Vestiges

Hope you've all enjoyed making merry for the holidays. Welcome back.

Suffice to say, reading over the previous chapter, I'm a bit displeased with it although it's been well received by some. I essentially wrecked my plans to keeping his development slow, but there's not much I can do about it now. I'm going to tide over that change in this chapter, rather than take down chapter seven completely and replace it. After all, this is an 'Evil' Marco fic, so he was going to get to this point anyway. I'm just glad that there was a decent enough time-skip before he did this.

But yes, people I almost spelled out why he's been having those anger-episodes, on why he's so out-of-character.

I wrote that he's been on earth for six months; he'd been on earth from (early) January to June. Time to look at a few characters with a magnifying glass for a bit.

8.

"After that, he just walked away."

Janna didn't react, leastwise, not verbally. The look on her face, however, reflected a horrid fascination, and Jackie couldn't help but wonder why. Was she intrigued by this?

"He just walked away, Janna, as if he didn't even care about what he did! It's like he was just kicking something out of his way without even paying it a second mind. In the end, I just called the cops, and they sent an ambulance for the guy. I've never before seen an ambulance drive so fast just to get someone to the hospital."

"It was that bad?"

"Janna, I swear…" Jackie tried to steady her nerves by taking deep breaths. "Marco beat the guy almost to death. Maybe he would've done it if I hadn't come along. The police even asked me if I saw who nearly killed the mugger. It was that serious! I just told them that I found the guy like that."

Janna could see that the normally settled teen was rapidly becoming disheveled and tried to picture the scene in her head, only for the sake of not asking Jackie to describe it. She herself wanted to glean all the information she could before Jackie could incur some sort of P.T.S.D., that is if she hadn't already. "I believe you, and you did the right thing telling the cops. I don't think we'd want him to end up in jail, or even worry his parents. Geez, it's like every time he comes back from Mewni, he starts to act in some bizarre way."

"I know, right? I prefer the time when he wore the cape than how he's acting now. At least back then, no one had to worry about getting hurt whenever he gets angry. You've been to Mewni, right? Don't you know what happened?"

"I already told you about what happened on Stump Day. He came in with Star's birthday gifts as if he just walked out of a war-zone. She didn't really accept his gifts-"

"So that's why he's angry at Star?" Jackie interrupted as she thought about his most common trigger-topic. "Is that why he freaks out whenever someone mentions anything about her? But she's his best friend-"

"You're not listening; I mentioned that he was looking like he fought some kind of a one-day war. He was already acting super strange before and when he came to the birthday party. That's why I don't think it's about Star, or at least not entirely about her," Janna reasoned. "But it's my guess that she and her family must've kicked him out, 'cause he didn't come back with anything that I could see when I snuck into his room a few months ago. Maybe they got fed up with him or something."

"Easy to see why. It's like I don't know him anymore. It might as well be a complete stranger wearing his face." Jackie's frown marred her features as she slumped against the foot of Janna's bed. "It was scary, you know? To see him like that."

Janna became thoughtful as she considered this and all the other times she'd seen Marco lose control of his emotions. "I've been keeping tabs on him."

"When have you not?"

Janna shrugged as if she didn't care. "Point taken. But the thing is, after the first few times, I started to notice things about Marco whenever he gets pissed. You know what a mood ring is, right?"

"One of those rings that people claim change color based on how they felt?"

"Exactly." Janna leaned back in her chair in an effort to get comfortable as she readied herself to spill her theories and observations. "I've noticed how the crescents on his cheeks look like they're glowing when he's about to go overboard. Even the tiny black lines in 'em look like they're pulsing."

The Thomas scratched her head as she thought back to what she'd seen on the day before. "Hmm…" Throughout all of her haphazard recollections, she tried to focus on any memories she had of his face whenever he got angry. While she couldn't admit that she saw the crescents glowing, she could acknowledge that they seemed to stand out more profoundly on his face in these instances, even during the occurrence yesterday. "I can't believe that I didn't notice anything that before until you mentioned it. But I wouldn't really call it 'glowing'. Maybe it's because I wasn't looking out for it, so I can't say for sure."

"Well, they do. Anyway, those marks must've gotten on his face after Stump Day when I wasn't there, but I think they've got something to do with magic if they respond to his feelings. I mean, whenever I think about the hearts on Star's cheeks or the diamonds on her mom's face, I definitely feel like some magic-related is messing with him. It's the only real theory I've got left, 'cause all of the solutions I have about 'earthly' problems aren't adding up. Maybe he's even possessed by a ghost or demon. It's not impossible, right?"

"Possessed?" Jackie looked at Janna as if she'd sprouted a second head. "Are you serious? Ghosts and demons?" She couldn't very well say that she was a believer, although things tended to run bizarre ever since Star first dropped into their lives.

Janna shook her head before reaching for a paddle-ball she kept on her desk and began to play with it. "We're talking about Marco nearly killing a guy. At this point, everything must be possible; am I right or am I right?"

"Since it's a magical problem, can't we just call Star to fix him or something?" Jackie was clutching at straws by now-… of course, she was already aware of a negative answer, but Janna wanted to be able to tell her some sort of good news. These had been a trying six months, and judging from what Jackie had informed her, things had gone from bad to worse as far as Marco was concerned. Over time, the distance between him and his friends had formed but instantly, and grew seemingly larger by the day. The more they tried to reach out to him, both friends and family, the more he shut them out. Most of his answers were condescending and were short and curt at best. Most of his time was spent privately, either in some sort of physical training as he's taken to in recent times or in meditative exercises.

Marco wasn't exactly popular in the school largely due to his 'safe-kid' status, and it would have been marginally expected if he had tried to salvage all the bonds he had. Sadly, he had no intention of doing so, and they'd all been ousted out of his life. By this point, Janna was nearly of the idea that Marco was only content with being by himself and only lived in his parent's house simply because he was a minor. The only way for the reverse to happen, apparently, was if the person who was interested in Marco's welfare avoided anything tantamount to the topic of Star and magic. In other words, avoid infuriating him, and you stayed on his good side.

But in all things considered, Janna didn't care if she stayed on his good side or not; she was only interested in sorting the Diaz out. It had been puzzling-… her only line to get to the solution of what she thought was the problem, Star Butterfly that is, was cut off especially since Marco was not in possession of his scissors. This was scandalous in and of itself, and as she told Jackie before, Marco had returned to Earth with absolutely nothing; not even his room was where it used to be. She didn't know if this was willingly or accidental, but it wasn't serving their cause any good. Something was wrong with Marco, something magic-related to be sure. But they had no way of arriving at a treatment, not unless someone from Mewni (preferably Star) contacted them from her end.

That's all she'd done until now. That's what they had all done. Sit, wait and hope.

It made her feel useless.

Janna shook her head. As for how things were going now, both Jackie and herself were the only ones who still believed, who still looked forward to seeing the Marco they'd come to know and appreciate. Their reasons were varied, yet still the same. This new Marco was unwelcome in their lives, and they desired the original-… if anything could be said as clear-cut as that.

But Jackie was apparently giving up. Perhaps now, Janna realized, that she herself was the last. She was the only one who still believed that the original Marco was still there, like a rose amidst a pile of garbage. He was still there, wasn't he?

"We can't call Star from here. She'll have to be the one to contact us, even though it's kinda strange that she hasn't even checked up on anyone by calling 'till now. All we can really do is to just try to hold out until she calls-… if she ever does. It's either that, or we can just stop chickening out and confront Marco on his behavior ourselves."

"So… what? Do we keep hoping that things get better? That he won't get any worse?"

"Look, Marco is-"

"That's not Marco. Not anymore."

It came with sharp finality as if Jackie was stating a fact. Janna's eyes narrowed as she felt her annoyance spike in response.

"Get off your damn high horse."

Jackie's eyed widened in surprise. "Huh?"

"That's still Marco." The Ordonia got up out of her seat and threw open her windows, allowing some brighter light inside the dim room. Pointing out in the distance up the road, she gestured at Marco's house. "He's always been Marco, and he's never been perfect. He's not above making bad decisions, just like the rest of us. Jackie, I know that you've been cheating off of Alphonso's tests whenever you feel like you don't know enough to pass," she accused simply, ignoring Jackie's shocked expression of having been found out. "And me? I'm a damn kleptomaniac, and I'll be lucky to get through high school without anyone trying to send me to juvie. Marco's going through changes, we can see that… we know that. But are we just going to sit here and bitch about how he's acting up, or are we gonna do something about it?"

Jackie didn't answer. In a huff, Janna stomped over to her door and grabbed the doorknob and yanked the door open.

"You coming?"

"…"

"Should've figured that you wouldn't. You can just sit around and cling to whatever kinds of fantasies you have of him in your head. Keep your memories of him." Janna cut her eyes at the teen in exasperation as she started to walk through the door. Jackie remained silent as she contemplated whether or not any good would come from challenging Marco on his newfound mentality and felt disgusted at her own hesitation. There was no easing to be found from Janna, as she was bold and unforgiving in her rebuke. It only served to make Jackie feel smaller and self-doubting, not to mention guilty, as she knew that the punk had hit the nail right on the head. "Jackie… You'd better not be here when I get back."

"Wait…"

Janna stopped in her tracks, held in place by the small, profound word.

"What is it?" The punk teen looked back just in time to see Jackie rise to her feet, with a clearly apprehensive look on her face. No doubt, she was anxious, but the dregs of whatever confidence she used to have did wonders for her conviction.

"…I'm coming."


In a small bedroom, a fiery portal opened, out of which two figures stepped out of. Hekapoo looked about carefully as she adjusted her burden slumped with an arm over-around her neck before accepting that the room was completely clear of any prying eyes. With that done, she approached the bed and dropped an unconscious Higgs into it unceremoniously before plopping herself into the chair at the bedside. As development would indicate, Higgs began to stir and soon opened her eyes, only to moan as soon as she realized that she was looking up at her ceiling.

"What the-? Oh, damn." Higgs tried to lean up but found that she could hardly even muster up the strength to. "How long did I last this time…?"

"Better than last time. You lasted for six years and managed to blow out twenty-six flames of my clones," Hekapoo informed simply. "Kinda far behind the progress record, if you ask me. Honestly, if it were any less than that, and it would have been a waste of my time."

Higgs groaned in frustration. "I can do this!" With a sullen look, Hekapoo shook her head as she prepared herself to dash the squire's hopes.

"You can't do this. This was your eighth try, and all of your years are racking up in my dimension. When you collapsed, it was obvious that you're burnt out. Both physically and mentally. You're more than likely to end up brain-dead on your next attempt rather than completing the task. Even if you managed to earn them, what's to stop you from suffering a horrible mental backlash when you return to Mewni, hmm?"

In response to this, Higgs strained to raise her upper torso to stare Hekapoo dead in the eyes. "I'm gonna earn my scissors."

"Are you even hearing me-"

"I'm… going… to… earn… my… scissors." Every word was said with the utmost credo and self-belief, letting the demigoddess know that the squire wasn't ready to give up, perhaps never. But the fact still remained-… she was unable to earn her scissors, not for lack of will, for she had that in heaps. What she lacked, however, was the faculty, skill, and resourcefulness to complete the herculean objective. Marco, while starting out in a similar area of development as she did, had snuffed out hundreds of clones in record time, and Higgs found it hard to vanquish the minimum of a full hundred.

"Look, Higgs. I sympathize with you and all, but you can't even blow out a hundred flames, and the only workaround is if you blow out my flame instead. I can't make it any easier for you, or the others in the Magic High Commission would only see it as me playing buddy-buddy and giving handouts. I'm already looking bad enough as it is."

"I know that." Higgs looked away, not wanting the divinity to see that she was close to tears. The strain and repercussions of trying to accomplish what felt like a hopeless task was catching up with her. Every part of her ached, but nothing hurt worse than her deep disappointment. "I'll just try again."

"And in my good consciences, I can't consent to another one of your attempts."

"What…? I can-"

"No." The word was final and ultimate; and it served to remind Higgs that she wasn't talking to a friendly associate, but rather a full-fledged demigoddess of the M.H.C. "No, you can't. Another attempt is the same as committing suicide. Given the requirements to actually get through that scrum and live, you'd have to blow out my flame within a year at the most. That's next to impossible, and truth be told, it's next to impossible for people more capable than you. No offense meant, I'm just stating facts."

Higgs covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her crestfallen look. "But I want… no, I need dimensional scissors."

"You don't," Hekapoo remarked as smoothly as silk, "you just want to see Marco. The scissors are just a tool to make that happen. After that, the scissors would only pad your ego. But let's face it. You two aren't the same, and you're not able to accomplish the same things. He's good at some things, you're good at other things. Beating my challenge, however, is not one of them."

"How could he do it, and I can't?" Higgs argued. "I mean, I've been a squire for years, and I'll soon be eligible to be knighted. I'm fit, I can fight, and I can think. What made him so special that he could earn his scissors and I can't? Some stupid crap like destiny?"

"I dunno. People just aren't made the same, nor do they think the same," Hekapoo pontificated. "It doesn't matter. You can't, and that's that. Listen… if it means that much to you, I could open up a portal to Earth. Just for appearance's sake, I myself can't go there. But doesn't mean I can't toss you a bone, right?"

"Wouldn't you get into trouble?" Higgs asked out of curiosity, surprised that the Vulcan scissor-maker would go that far for her.

"I would get into trouble… if I get caught."

Both the squire and the divinity shared a look, one of empathetic and kindred understanding. Soon, to Hekapoo's surprise, Higgs declined.

"I'd prefer to get there on my own steam. Besides, I've seen Omnitraxus and the others, and they're kinda stern. I wouldn't want them to start cussin' ya if they found out. They're already giving you a hard time as it is, just like you've said before."

"I can handle it. I don't need you to worry about me. It's not like they're my dad or anything." Hekapoo smirked impishly. "On the other hand, I'd start thinking about why you want to see Marco so badly. Attachment issues? More-than-just-a-friend? Or… a crush-"

"Let me stop you right there." Higgs held up her hands in objection, waving them wildly. "Not a boyfriend… not at all. I don't like him. At least, not like that."

"Is that why you've been trying so hard to earn your scissors? Just to see an old face? Kinda far-fetched, if you ask me."

"Well, I'm TELLING you that there's nothing between us." With her piece said, Higgs allowed her head to hit the pillows. Hekapoo wouldn't allow her to have the final word, though.

"I know. But I can see it. There's nothing between the two of you. But you want something to be." Higgs didn't rise to reply; instead, she finally allowed her sheer fatigue to lull her into slumber. Now alone by way of wakefulness, Hekapoo was left to her thoughts as she studied the squire. At first, she'd thought that it was strange that a seemingly random person could be so fervent in her defense of Marco and truth be told, she thought that it still was. The squire before her was probably an orphan from the common stock of Mewni and due to a large caseload of responsibilities, had little time for friends. Her time of friendship with Marco had only spanned a few months. This was actually brief but as is usually the case, homely and plain individuals tended to cling to whoever gave them enough time and attention. At an early point, Higgs had already latched on to the Diaz-… be it whatever aspect of him…- and already became keen on him without even realizing it. Certainly not love, but she was already more than a little fond of Marco.

Hekapoo had always prided herself on her knowledge of sociology; interactions, relationships and mentality patterns. In fact, she considered it almost as important as her job of being the Dimensional-Scissor Forger for the multiverse. Simply put, someone had to be, when all of her colleagues were about as socially adept as rocks. They were too-literal beings, and Hekapoo's office demanded that she be able to screen those who'd be capable of earning and wielding dimensional scissors. Nay, in all these things, she couldn't help but present herself in a mirror and observed whether or not why she'd even bond with Higgs over Marco. Of course, she still had misgivings over what was (in all intents and purposes) his banishment, but that would mean that she held her opinions of him higher than that of the rest of the M.H.C.

What would drive her to that point?

Thinking back to the histories that she and Marco shared, Hekapoo could see that she amalgamated and meshed with him well, even more so than anyone else in all of her millennia. He wasn't one of a kind, that was sure; other people shared qualities like him. Some had the drive, some had good-enough looks, others had considerate outlooks and yet another few held appeal, just like he did. There wasn't anything to really ruminate on.

Then why was he still on her mind, even when he wasn't around? Hadn't she moved on? Looking down at Higgs who was weary from her most recent efforts from garnering dimensional scissors, it was in the revelation that Hekapoo realized that she was just like the squire-… she hadn't moved on. In fact, from a certain perspective, she could see that both her and Higgs were far too similar in the same regards. Hekapoo still entreated to the others in the Magical High Commission that they should at least return his things (none moved a positive vote in her favor), she disliked the developing state of affairs and now, she was harboring thoughts of treasonous behavior. That is, to simply give Higgs a pair of scissors secretly, or to portal Marco's things to him.

Who was Marco Diaz that she'd meander away from her core responsibilities?

Nonetheless, whether she was actually devoted to him or just being overprotective, she needed to get herself together. Right… she was an independent-… IS an independent. She had a life, didn't she? She should just live hers and allow Marco to live his.

Who would have known that the scrawny kid she first met abusing her scissors would end up having such a hold on her?


Marco washed his hands for the umpteenth time, scrubbing at them with the steel wool. It did little for his culpability, and he still believed that he could see blood spatters all over his hands. Deciding to wash them again, he picked up the bar of soap that he'd nearly whittled entirely due to his nervous actions, rubbed it in his hands to produce lather and washed his hands again. Ending a few minutes later, the boy groaned in disgust as he looked at his hands.

"I can still see the blood… why can't I wash them clean…?"

"That's just guilt, Marco. You've been clean since yesterday. It would be fair to mention that I cautioned you. You've been a slave to your emotions, particularly that of frustration."

"Frustration?"

"Frustration," Appendaxuz reaffirmed, "which stems from your anger and disappointment of being stranded on Earth with seemingly no way of ever getting back to Mewni, much less to the Wellspring."

"…" Marco shakily sat on his mattress as he recalled the happenings of the past six months. "I guess I am miffed about it. But I've kept blowing my cool too much. It's like… adrenaline or something. Every time someone pisses me off, it's like I turn into a miniature version of Hulk-man, from my comics. I mean, I could've knocked out the mugger with a single chop to the neck. Hell, if I wanted to take it a little farther, I would've punched him in the liver and then he'd be too weak to even stand straight for a few minutes. Instead, he probably ended up being sent to an emergency room… why the hell would I take it so far?! No… it's not my fault. He's just a deadbeat who tried to rob me… he attacked me first, and I warned him NOT TO!"

"Do not punish yourself, Marco," the entity consoled, "it was he who tried to take that which was not his, and it was he who first drew blood."

"But if I could go so far to beat up a mugger…" Marco said lowly in horrible revelation, "then how far am I willing to go if someone actually fights me? How far would I go if the people on Mewni try to kill me? Would I just kill them preemptively?"

Deep inside, Appendaxuz cursed to himself. It was he who had been stage-managing quite a few of Marco's emotions, that of the angst variety, in an effort to ensure that Marco would be able to get through conflicts against those he used to be close to. Affronting enemies, he believed, would be far easier if his host was given to anger against them, rather than any sort of forgiveness and mercy. It would be a great misstep if he hesitated, perhaps, if he fought the Butterfly family and their associates. And what of Star herself? Would Marco allow her to bash him, to knock him around? It was a chance he couldn't take… no, a chance he refused to take. This could very well be his final attempt to destroy the Wellspring, and he wanted every variable in the crusade to be accounted for.

He'd thought of simply removing core aspects from Marco, that is, emotions and memories of the brighter bandwidth of his character. Appendaxuz thought of those as a last resort and unnecessary for the time being. Marco was already holding ill-will for everyone who affronted him on Mewni, and thanks to his change in perspective thinking, Marco had firm belief that that the M.H.C. and the Butterfly family were the roots of iniquity. Marco's passion and drive, coupled with this belief, would be sure to see his campaign through.

The only problem was that of guilt. It was a crippling facet, and it was the one thing that Appendaxuz didn't take into consideration. He had not thought that Marco would suffer from it if he bloodied his hands. It was something that could be solved over time before his container became too unforthcoming and reserved from action.

For now, Marco was already beginning to suffer the effects of a sullied conscience, and he needed to ease it. He was always a logical person, and a well-reasoned explanation could go a long way.

Even if it was false.

"Marco, imagine yourself as a bottle with a narrow neck. Your emotions are inside, and everything that pours forth is a controlled amount which is all you're permitting to show."

"Uh-huh. So I have more control when I'm like that, right? But what does that mean-"

"Please allow me to finish,"Appendaxuz interrupted sternly. "Since removing your limits for self-augmentation, your inhibitions and your control were also lost, due to the fact that you've been granted a limitless potential. How does one pour a measured amount of water directly from the sea?"

Marco was horrified. "Then how the hell can I fix it?"

Appendaxuz knew that the boy couldn't, but it would be crucial for him to believe that he could and that he'd improve his situation. Not to mention that it was the entity himself who would be micromanaging the 'problem'; that is, to rid him of being able to feel guilt and suffer from an overbearing conscience. Entirely.

But Marco didn't need to know this, Appendaxuz thought with a grin.

"More meditation is required. That's all you can do to 'fix' it. Concurrently, I shall endeavor to-"

A sudden knock came at the door, interjecting the being's line of speech. With a shrug of resignation, Marco heaved himself from off of his mattress to get up to answer the door. He didn't bother to call out to the newcomer, as he'd thought it was one of his parents. Opening it, however, he discovered that it was someone else.

"Jackie? Janna?" Marco regarded the two with surprise before he jaded quickly. "Why are you here? And why are you in my house?"

"Your mom let us in. Now, we're in your room." Janna stepped forward quickly into his bedroom before he could bar them from entry. "We're not interrupting any kind of special time, are we?"

"Very funny," Marco said sarcastically in response to the masturbation innuendo. "Now get out."

"Nah, nah…" Janna smirked mischievously. "Maybe you should if you're not doing it. You've got some pent-up rage, am I right? After all…" Her smirk fell as she became more serious. "You're starting to take it out on people, and what you did yesterday was extreme. And I don't mean that in the 'cool' way."

"What?" Marco thought back to the mugger and shook ever so slightly. Nonetheless, he decided to plead ignorance, since Janna surely didn't know that he was responsible. It was when he heard his bedroom door close that he turned back to it and saw Jackie standing before it. Damn, he'd forgotten that she was there and that she'd seen him with the mugger the day before. "You're talking about the mugger, right? I did NOT do that. I found him like that when Jackie saw me."

Jackie folded her arms crossly. "…Do you think that I'm blind, Marco? That I'm stupid? I came right at the last and saw you knocking his head into the wall. There was blood all over your hands…!"

Marco held up his arm to show where he'd incurred a long and deep cut. "It was self-defense, a'right? I was defending myself from the mugger."

"Sure looked like you trying to beat him to death, if you asked me. That's not cool, Marco."

"He tried to mug me and I decided to just give him my money. But he started to act tough and he drew first blood," Marco argued harshly. "Can't I defend myself? Hmm?" Seeing them both shake their heads in unison only made him disgusted at their ignorance. "I wonder, Jackie… If I had taken another way home while you took the usual way, what would have happened to you since you would've met up with the criminal? Just let him mug you? Give him everything you have except for the clothes on your back? Maybe let him cut your throat? As far as I see it, that's just one criminal that tried to rob the wrong guy, and he won't be doing it anymore. At least, not for a long time."

"I dunno what would've happened to me if I had bumped into him," Jackie admitted easily. "I could've lost everything I had on me, got hurt, or killed. But that doesn't excuse what you did. Didn't you learn martial arts to defend yourself?"

"He ditched the classes when he came back in January," Janna offered quietly.

"I wasn't learning anything new," Marco defended heatedly. "It was turning into a waste of money and waste of my time."

"The point is that you learned it for self-defense... to defend yourself, not to blow it way out of proportion. You nearly killed the guy in retaliation for what, a few dollars?"

The Diaz looked at the usually laid-back teen as if she'd grown a second head. "You must've grown up really sheltered, haven't you? The guy tried to MUG me!" Marco yelled, "What part of that aren't you getting?!"

Janna tried to placate the two from any more quarrel; she'd begun to notice that the boy's crescents were glowing slightly and given from Jackie's backpedaling away from him, she'd observed it as well. From Jackie's vantage point, having come to know the boy's behavior whenever his mood spiked, didn't welcome the prospect of him turning on her. She'd known that it could happen and only loathed herself for backing down from him. For giving physical way to him, she felt as if she'd already lost the argument; not for lack of a debating point, but that of principle for standing up to him.

"For the sake of argument, let's just say that this was the mugger's fault. He got what was coming to him, and he shouldn't have been committing a crime in the first place." All Janna earned for this was a stunned look from Marco. "What?"

"Sounds strange, coming from you. What, I mean you're constantly doing something that you shouldn't. Stealing my things… breaking into my room, my house, my locker at school-"

"I get the point," Janna interjected whilst rolling her eyes, though she soon became altogether jaded. "I sound hypocritical. You wanna beat me up, don't you? Break one of my arms so I'll learn my lesson? Maybe try to brain me with a baseball bat?"

"It's occurred to me when you act as if you're trying to irk me on purpose," Marco said from between clenched teeth. He soon relaxed after seeing her mild stare, one that appeared as if she was waiting for him to carry out the act. "But I don't want to. Just quit doing it, and that'll be the end of it."

"I can change. But the question is, why can't you? You know… stop acting like some kind of a lone-wolf jerk. Ever since you've come back from Mewni, it's been one thing after another."

"You keep pushing us away, Marco," Jackie said, putting in her two cents. "We didn't do anything to deserve any of this. We're your friends."

"A fat lot of good that's done for me," Marco muttered heatedly. "I've been screwed over in Mewni by 'friends', and all people have been doing is to keep reminding me about them, as if they're so damn perfect. 'Where's Star, and is she coming back' this, and 'can you tell me about what you've been doing there' that. Just a bunch of tall-talking asses and-"

"So you're taking out your anger on us because of… what? What did they do to you?" For the first time, Jackie felt like she'd made some serious progress in getting to the root of the problem. All they had to do was to allow him to vent, and they'd find out what was bothering him. Hopefully, things could improve from there.

"What did they do to me?" Recalling the harsh reprimand he had gotten from the Magic High Commission and their informal banishment of him in response to his advocation, he could feel his anger rise, despite his best efforts to quell it. He was about to tell the two girls but deferred at the last second. "It's none of your business. Besides, you're the one who spouted off that 'you're not Marco' crap. Just… get out of my room. Leave me alone." He trudged back to his mattress, utterly disgruntlement clear on his features as he sat on it.

In doing this, he pulled Jackie's attention to what was apparently a bed-… it was merely a sheeted mattress on the ground, and the only other furniture in the room was a simple chair and table, on top of which rested his books and a second-hand bought laptop. Even the walls were begging for a coat of paint if they'd been only rendered with mortar; she thought back to what Janna had said about Marco's state of affairs since his return. Perhaps he really had lost most, if not all of his possessions, and could only wonder what could have possibly happened in Mewni to leave him so upset.

She, like Janna, was about to approach closer to him, but the punk stopped her in her tracks. Before she could ask why, Janna merely pointed at her own cheeks, before gesturing her head at Marco.

His crescents were the brightest they've ever been.

Deeper, far in his psyche, Appendaxuz considered whether or not these two girls would soften Marco's feelings to those who had crossed him on Mewni. He could easily see what they were doing-… they were playing the parts of therapists. First, they'd burrow in, trying to get closer to him to figure out what'd happened to him. Sooner or later, they'd find out when his emotional walls crumbled, and they'd urge him to forget about Mewni and its denizens, or perhaps even to forgive them. Not only would Marco become altogether too weak and hesitant in the heat of conflict, but he ran the risk of actually suspending or even not bothering completely to destroy the Wellspring…!

There was an easy choice, and the iniquity made it.

On the outside, Jackie was now questioning whether or not Janna was refraining from confronting the Diaz despite her earlier rebuke. She'd come to discover in herself some sort of vigor again in believing in Marco's better nature, and she refused to back down as easily. She couldn't claim to know more about Marco than Janna; the punk could probably write stories about him given their frequent interactions. Nonetheless, Jackie had firm belief that from what she'd seen during her brief dating phase with Marco was that he wouldn't hurt her. He had to have some semblance of feelings for her, didn't he? It would be wrong to use this feeling just to win him over to his better nature, but she had few options that actually stood a chance of working.

In the next moment, a wretched feeling washed over her, chilling her to the bone. She'd already begun shivering akin to Janna and rubbed absently at the goosebumps that started to form on her arms. She was baffled that such a feeling could happen in the middle of June, and had no inklings to what could've caused it. There was also fear mixed in, and it was to such a degree that she couldn't even find it in her to even approach the Diaz, although stepping backwards came much easier.

Wait…

Away from Marco? Did that mean that it was his very aura that permeated the room like this? Already, her shivering from the cold followed up to utter fear. It was almost to the point that she could not only sense it but also see it coming from the Diaz, a foul green thing. It was comprised purely of his inner emotions, she realized that intimidation was the strongest in it, daunting. It was no longer simply a dare to her, which she believed she had failed earlier, or a challenge. It was a declaration. He was sitting on his mattress, glaring at them in the way that a guard dog would sit close to where it was pegged. There was a reach it had and if they entered the bounds, that is, within arm's length of Marco, there was no question what he would do to them. Given his newfound strength, he could rip them apart.

Already praying that he wouldn't, Jackie took a step to him, and her fear grew stronger. At this point, it was as if she was trying to walk through a blizzard against the wind and found it rising increasingly worse. The teen tried to tell herself that Marco was some sort of calm in the center of it all, that she needed only to brave through his aura to get to him. He wouldn't hurt her, would he? Kill her?

She urged herself another step. She was close to the point where she was within perfect arm's reach. Already, tears were welling up in her jadeite eyes from her anxiety and fright as every fiber of her being screamed at her to get the hell away from him, and yet she persisted.

One more step was taken. By now, she might as well have been trying to walk through a solid wall, and it was here that her fear and his anger was thickest. If Jackie lessened the gap even one more inch, then that would be it. Just one… inch.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to nerve herself to make the move but her body refused to. Just one more inch. Opening her eyes, Thomas looked down to where he was seated and saw that his glare hadn't changed. She searched for anything besides rage, any sort of leeway-… and came up short. She was purely trying to reach out to him both empathetically and physically, knowing that she was basically asking for trouble in every sense of the word.

Her breath came in pants. The minutes passed slowly as time seemingly warped to her. Jackie had lost her perception of time as she'd long grown numb with dread, and yet still tried to find some vestige of strength in her to make the final step.

One final step.

She could not. She could not. Jackie collapsed in front of him, and scooted away from him backwards, mostly in relief to get away from his oppressive aura… and in shame for having been overwhelmed. Jackie was already beating herself up about it when Janna helped her up.

"Maybe another time, when we're on some sort of neutral ground instead of his own bedroom," Janna whispered to her. "Besides, at least we know who he has the real problem with, don't we?"

'With Star. Star Butterfly. It's really her, isn't it?" Jackie asked herself in her mind before she looked at Marco, who still hadn't budged an inch. 'It has to be. They did something to him, but there's a lot more that we're not getting…'

"C'mon," Janna began to tug on Jackie's arm before she called out to Marco. "Thanks for having us over, Marco." On that note, the two girls left the room. But as Jackie did, however, the severe oppressive aura which she'd felt seemingly lessened by the tiniest margin as something new mixed with it; there was a trace of sadness in it, a misery which slightly diluted its strength. Jackie needn't even look behind her at Marco to know that his expression had changed… ever so slightly.

She was wrong. It was still Marco.

Wasn't he?


Holy crap, I nearly broke the record again. Almost...! But hey, check out that drama. This is a chapter I can be happy with!

-I wonder if you all got the three references. Sure, one of them was about this fic itself, but there were two more obvious ones, during Marco's little scene with Appendaxuz. Something about a comic and a… (raises an eyebrow) a Shakespearean piece?

-I think I kept them in character… kinda. Jackie and Janna, I mean. They were acting slightly OOC, but they've had another year to grow, hadn't they? It's nearly been one year since Star went back to Mewni during the Toffee Saga.

-As for the Guest who asked, no, it's not a stupid question. Don't worry, he gets his stuff back… eventually. I wouldn't write that he'd get a weapon if he would never get to use it. Besides, you think he's going to sit around on Earth for eternity? I think I've already hinted today at how he's getting back.

-As for the second guest, I'll write about his parents although I think it goes without saying that they're worried.

-I feel like I opened up the shipping doors for Jarco and Manna a little bit, but let me make it clear that I'm already leaning over to Markapoo and/or Miggs. I just haven't tagged the shippings into the story description until I'm sure that I've concreted everything together. It'd be a damn shame if I made a promise and not end up keeping it.

That's that. Happy New Year's when it comes.

Valete omnes,

MRAY 4TW.