Forgotten Ventures

Ch. 2

No Joking Matter

~EDIT~

Star followed the King and Queen as she slowly walked down the hall of a strange building, one she had been told was a 'Hi School'? She knew what a school was, but she had no idea how the word Hi could mean anything besides a greeting. She shrugged it off and continued walking behind her parents, mystified by the strange scenery around her. Some sort of fake marble tile lined the floor, and tall lockers lined either side of the hallways. The school seemed like a small village, really, as every room was its own building with street-like hallways crisscrossing through them. But here, there were no happy peasants running from her antics. Yet.

Star had never been much for schooling, since whenever a teacher couldn't be found for her, she was simply accompanied by the royal guard. She smiled, remembering how much fun she used to have back on Mewni as a kid, being taught the basics of combat and how to properly finish off one's enemies. Those were good days, as compared to now.

She mulled over her memories as a child, before turning her attention back to the present. Back to the dull, yet modern facility, that she'd be spending much of her time in. As she had been told by her parents.

'It's not so bad...maybe I'll have fun here too,' She thought quietly, but with a nervous look about her. Optimism would only get her so far, after all. This place didn't look like much, and the few other teenagers she saw around her bore an expression shared by execution victims, but it would probably do.

She did have the wand, after all.

Her parents stepped into a small office adjacent to the main corridor and stopped once they were just inside. Star followed eagerly, hoping to get this over with so maybe she could meet some new people, make some new friends, and start to enjoy herself.

At the back of the room, a small, but rather rotund man sat behind a desk clearly meant for someone of a higher standing. And, by Star's estimation, he clearly didn't look like someone to be using it. He wore an unamused expression at the dressed up individuals stepping into his office and listened half-heartedly to the people addressing him. What this man had seen to take the light from his eyes, who knew, but as Moon and River droned on, she felt a pang of sympathy for him.

Star stood, bored, at the back of the room, though all of her anxious optimism quickly dropped as her attention was captivated by what sat against the wall. Ignoring the chatter of the adults behind her, she was taken by a small plastic switch. She wondered what trap would activate from such a small device and felt so tempted to flip it, she could almost burst.

Maybe it dropped candy? Maybe it set off a random party throughout the 'HI School?' She reached out tentatively and touched the plastic device with a grin. As soon as the small white bar flipped to the bottom, the lights went out in the room. She gasped and started flipping it madly, the magic of such an inconspicuous device not lost on her. But after a short moment, she stopped as she felt the conversation drain from the room.

She looked back at her parents and the strange man who, simply put, looked like a tax collector. They'd all stopped talking, clearly as floored as she was! "And you said there was no magic on earth," She chided.

The principal looked at Star with marked disdain before snidely offering, "yeeeaah, this isn't gonna work out." But just as he said it, he was unceremoniously presented with a large chest full of gold, jewels and treasure that would make even a millionaire green with envy. The King and Queen of Men-wi, or whatever it was called, look bored with the transaction. But the Principal, he leaned forward on his desk at lightning speed and grinned madly, his equally bored expression dissolved in an instant. "She is gonna LOVE IT HERE!" He shouted with his hand's thrust in the air, neither of his two quests amused by his antics.

Star paid them no mind and continued fiddling with the wall switch, amazed by how simply she could alter the amount of light in the room. Her father, however, was not as impressed, his bored expression turning sour at the odd nature of the building. This wasn't like Mewni, and it wasn't much like anywhere else he'd been. It was strange and alien, yet deceptively simplistic in its design. He silently wondered how well Star would really fare in such a place as this, and on the off chance she wouldn't understand the world any better than him?

"She's going to need… a guide."

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

Marco had spent most of his morning waiting for Star to jump out at him and tell him it was all a joke. To take him by surprise and end the stupid game.

And should that not prove fruitful, he was sure there would be some calamitous sign of impending doom due to his world being brought to Mewni. But as the morning progressed, he noticed that things were just… calm. There was no tension, no held breath of the world, no one was eying him any differently. Things were so appallingly normal, it almost made him sick. And as he began to notice things repeating a BIT too perfectly, he slowly started to lose hope.

He wasn't stupid. He could tell when Star was pranking him.

Sometimes.

But right now wasn't one such time, not that he could see at least. People were in the same place, doing the same things, and saying exactly what they had before he'd left Earth. It was surreal, to say the least.

His upsetting realization that was edging closer had also been frightening for another reason: if his memory served, this was the day Star was meant to arrive. He remembered that calamity well, because it was one of his favorite days spent with her. He recalled being terrified, yet captivated by her magic ability, her appearance, her outlook and mannerisms... Something that once seemed so terrifying now seemed as normal as the sunrise.

He wondered how exactly- if this wasn't a trick of the mind- Star had managed this. If she had accidentally cast another time spell that sent him here, it would make sense to just act natural until this was resolved. She could… probably do something like that, right?

If this was really happening, what would he say? What could he- "Yoo! Heads up, Diaz!"

He was suddenly pulled from his burrito of deep thought, when a skateboard steered by a beautiful girl whizzed by him. He caught his breath for about the fiftieth time that day and stared, his mind racing a million miles per hour. "Jackie..." he quietly muttered. It had been some time since he had seen her, that fateful day she dumped him, but the wound was still fresh on his heart.

"She's at least talking to me," He mumbled, but the greeting heralded a new slew of questions. Why was she acting so normal for a prank? Star had the means to see it made into reality, but that was just crazy.

Right?

'Star wouldn't mess with Father Time again, would she? She knows better than to break time just for a stupid prank.' But in stark opposition, Star had a tendency to throw caution to the wind in the name of a good time. There was no telling how far she would go, or how powerful of a spell she would use. There was, in all honesty, a decent chance that she may have rewound time trying to-

Marco stopped.

'The Booth…'

What were the chances that Star, in a wild bout of awkward reaction, had attempted to turn back time to undo the kiss in the booth? Marco felt a chill ride up his spine, due in equal parts to the memory itself, and the fact that the chances were exponentially growing.

'Would she- could Star even- I'm back at the beginning? If this is really happening, then Jackie doesn't even know who I am... No, she obviously knows me, she just said my name... but, she doesn't remember anything... I could start fresh and make things right? I could sweep her off her feet this time? I could-"

His mind hit a wall and froze completely. Wrenching himself from another Marco-moment, he shook his head and stared down the bustling hallway. He'd gone down a deep, and very dangerous tangent. He'd worked too hard to mend the rift between them. All of them. "No," He whispered, "If this… if this is real, then the last thing I should be doing is ruining things with her again. I won't make that mistake twice."

With an ear-splitting wail, the bell rang and he decided to make his way to class. Marco was constantly on guard as the minutes droned by,, hopeful that this really was just a dumb joke, but at the same time, he was steadily beginning to accept this strange scenario as his new reality. There was so much to process he was sure he'd burst at any second. "What do I do if I mess up? What if things are different? What if Star doesn't know who I am? What if she accidentally erased herself from the timeline!? " he silently screamed.

That fear came with a heavy reminder of what he was really asking. What he was really afraid of. The thought of losing Star was far more terrifying than another jaunt through Father Times dimension. And even Marco could tell why: he loved her.

He knew that his feelings for Star were real, from day one he had carried them. Maybe they hadn't started as a roaring flame of passion, but they were true. Or, as true as he figured they could be, after a short kiss in a picture booth to reignite them. He shook it off. 'Stop it. I was... just trying to get us out of there. It was just a quick… thing… and nothing more.' But he knew that was a lie. He had grown deeply fond of Star over the years. There was so much between them that he could never replace with anyone else.

Their friendship had evolved so much, and they shared countless moments together. He was always there for her as a lifeline, and as her squire. She was dating Tom, of course, but that didn't mean their friendship was any less priceless. They had been through so much together, and whatever their situation, he was just happy to be by her side.

Marco inwardly groaned at the thought that if this was real, then all of that...was for nothing. All of his memories with Star? They would have never happened. 'The Star I know could be gone..." He thought to himself. But just as soon as that idea popped into his mind, it was quickly extinguished by the simple fact that the Star he knew, his best friend, was somewhere in the school with him. This was a mockup of day one, and in due time he expected to-

"MARCO DIAZ TO THE PRINCIPALS OFFICE! MARCO DIAZ TO THE PRINCIPALS OFFICE."

He held his breath and slowly got up. This time, not saying a word, he eyed the front of the room and trudged forward. He walked to Miss Skullnick's desk and silently grabbed the hall pass with his eyes trained to the door. "Not even a goodbye taunt? I'm impressed, Diaz, usually you're all smiles at getting into trouble," Miss Skullnick growled. But her words were hollow to Marcos' ears. He needed to hurry. His legs couldn't move fast enough.

He needed to see her.

Marco walked briskly down the hallway and stopped just outside the principals' office. He breathed a shaky breath and knocked, the sound of each successive tap a physical jolt down his body. The reverberations of the door echoed the thumping in his chest as he stared at the clouded glass frame. "Come iiiiiinnnnnn!" principal Skeeves Sang in falsetto.

With an exhale, the first one since he'd left the classroom, Marco pushed open the door. And there before him sat the most magical girl he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. He drank in the sight of her long blonde hair and her stunning sapphire eyes. Her cream colored skin was accented by her rosy cheeks. Except it wasn't blush that brought color to her smile, there were two playful pink hearts perched on either one of her cheeks. She wore her same poofy Princess getup as before and sat idly by, barely containing the boundless energy of a rebel princess.

"Marco! Did you even hear what I just said? Take Star with you and show her around the school, make sure she's comfortable here. I'll be leaving early today, I'm on my way to the ice cream store," Principal Skeeves . "Daddy's gonna buy all 52 FLAVORS!"

The principal shooed both kids out into the hallway and locked the door behind him. As he walked away, humming some sort of ice cream truck song, Marco stood before the Princess of Mewni sheepishly, caught between what ten thousand things he should start with. The last hour had filled his head with a maelstrom of gestures, expressions, explanations, questions, concerns… he wasn't even sure if any of this was real.

"Well… uhhhh, my name's Star Butterfly," Star offered, desperate to get a bit of conversation rolling between the two, "And, I'm a magical princess from another dimension!" Star Spun and arched her wand through the air with a giant rainbow that caught fire, dooming several woodland creatures unlucky enough to have been spawned. Marco quickly put the fire out with a fire extinguisher thankfully placed just outside the principals' office, shaking his head with a smile. Typical of her, reckless as always, and so much fun. "I know, Star," Marco offered with sarcasm hidden behind his smirk, "How about we don't set the school on fire a second time?"

"Way-whut? How do you know I'm a magical-"

"Maybe because I've known you for two years and you've almost killed me like eleven times? You can drop the act already, I know you're messing with me," Marco shot her a goofy grin even as he said it, but Star stared at him with apparent surprise written on her face. She blushed slightly beneath a pair of wide, anxious eyes. Gone was her enthusiasm and charisma at a first day in a new dimension, and in their place was something far less comforting. Marco's confidence wavered as she whispered quietly, "I've… never met you before…"

He caught his breath, again. She couldn't act this well, could she? Had he missed that somewhere along the line? 'Marco, what if she's telling the truth... If this is real..." he didn't need to finish the thought. Maybe it wasn't just a prank. Maybe Star had actually- Would she really have tampered with time itself just to undo a stupid, desperation-fueled kiss?!

Deciding to do some damage control in the event that this had actually become a delicate situation, he spoke casually, listing his head to the side. "Oh, uhh, sorry! I must have confused you for someone else, you look just like this girl from my history class," He fibbed, holding out his hand to the silent Princess "Let me start over: My name is Marco Ubaldo Diaz."

"Also I think I'm in love with you, and we've spent years together as best friends and there's so much I have to do if you really broke our TIMELINE!"

His internal screams of damnation put aside, Marco smoothed himself over and gestured the the empty corridors around them. "I guess I'm supposed to show you around? Or something?"

Star looked at the boy before her. She felt uneasy about how he seemed to know her, and more so by his obviously artificial, casual attitude. Something about him screamed 'neurotic', but she decided to let it go.

She felt something odd about him, like she could tell him anything.

Like she could risk her life for him, share everything with him, and spend every day with him.

"Like you've been kissed by him?"

A voice from nowhere whispered to her in the back reaches of her mind, too quiet to even be heard. But the thought was gone before she could catch it.

She gazed into his wise, chocolate eyes and saw a knowing, aged, and caring soul that would never deceive her. She saw desperation, an immeasurable need to be closer, but she saw comfort there too. Not to mention… Those eyes were just like the ones from her dream, inviting, and warm. In the end, she decided to trust her instincts enough to go with it, just this once. "Yeah, I guess... you are. What's that thing?" She asked, trying to move the conversation forward by pointing at a silver box that hugged the wall.

"That would be a water fountain, Star. And no. You don't bite it," He offered with impressive patience, "It sprays water you can drink when you press that button, and it even keeps it cold." He said it so matter-of-factly, like such a thing was actually possible. But Star's attention was no longer drawn to the box. Instead, she wondered how on mew-... Earth, he knew she was gonna try chomping on it.

The two walked down the hallway lit with the morning sun, as Star listened to Marco complain about being the 'safe kid'. All the while, steering her away from hazardous things strewn about her. He seemed confident and excitable, but she sensed something more. That confidence was rooted in experience, and that excitement stemmed from passion.

"I don't know, I just hate being called the 'safe kid' all the time. Like, sometimes, maybe I want a little Danger in my life, ya know? Not everything has to be so cut-and-dry" Marco tried to seem as confident as possible, and his plan that the star would react accordingly came to fruition.

She beamed him a wide smile, pushing aside her unease as she produced her wand with excitement. "Oh, well if you wanted some danger, why didn't you just say so!" she exclaimed loudly, twirling her wand and shooting a bolt of glimmering pink magic at the floor.

Marco didn't waste a second as a giant, venomous, and very angry Moth-Spider spewed from the smoke, straight out of the Neverzone. Clearly being summoned was not on its agenda today, it's eyes ablaze with fury as it screeched through venom-dripping fangs. But Marco had plans of his own for it, anyways. "Look out Star!" he shouted as he jumped between the two and spin kicked the moth across the hall, slamming it into the lockers. Marco took up a fighting stance and grinned with intensity at it, daring the moth to approach him.

It rose slowly and sprouted eight spindly legs that seemed eager to grab any living thing that got close. Foam dripped from the corners of its mouth as it charged at Marco, it's screech loud enough to rattle his bones. He jumped forward to deliver the final kick when there was a loud *POOF*. The creature was zapped out of existence in a bolt of pink light, and Marco tumbled to the floor. He tried to sit up, only to find a wand aimed at his face, and a nervous but angry-looking Star standing behind it.

"What did you do that for! I had him!" He shouted indignantly, clearly not happy that his chance to show off had been, quite literally, shot down.

"I know you did. I wanted to see if you could handle him, but you would have kicked that thing inside out without so much as blinking," Star muttered, "Now, no lies this time: How did you know who I was, and how do you know how to fight like that?"

Marcos face felt red-hot as he got up from the floor, the wand never leaving its place aimed right at his chest. He was stuck, and they both knew it. This was looking more and more like a magical hijinks, and his next words would make or break the situation. "Well, spending sixteen years fighting more Hekapoos than I ever thought could exist would do the trick." He chided calmly, hoping humor would calm her down enough to get an explanation.

Fun fact: It did not. And now he found himself even deeper in the proverbial hole, with less time to figure thing out.

"How do you know who Hekapoo is!? What do you mean fighting Hekapoos?" She demanded. Earth wasn't supposed to know anything about- well, anything! Her parents specifically told her so. "And more importantly, how do you know who I am!?" Star was fuming with anger, but at the same time; curiosity. She desperately needed to know what it was about this boy that seemed familiar, yet dangerous. Confident, yet scared. Isolated, yet completely at home. It was stupid how many different feelings just looking at him was giving her. She wanted some answers, now.

"I… I can't tell you." He replied with purpose. Make or break, he needed to make up his mind. If this was real, and he was almost sure now that it was, he had to be careful. Star would… eventually be able to fix things, but he had to be sure not to mess up the timeline, if he was even actually in the past.

"If I did... I'd mess things up. You just- I can't- …you just have to trust me, okay?"

Star stared at him with her nose wrinkled and her eyes peering deeply into his. "Mess what up? Why can't you tell me what's going on?" She continued to demand, his dodges only building her curiosity.

"I don't know!" Marco finally snapped, his voice raising to echo through the hallways. His mind was pulled in two different directions, stuck somewhere between figuring out her prank, and figuring out what was really going on. He mulled, careful not to give away too much as he answered, "Look, it's a long story. I don't feel comfortable telling you everything, and even I don't know what's happening, but I can tell you enough."

"Start talking," Star spat, her eyes locked with his, and her wand locked on his chest.

"Alright then, here's what I know about you," Marco began with an eye roll, "You're a fun, reckless girl who hates the idea of being held down by duty and her role as a future Queen. You love helping people and you never back down from something you set your mind to. Your best friend is a flying unicorn head, your dad's probably part bear, and you dated a demon. You like burritos, a food you've never tried, with so much sugar that it's practically sacrilege. Your family is a mix of untamable wild, and unbearable tradition. But most importantly, you're THE rebel princess who doesn't take no for an answer. You always come through for a friend, right?"

Star watched him carefully. Her face, having once been brazen with powerful determination, was now twisted in shock. "H-how do you know all of that..." she whispered, just barely lowering her wand. Forget a dreamy pair of brown eyes, this wasn't what she signed up for when she was tossed here. This wasn't a curious oddity, it was scary. But just as a hand of fear gripped her heart, that boy with those brown eyes spoke softly, easing her attention back to him.

"Star, I'm going to sound crazy. But please trust me, a total stranger, just this one time. Please. Can you do that?" Marco asked sincerely, his voice conveying a level of caution she knew she could expect from him.

Really, aside from a bit of fancy footwork, he was probably harmless enough. A little jittery, and definitely weird, but harmless enough to a Princess with enough firepower to blow up the moon. "Fine," Star muttered, slowly lowering her wand and taking a step back, her eyes tuned to his every move, "Any funny business and I'll destroy you. So spill it, Earth guy."

He stood up with pride, careful not to excite her in any way. "It's Marco. And... well... I'm your best friend from the future!" He almost shouted those last words out so quickly, he squeezed his eyes shut for fear the words would blow up the moment they left his mouth.

A moment of silence passed between them, not even the distant buzz of the fluorescent lights was enough to draw attention. Finally, Star broke the silence with a hum, asking, "The whaaa?" He said he'd sound crazy, but seriously?

"The future," Marco repeated, stressing his words carefully, "Today for you, two years ago for me. I woke up this morning, and for some reason, I'm back when we met and I have no idea why. You probably messed with time again, but I don't know."

Star felt a wash of mixed probing emotions flooding her, from the dream, the stress of a new world, her disastrous wand ceremony, and now this? It was so much at once, and it only served to worsen her grasp on things. But as she stared at him, really taking him in, a strange feeling in the back of her mind seemed to melt her worries and fill her with comfort. She felt that familiarity with him, even now, and it eased her troubled mind like a cool breeze.

"If... if I were to believe you, what would you want from me? I don't even know you," she asked in a low voice. She wanted to know the answer to everything he had to offer, to hear an explanation for everything that had happened in the last five minutes. In truth, he made her feel vulnerable. Which, for a girl holding the most powerful artifact in the universe, that was impressive to say the least.

His eyes dropped and he slumped his shoulders, unsure of what he could even say to quench her unease and distrust. "I don't know. I don't want to mess everything up... but I guess I kinda already did, huh?"

Star didn't answer.

Marco looked up, finding her looking to the side with a vacant, but calm expression. "I don't know what's going on, or why I'm here. I was hoping you'd have an answer, but… nobody does," he noted with mounting finality, "nothing makes sense about this, and I feel so lost. I'm all alone in this, even though you're right. There."

Star looked at him, unable to meet his helpless eyes. Without a second thought, she did something her whole body urged her to do: She hugged him.

Marco's heart fluttered when he felt her warm arms around him. Her tight embrace and her sweet smelling perfume were about all he could think about as he stood speechless. This was about the last thing he thought would happen, but the greatest thing he could have hoped for.

"Look," Star began, keeping him close, quenching that silent thirst for contact with what she felt was a close friend, "I don't know what you expect, but… I feel like I can trust you. For whatever reason. So… tell me what we can do."