Chapter One: Where did it go wrong?
"Cmon Marc, what's the harm that it could do?"
"How about being scolded by colonel."
"Fair point, but why not? Cmon, safe kid."
"I swear- don't call me that."
It was a normal night. Marco was out with friends who wanted the 'Immortal Pilot' to keep taking stronger and stronger shots. Of course everyone called him that out of respect. He had earned the title when he was the one who breached and destroyed a whole Ares server building without dying. Single handedly. Everyone came to respect the kid. He was the youngest in his titan regiment only coming up at 21 years old. Although he acted and held himself as if he was much older.
"We're not going to let that name go, Marc. The fact that anybody used to call you safe kid is kinda astounding." That was true. Marco was teased endlessly by his friends and other troops just because he was called that seven years ago. Somehow one of his old friends leaked that name (probably Janna) out and he was never given a moment's rest without being bothered and called that name.
"Yeah. Call me that again and you'll find a plasma knife between your eyes." Marco had astounded everyone when he had showcased his skills in basically all the training exercises, he passed each one with flying colors.
Agility obstacle course? Unrivaled speed and flexibility.
Strength exercises? Despite his thin and lithe build, he could easily throw someone over his head along with breaking the strongest men's bones in a single strike.
Hand to hand combat? He beat every single person he fought. Whether it be fists or plasma knives, he always won.
Firearms? He was basically an expert from the easy to use laser rifle, to the near impossible to use double ion pistols.
Piloting one of the most advanced technological advancements on Earth, the titan supermechs? Cake walk. His ability to think and make decisions on the dot and how he surveyed what happened made him a deadly opponent to Ares' forces. In a matter of a couple of years, he had ascended the ranks and was now an admiral for one of the five titan regiments. (Side note here. The war between humans and sentient A.I. has thrown the whole ranking and army things off because of the new branch that was added.)
People thought that he was superhuman, that he had to have some training from somewhere. Of course nobody knew the truth but rumor was that he had been developed by the army since birth as the ultimate living weapon. That wasn't true. It all happened because of a certain magical princess that had crashed into his life before leaving two years later. Marco still wondered why she had been recalled to Mewni. He had tried visiting multiple times only to find she was too busy. Occasionally they'd get some time and meet up, but it was scarce. And then there was Tom… the reason he doesn't have any dimensional scissors anymore. Then before he knew it, the mix of alcohol and memories made him recall the worst day of his life.
The last time Marco had seen Star, they had finally agreed on a time where they could get together and catch up. So Marco opened up a portal, stepping through into the hallway where Star's room was. He went up to the door, about to knock when he heard voices.
"I feel like you're ignoring me! The 'I'm too busy' crap isn't going to cut it!" This voice was Tom Lucitor.
"What do you not get about me being busy!? I am nearly a queen and I need to focus on helping my kingdom!" This voice was Star Butterfly's.
"I'm your boyfriend! If you can't make even the tiniest bit of time for me, then we are done!"
"Fine! All you do is beg for attention and then get angry when you can't comprehend that I am a future ruler! I need to be ready to rule my people when the time comes!"
Tom was about to open his mouth to retort when a loud knock on the door came. Tom groaned before going to the door and opening it to see the Latino red hoodie clad human. Tom's eyes narrowed and turned a bright red. "You!" He yelled in his demonic voice.
Marco backed up in surprise. Tom turned back around to Star who had a panicked look on her face. "Oh, so you can make plans for Marco but not for me?!"
Star winced at the harshness in his voice. "Look Tom, I see you everyday and I barely get to see Marco so I-"
"You what?! You make more time for this pathetic excuse of a human than you do for me! Your boyfriend!"
Marco slowly pulled out his scissors before cutting open a rift back to Earth. "I see this is a bad time so I'm gonna-" Tom lunged and grabbed Marco's collar and yanked him into the air.
"Because of you, Star doesn't have time for me! If you're out of the picture, then she'll have no choice!" Tom pulled his free hand back, which ignited, ready to punch right through Marco. But was instead surprised and in pain when he found the hand holding Marco feeling like it was burning.
Tom dropped Marco and cradled his burned hand. "What the hell was that Marco!?"
"I had a feeling that this would be handy today." Marco brandished a small vial that was labeled 'holy water'.
"Tom! Stop this right now!" Star had ran forward and dragged Tom away from the very angry Marco. But Tom got an idea. The portal from earlier was still open so if he could get Marco's scissors and get him in the portal…
Tom wrenched himself away from Star and slammed into Marco. He dropped the scissors in his hand and Tom quickly swiped them up.
Tom started muttering an incantation in demon. Black cracks started forming on the scissors' blades. As he spoke, the cracks turned darker and more appeared.
Marco realized what he was doing, and lunged at Tom only to be blocked by invisible force. Marco could only watch in horror as Tom finished his incantation and the magical scissors shattered. Each blade was split into three uneven pieces.
Marco screamed in anger and he ran at the barrier, something primal waking in his gut. Around Marco's fist appeared a red energy. He slammed into the barrier, punching it with all he had. In an explosion and what sounded like shattering glass, Marco pushed through the destroyed barrier and grabbed his broken scissors. They were damaged and tainted by demon magic to the point where they couldn't be fixed. Tears stung Marco's eyes as sadness overtook him. He gathered the pieces into his hands and shoved them away into his pockets.
Star was openly sobbing at what happened and was about to go over to Marco to comfort him when another disaster struck.
Tom got up and punched Marco back through the portal he created. It closed behind him. Marco was now locked off from Mewni. But as he was flying back, one shard of his scissors fell out of his pocket and in front of Star.
It had been two years since that happened. From that point on, Marco didn't know what had happened to his best friend. His last moments with her were sad, bitter ones. He never saw her again. No portal or tear in reality, nothing. It was as if she forgot he existed.
A single tear rolled down Marco's face as he recalled the painful memories. "If only… we could see each other. I… I love you." Marco shook himself away from pity when he heard that in his head. It felt like Star was right next to him and she was speaking directly to him.
Marco then tried to respond but he didn't know if it got through or not. "I wish to see you too. Just know this. Although I never told you, I love you. Don't forget that."
"Is the immortal pilot crying? I thought you were tougher than that!" Yelled a cocky and arrogant voice. Marco turned and saw who spoke. Of course, it was the bane to his existence as admiral. That one bragging troop that somehow got put into his regiment.
"Shut it Dimitri. Just… just thinking about those that I lost."
The soldier named Dimitri smirked. "Oh would you look at that. The legendary Marco Diaz is crying about his lost-" He was cut short when a plasma knife was aimed for his throat.
"I said shut it." The red glow of the blade made Dimitri sink a little. Only those who were high ranking got to have the super lethal weapons on hand. And this was the legendary blood stained blade. This plasma knife was created by Marco himself. The red is unique and there is no other red colored plasma knife. No one knew how he got it to turn red. It's been rumored that the blade has seen more carnage and blood than some of the veterans.
"Cmon Marc. Don't let this joker ruin our fun." Said one of Marco's friends as he got up and walked out of the bar.
"Yeah. I suppose." Marco glared one more time at Dimitri before getting up and walking out of the bar briskly.
End of Chapter One