READ WHEN TWO WORLDS COLLIDE BEFORE READING THIS STORY!
Chapter 2: Magic Master Match-Off
"Come on, Star. You know you have to do it." Marco told Star as they both stood in the hallway of the Diaz residence.
"Do I have to? It can't wait one more month?" Star asked, feeling dismal.
"Staaaaaar?" Marco spoke. Star looked at Marco with glistening eyes, trying to make him feel bad and change his mind. Marco crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow, not falling for her adorable-looking face. Star let out a sigh, dropping her head in defeat.
"Fine." Star responded, turning to face the wall. She lifted her hand towards it. "Sparkle Glitter Bomb Expand." She spoke somberly as she did an unenthusiastic twirl. A shimmery pink shine came from Star's hand and hit the wall. Outside the house, a large, decorative tower appeared in an explosion of pink, glittery, magical dust. A door then appeared on the wall marked 'Star's room', 'Come in!', and 'No boys allowed...except Marco. I'm taken.' with a heart next to it. Star faceplanted right into it. Marco heard a loud bang from the impact.
"Star? This had to happen sooner or later. It was never a permanent thing, you know." Marco told her.
"But….but you're so far away now." Star said, pathetically reaching her hand out to Marco's door...which wasn't far away at all. Marco looked behind him, seeing what she was pointing to. Marco gave her a straight face.
"...Star?...It's only a few feet away." Marco told her. Star lifted herself off the door to look at her boyfriend.
"And I will say it again….too far." Star said in agony. "I mean, think about it! What if I get nacho cravings? What if I get cold and need one of your dozens of hoodies? What if I need your heartbeat as an anxiety reliever? What if a giant squid bear barges into the room and grabs me with its tentacle claws and takes me to the canals and I need you to save me with your soon-to-be abs?" Star asked.
"I'm not falling for your imaginary creature ploys, Star." Marco told her. Star shook her head in dismay.
"I got two words for you, Marco…..two words." Star gestured for him to come closer to her so she can whisper in his ear. Marco leaned his head closer to her. "Invisible. Goat." Marco immediately pulled his head back.
"Oh, come on! That's different!" Marco spoke loudly.
"Uh uh. No it's not. How do you know squid bears aren't real? You haven't been to the SeaBunny Dimension yet." Star told him.
"Uhh...yes I did….with Heckapoo." Marco told her.
"...you know, I expected a different response. You know, something like 'What kind of a name is SeaBunny Dimension?' or 'So what? Bunnies have fins and gills now?' or-" Star continued before Star interrupted.
"You know what? Nevermind." Marco said before Star engulfed him in a huge hug. Marco looked down at her and smiled. "Need me to get the stethoscope?" He asked.
"No. It's just that...I was with you almost every single minute. It's what I said I wanted when we were in that Tavern place. Whatever it's called." Star spoke.
"The Tavern at the End of the Multiverse?" Marco replied.
"Yeah. That. Dude, how do you remember that?" Star asked, looking up for a second.
"I asked if you wanted to try some of the pomegranate juice. You really missed out. I'll never forget that place." Marco said. "Anyway, we still spend...well...literally every day together now. We stayed in the same room at Eclipsa's for a while when we were looking for your mom before. Besides the fact that we're together now, how's it any different?"
"Nothing's different." Star spoke. She stayed silent for a moment. "You know the phrase 'You don't know what you had until it's gone?'" Star asked. "Well...I didn't know what I had till…" Star hesitated to finish that sentence.
"Star? Who said us spending time together was gone?" Marco wondered.
"Yeah. I know it's not gone but...I'm just so used to one thing changing and then the next and the next and then sooner or later, I guess I just worry that this...you know, us...is going to change too." Star told Marco. "Am I crazy? I must be crazy. Ugh. I don't know." Star covered her face in embarrassment.
"Aw, come on, Star. You know that would never happen." Marco said before taking his arms and wrapping them tighter around her. "You're stuck with me." He added with a kiss on the head. Marco thought to himself for a minute. "Besides, haven't you ever noticed that every time we're separated we always manage to run right back to each other?" Marco chuckled.
"Heh…" Star chuckled softly. "So we're like magnets." Star said. Marco pulled apart a bit to look at her.
"Wait, what?" Marco asked.
"Magnets, Marco. When you pull them apart, they come right back together." Star explained.
"See, now that makes more sense than squid bears." Marco chuckled, pulling her in closer again.
"Yeah. Uh-huh….you say that now but-" Star started. Marco suddenly let go of Star immediately.
"Oh my gosh! Star!" Marco exclaimed.
"What? What did I say? I didn't say anything." Star spoke, pretending to be aloof.
"No, not that! Oh, man! Why didn't I think of this before?" Marco asked himself, excitedly as if he made a huge discovery.
"Think of what before?" Star asked as she saw Marco run over to his room. "Marco? What are you doing?!" She added, following him. Marco stood in the doorway, excited as he shook his hands in preparation.
"Okay. Okay. Okay." Marco whispered to himself, getting himself ready for what he was about to do. He stood up straight and brought his hands back a bit. They began to glow.
"Marco?" Star called out.
"Sparkle Glitter Bomb Expand!" Marco exclaimed, thrusting his magical glowing hands towards his room…
...before a giant explosion sounded in a bright flashing light. The light diminished, making his room more visible. It was filled with gaping holes, charred, and on fire just slightly. Everything in his room was a complete disaster. Marco stood there with his mouth gaped. He couldn't believe what he just did. Star came behind Marco. Her eyes went wide.
"...I just thought that….if...if you could do it...then-" Marco stuttered.
"Woooooowww..." Star breathed. "...well, this is definitely worse than lighting a castle on fire." Star shook her head in disappointment. Star took her hands and cracked her knuckles.
"Sparkle Glitter Bomb Expand!" Star spoke as she twirled once more, turning Marco's room back to normal before taking his hand. "Alright, come on." She said as she took Marco's hand in hers.
"Wait. What? Where are we going?" Marco asked, being pulled by Star.
"It's about time you had some magic training." Star told him.
"Oh! Uh, then don't we need Glossaryk? Where is he?" Marco asked, looking around for Glossaryk.
"Aaaand why do we need him?" Star asked.
"He's the magic...training...guy. You know?" Marco explained.
"Who said he was going to train you?" Star asked. Marco suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Star? Are you saying that-" Marco asked.
"Yeah." Star replied.
"You're going to-" Marco added.
"Uh-huh." Star spoke.
"Okay. Look. You know I love you and that anything I tell you I say in the highest respect but...uh...you?" Marco pointed at her.
"I am fully capable of training someone in using their magic!" Star said to him.
"Are you reaallllyy though?" Marco questioned.
"Dude. What are you getting at?" Star asked.
"You don't know if anything will go all wrong! I really think Glossaryk should be with us juuuust in case." Marco wondered.
"You called?" Glossaryk spoke from behind them.
"AH!" Star shouted, swatting Glossaryk to the floor like a fly. Glossaryk groaned as Star gasped, seeing what she just did.
"Star!" Marco exclaimed, freaking out a bit that Star almost just 'exterminated' Glossaryk like some sort of pest.
"Oh, oh Glossaryk! I'm so sorry!" Star apologized.
"You know, it's times such as these that I wish I was back within your medulla oblongata." Glossaryk said to Star in an irritated tone, pointing to her skull.
"A lasagna what?" Star asked.
"It's a part of the brain, Star." Marco told her. Star glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "I uh….got an A in psychology. Heh." He spoke, rubbing the back of his neck. Star took her hands and picked Glossaryk up gently. "You okay?" Marco asked.
"Aside from Star almost breaking every bone in my body and crushing my very inner soul….I'm peachy." Glossaryk said. "You know...it wooouuuld help me if you got some puddin-"
"Noooo no no. I'm not falling for that again. Use your magic and get it yourself." Star told him, pointing over to the steps.
"That's a bit heartless." Marco mentioned.
"Dude? He's fooling you. He has magic. Duh." Star explained. Glossaryk let out a breath.
"I really thought it would work this time." Glossaryk said to himself before snapping his fingers, healing himself in a flash. "Well, back to the topic at hand. Did I hear that Marco needs some training from…" He cleared his throat. "...the master of magic himself?" Glossaryk asked, bowing in complete self-absorption...not realizing that his robe was about to fall down onto his face.
"Glossaryk! Cover that up!" Marco exclaimed. Glossaryk sat back up again.
"Not this time, bub. I'm training him." Star spoke. Glossaryk made sure he heard her correctly before suddenly bursting out in laughter. "What?" Star added in monotone.
"You? Training someone in the art of magic? Really? This is a joke right because I'll tell you. It's a good one! Ha!" Glossaryk laughed.
"Oh, like, what? You think I'm incapable?" Star asked, getting annoyed at Glossaryk's whole attitude.
"Says the star pupil who lit an entire castle on fire, turned your teacher into a troll, froze a helicopter in the sky, destroyed a police car twice, gave Marco a monster arm, destroyed Marco's room the first day you move in..." Glossaryk mentioned.
"Oooooh, I remember that one." Marco spoke.
"Wha-...but-...come on! You're on his side now?" Star asked. Marco placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Star? Again, you know I love you…..but you have to admit. You're accident-prone." Marco told her.
"But that's when I was new to magic!" Star told him.
"Except for the frozen helicopter." Marco pointed out.
"The point is that I am much better with magic now and I think I would be an expert magic trainer." Star spoke, ignoring the 'frozen helicopter' statement.
"Come on, guys. This whole argument's ridiculous. What are you going to do? Bet on who's the better magic trainer?" Marco asked. Star and Glossaryk turned to look at Marco. They smirked. "Aaaaaand this is the time when I should just not. say. anything." Marco added, facepalming.
"Alright. The rules are simple." Janna said, standing in front of Star, Marco, and Glossaryk. The group went outside to the backyard, where there was plenty of space for Marco to practice his magic.
"Janna…..why are you here? And where's Tom? I thought he'd be with you." Marco asked, standing in between Star and Glossaryk in complete confusion.
"You really think I can resist witnessing a magic competition? I thought you knew me better. I'm quite offended." Janna said as Marco rolled his eyes. "And Tom's having his monthly lunch date with his parents to talk about royal stuff...or whatever. Not my problem so I'm here to watch the brawl." Janna told him.
"What brawl? This isn't a brawl! Honestly, how did you even know this was happening?!" Marco asked. Janna suddenly put a finger to his lips to quiet him.
"Shhhhhh shh shh. Sometimes it's best for things to remain a mystery." Janna told him. Marco's eyes went wide. He took Janna's hand and moved it away from his mouth.
"Do you find joy and solace in freaking me out? I really want to know." Marco asked, a bit afraid.
"Okay, who's ready for the magic master battle!" Janna exclaimed in excitement, ignoring Marco's question. Marco made an irritated face at her. "Okay, let's all make sure to enact fair play here. No tricks or cheating." Janna explained.
"Oh, come on, Janna. That's beneath me." Star reassured her. "...not sure about this though."
"You think I'm that low to chea-" Glossaryk started.
"Yes." Star said.
"Smile!" Janna said, taking her phone and snapping a photo as the camera flashed.
"Janna? Why are you taking pictures of this?" Marco asked.
"Are you kidding? I want to remember this down the line!" Janna said. Marco rolled his eyes, not even surprised in the slightest.
"I can't believe my magic training is like a game show right now." Marco told himself as he facepalmed again. "Honestly? Why don't you guys just work together?"
"Come oooon, Marco. That's no fun." Janna told him. Marco, yet again, made an irritated look at her.
"Marcoooo...my booooo. I promise you. After today, your magic prowess will be…" Star kissed her fingers like a chef. "Sweet perfection." Marco blankly stared at her before letting out a breath.
"Oh boy." Marco breathed, looking up in the air.
"So who's gonna go first?" Janna started.
"Hey, kids! I brought out some snacks! I made tiny finger sandwiches!" Rafael, Marco's dad spoke coming out of the house into the backyard, holding a tray of little miniature sandwiches.
"NOSE GOES!" Star exclaimed as she placed her finger on her nose.
"Wha-? AH!" Rafael exclaimed as he freaked, bringing his hand close to his face to tap his nose, forgetting that he was holding a tray of food in his hand. His face became covered in sandwich guts.
"I'll uh...I'll take a sandwich." Marco told his father as he walked over to him, taking a squashed sandwich that miraculously stayed on the tray.
"You made the right choice to let me go first, Marco." Star spoke.
"Um...I didn't choose you...actually." Marco told her, standing in the middle of the backyard with Star a few feet away. Janna and Glossaryk stood back near the house, making sure not to get in the way.
"Hey. Glossaryk." Janna nudged Glossaryk. "Why aren't you going first?"
"What can I say?" Glossaryk responded as a levitating bowl of pudding floated in front of him. "Star was very persuasive." He shrugged.
"Whatever. "Janna spoke. "Wait. Are we even safe back here from all the magic stuff?" Janna asked.
"Well, I am but you're on your own, sport." Glossaryk told her.
"Staaaaaaarrr! Glossaryk's being mean! Take away his pudding!" Janna shouted so Star could hear. Star turned her head, seeing Janna pointing to Glossaryk.
"Say that again?" Star asked.
"Everything's fine over here! Continue your...um…'training', if you will." Glossaryk spoke loudly. He snapped his fingers, putting Janna in a strong metal box. The box had a hole for the eyes to look through.
"Happy now?" Glossaryk asked.
"Hmm...dark, cold, enclosed….this'll do." Janna told him calmly as her eyes peeked out of the rectangular hole on the box.
"Now, I think the whole solution to this problem is simple. You need to first work with something you're used to doing without magic." Star told him.
"Which iiiis what?" Marco asked.
"See that plate over there?" Star asked, pointing to her right. "With the nachos and um...and cheese...on top of it?" Star asked him with a smile.
"Yeeeeaaaahhh." Marco responded.
"...melt the cheese." Star told him.
"What?" Marco asked.
"Melt the cheese, Marco. Liquify that cheesy golden goodness!" Star replied. Marco peered his eyes at her.
"Is this just a ploy to get me to make you nachos?" Marco asked.
"Noooooooo no no no of course it isn't- yes." Star told him.
"Star!" Marco exclaimed.
"Come on! I know you've been making a lot of nachos lately but-" Star spoke.
"Three plates a day, Star! THREE PLATES A DAY! How can your stomach even tolerate that?!" Marco wondered.
"Behold the Mewman digestive system." Star said before letting out a burp. She cleared her throat a little. "Excuse me." She giggled. Marco crossed his arms and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Come ooon, Marco! This'll have to take a clear, focused mind to master. This is the training you need! Trust me on this!...and don't blow it up or light it on fire….lighting things on fire is my job." Star told him. Marco just stared at her with a raised eyebrow. "But...but don't you love me, Marco?" Star asked him as she batted her eyelashes and tried to look super cute.
"I can't believe I'm agreeing with you on this." Marco sighed. "Fine." He turned to the plate of nachos and un-melted cheese. He took a deep breath in and out before holding his hand out towards the plate.
"Now, clear your mind. Focus on the cheese. Keep your thoughts on-" Star started.
"Melting blast!" Marco exclaimed, interrupting Star. A blast of energy hit the plate, causing yet another explosion, turning both the nachos and cheese to charred bits. Star let out a breath.
"I was going to say, 'keep your thoughts on your power level'!" Star told him.
"How was I supposed to do that!?" Marco asked. Star walked over to the charred nachos and cheese.
"Rest in peace to the perfection that is nachos and cheese….hehe you know if you say rip instead of rest in peace and you say rip the cheese it sounds like a fart?" Star giggled.
"That's cut the cheese, Star…..and frankly that's gross." Marco told her.
"Hmmm...this is going well." Glossaryk spoke sarcastically as he put a spoon of pudding in his mouth. "Need some help there, Star?" Glossaryk asked Star with a smirk.
"You? Zip it." Star snapped at him, pretending to zip her lips.
"Uh, Star? Wasn't this supposed to be a competition? Wait. Wait. Marco? Stop talking. Stop talking. Don't make it worse." Marco stopped himself.
"But I didn't teach him anything!" Star whined to Glossaryk.
"Star? Do you want me to not make any nachos for a whole week?" Marco asked her, treating her as if he was the adult in this conversation.
"But...but you wouldn't." Star gasped.
"Oh, I would." Marco replied. "Now go stand over with Janna." Marco finished before Star crossed her arms and walked to Janna, standing next to her.
"Hey...want a turn?" Janna asked, pointing to the box.
"Nahhh I'm good." Star said, holding her hands up in rejection.
"Now, clear the mind of all distractions." Glossaryk said as he and Marco sat cross-legged on the soft green grass. Lemongrass-scented lit candles surrounded them, creating a meditative atmosphere. "Release all of the inner tension you have at this present moment." Marco opened his eyes.
"Glossaryk tried this with me when I was first learning magic. If it didn't work for me it definitely won't work for Marco." Star told Janna, smirking as she watched Glossaryk's attempt at training Marco in the magic arts.
"Um...shouldn't that be the other way around, Star?" Janna asked.
"I don't know what you mean." Star shrugged.
"Now, visualize your magic as a squid-bear corn-powered hydration system." Glossaryk told him as he took his hands and used magical dust to create an image of what he was talking about.
"Ha! I told you they're real!" Star exclaimed in pride.
"A what now?" Marco asked, totally confused.
"Right. You're not from Mewni. Now, let me see…" Glossaryk thought of something Marco knows well. "Here. Imagine your magic as your car." Glossaryk told him, making an image of Marco's blood moon red Hidasta Dusk appear.
"Now her I know." Marco told him.
"Mmm yes. Well, think of your magical power as the pedal. Visualize yourself pushing that pedal, controlling how much of your contained magic flows out of your system." Glossaryk explained.
"Ohhhhh. That actually makes sense…" Marco's eyes went wide. "Wait. Woah. You made sense?! Why don't you make sense like this more often?!" Marco asked.
"My job isn't to make sense. My job...is to train and prepare." Glossaryk told him, taking his hands and putting them together, bowing.
"Shouldn't I also be, you know, actually using magic too? Like, applying what you tell me by practicing it?" Marco asked.
"Like what I've been teaching him? Yeah!" Star exclaimed.
"You fail to understand that the mind influences one's response. Both intertwine...or cleave. Get it? Because you cleaved your worlds and-...um..." Glossaryk noticed no one was laughing. "The point is that if you can't control the mind, you can't control the power."
"Which takes PRACTICE." Star reiterated loudly.
"Seriously. Why don't you guys just work toge-" Marco asked until he was interrupted.
"You really think you know more than me?" Glossaryk asked.
"I'll buy you a fridge worth of pudding if I fail." Star told him.
"Hey! That's with my money, you know!" Marco mentioned. Glossaryk looked over at Marco.
"Good luck, sport." Glossaryk said before floating away. Marco sighed.
"Alright, Marco. I believe that in order to maintain complete control of your magical prowess, you must be faced with a situation of ultimate periiiiil. Mwahaha." Star said menacingly. Next to her was a box covered with a cloth. Behind her was something gigantic, which is also covered with a cloth. She took the cloth next to her in her hands and lifted it, revealing Marco's wallet from Quest Buy. Marco yelped in a high pitch.
"Ah! Not my baby blue!" Marco exclaimed.
"That's right! You'll need to save your wallet from the untampered doom that I call…" Star took the cloth behind her and lifted it, revealing a Rube-Goldberg machine, a contraption that takes a million steps, using bells, whistles, and a ton of other items, to perform one function, which in this case, is destroying Marco's wallet to smithereens. "...the pressure cooker!"
"Pressure cooker? But...Star? A pressure cooker is a type of pot. You've seen me make nacho cheese with it." Marco told her.
"Ah ah ah! That's where you're wrong!" Star spoke.
"Um...I'm not wrong." Marco replied.
"...okay you're not wrong but this?" Star pointed to the contraption. "This cooks up the pressure inside you! Ha!" Star told Marco as she pointed at him.
"You wouldn't dare." Marco said as he peered his eyes.
"Oh, I would. Pressure is the best motivator." Star told him.
"No, it's not." Glossaryk spoke.
"Shut iiiit." Star snapped.
"So couldn't I just make it explode? How does this help with magic control?" Marco asked.
"Well, if you blow up the pressure cooker, you blow up your wallet AND you blow me up." Star told him.
"Right." Marco spoke.
"So the way to stop the pressure cooker is to focus your aim riiiiiiight here." Star said, twirling her finger in a circle before pointing it at a box of Captain Blanch's Sugar Seeds. A bowl was beneath it. Marco knew what she was trying to do.
"Star!" Marco exclaimed.
"Fine! Fine. Aim it at this dentist plushie." Star said as she waved her hand, turning the box into a dentist plushie.
"Wait but...why a denti-" Marco started.
"Focus Marco! Make the evil tooth picker perish!" Star told him.
"You know, you wouldn't hate the dentist as much if you didn't eat so many sweets!" Marco spoke.
"No time for arguing! Go!" Star shouted before starting the contraption by pulling a string, allowing a golf ball to be released, rolling down a wooden board until it reached a cup, which after being knocked over, pushed over a few dominoes. One after the other, a part of the machine activated, making the utter demise of Marco's wallet inch closer and closer. Marco panicked.
"Ah! Um...okay, Marco. Focus. Focus! Hands up!" Marco said as he thrust his hands towards the dentist plushie. Suddenly, Glossaryk spoke.
"It's not going to work!" Glossaryk exclaimed. Marco turned around, hearing his voice.
"Wha?" He sounded as the magic left his hands, aiming at Star.
"Ah!" Star yelped, ducking as the magic went across the yard and over the fence, hitting someone else's yard.
"Francis! No more action movies! Remember your blood pressure!" An older woman said from a few blocks down.
"Sorry!" A man, probably Francis, said shortly after. Star turned around slowly with an angry look on her face.
"What….THE HECK!" Star shouted.
"Woah woah wait! I'm didn't mean to-" Marco started before Star passed by him. "Huh?" Marco sounded as he realized that she was actually talking to Glossaryk.
"You did that on purpose; distracting Marco like that! You want to win! You're making sure I fail!" Star exclaimed.
"I was only speaking the truth. Even if I didn't interrupt, it would've failed all on its own." Glossaryk said.
"Oh really? Like your grand idea of just sitting in the middle of the yard meditating was so ingenious!" Star retorted as she pointed to the yard.
"Guys? This is ridiculous." Marco spoke calmly.
"No, no wait. Keep it going. This is getting good." Janna said as she set her camera to video recording.
"Really, Janna? Really?!" Marco spoke loudly. "And wait. How'd you get out of the box?" He asked. Janna reached in her pocket and took out a mini laser-cutter. "Where'd you even get that?!" Marco wondered.
"Do you really believe that this is the best way to train him?" Glossaryk asked, floating near the Rube-Goldberg machine, pointing his hand to it. "Marco needs to train his mind to handle tension; to destress himself when situations turn sour, which is not what you're preparing him for." Glossaryk explained.
"And you think preventing Marco from practicing his magic is any better?!" Star questioned, turning to look at Glossaryk.
"Seriously. Just stop fighting." Marco asked a little bit louder. He was starting to get tense. His hands started to glow a bit with magical power.
"I have thousands of more years of training in magic than you. What do you know? How to create a flying cloud." Glossaryk mocked.
"Hey! Don't make fun of Cloudy! Waaiiiit a minute. Let's remember what you've done with your magic. Oh, that's right. You created the Magical High Commission! What did they do huh? Lied to the entire royal family and sat on their lazy butts when Mina was putting Mewman's lives in danger!" Star snapped back.
"Burrrrnnnn!" Janna sounded, realizing how big of a retort that was.
Marco was to the point where he couldn't handle it anymore.
"CAN EVERYONE JUST STOP!" Marco shouted in anger, taking his arms and swinging them aggressively outward in anger. Magic from his hands shot out forward.
"Duck!" Star shouted. Everyone took cover near the ground as the magic flew from Marco's hands all the way to Star's contraption. The Pressure Cooker started to glow.
"Ohhhhhh no. That's not good!" Marco spoke. Suddenly, the contraption started to shift.
Marco brought The Pressure Cooker to life.
"I got this!" Star told her friends...and Glossaryk. She got her magical powers ready as her hands bore fists. She thrust her arms forward. "Narwhal bla-AH!" The contraption grabbed her in its grasp. "Let go of me!"
"Star!" Marco shouted. Star tried to slip out of the contraption's hold, but she couldn't. Her arms were plastered to her sides from all the force of its grip. She couldn't use her magic to save herself. Marco turned to Glossaryk.
"Can I have a little help here?!" Marco asked as he turned around, seeing Glossaryk dive into a giant bowl of pudding.
"Mmm...hazelnut bliss." Glossaryk spoke.
"Well, thank you so much!" Marco said sarcastically. "Janna?"
"Why are you looking at me? I don't have magic!" Janna told him.
"Magic." Marco said to himself. His eyes lit before he took a glance at his hands. "Oh, man!" Marco said nervously. He moved his eyes to look at the living contraption, who still had a tight hold of Star. Suddenly, the Pressure Cooker tried to take a swing at Marco.
"Woah-oh!" Marco sounded as he tucked and rolled, avoiding the impact.
"Marco! Use your magic! Do that explodey thing!" Star told him.
"I can't! You said that would blow you up!...and my wallet but mainly you!" Marco told her. Suddenly, the contraption tightened his grip even more.
"Ah! Quit it you hunk of junk!" Star spoke. Marco panicked. He looked around for something to fix the whole problem…
...until he caught sight of the dentist plushie.
"That's it." He said to himself. He closed his eyes.
Now, clear the mind of all distractions.
"Clear the mind." Marco said to himself.
Release all of the inner tension you have at this present moment.
"Release my inner tension." Marco added. He opened his eyes.
Focus, Marco!
"Focus." Marco spoke. He lifted his hands, aiming them at the dentist plushie.
Pressure is the best motivator.
"Use pressure as motivation." Marco spoke to himself one more time.
His intent focus made the world around him quiet.
He was calm, prepared, and ready.
"Samurai Sword Strike!" Marco shouted. A multitude of samurais made of reddish dust came from Marco's hands with swords, charging at the Pressure Cooker, throwing ancient-looking swords and knives at the dentist plushie, stabbing it right on target. "Yes!" Marco spoke, taking his hands in a fist and pulling his arms into his chest. The contraption started to shiver and quake before it began to fall apart.
"Oh no!" Marco said, realizing he was in the crash zone. He ran away from the contraption as fast as he could. Pieces came tumbling down to the ground as the contraption broke into tons of pieces. Its grip on Star loosened as Star fell to the ground. Marco ran over to her, making sure she was unharmed.
"Star! You okay? I didn't mean to bring it to life. I was just so frustrated that you guys were fighting and-" Marco spoke. Suddenly, Star jumped on him.
"You did it! You did it! You did it!" Star said as she repeatedly kissed his cheek. She then stopped, realizing something. "Ha! I told you what I planned would work!" She exclaimed, looking at Glossaryk.
"Actually...um...that's not entirely accurate." Marco said to her. Star gave him the stink eye.
"...what…" Star spoke in a monotone. She pulled apart from him.
"No no! You don't get it. You did help me with it! But...so did Glossaryk." Marco told her. Star blankly stared at him.
"Um…...what?" Star repeated.
"This is why I wanted you guys to work together; because you both had something I needed to learn. I needed to clear my head and release all the tension but I also needed to be able to practice and apply it. So...yeah. You guys both helped me out, I guess." Marco explained.
"So...what does that mean?" Star asked.
"Well, I guess this whole competition comes to a draw? I think?" Marco said questionably.
"Oh. Well...I can live with that." Star shrugged.
"We can let bygones be bygones." Glossaryk added. "If you give me some more puddin-"
"Dude. Why are you so obsessed with pudding today?" Marco wondered.
"So...wait. No one won? I got all this footage for nothing?!" Janna asked, holding up her camera. She threw her camera to the ground and stepped on it, breaking it into pieces. Everyone stared at her as she walked away in irritation.
"Is she-" Glossaryk wondered.
"Don't even bother. I think Tom's rubbing off on her." Marco told him.
CHAPTER 3 COMING SOON!
Hey guys! So I feel like I should explain why this chapter took so dang long to post. To make a long story short, I've had a LOT of life stuff happening lately. There's been a lot of things going on with my family, I've been applying to jobs to make some cash, I've been working on improving my mental health (like anxiety and depression and all that), and a ton of other things. I did also have some trouble writing this chapter. You know those times when you know everything that's going to happen in a chapter and then you come to the in-between parts of the chapter and all the dialogue and don't have a clue what to write? Well, that kind of happened. This was a difficult chapter. Still, though! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I had fun writing it! The soonest I'll have chapter 3 done is probably in 2 weeks since life stuff is starting to calm down. Thanks for being patient with me, guys!
Oh! And if you guys want continuous updates on how I'm doing with writing out the story, you can follow my Twitter and Instagram KPRS4ever! I always post on those so if there's anywhere you can find answers to when chapters are being posted and how I'm doing, my social media would be the best place!