Forgotten Fates

Chapter 3

Bountiful Hopes

Stepping out of the portal, Star took a deep breath and reacquainted herself with the fresh air of a sunny Earth afternoon. It still smelled like stagnant water and coconuts, thanks to her proximity to the city moat, but it was a small consolation that brightened her mood.

She looked around at the familiar sights of Echo Creek, from the glistening windows of skyscrapers, to the distant, rolling hills that surrounded the city. She was really back, and it was time to get to work. Her first order of business, restoring magic to its former glory, required her to get into the realm of magic. And without her butterfly form, a clear picture to portal to, or her flaming blessing thing, there were only two options.

One involved including her mother in her little escapade, so that was shelved. The other? Britta's Tacos. It felt like a millennia since she and her friends took a joy ride through the watery, equestrian-ridden realm, but the way was still fresh on her mind. Though, the thought wasn't without its pitfalls, having rudely reminded her that she was, in effect, alone on this leg of her journey. But she was too busy to dwell. Too busy to feel like warnicorn poop. And too excited.

Wrapped up in her own head as she approached the taco stand, Star was caught completely unprepared when a familiar voice called from one of the tables. "Star?" Jackie beamed her a smile and stood, surprising her with a hug. "It's so good to see you, dude! What are you doing here?"

Star frantically returned the hug. Though, as of late, it wasn't quite to her usual caliber. Jackie didn't notice, and thankfully she managed to get her wits about her enough to answer. She beamed a forced smile and braced herself for more of the same. "Heeeeey, Jackiiieee… Just uh… ya know. Felt nostalgic for some burritos? Gotta… get the grub?"

"Right on, Britta's definitely makes em better than anyone else in the universe." Thankfully Jackie didn't find her behavior alarming, pulling her to the table and gesturing for her to take a seat. "Pull up some chair and relax, yeah? You look exhausted." Star sat, eying Britta's side door before letting off an easy sigh. She had time to relax. And admittedly, it was nice to be seen in public again. "Yeah, I kinda am. It's been a pretty wild day. Month. Year. You know."

"Totally. It's nice to see you again," Jackie admitted, patting her hand with a grin. "I missed you, we all did. It felt kinda weird hanging without you after you left."

Immediately, Star felt guilty, nodding as she slumped against the table. Grumbling past a set jaw, she stared out at the inviting blue sky. "I know what you mean. These last few months haven't been the same without you guys." She eyed the door again, but pushed it off, returning her gaze to Jackie. "I'm sorry I left out of nowhere, you guys deserved a better goodbye than-"

"Hey, it's okay, dude. Nobody blames you, for anything," Jackie stressed. She didn't need to say it out loud, but Star immediately felt an immeasurable gratitude welling up within her. Too often she'd been told she wasn't responsible, but now more than ever it felt good to hear. "Plus, I totally understand why you had to go, your people needed you. Even walking past Marco's house is… it's a pretty big bummer. I can only imagine how it must've been for you."

Fighting the urge to feel like she had for the last six months, Star managed a returning smile, this one slightly more genuine. She had too much good news and potential for those sorts of feelings to get in the way now. And talking to Jackie seemed to only further her relaxing comfort. "It was rough, yeah. But we're coming around, I think." She glanced at the door and held her leg from twitching. "How's everyone here been holding up? I haven't seen the Diaz's since last month for that big search party."

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, I heard about that. I wanted to go but… I had school." As if lost in thought, she shook her head and gave Star a wistful smile. "They're doing alright just holding it together, but they have each other. I think those two'll be alright with more time. Fergusson and Janna went to Arizona last week, they got back together four months ago. And apparently Alphonso took a page out of Marco's book. He's dating a Swedish exchange student."

Star managed a bigger smile, and this time she ignored the urge to glance at the side door. "How scandalous, we're gonna have some serious competition as 'best couple of Echo Creek, huh?" Almost immediately Jackie started, her smile shattered. She stiffened and offered a meager, "Oh… Star I'm sorry, I didn't mean- I shouldn't have brought up- …nevermind. Sorry, dude."

It took her a moment to figure out exactly what the supposed offense had been, but after a moment it hit her like a jackhammer. She'd been so caught up in the idea that Marco was just around the corner, step one not even twenty feet away behind an unlocked door. She realized she was still faking her attitude. Though this time it wasn't grief, but hope she didn't want to share. Hope that could just as well leave her as hollow as she'd been since day one.

But seeing Jackie again, seeing how different everyone had been shouldering the loss? To selfishly hoard that hope? She couldn't keep it up, as badly as she wanted to. She couldn't help but fidget from excitement and fear, and with a sigh, Star relaxed. Jackie deserved to know. "Jackie," she asked softly, her smile gone. "Can I trust you to keep a secret? Like, the kinda secret that could be dangerous if it gets out?"

'It hasn't even been ten minutes, girl! Really?!'

But with her offer already sent, Jackie nodded. "Of course, dude, always. My lips are sealed."

Her gut turned somersaults like she was about to jump off a cliff, but Star swallowed her nerves. "I'm uhh… it's a whole big… some things happened, a day ago." She forced her words out like they would bring her physical pain when freed. "I still don't know if I'm losing it, or maybe I was already crazy to begin with. But… Marco… might be… alive."

And over the cliff she went.

Jackie looked absolutely pale, her smile wiped from her mouth and her eyes as big as silver platters.

"What?"

She didn't have any choice but to double down now. If anyone might believe her insane story, it would be the easy-going, cool-headed Jackie, right? "Last night I saw Darc, the parasite that lived in his head. He told me Marco and Vartek were trapped somewhere, alive and dead, if that makes sense. He gave me some vague instructions on how to find them, and I passed out right after. It's what I'm actually doing back here; I'm gonna fix my magic… so I can try to bring him home."

Jackie stared out over the table, her silence leaving the sunny air cold and grim.

She wouldn't meet Star's gaze. But when she finally did turn back a moment later, her eyes were already wet with tears ready to fall. She shook her head with a fist clenched against the tabletop. In a quiet, choked voice she asked, "you… really think there might be a chance?"

Star couldn't help but give her a smile, as sad as it was hopeful. She nodded. "If I really am going crazy, what more could we lose by-"

Jackie pulled Star into a bone crushing hug, a few choked sobs escaping the chill and collected surfer. Star returned the gesture with far more vigor this time as Jackie managed to gasp, "I won't make you promise anything. But… I really, really hope you're not going crazy."

"Me too."

"And the other guy? He's with Marco?"

Star managed to pull back, though only Jackie took her seat. That sad smile had been replaced with a scowl acidic enough to melt steel. "I hope he is. Me and Merina owe him an ass whooping, and then we're handing him over to the kingdom. …they can have what's left of him."

Jackie nodded, her fist involuntarily curling once more. "Give him a couple for me. That douchebag deserves everything coming his way," she growled. "Don't let me keep you. If you're on your way to get them, just make sure I'm there for the homecoming party. And if not… like you said, what more could we lose."

Star glanced at the side door and pulled her wand from her purse. The once purple sheen was a dim lavender, the wings were crumbling to dust, and the star centerpiece was gray in the morning sunlight. "I'll do everything I can to bring him home. That, I can promise." Jackie nodded, bumping her fist before Star began to approach the alluring side door.

With one kick it swung open and slammed against the wall. The clerk nearly screamed, shouting, "Hey! You can't be back-"

Star turned and glared at him, and immediately the guy shriveled down to a soft mumble, taking back to his grilling with a new sheen of sweat on his brown. Without a word she opened the supply closet door and started down the dusty ladder, down to the dim cave, and there it was. The Well of Magic.

It stood, an unimpressive, boarded up cylinder of cobblestone in the center of the cave's largest room. Nothing stood out about the subterranean chamber, but as before, the carvings on the wall were quick to grab her attention.

There were depictions of Glossaryck flooding a well with what could only be magic, surrounded and worshiped by ancient people. Below that, the magic seemed to flow into its Realm where unicorns lay in wait. 'Yeah yeah, same old junk, Glossarycks high and mighty, and nobody has a clue… how he… works?' A small collection of ancient Mewnic runes caught her eye, and she could barely make out the words 'before all.' Apparently her studies paid off more, now that she was actually paying attention to them. Star moved to brush off the display, picking at clumps of sediment when the dust and dirt of the cave wall to her left collapsed.

She coughed through a shower of debris, wiping her face and arms clean before staring at what remained. There sat another, far dirtier carving in a buried slab of stone, this one with depictions she couldn't recognize, and several she could. There was a small visage of Glossaryck, the same as before. But on both sides were three other, larger individuals. One of which she recognized as Luna, with her ethereal hair and small crescent Moon above her head. But the others were a mystery.

Above the seven figures were four beings that looked human, save for the halo above their heads. They carried tools, stars, moons and planets, and above them was some sort of tree, its roots extending to surround the figures and carvings. Below the depictions, there sat runes and scrawled texts in languages she couldn't recognize, and one she could barely interpret as the ancient Mewnic runes. Tracing her finger over the lettering, she sounded out, "before the magic, before the well. The Ones before all, before they fell."

She could have stared at the carvings for hours, but she wasn't here for a lesson in archaeology. She had a promise to fulfill, some magic to restore, and a particular creep to beat the snot out of. So with reluctance, Star made her way over to the well, flipping the lid and staring down into an empty hole. There wasn't any golden liquid, as before, but she was going to fix that. "I'm coming, Marco. Just… hold on for a little bit longer."

O - O - O - O - O - O - O

Merina fell through the shimmering portal face-first, narrowly catching herself before plowing into the muddy street below. She righted herself and took stock of her belongings and bearings, finding the bustling, drummy street of the Monster capital buzzing around her. Though, capital wasn't really the right word. It was more like a shitty village caked in mud and barely teetering on the edge of desolation near the ancient Monster temple.

Bungalow houses and bow-strung huts made up most of the buildings, with small tracts of farmland perforating the outer sectors of the settlement. It was beyond primitive compared to what it would one day evolve into, and compared to their overbearing neighbors, the Mewmans. She'd been to the shantytown a few times, the first being to stand trial for Varteks crimes. She didn't bother lingering for sightseeing or memories.

Merina dusted off her trousers and started heading towards the center of town, eager to get a plan in action.

If she wanted to learn more about a millennia-old legend, first she needed to find someone who might be old enough to even recall it. There were no libraries, nor storehouses of history and literature here. Word of mouth was how much of Monster culture spread, and the same could be said about their myths and legends. Primarily, the chieftain of Monsters might know enough to get her started, or at the very least his advisors. There was bound to be someone here who knew where and what the Nexus was.

But Merina didn't make it far, stopped on her tracks by a shouting voice down the street behind her. "HEY! Green magic lady! Over here!"

"Don't just scream at a stranger in the middle of the street, it's not-"

"She's not a stranger, we're practically on a first name basis already!"

"Then why did you call her green magic lady?"

She turned almost instinctively, readying herself for whatever apologies and condolences she'd grown used to giving out. But when she took stock of the approaching duo, she instead waited with a grin. "Hello. Ludo and Dennis I presume?"

A small man- if you could call him that, he was more of a bird- trotted closer with a much taller bird man beside him. Star's friends most likely. The smaller of the two broke into a wide smile and beamed at the other with pride. "See?! I told you we were famous now! Our reputation precedes us!" He knocked Dennis' wing, the taller of the two answering with a bashful smile and efforts to quell his brother's boisterous nature.

"Or, Star told her we were here and that you'd probably scream at her and make a fool of yourself."

"I don't scream at people! I'm projecting my authority on those fortunate enough to hear it! You could learn something from your big brother, you know."

"I'll take my chances."

Merina smiled, watching the two. In a weird, invasive sort of way, it was cute. Ludo, the smaller of the two, turned back to her with melting impatience. "We were asked by the Butterfly Girl to help you anyway we can. So… what do you want- *oof!*"

"Do you seriously not know anyone's name?" Dennis asked, shoving Ludo back and addressing Merina directly. "Sorry about him. What he means to say is how can we help? Star told us a bit about what's going on, that you're looking for something?"

Merina smiled and gave a short bow, both out of respect, and because Ludo was obviously taken with the gesture. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. Yes, I was hoping… to…" Her attention was drawn over Dennis' shoulder, watching as a ragged group of Monsters unloaded crates of soil from a cart. They likely meant to spread it over a small field of barren, wilted crops just beside the road. "I erm… I'm looking for information on a legend of sorts. I'd like to meet with the chief, in the hopes that an oral history might have-"

"Say no more! We'll take you to him right away!" Ludo shouted. He gave her something akin to a salute, beaming the entire time. "As his lordships most trusted advisors, we can-"

"We're really more like his assistants."

"Shush! Yes, as his most trusted… assistants, we can help find this legend! Follow us!"

The merry little duo made way towards the center of the village, but Merina held back, watching the crated soil be poured onto dead crops without care. It was as appalling as her first visit, and she saw fit to extend a helping hand this time. "A moment please." She gestured for Ludo and Dennis to wait before stepping onto the dirt and making her way towards the center of the field.

From the middle, she could feel years of attempts to rekindle the poor soil, all to no avail. With a gentle flex of her hands, her eyes began to glow a bright forest green. There was a touch of embarrassment from all the eyes resting squarely on her shoulders, but Merina pushed on, calling to the plants and soil far below the surface. She could feel fungus, roots, insects, everything alive below the crust of the dusty dirt above.

At her command, the very ground began to rumble with rejuvenated vigor, a slow color returning to the crumbled topsoil. The weeds that had overgrown tomatoes withered to dust as stalks of corn and beans and wheat shot from the ground. The field itself seemed to take a deep breath before the plants relaxed, settling into place before the stunned onlookers.

Merina matched that sigh of relief, her eyes returning to normal as she walked with difficulty back to the road. "Sorry, it's usually much easier, but lately magics been on the scarce side."

"Incredible!" Ludo was grinning ear to ear, jumping in place. "I heard you were that creep's wife, but to think you've got magic muscle of your own!"

Merina frowned, unaware of how much Varteks puppet really knew. But before he could let loose any secrets, it seemed Dennis had it covered. "Remember what Star told us. Keep it on the level." With a sheepish grin he turned back to Merina. "Sorry about him, we won't tell anyone about your future stuff. He just gets excited around magic."

She couldn't help but smile, growing a daisy out of the palm of her hand and leaning down, handing it to Ludo. With a pat on the head she smiled. "Don't worry about it, hun, I do too."

After a short trek towards the center of the village, Merina found her entourage standing outside a simple, bow-strung hut. There were no elite guards, no bonfires or banners, and no stone walls befitting the leader of Monsters. Just a simple shack in the middle of the roads linking the mess together. Not bothering to soak up the unimpressive sights, Merina pushed forward and strode into the hut, followed closely by Ludo and Dennis.

Inside was a little closer to what she'd grown used to in the future. There were relics of days long since passed, weapons with bloodier histories than some armies, some scrolls lying around, and a Lay-Z-thing sitting in the middle of it all. Sitting in the mock Throne of Monsters, sat the chief himself. A Minotaur with graying fur, and one broken horn. He kicked back the leg rest of his recliner and stood, bowing politely to Merina. She returned the gesture, as did his 'advisors'.

"Good morning to you, Bullmond. I hope we aren't interrupting anything?"

The old bull smiled and let out a thunderous laugh, shaking his head. "Not at all, Merina! It's good to see you! To what do we owe the pleasure of your comp-" He was interrupted by a loud rumbling that shook the hut, followed by a shrill whine in the air.

"MAGIC LADDDYYYY!"

Ludo slugged Dennis' wing and smiled. "See? Now who's the weird one?"

"Definitely still you."

Merina ducked low enough to not get tackled by the blur of horns, floppy ears, and bright blue. The mass slammed into the far wall of the hut, but quickly resumed the charge, letting out a bellow of hot air from her nose. From the crushed reeds and settling dust, a young monster in an electric blue dress emerged, dragging one of her hooves against the dirt. This time, when the girl charged, Merina met her with a hug of equal force and enthusiasm.

"Hello, Genny! My, look how big you've gotten over the past few weeks! I can see your horns are coming in nicely!" The young girl, who had the legs of a calf and a matching pair of emerging horns, let loose a fit of giggles and shook her hair to show them off. "I's almost gots horns as big as daddy's! See?" At Merina's returned excitement, the girl began looking around the room and poking in her satchel with interest. "Did you bring me another present?"

"Is my company not gift enough? Your father seems to think so."

"Noooo, a present! A dolly like last time!"

Merina was forced to concede as she was met with an adorable pout. She set Genny down and flexed her wrist behind her back, letting her pupils glow a soft emerald. Behind her, reeds shot from the floor and wove themselves into a doll, with marigold petals blooming to make a puffy dress fit for a queen. And of course, two roots made up a pearly set of horns. When it was done, she held the doll out for Genny to see, pleased with the wide-mouthed gasp and immediate jumping. "How's this?"

Genny was quick to snatch the doll away, but Bullmond was just as fast to ask, "What do we say?"

She stopped mid-jump and turned, throwing her arms around Merina and squeezing with the strength of half an ox. "Thank you! I love it! It's as pretty as you, magic lady!"

Merina returned the hug, though she tried to keep her smile as believable as possible. In truth, all she could see was a memory of the girl, freed from her corruption by the Goat of Death before Varteks rampage. No one was safe, not even children, and for months Merina had tried desperately to make any amends she could. So far only Queen Moon, and Chief Bullmond had voiced forgiveness.

Pulled from her thoughts, Merina set down the squirming mass of horns and hooves before Genny darted out of the hut, likely to find new victims to play with. Letting out an easy sigh, Bullmond took a seat, sinking into the recliner once more. "She adores you, but she's getting to be a handful," he chuckled, "Soon enough I hope she'll start taking after her mother, and less from her father."

Another death she was responsible for, another family torn apart by her husband, and her magic. Merina forced a smile and tried not to let her thoughts flood with her own family. "It really is good to see you again, Bullmond, and I do hate to be so forward, but I've come with urgent intentions. Can we speak alone?"

Bullmond watched her for a moment, but sensing no ill-intentions, snorted in approval. "Of course, sit. Please." He waved for one of his other attendants to bring her a wicker chair to sit in, before leaning over to address the two of house Avarus. "Dudo, Lenny, please excuse us for a moment. And ensure we aren't interrupted."

Ludo and Dennis gave each other a confused, and equally annoyed look before stepping out, shutting the hide door behind them. Finally alone, Merina let her shoulders relax and her smile melt. She met Bullmond with a grim disposition before sitting forward. "I'll be blunt: I'm chasing a legand that might assist us in an endeavor to bring justice to these lands. To the Monsters and Mewmans. I was hoping you might be one of the few who might still remember it."

Bullmond scratched at his furry beard, but he looked uneasy. "Justice… We have no need for that word here, Merina. Justice for people in our position is impossible, and it's a hope better spent on a future for our children. The Mewmans may seek it, but they will surely not give us-"

"They're not involved," Merina was quick to interject, earning a curious gesture to continue from the chief. "Mostly. We're hoping to keep it that way. The only other person with knowledge on the matter is the young Mewman Princess. She believes there might be a way to bring not only her suitor back from oblivion, but the man responsible for his death." She paused, waiting to gauge Bullmond's reaction. From the dropping atmosphere of the room, it wasn't good.

"You mean the boy, Marcus Dias. And… Vartek?"

Merina nodded and braced herself for the worst. Bullmond was many things, from kind to fair, but forgiving wasn't a quality he cultivated. "Merina. We Monsters have dealt with you, and I hope we've made our position a fair one. As little as we can give, we'd hoped to build a strong relationship with a magic user, for reasons that should be obvious. But to bring that man back?" he let the air grow thin before snorting in indignation. "That's not an undertaking we would wish to pursue, regardless of the young misses wishes. It's simply too dangerous to risk unleashing that sort of evil back in the world."

Merina couldn't help but nod in agreement, but she felt every obligation to try. "If he is brought back, after the magic he'd corrupted was purified, we believe he'll be powerless. We could offer him to the Mewmans as retribution, strengthening our relations with them, and hopefully earning their trust. We could use him to better your lives. A better future for our children, as you put it."

For a few merciful seconds, Bullmond looked thoughtful enough to consider the prospect, but with a sigh he shook his head. "It's simply too risky. Wherever he went, whatever happened to him, good riddance. I'm sorry to refuse you outright, and I'm sorry the princess is left without her suitor. But we don't need ties and closure so badly as to bring such a creature as him back from the dead."

"And what of your personal feelings?" Merina all but demanded with a heat to her words she didn't mean to ignite. "You don't want to see him put to the sword? After what he did to your people? To Genny?"

Bullmond snorted a hot blast of air and lunged to stand, his hoof digging a rut into the dirt floor as his throat reverberated with a growl that shook the hut. Merina didn't even flinch. "My wants are of no concern in the matter!" he bellowed back, his fury not reserved for her, but to the man in question. "As badly as I want to flay that lizard alive and wear his skin as a cloak, what my people need is to be kept fed, safe, and happy! My people cannot fill their bellies with vengeance, we cannot build homes with vendettas, and we cannot plant seeds of gratification in our dying fields! I cannot rest knowing a man like that is out there after what he did to her- to us!"

Merina stood, matching his powerful presence with one of resolve. She had one card to play off his emotions, and if he called her bluff, it was all over. "And if the Mewmans were to be fed their vengeance? If they were to be left satisfied? Don't you think they'd want to reward the people responsible?"

Bullmond snorted, displacing the air around her. "They wouldn't spit on us so much as thank us!"

"Perhaps not normally, yes. But if the Princess' favor were to be earned with the return of her suitor? If the Queen felt assured that her people were satisfied? You know as well as I do that we could use that as leverage. …we could even force my husband to revert the remaining Turned." She waited, watching as the bull seeing red slowly came to his senses. His shoulders slouched, but his glare remained strong.

"How much of that do you actually believe? Look at this place, at these people. Look at our village, Merina. We are not a people who can survive another affront from that man, nor can we withstand the encroaching kingdoms of Mewni. We have nothing left, and I won't spend that nothing on hopes and beliefs."

Merina could only nod as the raging bull sunk back into his recliner. She extended a hand, her eyes flashing green as the room felt a breath of life. The plants, the sunlight, the air; they were rejuvenated like a passing summertime breeze. She took a seat, smiling gently at Bullmond before leaning forward. "I'll believe what I need to, if it fixes what he did. As a friend of mine said in bad faith: We're running low on hope these days. Please, let me give you some?"

For a long while, Bullmond watched her. His eyes were heavy, and sad, but beneath that sadness lay an ocean of desire to see her proposed future brought to light. True, they were a people left discarded and withering, just as the plants in the field were. But as she'd given life then, she could give hope now to see them returned their bounty. Finally, Bullmond sighed, kicking up the legs of his Lay-Z-thing and staring at the bow-strung ceiling.

"What do you want to know?"