet into a-"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Star heard Marco scream.
"...Uh-oh."
"So there has been no Monster activity since the assault on St. Olga's?" Queen Moon asked.
"None that we can notice." Rhombulus answered. "Though I don't see why you're bugging us for that info. Aren't your knights supposed to be keeping track of the monsters?"
"I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but Rhombulus has a point, and I don't just mean his head." Hekapoo said. "The duty of the Magic High Commission is to oversee the use of magic throughout the multiverse, not go monster hunting."
The Magic High Commission was having a meeting in the MHC headquarters. The commission members were all seated around a large, red, rectangular table. Queen Moon had summoned them all to further discuss the St. Olga's incident.
"A danger to Mewni is a danger to the magic." Queen Moon reminded them. "The Queens of Mewni have been a distinguished member of the Magic High Commission since this commission was founded. That is because us Queens are directly linked to the magic the commission governs. So any threat to my kingdom is a threat to the magic. Therefore, you are all obligated to address it."
Lekmet bleated something to the Queen and Rhombulus translated. "Lekmet says that we, of course, are always ready to aid you Queen Moon. But you must understand, our duty is not solely to protect Mewni. That is your task as the Queen."
"I understand you all have your own responsibilities." said Queen Moon. "But I need to make sure that the threat is taken care of."
Lekmet bleated at the Queen again.
"Ah, come on. I don't wanna tell her that." Rhombulus complained.
"If Lekmet has something to say, then please translate for me, Rhombulus." said the Queen.
"Well," the jailer rubbed the back of his diamond head. "Lekmet, not me of course, says that… you're just desperate to see Toffee dead, and that's why you're insisting on using any means necessary to find him."
Queen Moon glared at Lekmet coldly. "Toffee is-"
Lekmet interrupted her with a bleat. Rhombulus translated, but seemed really apprehensive to do so. "Lekmet says you are afraid and angry, and that is all there is to it."
The Queen slammed her hand onto the table. "He killed my mother!" she shouted. "Right in front of everyone, while she was trying to make peace!"
The room was silent for a full minute, then Lekmet bleated again, only it sounded softer than last time.
"We all loved Queen Comet." It was hard to tell if Rhombulus was translating or just agreeing. "Your mother was one of the best queens Mewni has ever had."
Another bleat.
"But hunting down Toffee won't bring her back. It won't fill the hole in your heart. Queen Comet would have wanted only for you to be a good Queen to Mewni and a good mother to Star."
Moon's anger faded away and was replaced by sorrow. Out of habit, she fought to keep the tears at bay. "What Toffee did was… evil." the Queen said. "How is it fair that someone that did something so vile is allowed to get away with it?"
When Lekmet bleated again, it was a sad and mournful bleat.
"We've done terrible things too, and yet we've yet to pay." Rhombulus blinked his crystal eye when he was done translating, like just now understood what Lekmet was talking about. All four of the council members developed guilty looks.
Queen Moon had no idea what Lekmet meant, but decided not to press. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Regardless, I'm sending my best soldiers out to find information on Toffee's whereabouts."
"Please tell me you're not getting that lunatic Mina involved in this," said Hekapoo. "I understand you want Toffee dead, but that chick is screwed up in the head."
"No. Her job is to protect the castle and the townspeople." Queen Moon assured. "Also, I want her nearby in case Star's new chaperone either quits or dies."
"Speaking of which." Rhombulus crossed his snake arms. "Are you really trusting that… that Mewman wanna-be to hang around the princess?"
"I don't trust him." right snake-hand said.
"That guy smells like melted cheese and jalapenos… I'm hungry now." the left snake said.
"Ignore Rhombulus, Queen Moon." Hekapoo said. "He just wants someone new to crystallize so he can feel like an important member of the Magic High Commission."
"Yeah? And you just wanna go to town with the Human's ripped, Neverzone bod." Rhombulus countered.
Hekapoo's eye lit up with a orange fire, and her head flame intensified. "WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, YOU USELESS, THICK HEADED TROLL?!"
"Guys, come on." said Omnitraxus Prime from his ball. "Can't we have one meeting where you guys don't go for each other's throats?"
"Agreed." said Queen Moon. "Rhombulus, if you have any objections, please state them."
"So we can pretend we care about what you have to say." said the now calmed down but still angry Hekapoo.
"Look, all I'm saying is; this Marco guy rubs me the wrong way." Rhombulus began. "Think about it. He shows up out of nowhere, comes straight to Butterfly Castle, and he's supposedly from the least magical dimension in the known multiverse? Not to mention, his St. Olga's and Toffee story is pretty low on context. Doesn't that seem a little suspicious to you guys? How did he even get to Mewni?"
"Glossaryck brought him here," said the Queen. "He was Glossaryck's choice for a tutor."
"Oh, come on, Queen Moon. You of all people have to admit that Glossaryck's methods are, to put it lightly, questionable." Rhombulus argued.
"What do you suggest then, Rhombulus?" The Queen asked. "You want to just go and accuse him of treachery based on suspicion and put him in a crystal?"
"Nah, we stopped doing that years ago. I say the kid's hiding something. He's got some ulterior motive, I'm sure of it. So I propose we keep an eye on him, and wait for him to mess up."
"I will not have any of you spying on him." the Queen stated. "I trust Glossaryck, and I trust Marco."
"I hate to say it, Queen Moon, but I have to agree with Rhombulus." said Omnitraxus Prime. "Maybe the Human is innocent, maybe he isn't. I won't pretend to know the answer. But with or without Glossaryck's favor, the Human's timing was almost… too perfect. I can't really explain it in full, I'm no soothsayer. But take it from the master of time and space, his arrival was not a minor event."
Queen Moon raised an eyebrow. "Do you wish to interrogate him, then?"
Lekmet bleated something to the Queen.
"Lekmet says he has a better idea." Rhombulus translated.
"Which is?"
Lekmet looked over at Hekapoo.
"Again, I am so, so sorry about that." Star apologized.
"For what, making the toilet attack me like a feral animal?" Marco asked. "How could I possibly stay mad?"
"Really?"
"No, not really! I was attacked by a freakin' toilet!"
Star raised her hands in surrender. "Okay. Okay. That's fair. So, you ready to go?" Star looked around the room. It looked like he was done unpacking. Marco had everything arranged so neatly and methodically, the Queen herself would have been impressed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ready to go." Marco replied. "So where we going? You guys have some kind Mewnian shopping center?"
"You think we're going shopping in Mewni?" Star asked like the notion was ridiculous. "No no no. I know a way better place for shopping." Star stuck out her hand. "Give me your scissors, I can take us there."
Marco reluctantly pulled out his dimensional scissors and handed them to Star, who used them to cut open a portal. She handed the scissors back to Marco and grinned. "Get ready to have your mind blown, bub!"
"I was attacked by a toilet. Consider my mind pre-blown."
Star leapt through the portal and Marco calmly walked through. On the other side of the portal, Marco let out a 'Woah'. It looked like they were in the Labyrinth that held the Minotaur, if the Minotaur decided to turn his home into a shopping center and capitalize his business. It was a maze of shelves filled with all kinds of crazy stuff. From knick knack to brickerbrack, it looked like an endless hodgepodge of items.
"Jesucristo." Said Marco. "What is this place?"
"Welcome toooooo Quest Buy!" Star exclaimed. "The store that literally has it all! You kind find anything here. And I mean anything!"
"Huh. On Earth, we call it Walmart. They really should have made this place rhyme with Walmart instead of Best Buy. that would've been way more accurate."
"Don't know what you're talking about, and I don't care!" Star replied. "Now let's go find Pony Head the best get well gift there is to find! For tagging along, you can get something too! Don't worry, my parents are paying for it. Being a princess has its perks."
"Okay then." Marco looked around and walked towards one of the shelves. He came back with a dark blue wallet with a skull and tiny lock on it. "I'll get this high-security wallet."
"...Seriously?" Star asked. "You can't just walk up and grab a random item off the shelf!"
"Why the hell not? I could use a wallet like this, anyway. I have a friend back on Earth who's a notorious pickpocket. I actually had to fool her with a decoy wallet before I left."
"Ugh! That's not the point, Marco!" the princess cried dramatically. "The point of Quest Buy is to search for whatever you're looking for, to show that you truly deserve and are dedicated to what it is you seek! Why do you think they call it Quest Buy?!"
"Fun wordplay?"
"No!"
"Well, too bad. I'm getting the wallet." Marco declared.
"You bring shame to these grounds." said Star.
"Don't care. Now, what are we getting for Princess Pony Head? A hat? A pair of earrings? A new pair of shoes as a cruel joke? Oh my God, I've been hanging around Janna too long."
"I don't know yet, we gotta go find it. When getting someone a gift at Quest Buy, the most meaningful way to do it is to go look for it. That's the Quest Buy way." Star said.
"I don't like the Quest Buy way."
"I know you don't, ya insta-buyer. Now let's go!" Star took off down one of the aisles.
"Star, wait up!" Marco shouted. He chased after the royal blonde. It wasn't easy to keep up with her, Star ran like a racehorse through the shopping labyrinth. Marco finally managed to catch up to the princess when she stopped to look at a selection of sunglasses.
"Oooooo, these look nice!" Star marveled. "What do you think, Marco?"
Marco shrugged. "If you think Pony Head will like one of them, then get one of them."
"It's not that simple. The right gift needs to feel right." said Star.
"Of course it does. Do these sunglasses feel right to you?" Marco asked.
"Hmmmmmm." Star chewed on her wand in thought. She looked over to see one of the store employees walking by. "Hey you, sloth guy! Over here!"
The sloth guy, who was exactly that, slowly walked over to Star. He wore a yellow-green employee shirt with a pair of jeans. His long neck was bent down like a straw. Everything from his face to his posture to his speech was lazy and slow.
The sloth guy took a drink out of his fountain soda. "Can I help you, miss?"
"Yeah, uh, which of these is the most expensive?" Star asked.
'Spoken like a true blonde, rich girl.' Marco couldn't help but think to himself.
"Well, that would be the glasses on the top there." The sloth pointed to the top of the sunglasses rack, where a pair of gilded shades inlaid with mother of pearl sat on the top.
Star's eyes sparkled. "Oooooooooooooo. I'll take it. How much is it?"
Oh, those sunglasses aren't for sale. You have to earn them in battle." said the sloth guy.
"You're talking to the right princess, my guy." Star replied. "Now, who do I have to beat the crap out of?"
"Grud, our company ogre. Hold on, I'll radio for him.'' The sloth guy pulled out a walkie talkie. "Can we get Grud to come over to the sunglasses rack?... Well, where is he?... Get Stanley to do that, I need Grud over here. We have someone looking to win the limited edition, show-off shades… okay, great.'' The sloth guy put his walkie talkie away. "He'll be here soon."
Soon after, Marco and Star could feel the ground tremor rhythmically, like footsteps. The source of the tremors made his way to the sunglasses rack. He was, you guessed it, a really big ogre. He towered over the Human and Mewman at about twelve and a half feet. His skin was the color of cement, and he had two big tusks protruding out of his bottom jaw like a warthog. He had muscles like a condor had feathers and he held a large wooden club with the price tag still on it. Even with his Quest Buy employee shirt and cargo pants, he was still one scary S.O.B.
"Grud, we have another contestant for the limited edition, show-off shades." the sloth guy gestured towards Star.
Grud blinked his beady eyes at the princess. "Uh, Grud not comfortable with beating up on teenage girl." Grud looked down at Marco. "Grud fine with fighting small red guy who smell like cheese and chips."
"Uh, yeah. I'm not fighting an ogre for a pair of sunglasses." said Marco.
"Yeah! Let me fight you, ya big wuss!" Star shouted.
"Sorry, miss. Company policy." the sloth guy said. "Grud has the right to deny you a fight, but in that case, you're allowed to have someone fight him for you."
Star looked at Marco. "Marco-"
"No."
"But-"
"No."
"Come on-"
"No."
"Marco, please!" Star got down on her knees and clasped her hands together. "Pony would really love those shades, and I have to get her the best gift possible!"
"I think it's nice you want to get your best friend an awesome gift, I really do. But, I kinda, sorta, don't want to fight a giant ogre." Marco argued.
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"
"Star. This guy's like, ten times my size."
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"
"Just get Pony Head one of the shades you can buy with money. It's the gesture that counts. I don't need to fight Rob Gronkowski over there just to let your best friend know you care about her."
"Article four, section twelve of your contract states that if someone challenges me to a fight then you're required to step in for me if I say I can't do it."
Marco blinked. "...For real?"
Star waved her wand and a copy of the contract Marco signed magically appeared in front of Marco, already opened to the mentioned article and section.
Marco read the section of the contract. "...Well… crap."
"Come on, Marco!" Star waved her wand again, and the contract disappeared. "You survived fifteen years in the Neverzone and fought through a school full of vicious, hungry animals and saved them from Monsters!"
"That's incredibly accurate, actually."
"You can take this guy, no sweat!"
Marco sighed. "Alright, fine. Honestly, after surviving those previously mentioned animals, I feel like I can survive anything."
"That's the spirit!" Star encouraged with a slug to Marco's arm, which was surprisingly painful. "Now, go get em, champ!"
Marco walked up to Grud and looked up at the hulking beast in cargo pants. "Alright, big guy, let's do this. Are there any rules or guidelines I need to know? Because I believe In fairness in-"
Grud backhanded Marco with surprising speed before he could finish. Marco flew into a shelf of bricks, which were on sale for whatever reason.
Marco fell to the floor on his back. He stared up into the endless, expanding ceiling in pain and agony, like Loki did when the Hulk grabbed him by the leg and bashed him against the floor in The Avengers. (you guys saw Endgame, right? Freakin' awesome.)
One of the store sales-sloths came up to the in pain Marco. "Excuse me, sir. Could I interest you in a buy one, get one free deal for premium-grade brickwear?"
"Ooooooow."
"Are you sure? The offer won't last long."
Grud lumbered up to the downed Marco. "Grud got it from here, Brian."
"Oh, okay. Someone trying to get the limited edition glasses again?"
"Yup."
"Alright, I'll leave you to it." Brian walked away. Grud knelt down and began wailing on Marco with his stone-hard fists.
"Grud know it seem like Grud mad at you."
(punch)
"But Grud want you to know that Grud actually mad at father."
(punch)
"Grud wanted to be singer, but father just crushed dream for entire childhood!"
(punch)
"Grud could have been great singer!"
(punch)
"Why you never support Grud, father!"
Grud threw another punch at Marco. But to the ogre's surprise, Marco brought his arms up and caught his fist before Grud could hit him again. To Grud's further surprise, he couldn't pull his fist out of Marco's grip.
"Huh. You stronger than you look."
Marco's angry eyes began to glow purple, and a pair of red crescent moons appeared on his cheeks.
"...That not good."
Marco let out a roar, and red electricity coursed through the ogre's body as if Marco had turned into a heavy duty, bug zapper.
The shock left Grud smoking and dazed. With a loud moan, the ogre fell backward and shook the ground.
Marco steadied his breathing. His anger was replaced with fear as he realized what had happened. "Oh no. No no no." Marco grabbed the sides of his head and took a deep breath. "No more magic. No more magic. No more magic. I. Am not. Magic." Marco's cheek marks faded away. Marco shakily got to his feet. The magic had healed every break and fracture in his body, so he was fine… physically, anyway.
Marco looked around. In a stroke of sudden luck, no one had noticed his moment as Emperor Palpatine. Marco got to his feet and looked around for Star. He saw the princess looking over an aisle of morning stars and maces. Marco grunted in aggravation before making his way to the blonde princess.
"Alright, I beat Grud. Can we go now?" Marco asked once he got to Star.
"Hmm?" Star asked. "Oh yeah, about that. I don't think Pony has any clothes that would go well with those sunglasses, so I've decided to get her something else."
"...Wwwwwhat?"
"Yeah. I was on my way to tell you, but then I got distracted by this half off deal."
"I just fought a ogre to get you those stupid sunglasses!" Marco complained.
"And I am super grateful for that, but we need to continue the search for the perfect get well gift for Pony Head!"
"How long do you plan on dragging through this murder maze?!"
Star placed her arms on her hips. "As long as it takes. Not that you would understand, Mr. Buy-the-first-thing-he-sees. I, however, will scour all of Quest Buy to find Pony Head the perfect get well gift!"
Marco pinched his brow and groaned. "Star, this place is huge! We're gonna be here for ten goddamn hours!"
(Ten goddamn hours later)
"We're getting close, I can feel it!" Star said as she led the way. "See, Marco? There's value in the search! What would have been the point to just grab the first nice thing I saw and buy for Pony? Nothing wrong with going the extra mile, right Marco?" when Star didn't receive an answer, she looked over her shoulder. "Marco?"
Marco limped behind her, looking battered and bruised. "Everything feels broken, and I think I might have internal bleeding."
Star winched at Marco's beat up appearance. "Yeesh, Marco. It's like you've never done this before."
"I haven't." replied Marco.
"Isn't Walmart or whatever you called it like this?" Star asked.
"Not even the holidays are this crazy."
"Well, still. How come none of that Neverzone experience is kicking in?"
"I miss the Neverzone."
"It gets rough in Quest Buy sometimes, Marco. You have to be willing to fight for what you desire."
"Easy for you to say. I've done seventy percent of the fighting and you've got the magic wand. Which, by the way, kept backfiring right towards me for some reason."
Star sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? But you gotta understand, Pony Head has been my best friend since we were babies. She's still recovering, and I've got to show her how much she means to me. I know the going has been tough, but you gotta trust me. I'll find us the perfect gift before you know it, and then we'll leave. Believe me; once you see what I'm going to get Pony, then you'll understand that the search has been totally worth-Oh my corn cob, it's perfect!"
Star ran past Marco and up to a makeup aisle. She came back holding a makeup kit. "Look at this, Marco! It says the makeup glows in the dark! How cool is that?! This is it! This is what I'm getting Pony Head!"
Marco just stared at Star's prize. "...Makeup. You're getting her makeup."
"Yyyyyyup! Oh man. Pony Head looooves makeup! She has so much makeup, it's unreal. But she doesn't have any that can glow in the dark!... At least, I hope not."
"It was on sale." Marco said when he saw the sticker on the box.
"I know, right? How can something so awesome be up for sale?!"
"I spent over ten hours following you around getting mauled and mangled… for a glow-in-the-dark makeup kit?"
"Wow. that sounds awful." a nearby sloth employee said. "You could have just ordered it from the catalogue."
"...The catalogue, huh?" said Marco.
"What's the point in that?" Star asked. "The ten hours we spent looking for this makeup kit makes it more meaningful."
Marco kept his eyes glued on the makeup kit for a while, then he pulled out his dimensional scissors and cut open a portal.
"Hey, where ya goin'?" Star asked.
Marco tossed Star the wallet he was going to buy. "I quit."
In a state of shock, Star watched as Marco walked through the portal. "What?!" Star handed the nearby sloth employee the wallet and makeup kit. "Put these on hold for me please." she asked him before chasing after Marco through his portal. The portal led back to Marco's guest room, where he had already begun to pack.
"You quit?! What do you mean you quit?!"
"I mean exactly that." Marco responded flatly. "I am quitting this job, I am going home, and I am never leaving my dimension ever again."
"Over one bad shopping trip?!" Star asked.
"Over everything!" Marco spun towards Star. "Over getting literally dragged into your crazy world! Over getting guilt tripped into saving you and those other rich, spoiled brats! Over agreeing to be your tutor and chaperone because I felt sorry for you! Over being turned into a-" Marco stopped himself, but wasn't done with his rant. "Following you around all day has given me a clear understanding of why your past tutors didn't stick around very long. It's because if you don't get them killed, you drive them insane! So I'm bailing out now, before either happens to me!" Marco ended his rant. Seeing Star's hurt expression caused him to calm down a bit, but his anger didn't go away. "This whole thing as been a mistake. I'm going home, before this mistake gets me killed or worse."
Star's pained look quickly turned to anger. "Yeah?! Well maybe you're right! Maybe you being here is a mistake! I can't believe I ever thought there was a chance we could be friends! You're just another lame tool my parents hired!" Star stormed out of the room and slammed the door on her way out.
As his anger faded away, Marco felt his guilty conscience take hold again. Marco let out a sigh before he went back to pack his things.
Marco heard something tap on the curtained window. Curious, Marco put his packing on hold and went to check it out.
Star stomped through the halls angrily, grumbling to herself. "Stupid Marco, (grumble grumble) Wanted to buy the first wallet he saw, (grumble grumble) Drive him crazy? He probably would've driven me crazy. (grumble grumble)"
"Upset, are we?"
Star jumped at the sound of Glossaryck's voice. When she saw the tiny, blue genie floating above her, she grunted in annoyance and kept walking." Go away, Glossaryck. I'm not in the mood."
Glossaryck floated after the princess, despite her protest. "I take it you're mad at Marco?"
"Uh, yeah!" Star replied.
"...Because?"
"Because he's a jerk!"
"He's a jerk?" Glossaryck flew in front of the princess, stopping her progress. "He was nice enough to offer to go with you to Quest Buy, he fights a twelve and a half foot ogre to get you a pair of sunglasses, which you didn't even end up getting, and then he spends ten goddamn hours getting the shit beaten out of him just so you could buy a glow-in-the-dark makeup kit. And yet, Marco's the jerk?"
Star blinked in shock. "Uh… well… I… he…" Star let out a defeated sigh. "Oh my cob, I am the absolute worst."
"No you're not, and Marco knows that." said Glossaryck. "You just need to be considerate towards Marco, that's all. He's been through a lot, Star, you have to understand that. He wants to help. But, you have to help him with that."
Star stared at Glossaryck for a bit, then gave him a nod and headed back to Marco's room.
When Star reached Marco's room, she hesitated for a while before she finally knocked on the door. "Hey, Marco?" Star rubbed her arm anxiously. "I'm sorry about earlier. I understand if you're mad at me, but can we talk?"
There was only silence on the other side of the door.
"Come on, Marco. I get that you don't want to talk to me, I really do. If you don't want to be my tutor anymore, that's fine. But, I still wanna be friends."
Still only silence.
Star tilted her head in confusion. 'Did he already leave or is he just refusing to talk to me? Very slowly, Star cracked the door open and peaked inside. Marco was nowhere to be seen, and his stuff was still there. Star opened the door all the way and went inside. Marco's suitcase was still on the bed, but Marco didn't finish packing it. Star walked towards the bed and stepped on something. She looked down and saw Marco's dimensional scissors laying on the floor. Star picked them up and looked around in alarm. She saw the window was wide open. The wind gently blew against the curtains. Star ran to the open window and looked outside.
She gasped when she saw a pair of burly Monsters carrying off a bound and gagged Marco towards an open dimensional portal in the castle garden. The castle was empty of any guards or staff, so no one but Star was witnessing the kidnapping. One of the Monsters was a bear with a unicorn horn and the other was a large deer monster with a beard. The two Monsters were covered in bruises, a sign that Marco had clearly put up a fight before they managed to restrain him.
The Monsters carried the still struggling Marco through the portal. Star jumped out of the window and brought out her wand as she fell. She aimed her wand below her and summoned a spell. The princess landed on a sentient, pink cloud. "Hi, Star!" the cloud greeted in a high pitched, chipper voice. "I'm Cloudy!"
"Quick, Cloudy! Into the portal!" Star ordered.
"You got it!" Cloudy dive bombed straight at the portal. The princess and cloud shot through the dimensional portal right before it blinked out of existence.
Star and Cloudy found themselves under dreary, purple skies, surrounded by creepy dead trees and mountains in the distance. The Monsters that had kidnapped Marco were heading towards a scary looking castle of moderate size. The cone tops of the castle were decorated with spikes, and skulls were laid here and there like garden gnomes. Star steered Cloudy behind a large rock and watched as the Monsters carried Marco through the castle's main door, which had a creepy, stone gargoyle sitting above it like a guard.
Star narrowed her eyes at the fortress. "Alright, time for a game plan… not my strong suit."
Marco thrashed around relentlessly to be free of his binds, but the Monsters had done a good job tying him up and he was still weak from his Quest Buy excursion. They carried Marco through the castle. To where, Marco had no way of knowing. He couldn't ask anything with the gag on his mouth, so he continued his attempt to break free. Marco recognized the two Monsters who had taken him; they were the ones who were guarding the sewer entrance at St. Olga's. Marco had a feeling that whatever the reason was for them kidnapping him, he wasn't going to like it.
The Monsters brought Marco to a large, wooden double door. The Beard Deer opened the door with his foot and the Bearicorn used a claw to cut a tear into Marco's binds. They tossed Marco through before he could react and quickly closed the door. Marco snapped his binds apart and ran back to the now closed door. He tried to open it, but Monsters must have locked it from the other side. Marco slammed into the door, but it refused to budge.
Marco looked around for another exit. They had thrown him into what appeared to be the dining hall. The room looked like Dracula had done the decorating, with the gloomy but well burning fireplace, the eight person wooden dinner table with the dark purple tablecloth, the walls were decorated with swords and shields medieval style, and a chandelier of stark white bones hung over the table. There was food on the table. Both ends of the long, rectangular table had a meal of corn and roast quail, as if someone was expecting company.
There was another door on the opposite side of the dining hall. Marco moved towards the door but before he could get very far, the door opened, revealing the least scary Monster Marco had yet seen.
"Ah, Hello, Marco!" the Monster shrieked in it's high-pitched, scratchy voice. "Glad you could make it!"
Marco arched an eyebrow at the tiny Monster. The green bird man was only a few feet tall, dressed in a green robe and a large skull helmet. If Marco was being honest, the squirrel girl he had saved from the Mewnian Knights had been more intimidating than this tiny fellow. Although, to the Monster's credit, he held himself with pride, as if he was king of all Mewni.
"What's going on?! Why am I here?!" Marco demanded.
The small bird gestured to the table. "How about he take a seat and talk? That's all I really want."
"Yeah? What's to stop me from breaking your beak and making a run for it?" Marco asked.
"The armed Monsters I have guarding both exits." the bird monster answered coolly. "Now how about we take a seat?"
Marco glared at the Monster, thinking of a way to escape. He came to the decision that it was best to hear the Monster out. For now, at least. Marco took a seat on one side of the table, and the bird Monster took a seat across from Marco.
"Good." said the Monster. "Now listen, boy. I think you greatly misunderstand the purpose of this little meeting of ours."
"I was bound and gagged, then kidnapped. What else is there to understand?"
"I should start off with introductions. I am Ludo Avarius, the master of this keep and the future Monster King."
Marco remembered Glossaryck mentioning a Monster named Ludo. He stared at the Monster skeptically. "You're Ludo?"
"Indeed I am!" Ludo seemed quite pleased that Marco had heard of him. "And I know who you are, of course! The boy in red. The boy who saved those two Monster children from the Knights of Mewni."
"You heard about that?" Marco asked. He was afraid of who else had heard about that. Namely, if any Mewman elites had heard about that.
"Kid, almost all of monsterkind has heard about that by now." Ludo explained. He stabbed his quail with his fork and took a large bite out of it. "It's a rare thing for any Mewman to stick their neck out for any Monster."
"I'm not a Mewman, I'm-" Marco stopped himself. "...something else."
Ludo stared at Marco curiously. "Not a Mewman, you say?" After giving it some consideration, Ludo just shrugged. "Eh. What you are is of no concern to me. I brought you here because I have a proposition for you."
Marco remained quiet, refusing to even touch his food.
"See, a little bird, or fly rather, told me that you're the princess's new tutor."
Marco blinked, but said nothing.
"I imagine that's one tough job, huh?" Ludo took a slurp out of his goblet. "Having to put up with that destructive brat. By the looks of it, it's already proving to be quite painful. I also imagine that the Queen didn't really give you a great deal for your service. I however, want to offer you a far better deal than whatever the Queen is paying you."
"In exchange for what?" Marco asked. "What do you want from me?"
"Not from you, from the princess." said Ludo. "I want the wand she carries around with her. Pink and blue, looks like a toy, but can blow up mountains if used correctly, has a star-shaped centerpiece jewel in it's head, you've seen it, right?"
"Why do you want Star's wand?" Marco asked. Just thinking about that thing made Marco sweat.
"Hmm, let's see. Why would I want the most powerful relic in the known multiverse?" Ludo asked sarcastically. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe to overthrow the Butterfly family?!"
Marco's eyes widened in alarm. "What?! I'm not helping you do that!"
"Ah, come on! Why not?" Ludo asked. "You're not even a Mewman. You're just a whatever-you-are that tutors the multiverse's most dangerous rich girl. What do you care what happens to them? I'm willing to pay you three times what the Queen is paying you. All I ask in return is that you steal something for me. In your position, it should be an easy job. What's the problem?"
"Aside from the idea that I don't like the idea of being responsible for the fall of a monarchy? If I get caught, it'll be my head!"
"You have dimensional scissors, right?" Ludo asked. "Just grab the wand and cut a portal back here and I'll give you more money than you'll know what to do with. Simple."
Marco crossed his arms stubbornly. "I am not stealing anything for you."
Ludo started to look angry. "Listen carefully, boy." he growled. "I also know that you're the one who got in our way when me and Toffee assaulted St. Olga's. You can either continue to be the Monster saver the rest of these saps think you are, or I can have you punished for aiding the Mewmans and interfering with our work. I'm giving you the chance to make off like a bandit with a bag full of gold and not on scratch on your person. I want the wand. And one way or another, I will have it."
"Ya know. It's really hard to take you seriously when you're about the size of a toddler." said Marco. "What happened, didn't eat your vegetables when you were little?"
GAAAAAAH!" Ludo hopped onto the table. "You will agree to the deal!"
Marco calmly picked up his dinner platter and dumped the food onto the floor, keeping eye contact with Ludo.
Ludo looked ready to explode. "I… am Ludo Avarius. I… am the grandson of the great Monster King, Albacudo Avarius. I… will not be mocked by an insignificant creature like-"
Marco threw the platter with all his might like a frisbee at Ludo. The platter hit Ludo right between the eyes. With a startled squawk, Ludo flew back into his chair, which scooted back a bit from the force. The now unconscious bird sat in his chair, moaning and muttering in a daze.
"Some king." Marco muttered. He then looked at both of the exits. "Now, how to get past the guard-"
The entire castle shook as if a bomb had gone off. Marco fell to the ground from the sudden quake. When he picked himself back up, he heard the Monsters guarding the doors shout out in alarm and then in pain. Before Marco could guess what was happening, a pink cloud busted through the door he had been thrown through. Riding the cloud, to Marco's surprise, was Star.
Star pulled out Marco's dimensional scissors. "Time to go!" she shouted before she cut open a portal. The princess flew her cloud at Marco and grabbed him by the hood. The two of them disappeared through the portal as the Monster's flooded the dining hall.
Bearicorn, now sporting a few burns and missing patches of fur, ran to Ludo's aid. "Boss?! Are you okay?!"
With a moan, Ludo slowly opened his eyes. "Uuuugh… what happened?"
"It was the princess, boss. She flew in here and lit up the place." Bearicorn said. "And then, she cut open a portal and she and the boy in red went through."
"WHAT?!" Ludo cried. He hopped onto the table. "The princess was here?! With the wand?! And none of you managed to nab her?!"
"Sorry, boss." Bearicorn rubbed his paws together sheepishly. "She got the jump on us."
Ludo growled angrily. "Well, this has been a complete waste of time. That good for nothing Marco isn't going to betray the princess any time soon."
"So what now, boss?" Bearicorn.
"Now, we come up with a new strategy." Ludo answered.
Star and Marco appeared in Marco's guest room. The portal they had flown through blinked away and the two teens dismounted Cloudy. "Bye bye!" the cloud said before he poofed away.
Now that they were safe and sound in the castle, Star and Marco relaxed. They stared at each other, both unsure of what to say. "Uh… thanks for the save." Marco finally said.
"Oh, uh, don't mention it." Star replied. She looked as uncomfortable as Marco did. "What did Ludo want with you, anyway? Normally, he tries to kidnap me."
"He wanted me to steal your wand for him. I told him no and he got angry." Marco explained.
"It's almost adorable when he throws his little tantrums, right?"
"Almost, yeah."
The two of them shared an awkward laugh. After they were done, Star frowned and looked to the floor. "Listen, Marco. I'm sorry for the whole Quest Buy thing. I should have been more considerate. I know you're sacrificing a lot to be my tutor."
Marco seemed surprised by Star's apology. "I-It's fine, Star, really."
"No, it really isn't. You got the shit beaten out of you all day for a freaking makeup kit, and I didn't care." Star sighed. "I understand that you want to quit. I'm sorry it didn't work out." Star looked at Marco hopefully. "But, maybe we can still be friends?"
Marco stared at Star for a long time, completely poker faced. Then he let out the breath he was holding in, defeated in a battle of will. "Alright, look. I don't want to quit."
This caused Star to perk up a bit.
I just… I need you to put in the effort that I'm putting in. This is difficult for both of us, but we have to meet each other halfway if we're gonna do this. Deal?"
Star blinked. "So you're staying?"
Marco nodded.
Star rushed him with a hug. "Then deal!"
Marco blushed, but smiled. He returned the hug, though he could feel Star tighten her hug, like she didn't want to be out-hugged.
"You two are cute together."
Star and Marco immediately separated when they heard Glossaryck's voice. The genie was sitting crossed legged on Marco's bed with a grin on his face.
"Glossaryck!" the embarrassed teens complained in unison.
"It's good to see you two are getting along," said Glossaryck. "It's also good to know that Marco has decided to stay."
"Yeah, even though it might be proof that I'm going crazy." said Marco.
"Eh, maybe." Glossaryck said. "I don't know any sane people who would fight an ogre for a pair of sunglasses. Speaking of which," Glossaryck snapped his fingers and a cloud of purple smoke enveloped Marco. when the smoke cleared, Marco was now bruise free.
Marco examined his healed body. "Huh. thanks Glossaryck. Kinda wish you came with to Quest Buy."
Star gasped. "Oh crud, I still need to get Pony her get well gift!" she pulled out Marco's dimensional scissors. She stopped herself before she could make the cut though, and looked at Marco. "Oh, sorry. Marco, can-"
"Ah, go ahead." Marco replied. "Just promise me you'll only go to Quest Buy and back. I really don't want to hear it from your mom."
Star placed a hand over her heart. "I promise. I'll even get you the wallet you wanted while I'm there." Star cut open the dimensional portal. Before she entered, she looked back at Marco and smiled. "Hey, Marco?"
Marco tilted his head.
"...Thanks."
Marco smiled. "Don't mention it."
Star went through the portal and it blinked away. Marco sighed. "I guess I'll put everything ba-"
He stopped when he saw that everything was already unpacked and put away. "What the…?"
"I took the liberty of putting your stuff back." said Glossaryck. "I knew you wouldn't leave."
Marco looked at the genie curiously. "What are you, prophetic?"
"Something like that." Glossaryck answered. "By the way; if I might make a suggestion, why don't you go study up on Mewnian history while Star is away? That is something the Queen will expect Star to be learning."
"Oh, okay. That actually sounds kinda interesting." Marco said.
"Oh, I think you'll find it very interesting." said Glossaryck. "You can use the castle library. I can take you there if you like."
"Yeah, lead the way."
The castle library was, in Marco's opinion, amazing. The large room was filled with towering bookshelves from front to back. Blue, carpeted floors and a vault ceiling, the lighting in the room was perfect for reading or studying. Marco was the only person in the library, aside from the Librarian at the front desk: a bookish Mewman woman with purple hair tied in a bun who looked to be half asleep. Marco guessed that Mewmans weren't big readers.
Marco walked up to the front desk. "Excuse me, I'm looking for books on Mewnian history."
The Librarian yawned and blinked her eyes, like Marco might've been a hallucination. "Anything in particular?" she asked.
"Any recommendations?"
The Librarian tapped her chin. "Well, I suppose you could start with the Book of Queens. It lists the all of Mewni's Queens and their accomplishments since Urania the First One."
"Oh, yeah? That sounds cool." Marco replied. "Think you can point me in the right direction?"
The Librarian stared at Marco weirdly, as if still worried the boy in front of her was a ghost. Then she pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote down the book's call number. The Librarian handed the paper to Marco. "Here you are."
"Thank you." Marco took the paper and walked away to search for the book. It took some effort, the Mewnian dewey decimal system was a lot different than Earths. But Marco managed to figure it out with a little puzzle solving skill, and found the book, thankfully on a reachable shelf. Marco took the book off the shelf and struggled under its bulk. The Book of Queens was a big one, big enough for a toddler to use it as a sled. Marco would have never used the book as anything other than a book, though. It was an impressively decorated book, with the Butterfly emblem on the center of the front cover. The words 'Book of' were printed in a fancy font on the top of the book cover and the word 'Queens' was centered on the bottom.
Marco brought the book to the back of the room, where there was a set of reading chairs and desks sitting by a lit fireplace. Marco found it cozy. He sat down in one of the chairs and opened the book on his lap. Marco flipped to a random page, just for the heck of it.
Etheria the Knight
With sword in hand, she lived by the blade. Knight turned Queen, but the fighter was never unmade.
The page showed the illustration of a woman who reminded Marco of Star. Queen Etheria was clad in steel armor. Her wand took the form of a purple sword and her cheek marks were purple fleur-de-lis. Glossaryck floated by her side.
"She seems cool." Marco commented. He flipped to another random page.
Solaria the Monster Carver
A castle stormed is a hero born with might as strong as steel, kneels the void before her and the crushing force she wields.
The illustration showed a woman with yellow, lightning bolt cheek marks wielding a large, scary energy sword wand. Queen Solaria was surrounded by Monsters, her image was frozen with her chopping off one of the Monsters' tentacles. Again, Glossaryck was there, floating by Solaria's side.
"Getting a bit of a bad vibe from her." Marco muttered. Curious, he flipped to the near end of the book.
Moon the Undaunted
The Immortal Monster will long be haunted by the darkest spell of Moon the Undaunted.
The illustration showed a much younger Queen Moon blasting off Toffee's finger. Toffee was dressed in a black battle suit and wore a look of shock and disbelief as Moon blasted his finger off from her mount on her pig goat. Glossaryck floated behind her.
"Darkest spell?" Marco wondered. He flipped to another random page.
Febe the Red One
Power she drew from the ancient red spirit. She was warned, she was threatened, but the Queen would not hear it.
The illustration showed a lovely woman with red hair wearing a beautiful, crimson dress. Her cheek marks were two red, crescent moons and her wand had a red, crescent moon head. Her face was content and at peace, like she was dreaming. She and Glossaryck were illuminated by the glow of a blood moon, centered in the night sky.
Marco didn't have anything to comment. Actually, he felt frozen. Something about this passage made him feel… scared. He suddenly had a flashback to when he took down Grud the ogre. Then he had an earlier flashback of when he killed Toffee. The power that had coursed through his body. The feeling was unreal.
Marco quickly flipped to another page. He eventually stopped flipping through the book and landed on a winner. Without looking to see which queen he had landed on, Marco steadied his breathing. 'You need to calm down.' he told himself before looking to see which queen he had flipped to.
Marco felt every nerve in his body shut down.
Eclipsa the Queen of Darkness
Eclipsa, Queen of Mewni, to a Mewman King was wed, but took a Monster for her love and away from Mewni fled.
This time, Marco recognized the woman in the picture. She sat in the arm of a large, terrifying Monster with four eyes and sharp teeth set in a grin. The Queen's eyes glowed eerily above her spade cheek marks. Her expression and her posture seemed to to be held in challenge, like she was daring anyone to oppose her. Glossaryck floated by Eclipsa's side, same as in the other pictures.
Fear restarted Marco's system. "...Eclisse." he whispered.
"Yeah, can I get a large, stuffed crust pizza with half pepperoni, half aluminum can lids?... uh, one sec." Rhombulus put a snake over the compact mirror. "Lekmet! Do you want tuna can lids, or canned corn lids?"
Lekmet, who was sitting in his chair engrossed in a novel, bleated at Rhombulus.
"Yeah, uh, tuna can lids please." Rhombulus continued into the mirror.
"And get cornshakes." Left snake hand said. "But don't get Righty one, I think he's still dieting."
Right snake hand nodded with the mirror in his mouth.
"And two cornshakes please. One large, one medium… Rhombulus of the MHC, yeah… uh-huh… okay, thank you." Rhombulus ended the call. "Hey, who's turn is it to pay this time?" he asked Lekmet.
Lekmet bleated at Rhombulus without looking up from his book.
"I swear, you say that every time." Rhombulus muttered. "The pizza should be here in about an hour and a half."
Lekmet bleated again.
"Oh come on, do I have to?" Rhombulus complained. "It takes like, an hour to do, and it's not like any of them ever escape."
Lekmet bleated what sounded like scolding.
"Yeah, yeah. I know it's protocol." Rhombulus grumbled. He lumbered over to the crystal table and picked up his clipboard. The Fortress of Rhombulus was an impressive castle of crystal. Home to Rhombulus and Lekmet, but prisoner to many more. Rhombulus lumbered off to do the head count. "If the pizza gets here early, give the guy a good tip, will ya?"
(A little less than an hour later)
"Bobby, Billy, Buford, Millie." Rhombulus counted as he walked past the crystallized criminals. "Sammy, Tammy, Sarah, Kara." he put a checkmark in each name. "The guy who tried to steal the wand that one time, the guy who tried to kill baby Moon that one time, the guy who tried to take my parking space that one time." Rhombulus tapped his clipboard. "Everyone's accounted for, as usual."
Right snake spat out the pen in his mouth. "We got one more to check, chief."
Rhombulus shuddered. "Ugh, do we have to? I hate going near her."
"Protocol man, let's go." Right snake said.
Rhombulus sighed. "Fine." The MHC jailer made his way deeper into his fortress. He read the name on the list as he approached her prison.
"Eclipsa, the Queen of Darkness." Rhombulus looked up. "Right where I left-"
His crystal eye widened in panic and the clipboard fell out of his Lefty's mouth.
The crystal that held Queen Eclipsa was now shattered. Bits and pieces of the crystal laid here and there. Eclipsa herself was nowhere to be seen.
Rhombulus, Lefty and Righty all stared at the broken crystal in terrified silence.
"...We, uh… we better call somebody." Rhombulus finally said.
Angie looked out the window. It was raining cats and dogs outside, with the occasional sound of thunder. The rainstorm wasn't heavy enough to scare Mariposa, who Angie had cradled in her arms, but it was enough to make a walk through the park an unpleasant one.
"It's really starting to come down." Angie commented.
"I think it's supposed to rain all night." Raphael said as he cooked dinner. "You think it's raining where Marco is?"
"Marco's in another dimension, dear." Angie reminded him.
"So? Don't they have rain there?"
Angie rolled her eyes. "I put up the ad for a nanny, by the way."
"Are we still sure we wanna do that?" Raphael asked. "Why can't we have Jackie or Janna babysit Mariposa when we need them to... preferably Jackie."
"They both have their own summer plans, I don't want to burden those two with childcare." Angie replied. "With Marco gone, we need someone to watch over Mariposa when we're not here."
"True." Raphael said. Though he still didn't sound entirely convinced.
Angie sighed. "I hope Marco is doing okay in Mewni."
"Mawco."
"Me too, Mari. Me too."
There was a knock on the door.
A flash of lightning illuminated the windows.
"At this hour? In this weather?" Raphael asked.
" I got it." Angie said. She put Mariposa in her high chair and went to answer the door. 'Who the heck could it be?'
Angie opened the door and was met by someone who looked like a gloomy, English noblewoman. She stood in the awning's protection from the rain. Lightning flashed behind the woman, making it look like her purple eyes were glowing. Her cheeks looked like they were set in a permanent blush, they were tinted red under her makeup. She wore a large sunhat and her hands rested on the pommel of a purple umbrella, still wet from the rain.
"Mrs. Diaz?" the lady asked in a friendly, English accent.
Angie nodded, a little bewildered by the strange woman.
"My name is Eclisse Farfalla." the woman greeted. "I'm here for the nanny position."
Angie blinked. "Oh… of course. That was certainly quick." Angie stepped aside. "Please, come in. I love your umbrella, by the way."
Eclisse giggled. "You should see my parasol." she said as she entered the house.
In celebration of this cliffhanger, I'm shifting back to Something More. So stay tuned for that!