A/N: Woo boy, I'm proud of this one! Action, humor, drama, foreshadowing, and a change in narrative perspective - this chapter's like a microcosm of what I try to inject into all my stories, success varying due to my urge to keep experimenting. I don't subscribe to the 'it gets better later' mindset, but if you wanted to kick someone over to this story, this might be a great chapter to do so!
Sorry, bit length for a foreword! Anyway, thanks for reading so far! Now, let's dive in!
Storm the Castle
The day had started so well... okay, it wasn't great, but it got better! It had started at school, with you tackling the guy who was supposed to be your guide, your faithful(ly irritated) steed tossed around said guide's home, and a newbie squire lost the Royal Carriage! Actually, that last one was not the boy's fault; that falls on the shoulders of the monster that had stolen the carriage to capture you! You barely held him off, and only by the good graces of Glossaryck did he back off. When one of his allies had believed they had caught you, the assassin (named Buff Frog) had rushed off to figure out what was going on.
What was going on, as far as you were concerned, was a stark, gnawing worry. Walking home with Marco's (eventual) future girl, Jackie, who paled almost as bad as when she learned magic and monsters were real (and BOY, was that corn popping off the cob at every single minute since coming here to hide!), looking fearfully at the black and white horseless carriages sitting in front of Marco's house... that made you pause a bit...
"Brought the horses back!" you call over as you bring the steeds to the squire. Jackie chose to stand nearby, but far enough to not be near Marco's house. Things looked pretty worrying, but maybe it was nothing serious; earlier, you had thought Marco was a Snuffle! Maybe it was like that...
The minute the squire notices you, he cries huge tears. "Oh, thank goodness! Your highness~! I-I-I was so worried! When those constables came, talking about a boy going missing... I-I feared the worst!"
"He's been like this for the last ten minutes," one knight groaned. "Where are they finding these squires?"
"Hey, hey," you pat the young, shaken man on the back. It's clear he's not been a squire for long if today's kidnapping attempt had him scared. "It's ok, I'm perfectly un-kidnapped. So, what's going on about someone missing?"
The boy sniffled but seemed less distressed. "W-well, I was sitting outside when the peacekeepers came up. There... was a-an attack on somewhere... they said something called a senior grabbed a young man... matching that other young man's appearance, the one who left before you!"
Left before me... uh oh.
Maybe it's someone else who looks similar... "Red jacket? Weird Mole? Perfectly combed hair?" The squire nodded to all three – exactly as the constable described it. Well, crap. Marco's been captured... by whatever a senior is.
As you enter the house, watching the solemn constables pass you on the way out, you enter to see Mrs. Diaz sitting forlornly at a picture of Marco. You think for a minute if this was the scene your parents went through... you squash that thought and walk over to her. "Mrs. Diaz."
She looks up at you, eyes red and misty. "O-oh! Hello, Sirius. I... didn't hear you..."
"I... heard what happened," you say as gently as you could. "I'm... I'm sorry. This is all my fault."
The woman's eyes water a bit, but she blinks back her tears. "No, no! Please don't blame yourself, Sirius! This isn't your fault." She tries to soothe, and she might be right. What are the odds that monsters kidnapped Marco?
Oh boy oh boy oh boy! We got 'im! We got 'im!
You gulp. Yeah, really slim... "What did the constables tell you?"
Mrs. Diaz dabbed her eyes before answering. "He... he went to the 10 Cent Shoppe, a convenience store down the road. He must have gone there for the Cherry Slurpee; he loves those when he's upset. The police... they say that eyewitnesses report some kid in a freaky mascot costume grabbed M-Marco and threw him into a sack..."
"The 'senior?'" you venture, which she nods. "What is a senior?"
"Oh right... you do come from a... different world, I suppose," Mrs. Diaz sighs. "A senior's just a kid in high school on his last year. High school comes after middle school. Which you and Marco are in." She clarifies as you look puzzled with every new bit of information.
"Did they find out where this 'senior' ran off to?" you inquire, but Mrs. Diaz just shakes her head.
"As far as the police are concerned, it's like he disappeared into thin air..." The worried mother once more hugged the frame to her body, clearly holding back tears... hey, where was Mr.-?
"WAAAAAAAAAAAH! MI POOR NINOOOO-HO-HO-HO!" You're already in a fighting stance when you realize that it wasn't a monster, but Mr. Diaz, bawling in the bedroom.
The matriarch of the family just sighs. "All we can do right now is wait... and hope for the best..." As she walks off toward the wounded wailing of her other half, you steel yourself. All they can do is wait; you, on the other hand...
You hear a knock at the still opened door. Jackie enters, looking around, as Heartstopper squeezes past. "Sirius, what's going on? Those Ren Fair guys just walked into a hole in the air with your horses... is everything alright?"
"Marco's in trouble," you frown at the thought, "and it's my fault. That monster we met had a friend, and thought Marco was me!"
"Marco's in trouble?" Jackie's eyes widened with worry. "What are you going to do?"
You don't hesitate with your answer. "I'm gonna bring him back."
Jackie looks startled at your declaration, but soon nods. "Ok. So, how do we do that?"
Your head spins to look at Jackie. Even Heartstopper looks up from his post-battle nap with some intrigue. "You? What happened to 'no chocolate rivers?'"
"That was before these monsters took Marco. When he gets out of his own head, he can be pretty cool. And I'm not letting more of those frog guys take him like that." Jackie crossed her arms as if daring to hear the word 'no.'
You blink, but then break out into laughter, with a few snorts tossed in. "So that's why even Marco calls you the Coolest around here!"
Jackie's eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "Marco talks about me? I thought..." she trails off, before shaking her head. "Forget it. Saving Marco is a bigger priority."
You nod. "As for how we do that, we're gonna need Glossaryck and you're gonna need a weapon."
Jackie frowned. "A weapon? Like a gun?"
Now you frown. "Gun? What is that, some kind of Earth blade? Ooh, is it a flail!?"
Jackie opens and closes her mouth for a bit as if trying to remember to breathe. "Uh, never mind. Who's Glossaryck?"
-Third-Person POV change-
When Sirius called him his 'weird chocolate pudding-addicted magical tutor who may or may not be an ancient trickster god predating my entire world,' Jackie Lynn Thomas didn't quite take in the insanity of the sentence. After meeting the djinn, sunbathing under a heat lamp wearing only a towel, she was inclined to believe the sentence was very much accurate.
"Ah, hello, Star! And hello, Jam! Did not think I'd see you today..." the being didn't even open his eyes as the pair entered the room.
Getting over her shock, as the magical prince from another dimension (and boy, was that a hurdle!) began digging through chest and suitcases, Jackie snapped back, "Jam? My name is Jackie, and we've never met."
Glossaryck just laughed. "Of course, Jam. Of course."
"Cut the shenanigans, Glossaryck!" Sirius, dragging a large wardrobe-like crate, addressed the being. "Marco's in trouble, and I need to know where!"
"He's at Castle Aviarius."
"-And don't try to pull any of your... wait, what?" Sirius gapes, pulling his luggage too hard. It falls over with a room-shaking crash, opening up and scattering daggers, arrows... corn, and dried meat?
"What in...?" Jackie blinks at the unusual pile.
"Ah-ha! That's where he hid it!" Sirius cheers. "Leave it to Dad to hide the weapons in the rations trunk! Seriously, though." The boy turns to his mentor. "No gags or lessons? You're just gonna tell us where Marco is?"
Glossaryck, now wearing his robe again, laughed as he booped Sirius' nose. "Oh, Sirius, you should know everything comes with a lesson. Today's lesson is twofold – watch your pockets..." In his other hand, he produced the still-new-and-unused Dimensional Scissors.
"Wha-!? Hey!" Sirius leaps and fails to grab the blue elf.
"...and Dimensional Scissors can only take you to places you've been to before." He continued. "As you have not been to Castle Aviarius before, you'd never find Ludo, and thus never save Marco. Besides, putting a child's life in danger for a lesson is far too cruel..."
Sirius looked like he had something to say about that, Jackie beat him to the punch. "Ludo? Who's that? The monster that has Marco?"
Glossaryck dug in his ear and wiped his removal on the curtains. "Ludo is as close to a master of his domain as a monster can get. He is the owner of Castle Aviarius, after overthrowing his parents, and thus has dominion over all monsters on that land. He's no king, though he'll constantly say otherwise."
"All..." Jackie gulped. "How many is 'all' exactly?"
Glossaryck shrugged, spinning the Scissors like a baton twirler. "Only about 15 or 20. Not a very large kingdom, you see. That might be a good weapon for you."
"15 to 20!?" Jackie blinked, as she stepped back and tripped over one of the objects from the weapon-rations. "Uhhh... is that a whip?"
"Primarily used for taming even the unruliest of warnicorns. You might find that useful." With that, he jabbed the Scissors into the air and cut open a portal. "There you are – the path to Castle Aviarius. Putting you inside is dangerous, so you'll have to enter by your own means. When you get Safe Kid, just think of home, and the Scissors will do the rest. Have fun!" With that, he levitates the children, whip, Wand, and skateboard included, and throws them into the portal, tossing the Scissors in as an afterthought.
-back to our usual perspective!-
You flop out of the portal on your face, Jackie's "Ooph!" next to you, as the two of you land in dry brittle grass. You pull your face out of the brush, a few words on Glossaryck's blasé manner, but are dumbstruck by the sight of your destination: a large, onyx-colored building – the only building for miles! Filing away the fact you had no idea monsters could even build castles for later, you go over to check on Jackie. She's standing up, but looking around, clearly trying to process what had happened. "We were... and now... what is...?"
"Yeah..." you trail off. "Sorry about that... and this. I get if you've got cold feet. I've... never done anything like this before either..."
Jackie finally looks at you, seemingly scanning you over, before taking a deep breath. When she looks at you again, she has a confident air about her. "All the more reason you need help. What kinda person would I be if I stayed behind knowing we're both scared, but you still went on ahead?"
She holds out her fist – finally, something from Mewni you now! - and you meet her dap head-on, capping it with a nod between both of you. The two of you look around to see what Glossaryck tossed in after you. Sadly, all of your weapons were left, save an old tattered whip that Jackie clipped to her hip, but you had your Wand, and Jackie her skateboard... so, you were all set.
"Alright, so," Jackie inquired from your vantage point of the bushes a few feet from the enemy stronghold, "Marco's in there? And how do we even get in?"
"Well..." you trail off, scanning the other walls... your gaze settling on the front gate. "I can take on the monsters... but you can't."
"Yeah, we established that when the frog guy came for you and your horses," Jackie pointed out.
You shake your head. "No, what I mean is I can take on the monsters, and you sneak in through the windows. Probably not even those many in there..."
Jackie looks at you, brow wrinkled. "Are... you sure about that? Seems a little dangerous..."
You wave her off. "I've been training to whip monster butt since I was in diapers! Now, how do we get you to..."
"Hmmm... 'whip?'" Jackie looks away in thought, before a look of realization dawns on her face. "Wait... I could use the whip to climb... the blue dude said... how would he know!?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he can see the future, or something like that," you comment. "He takes pudding as fair compensation."
Jackie nodded idly. "So, you draw all the attention, while I just crawl in the back, and hope no one sees me? Well, that is a plan..."
"At least we're scared together," you try to jest; it doesn't really calm her by the looks of it, but she still smiles a bit.
"Ok, well then," Jackie lightly punches your shoulder, "be safe, Sirius." You respond with a nod before the two of you separate to enact the plan.
As you walk up to the gate casually, or as casual as a 13-year-old came to be when about to confront a castle's worth of monsters, you pray to corn that all eyes are on you, as Jackie sneaks in. Maybe a little motivation to scare them into action...
You take out your Wand and aim as you run forward. Time for a real magical blast! The stone glows brighter and brighter until-
"SIRIUSSSSSSSSSS BUTTERFLY!" At the same time you yell, a beam of energy is loosed from your Wand, blowing the gate into pieces!
Whew... that... took... a lot.
"What the Underworld!" Judging by the panicked screams, the monsters took notice. "That was magic! Send forces to the gate right now! We're under attack!" Sure enough, five monsters came charging out, eager to face you!
"Aegis Block!" All five of the jerks crash into a wall of impenetrable defense, their charging speed roughly pushing you back. As you drop the shield, the group is clearly dazed from the strike. You try to draw energy for another Magic Missile...
…
Shoot, still recovering from that...
Two of the monsters, a bipedal bear and another with lobster claws, shake off the daze and charge at you! You take a defensive stance and begin to dodge the monsters' swipes at you. There has to be a way to get them off your back before the other three came at you... Oh right! Taunting!
"So," you begin your goading, "I heard you guys kidnapped someone and thought it was me? That's almost cute how stupid you guys must be."
The bear-beast growled at that. "Duh, stupid!? I'll show you 'stupid!'" He lunges at you... only for you to duck, allowing for the monster to knock Lobster Claws and himself over the edge, and into the moat!
The water from the splash shakes the others out of their stupor. One with one arm larger than the other leads the charge at you!
You jump on the enlarged arm and use it as a springboard to bounce on the heads of your remaining adversaries. As they turn around to face you, you land on both feet, noting they're just in line for a Magic Missile-
"WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN THERE!?" A deep booming voice rattled the walls... and your bones. "WE ARE BEING INVADED! GET DOWN THERE AND DO SOMETHING!"
"Gah!" One monster on the wall gasped. "Master Ludo noticed! Don't just stand there! Get down there!" Sure enough, from the ramparts, ten more monsters entered the fray, surrounding you quickly. Swell.
"Heh heh..." you look around at all your new enemies. "I don't suppose you guys would like to come at me one or two at a time?"
"ATTACK!" the group roared as they charged in unison.
You deadpan as the assault gets closer. "Yeah, that's what I thought." You jump, climb and scramble over your attackers until you're on top of the pile. You leap up, take aim, and fire off another Magic Missile. The explosion launches you across the courtyard, and you bounce on the ground as you land and roll into a kneeling position.
As you look up, you see that the explosion took out five monsters. Two were dazed, leaving six charging after you, Big Fist and a chicken-like monster leading the charge. You're already dodging through and around them, throwing out jeers and jabs ("Bring it, Feather Duster!"), causing two to knock each other out trying to get you, and dazing the chicken.
As the other dazed two join the fight, Big Fist snarls. "Don't listen to geers! How he got others!" This only made the monsters more upset; looks like taunting these idiots might not work a third time...
'Stupid huge-handed jerk,' you curse at the monster. 'You and your stubby... legs...!' Your face lights up at your idea! For added effect, you point at Big Fist, as if to say, "you're next," then charge at him. "Comet..."
He raises his hand to block his face... so he has no warning for when you crouch and swipe at his leg. "Tail!" The attack unbalances him, and he flails backward onto two of his allies.
As the chicken shakes off his dizziness to join the last two standing, one monster gnashes his teeth. "This sucks! Stupid kid and his magic wand..."
"MAGIC WHAT!?" the booming voice returned. "POTATO BABY! YOU SAID YOU GRABBED THE HEIR OF MEWNI! GET OUT THERE! RIGHT! NOW!"
Sure enough, the inner gates opened and spewed out 15 more monsters, a round potato-like monster leading the charge. "Hurry, slowpokes! Master Ludo'll kill me if he suspects I failed for a moment!"
Seriously!? There can't be many more of these guys...
You choose to avoid conflict and dodge around their attacks... a feat much harder when there's practically 20 of them! Think up a plan, think up a plan... low on magic, all the monsters are now focused on you... oh, and their boss is keenly aware you have the Wand. Where is the break, universe!?
Despite your best efforts, you soon find yourself literally against the wall, 18 creatures eager to rip you apart. Potato Baby got up on one of the said creatures' shoulders. "Grab 'im! And take him to Master Ludo!" As some of the crowd began to advance, you grip the Wand tight, ready for a fight.
"SIRIUS!" All eyes – yours included – look over to see Jackie... leading a roughed up, but alive Marco.
"Ah! Our prisoner's escaping!" Potato Baby cried. "Get them!"
"Hm? But... isn't our main target the Mewni Prince?" One monster asked.
That gave Potato pause. "Well... yes, but we caught that one fair and square!" As the monsters puzzled who they should go after, you take that time to make your escape... starting by Comet Kicking the ground hard enough to leap over the group!
You land on the other side, skidding up to Jackie and Marco. "Guys! You're out!"
"Yeah," Jackie, a little grimy, grinned as she patted the tool at her side. "Remind me to get that weird guy a pack of pudding cups when we get back!"
"Uh..." Marco cut in, pointing back at the monsters as they got their wits together. "I think you mean if we can."
You chuckle as you crack your knuckles. "No problem. I got enough juice for this. You, uh, might want to cover your eyes." As you turn to face the horde, you get into a fighting pose... and Focus!
The sudden flash of energy blinds the monsters, as they clutch their eyes and run everywhere but at you. Potato Baby even manages to run out of the grounds and right into the moat! Ha!
"Take that!" You gloat to the blind army. "Remember this as the day you almost caught 3 teenagers!" With that, you lead the retreat out; better to get out of there before Ludo-!
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
… Never mind. Marco jumps and looks back, his hands shaped like knives for some reason. "What was that!?"
You pull out your Scissors. "No longer our concern." You cut open a hole in the air, the picture of the Diazes in mind. Marco hesitates for a moment, but when Jackie holds out her hand, he takes it, and they jump through together.
You look back at Castle Aviarius, blow it a raspberry, and jump into the portal.
The portal opens to your current bedroom, Glossaryck reading some colorful pamphlet. "Oh, you're back. How was your trip?"
"How was it? How was it!?" Marco blew up at the djinn. "In one day, I get tackled and pinned by the guy my family's hosting, a dog tore up my house, and when I go out for fresh air, some potato monster puts me in a sack and drags me off to some dungeon!
"Oh, and let's not forget," he screams as he begins to pace, "not only are monsters real, but they have armies, and castles – and – and this guy!" He motions at you. "Apparently knows magic! Something I thought he was joking about until he burst into light!"
Marco finally finished his rant, breathing heavily from all the yelling. You toy with the Wand, head hanging heavy, as Jackie looks back and forth between you and Marco. You came all this way to not cause trouble, and it took one day to cause a heck of a lot of it...
"Hey, Marco," you begin. "I'm so sorry... about everything. This... all of this shouldn't have to happen to you, your family, or your household. I came all this way to avoid the 'forces of evil' from finding me, but they couldn't wait to attack... Boy," you mutter to yourself, a wave of emotions getting caught in your throat, "I can't get anything right. Bad at magic, bad at being a royal... even bad at staying out of trouble...
"I got kidnapped too. They pretended to be a merchant, and nearly dragged me away to... wherever." You don't remember when you started sitting on the bed, or when you started crying, but there you were anyway. "If Glossaryck hadn't helped, I might be in some country Mom and Dad had never heard of... I – I didn't want you to go through that... or your parents."
You blink at your watery vision, before you wipe your eyes furiously on your sleeves, sniff thickly, and look up with as much of a happy face as you could muster. "B-but, it's okay. I-I can be packed up pretty quickly, and out of your hair before tomorrow. And... I can have your family compensated for all the damages. Heartstopper's not really used to being a tiny wolf yet, so he just got overexcited...
You finally stand up, walk over to the Hispanic teen, pause for a moment, before hugging him limply. "But... it was still nice to have met you. Goodbye, Marco Diaz."
"Wait, what – hold on." Marco grabs your shoulders and steps back to look at you. "Sorry, wait, I... I didn't explain myself in... the best way. Sirius, truthfully, I've never been so terrified and off-kilter in my whole life! Today was absolute unpredictable chaos!"
You nod; yeah, that was pretty much expected...
"And I've never felt more alive!" Marco cheered, grinning ear-to-ear with unbridled excitement.
"H-huh?" you blink blankly at Marco's statement.
"Monsters! Magic! Other dimensions!? It's crazy, I'm not gonna lie, but when Jackie got me out, I got to fight, like, three monsters! It was awesome!"
"I... you..." you wipe your eyes and nose. "Could you please explain... better than that?"
Marco let go of you and began to talk animatedly. "Here's the thing, Sirius – even before the school became a no-fun zone, I was always the 'safe kid.' My comfort zones begin and end at schedules, rules, and normalcy. But today – I fought for my life! I've never felt so invigorated!"
You smile a little at his energy. "S-...so, you don't want me to move?"
Marco looks back at you horrified. "Are you crazy!? I don't want you to move! And if you think Mom and Dad would let you leave like that, then-! Oh geez, Mom and Dad don't know I'm back!" The room blinks, and the only remnant of Marco is a faint outline where he was standing, as he tears out of the room.
"Huh, quick takeoff," Jackie mutters aloud-Jackie! You had this big emotional blowout and hadn't even thought of Jackie!
"Thank you for helping me rescue Marco, Jackie! I couldn't have done it without you!" you lightly laugh. "I'd probably still be stuck at the door, or exhausted after beating them all up!"
Jackie shrugged. "It's cool. Marco's... well, this was my way of... reaching out." Reaching out? "Well, it's late, and a school night, so I'd better get going." She's halfway to the door before she turns around, holding out the coiled whip. "Almost forgot... here's your whip back."
You take one look at the weapon... and push her hand back. "You can keep it. I tried to use a whip when I was training Heartstopper. All I got for my trouble was tied up in it, and him laughing at me. Besides, I have my own awesome thing now," you spin the Wand, and only almost dropped it this time, "and you never know when you might need it."
Jackie blinks at that, before smiling. "You mean, in case another group of idiots tries to kidnap someone in Echo Creek? Yeah, I see your point." She clips it back to her hip, as you remember you promised to get Marco a chance at Jackie! Today... was not the day for that. But tomorrow...
"Hey, um," you began, catching the girl's attention, as she snatched the booklet from Glossaryck, muttering about something called a 'magazine,' "do you want to hang out after school? That is, you, me, and Marco? Like, as a group?"
Jackie smirks as she collects her board. "Thanks for the offer, but don't get ahead of yourself, New Kid. We're not friends..."
"Not yet?" you lean in, hope in your eyes.
Jackie just chuckles. "See ya around, Sirius." She departs through the door, the sound of the front door closing signaling her exit.
As you head downstairs, you see Marco stuck between his parents in a big embrace, tears, kisses, and an unfamiliar language passing rapidly between the three humans. It's enough to bring a smile to your face.
'They love each other a lot,' you think, recalling your own parents. Deciding this must be one of those 'private moments' between family, you began to make your way upstairs... only to be yanked back by your collar! Ouch!
You don't have any time to gripe about it as you now find yourself sandwiched next to Marco in their group hug. Even Heartstopper places a paw on your shoe. The compassion of their inclusion... it shouldn't, but it feels like you're back home again, if only for a moment. Tearing up a bit, you accept the embrace, silently basking in the middle of such kindness and openness.
A/N: Well, there you go, one status quo set. I mean, for now. So, thoughts? Comments? Feel free to leave your reviews! See you next time!