Some amount of time later, I wake up with a minor headache pulsing through the back of my head. Did I fall and hit my head on the parking lot? It certainly feels like it, which in addition to my various other injuries elicits a groan from me before I can silence it. I brace myself for what I'm sure is coming next, but rather than the now familiar screech of Star's voice, I'm greeted only by silence.
I peel open my eyes to see the princess in question crouched a little bit away from me, an unhappy look on her face. "I think you owe me an explanation, Marco." Ouch. Haven't heard that tone of voice in a while, guess if you start making trouble you start getting into it huh?
I push myself up into a sitting position, noticing the teens from earlier are long gone. I can guess from a scorch mark on the pavement what happened, especially considering how stern my new friend looks. "What do you mean?" I ask innocently, trying to avoid thinking about what I'm sure she's asking about. I don't know the answer myself, and if she's not the root cause of the weirdness in my chest I'm really scared to find out what is.
"Marco. Diaz." Her voice goes frosty, using my full name in a way I haven't felt from my own parents in years. Is even this insane princess more responsible than those two? Thats kind of sad… "You know exactly what I mean! After we were running earlier you looked a hair away from death, and just now you passed out after a quick ride on the bike thing! I might not know much about Earth, but that's definitely not normal."
The mention of my baby has me on my feet in a flash, and I gasp in horror when I see some heathen has let it drop to the ground without even putting down the stand. I hear a hiss of sheer frustration behind me as I allow myself to be distracted by my bike's plight, but after messing with it for a minute or so and standing it correctly, I finally answer Star. My own voice lets out a similar amount of frustration and confusion, and I finally meet Star's eyes to say "I don't know! Okay?! I don't know. This shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be doing the things I have been, and I was trying to blame you in my head, but you clearly aren't doing this."
Star takes a step back, her eyes widening as she seems to pick up on how frazzled I am by all this. "Marco…"
"Look. I think we might be able to learn a bit more about this-luckily in the same place we were already heading." I unhook my helmet-man, this thing probably saved me from a concussion huh? Safe kid win-and then start walking my bike towards the mall. "It's called a Dojo, and it's where I learned to fight. I think my Sensei might be the one who owes me the explanation."
Star's own helmet is long gone, somewhere. I wonder if she stashed it somewhere to get out of wearing it later, or if she just legitimately lost it? I'd give either possibility 50/50 chances, honestly. Either way, I imagine asking about it would be a waste of time.
My new friend seems lost in thought, an unusual state of mind for her. I'd bet a hundred bucks that will change when we step inside, however. I lock my bike in place in the bike rack, then lead the blonde warrior-girl inside. While the automatic doors escape her attention, as expected, the inside of a bonafide mall is enough to speak to her on a number of levels-not the least of which is the apparently interdimensional feeling of being a teenager.
Her pupils undergo a literal transformation from circles to big, bright star shapes. A bit more anime than I was expecting, to be honest, but I'm certain that her weird alien biology is still hiding plenty of secrets. She appears to be almost vibrating in place, exuding a silent desire to explore. I just sigh, then say "Fine. But don't leave the building. When you find a place with people in white uniforms and colorful belts, that's where I'll be."
Her uncharacteristic silence ends with an excited squeal loud enough to threaten to shatter glass, and then she's off like a shot. I feel like with the lessons I've given her so far in these past few days, she should be able to manage a mall fairly easily-or at least not burn it down. I myself intend to take full advantage of her absence to get some answers. Efficient Marco, go-time.
The Dojo is thankfully not that far into the mall, and I make it there without any troubles at all. It's shocking to have a straightforward, boring walk after the insanity of the last few days. No demons attacking, or monsters after the wand, or having to save Star from herself. It's so very quiet, if I ignore the distant screams, laser sounds, and explosions on the other side of the mall. Quiet enough that I actually think about the damage I've been doing to myself. In less than three days, I'm a heavy punch or two from being hospitalized for weeks, probably.
I told Star I can keep up with her-but is that really the case? I...think I might die, at this rate, before we can even fully explore Earth-much less the multiverse. This heat in my chest is my only hope of becoming the kind of person who can stand with Star in the face of all the chaos she brings to the table, and the adventure that comes with it. Even if Sensei doesn't have any answers for me, I have to master it. Completely.
As I make my way into the Dojo proper, I see Sensei working with a few younger students. Thankfully, my nemesis Jeremy doesn't appear to be here today. Makes sense-he makes it a point to train only on the days I usually do, and this is supposed to be an off day. Sensei himself quickly notices me, but holds up a hand, silently asking me to wait on this particular lesson to be over.
I settle in against the wall, ensuring a proper sitting posture even though I'm still in my jeans, sneakers, and hoodie. If there's a proper way to do things, you should do it that way, you know? I take the time while I wait to look over Sensei with a critical eye, wondering if there's some secret I've missed about him that would explain the current weirdness going on.
He's an older guy, by my standards at least. Probably close to forty? Latin, like me. He has a thin black beard, and bushy brown hair held up constantly by a red headband. He wears a black gi with the sleeves torn off, showing thickly muscled arms which I assume the rest of his body matches-I'd never gotten anywhere near close to beating him in a spar. Gold earrings, white wrist wrapped bandages, and a black japanese kanji tattooed on one of his arms complete the look. Come to think of it, I never did learn his name. He signs everything with, and only refers to himself as Sensei. Surely that can't be his legal name?
Damn it. Whats his secret? Why is he teaching this martial art that definitely isn't Karate in a -mall dojo- of all places? Does he have access to this mystical heartburn as well? I don't understand him at all, but I intend to squeeze the answers out of him this time by any means necessary.
His lesson eventually ends, and he tells the two young students (both white belts) to train on their own, before approaching me. "Marco Diaz. What brings you to the Dojo on your off day? The path of Ka-rah-teh requires much rest in between training sessions-especially since you aren't paying for more than the normal amount of days." His voice offers me no clues either, being the same southern californian drawl it's always been. He places the weird emphasis on the word Karate that he sometimes does, but that's nothing new-he's always kind of a drama queen.
Still, better to stick with his love for flair and 'tradition', since I'm here to ask a favor of the man. "Sensei! Student Marco Diaz greets you." I turn my kneeling/sitting position into a quick bow by planting my knuckles on the ground, then slowly rise to my feet with a wince. That 'proper sitting' is always awkward to get out of, especially with my injuries.
Injuries that Sensei's keen eyes quickly take note of, I imagine, from the look of disapproval he's giving my arms and chest. How he noticed them under my hoodie, I have no idea, but he's always been a weirdo. "Hmph. Looks like you've been on the wrong side of a beating. Here to ask for special lessons to get revenge? Sorry, but Karate cannot be rushed-especially without extra cash." He rubs his fingers together meaningfully.
I shake my head, then give a quick explanation of the past few days-trying to keep up with someone literally superhuman, fighting people way outside of my weight class, and heavy exercise in general bringing up the heartburn that he'd previously told me to ignore. I finish off by describing how the past few times I'd passed out from using it, and ask him "Please, Sensei. Help me master this feeling. I think I might quite literally die from how dangerous life is getting otherwise."
The man's eyes had been growing wider and wider at my story, before finally sighing at my request. "Idiot student. 'Master this feeling', like its something quite that simple." He mutters to himself for a few moments, then shrugs, admitting "I don't truly understand it myself, but now that you've felt its power, I'll tell you my theory: It is the Spirit of All Mall Karateka everywhere! The true essence of Ka-Rah-Teh!"
That… sounds dumb as hell. Is my Sensei just an idiot? I really hope I haven't made a mistake learning from him all this time. I keep my misgivings to myself as Sensei continues with "While I have no instructions for you to truly master it, I think I can stop the blackouts. Dress yourself in a Gi and meet me in the meditation room-we will unlock your essence completely. Free of charge, and definitely not because I'm scared of being sued for you getting hurt."
Oh well. Idiot or not, if he can fix me up, I'm willing to follow along. I wonder how Star is doing, and what sort of Chaos she's up to?