Hello Fanfiction! Your favorite Keyblade wielder is here and ready to gift you with long overdue chapter of the Dragon Guardian to the Princess of Mewni! Now if a couple hadn't noticed I changed the summary of the story since there will now be moderate changes coming. If you haven't read the notice, I put up recently on the story, then go look it over. It's short and gets to the point of all this. Now first major change is this chapter will be a replacement for the episode "Starfari". So you won't be seeing much of Star here except for at the beginning. As you all know Marco is soul-bounded with Scarlet, our dragon version of Star and Marco's teacher in learning of his abilities. So while Star is starting her mewman and monster movement, Marco and Scarlet will be doing something… special. Also Higgs and King River will be coming along for the ride.
Now that we have that out of the way, Let's get started!
A/N: Almost forgot; for those who read the notice you should that this first chapter will entail stuff from a mobile game I mentioned in it. Also please give it a try the people who made it did a really great job, plus they have ten years of the story for the game. And we've only experienced the first chapter.
Chapter 4: New Adventure; Land of Orbis pt1
On a grassy hill with a very large tree, sat two figures. One was a girl with bright red hair and golden yellow eyes. She wore a sleeveless red shirt with similar red shorts along with a pair of red sandals on her bare feet and white fang-shaped earrings. Her most eye-catching feature was the long dragon tail that swayed behind her. This person's name is Scarlet, and despite her appearance she is a dragon who was looking playfully at the person who was sleeping next to her.
He was a Latino young boy around the age of fourteen with a mole under his right eye and dark brown hair. He was wearing a red hoodie over a grey t-shirt, dark gray skinny jeans, and olive and white sneakers. This is Marco Diaz, the newly appointed Squire of the Princess of Mewni and his best friend, Star Butterfly. What's more; in addition to being squire to his best friend, Marco so happens to be soul-bound with Scarlet which allows him use of her power.
"Marco? Maaaaaarco? It's time to get up." Scarlet said as she pocked the boy's sleeping face.
Marco moaned as he began to stir and wake up.
"Ugh, I'm up, I'm up." Marco groaned as he woke and found himself not where he expected to be right now. "What the! Where are we!?"
"Well good morning to you too, Marco." Scarlet said as watched him have his mini freak out. "First thing you do is freak out about being somewhere that's not your bedroom instead of saying good morning? That's not very nice."
"Uh… good morning Scarlet?"
"Much better." She said satisfied. "Now relax, your still in your room at the castle. This is just the dreamscape."
"What?" Marco said confused. "But I thought you said that the dreamscape works off of my memories. I don't remember going anywhere that has grassy hills and giant trees."
"Never said it was your dreamscape we were in Diaz," Scarlet said as she hopped up to her feet.
"Wait, so this is… your dreamscape? Does this have to do with the whole "you and me merging souls" thing?"
"Yep, pretty much."
"So wouldn't that mean this is possible a memory you forgot about?" Marco says as he looks around. "Whatever memory this is; this place is really peaceful."
"Yeah… it really is." Scarlet said as she looked up at the calm blue sky above them. "I think… I remember flying through a sky like this. The wind blowing against my face, the birds that flew alongside me and… and…" Scarlet then saw a ghostly image of a woman holding the hand of young boy appear in front of her before quickly disappearing. She then shook her head to clear the confusion that was settling in from what she saw. "Anyway Marco, it's time to wake up. I've got a lot of special things in store for you today." She said and snapped her fingers before Marco could ask what she meant.
(Marco's room, real world)
Marco soon bolted up from his sleep and saw that he was in his room on Mewni. He looked and saw Scarlet was playing with the laser puppies before she looked up at him.
"Sorry for the sudden cut off Marco, I just thought you'd like to get right into some squire training is all." Scarlet said as stood up. "That's what we're doing?" Marco asked. "I thought you said you had something in store?"
"I do," Scarlet said grinning in excitement. "You know the place we saw in my dreamscape? I actually remember that place! Which means your first day of training is going to be in a place that I recall visiting! Yes!" she said happily as she bounced around the room joyfully.
"Wow that's great, so what was the name of the place?" Marco asked.
"Oh right, the name." Scarlet said as she calmed down a bit from her excitement. "The place is actually another dimension. One where you can't reach with dimensional scissors since to my knowledge, no one from Mewni has ever been there. This place is called the Land of Orbis."
"The Land of Orbis huh? Sounds like a pretty cool place to go." Marco said getting out of bed. "Let me just get ready then we can go get Star and head out."
"Oh right; about that Marco, Star won't be coming with us." Scarlet said.
"Huh? Why not? This place sounds like it would be awesome I know she'd love it."
"I know Marco, it's just she had other plans for the day." Scarlet said as she told Marco what happened as he slept.
(Flashback)
It was around 6:08 am when a light knocking was heard on Marco's door. Marco was pretty much knocked out because of the Princess Turdina thing, so he didn't hear the knocking at his door.
Scarlet then materialized out of Marco's crystal which he placed on his nightstand next to his bed at the sound of the knocking.
She was currently wearing a white kimono with a red obi(sash) and her red hair was in braided down.
"Ugh, who in the world is up at this hour? Do mewman's internal clocks run different or something?" Scarlet groaned as she made her way to the door. "Okay hold on," she said as she opened the door and saw Star on the other side.
"Oh uh, hey Scarlet. I kind of thought that Marco would be the one to open the door." Star said with a bit of a nervous laugh since she could tell that her dragon look alike was not much a morning person.
"Star, whatever this is can you please make this quick? Even dragons need a lot of sleep, we're not exactly morning creatures." Scarlet said as she leaned against the door frame and yawned. "Also you should know Marco would be really tired after that whole Turdina thing at Saint O's."
"Right, should have known that." Star said, mentally kicking herself. Of course Marco would be exhausted after the whole incident at the reform school. "Did I wake him up? Cause if I did, you can just tell Marco to go back to sleep. I'll leave note for him so he can – "
"Okay relax Star," Scarlet said as she placed a finger over Star's lips to shush her. "You didn't wake Marco up; he's still out like a light, so don't worry. Now just tell me what you want to say. I'll let him know when he gets up."
Star nodded her head as Scarlet removed her finger so Star could speak.
"Okay; so remember how you said we should try to get some squire training in for Marco as well as see if we can get him some stuff to make up for the Quest Buy thing, today?" Star said.
"Yeah, I thought it would be a nice to see if we can get Marco some stuff for those times when he's got nothing to do so he can train." Scarlet said. "I know you making him your squire was so you two could hangout and stuff, but I thought it'd be best if Marco was a bit prepared in case something comes up and he needs to be ready. Karate skills only are not going to keep him from ending up as something's lunch out there." Scarlet said jokingly.
"Ha, true. There are a lot of things on Mewni that can't be beat by a red belt." Star said as the two shared a silent giggle with each other before settling down. "Alright so here's the thing; when we got back from Saint O's last night and we were all going to bed, I got a call from… Tom."
"Your… your boyfriend, right?" Scarlet said as she tried to not sound too bothered by it. "And? What did he want?"
"He called to ask how I was doing and junk,"
"And?" Scarlet said knowing there was something else coming.
"And he asked if me and him could go shopping in the kingdom's market place… tomorrow. Which technically is today." Star said as she shuffled a bit in place as Scarlet waited for her to finish. "And I said…. Sure."
Star watched as Scarlet closed her eyes and let out a breath.
"I'm really, really sorry; It just me and Tom just got back together and everything. And I wanted to spend time with him, with how much he's changed and all." Star said feeling really guilty about ditching her two friends. "Before I could even think I said yes like I didn't just make plans with you and Marco, I could have asked Tom if we could maybe go shopping after today. But instead I just said yes like blowing off plans with Marco and my new friend wasn't a big deal! I mean what's the point in Marco being my squire if me, him and you make a plan to train and I just blow it off to go have fun with my boyfriend!" Star said as quietly continued to beat herself up.
Before she could continue, Scarlet placed her hand over Star's mouth to quiet her. But also to make sure she doesn't wake up Marco with how loud her voice was getting.
"Star, calm down. Your starting to raise your voice and that could wake Marco up." Star said as the two glanced over to see Marco turn over still asleep. Scarlet then took her hand off Star's mouth so she could speak.
"Sorry about that," Star said sadly as she looked to the ground. "It's only been like a short time since you and Marco came to Mewni and I made him my squire. And just when we all plan on doing something fun, I go tell my boyfriend I'll do something with him on the same day."
"Star look," Scarlet says placing her hands on the blonde's shoulders. "I'm not upset about you telling me you made plans with Tom at the last second, and I'm sure Marco wouldn't be either. He knows he missed a lot of what's happened with you since he left Mewni, if you tell him that Tom has changed and you want to hang out with him more then he'll understand. That's what best friends do, they trust each other." She said smiling to Star who smiled back at her.
"How come you look just like me, but talk and act so much more grown up than I could?" Star asked as she rubbed the tears that were forming on the edge of her eyes away.
"Oh, it may have something to do with the fact that I've lived for apparently several lifetimes in comparison with your 14 years ?" Scarlet said jokingly which made Star cover her mouth to stifle her giggling. "But Star, you can talk with just as much maturity as I can."
"Really? You think I can?"
"Yeah, it just depends on the situation is all." Scarlet said. "Who know; maybe Tom calling you is a sign that your chance to show your own maturity is coming soon."
"Yeah, maybe." Star said a little hopeful. "Thanks Scarlet, I feel a little better about this whole thing now. I still kind of wish I could still do all the cool squire things I had planned for us to do with Marco."
"Like what?" Scarlet asked.
"Well, to be honest with you I was thinking of taking Marco to one of the other kingdoms around Mewni for his squire training. You know since if we did it here at the castle, he would have to train with a couple of the others squires." Star said. "Particular that one squire Higgs and those two weird guys she's friends with, remember?"
"Oh right, them." Scarlet said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "That maybe a good idea, except I'm not sure if the other kingdoms are going to take kindly to Marco and me just showing up at their front gate to ask if he can train with their knights."
"Oh right, and I can't ask my mom for help since she's super busy getting everything for Eclipsa's trial." Star said.
"Hmm, well I'm sure there's something we can – ah!" Scarlet said as she held her head and fell on one knee when she suddenly felt a slight pain coming from it.
Seeing her friend drop to her knee so suddenly, Star bent down with a concern in her eyes.
"Hey Scarlet are you okay? What's wrong?" Star asked worriedly as she saw Scarlet shake her head a bit.
"Ugh, what was that? Sheesh," Scarlet said.
"Scarlet, are for okay? What was that just now?" Star asked as she helped her friend stand back up.
"No clue Star; I just suddenly heard this ringing in my head. Then it just... stopped." Scarlet said.
"You know this is the same thing that happened to you when we were all at Saint O's, your head started to hurt and then it quickly stopped."
"Huh, I wonder if this has anything to do with my lost memory?" Scarlet said.
"Well anyway; I can wonder more about it later. Star? Just leave Marco's training to me, okay?" Scarlet said patting Star on the back. "You go have fun with three eyed lover boy Tom."
"Oh, okay then." Star said as she suddenly hugged Scarlet.
It kind of surprised her at first, but Scarlet soon returned the hug.
"Just let Marco know that I really, really wanted to come along with his training, please?" Star said as the two separate.
"Don't worry, I'll let him know." Scarlet said as Star went back to her room down the hall while she closed the door.
With that little episode down and over, Scarlet prepares to go back into the crystal and get a few more winks of sleep before thinking of what to do about Marco's training.
"Training in another kingdom, huh." Scarlet says to herself.
Scarlet then felt a wave of nostalgia washing over her. When she blinked, she found herself floating in the sky among the clouds. She then looked down and saw a large and vast land; it was dotted with forests, desert, swamp, and snow-covered areas. Scarlet could also make out several larger areas which she could tell were continents.
"I did not expect to see you again," a voice from behind Scarlet spoke.
Normally; Scarlet would have lashed out and attacked, but for some reason she didn't have that feeling when she heard this voice. Turning around she found a woman with long, flowing white hair and wearing a simple white robe with a glowing aura of the same color around her.
The woman looked at Scarlet with kindness in her soft, blue eye as she extended her hand out for Scarlet to take. Scarlet looks at the offered hand then back to the woman herself before finally stretching her own hand out and soon felt herself being drawn to the woman in white. When their hands met; Scarlet stood in front of the woman looking up at her where those same blue eyes were still looking at her like that of a mother looking fondly at her daughter.
"I… I feel like I should know you, I feel like I should know this place." Scarlet said finally finding her voice. "But I…. I can't remember anything except for what I am, I can't even remember my real name."
Scarlet then saw the woman kneel down to her eye level and gentle place her hand on top of her head.
"Do not worry," the woman said softly. "In time you will regain what was lost to you, young one."
For some reason when Scarlet heard the woman say this, she felt so much more at ease about getting her memories back. She also felt this comforting warmth flow throughout her while the woman had her hand on her head. Without even thinking about what she was doing, Scarlet wrapped her arms around the woman and hugged her.
'I feel…. I feel so happy around this person. Could she have been…. Someone I knew back when I had my memory?' Scarlet thought.
She then saw the woman lean forward and whisper something in to her ear.
"So that's the name of this place then?" Scarlet asked to which the woman nodded her head in confirmation. "Then would it be possible for me to come here? And maybe…. Bring someone with me?"
The woman only smiled and nodded her head "yes". She then placed two fingers on Scarlet's forehead as her vision was then filled with a bright light.
When Scarlet came too, she found she was back in Marco's room and that she was on Marco's bed side. She then put her hand on top of her head where the woman had her hand, and soon felt a smile speared on her face.
"Hmm, I wonder what Marco will think?" Scarlet said in a giddy voice as she vanished into the crystal.
(Flashback end)
Scarlet and Marco were now making their way down the hallways of the castle to the dining hall as she finished tell him what she experienced. Marco also had on a backpack of basic supplies he might need in case this Land of Orbis didn't have them.
"Wow Scarlet, that sure sounds like a lot." Marco said amazed at what his friend went through. "So do think this lady you saw could have some connection as to who you are?"
"Well I mean she has to;" Scarlet said as she placed her hand on the spot of her head where the woman had placed her hand. "That warm feeling I had when I was with her, it can't just be a coincidence. So now I have one clue to my missing memory."
"Well maybe we'll find more clues when we get to this Land of Orbis place." Marco said. "Hey yeah, your right." Scarlet said feeling more pumped about going now. "Okay, let's get some breakfast and then straight to the Land of Orbis!" She said excitedly as Marco laughed at how her excitement rivaled Star's.
As the two enter the dining room, they come to the sight of the table littered with breakfast food and see River eating what looked to be corn waffles with corn syrup.
"Uh Marco? Is corn like... the main food source here on Mewni?" Scarlet asked as she looked at the all the corn themed foods at the table.
"I have never really asked about it before, but I guess?" Marco answered unsure himself.
River then took notice of the two as they sat down at the table.
"Ah, Good Morning Marco my boy." River said before looking over at Scarlet. "And you must be the young dragon girl that Star mentioned before."
"Wait, Star told you and her mom about me?" Scarlet asked.
"Of course she did; I must say you do look like the spitting image of my little pumpkin." River said. "Wait, by "little pumpkin", do you mean?" Scarlet asked. "Why I'm talking about Star of course."
Scarlet immediately doubled over laughing, almost falling out of the chair.
"Hahahahaha! I… I'm sorry, it's just I didn't… I didn't except to here that, hahahahaha!"
"Alright Scarlet, it wasn't that funny." Marco said as he held her us so she wouldn't fall out of her chair.
"Oh it's fine my boy, Star does sometimes get embarrassed when I call her that." River said as he took a bite of a corn muffin. "So I'd imagine you two have something planned for today?"
"Yeah we do," Scarlet said as she calmed down from her laughing episode. "I'm taking Marco somewhere to help him get a proper jump start on his squire training. And maybe get him a few things he'll need for later training."
"Haha, and what's the name of this place, if you don't mind me asking?" River said.
"Scarlet called it the Land of Orbis." Marco answered.
"Hmm, Land of Orbis you say?" River said in thought as he stuffed the corn muffin into his mouth. "Can't say I've ever heard of it before."
"Well it's no surprise you wouldn't have heard about it, seeing as no one from Mewni has ever been there since you can get there with dimensional scissors." Scarlet said.
"Wait, then how are we supposed to get there if dimensional scissors won't work?" Marco asked Scarlet.
"Well that's where our soul-bond comes into play Marco." Scarlet said which she could see confused Marco. "Marco your soul is bonded with mine; and I have knowledge about Orbis. Which means you can use your scissors to get to Orbis due to your connection with me." Scarlet explained.
"My word, sounds like quite the adventure you two have planned." River said.
"Hey River, how come your in here eating by yourself?" Marco asked. "Oh well, Moonpie is busy working on things for Eclipsa's trial and Star's off with that young Lucitor boy at the market place." River said. "So I'm on my own for today I suppose."
Marco and Scarlet felt a little bad for River, the two then exchanged a look between each other smiling and looking to the board king of Mewni.
"River?" Marco says getting the kings attention. "Do you maybe… want to come with me and Scarlet to Orbis?"
"Oh I couldn't do that; I wouldn't want to be a distraction to you." River said.
"What are you talking about?" Scarlet said. "You wouldn't be a distraction; if anything I think it would be great if you came with us. You could maybe give Marco a few tips here and there and maybe give some recommendations of swords, armor, the whole works. Please say you'll come?" she asked cutely.
River looked at Scarlet's pleading eyes and suddenly let out a joyful laugh.
"I must say dear; when you beg like that I swear I'm looking at my little Star." River said.
"So does that mean you'll come with us?" Scarlet asked as she clasped her hands together.
"Of course!" River said as he jumped onto the table. "I've been itching for a bit of an adventure anyway; going to a new dimension not touched by mewman kind sounds as good an adventure as any." He said as he raised his fist into the air. "Prepare yourself Land of Orbis, King River Butterfly is coming!"
"Yeah!" Scarlet said in equal excitement as she joined River in standing on the table while Marco chose to stay in his seat.
'Just hope nothing goes wrong with this.' Marco thought.
Marco and Scarlet stood outside the castle as they waited for River as he packed his own bag of things he'll be bringing with him. Well in Marco's case he stood and waited while Scarlet couldn't stop hopping up and down in excitement.
"I'm guessing you're not going to calm down anytime soon until we get to Orbis right?" Marco said smiling.
"Of course Marco!" Scarlet said. "How do you expect me to calm down when we're going to a place that could possible help me find out who I am. Oh, but I know we're also going to help with your training."
"Haha, it's alright Scarlet," Marco said. "I get that going to this place could help you find out what happened to your memories. So you don't have to worry if you get too preoccupied about it with me."
Scarlet was really touched with how understanding Marco was about her wanting to find out about herself. It really made her heart swell up knowing how fortunate she was to have met Marco. Without warning, Scarlet lunged at Marco and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.
"Thank you Marco, thank you so much." Scarlet said happily as she hugged the boy.
Marco was caught a bit off guard by the sudden hug, but smiled as he returned it.
The two then separated just as River showed up, carrying with him a giant backpack.
"Whoa, you're really strong King River." Scarlet said amazed.
"You can just call me River dear, no need for formalities here." River said.
"Okay River," Scarlet said kindly. "So is that everything you'll be needing? Cause where only going there for the day. This looks like you pack for like a three month stay."
"You can never be too prepared dear." River said.
"Okay then, so how exactly do we make our way to Orbis, Scarlet?" Marco asked. "Well, I'm simply going to place my hand on your shoulder and picture the Orbis in my mind. After that; you just use your scissors like you normally would and the portal should take use straight there, easy. Afterwards, you should be able to make the portal on your own." Scarlet explained.
"Oh, okay then. So let's start." Marco said. But as he pulled out his scissors, River stopped him.
"Ah, sorry to stop you right there Marco my boy," River said. "But I took the liberty of inviting someone to come with us on this little adventure of ours." River said. "A fellow squire who's looking for a bit of extra training themselves."
"Oh, well that seem fine with me." Marco said. "What about you Scarlet?"
"I don't see why not? It'd also be good to compare your progress with someone." Scarlet said. "So who's this squire coming along with us?"
"A very hard working and very dedicated young girl from what I've seen." River said. "And she happens to be around Marco and Star's age."
"Hmm, interesting." Scarlet said. "To be honest I've noticed a lack of female knights and squires, so I'd like to see how well this person stacks up with Marco. So what's her name River?"
"Ah yes, the young lady's name is – "
Just before River could say anything else, the three heard the sound of rushing footsteps which was soon followed with a voice that Marco and Scarlet were very familiar with, even if it was only for a day.
"Sorry If I made you wait King River Sir!" a girl with about the same height as Star, with slightly-dark cream-colored skin, short orange hair, green eyes, and freckles, wearing a blue tunic with red spiked shoulder pads, a red belt, white pants, red thigh-length boots, and pale yellow elbow-length armbands said as she came rushing out to the three while carrying a backpack.
"Oh no, it's no trouble at all, dear." River said waving off the girl's concern. While Marco glanced worriedly over at Scarlet, who 's eyes were narrowing in annoyance. "Now allow me to introduce you two to – "
"Higgs!" Marco said in surprise.
"What the heck are you doing here!?" Scarlet said with her voice full of annoyance, pointing to Higgs whose own eyes widened when she took notice of Marco and her.
"Oh, I had no idea that you three knew each other already." River said.
"Uh yeah, it was a... something else when we met Higgs." Marco said with a bit of worry as Higgs and Scarlet glared at each other.
"Okay look," Scarlet started as she let out a huff of air she didn't know she was holding. "Today started really good for me. So how about this; we stay out of each other's faces and this day doesn't end with anyone turning into a burnt toast, that sound alright to you?"
Higgs sighed before folding her arms and looking away from Scarlet's gaze.
"Fine." Higgs said. "Besides, it's not like I…. Hmm."
"What was that?" Scarlet asked hearing Higgs's mumbling.
"Nothing! It's nothing! Can we please just go to wherever we're going to!" Higgs shouted.
"Ah yes! Let's be off then!" River said. "Marco? Scarlet? You both may proceed."
"Okay," Marco said as he pulled out his dimensional scissors. "you ready, Scarlet?"
"Yeah," Scarlet said as she placed her hand on Marco's shoulder and closed her eyes.
Scarlet then focused as remembered what she saw from her dream. The forests, the desert, the snowy region, and the many kingdoms and small villages. She then began to glow with a blue aura around her, which then caused Marco's scissors to glow blue as well.
"Whoa," Marco said in amazement at what was happening.
Scarlet then opened her eyes as she slid her hand off Marco's shoulder.
"Okay, I think that should do it." Scarlet said. "So Marco, if you could please?" she said asked making a cutting motion with her hand.
"Oh! Right, hehe." Marco chuckled lightly as he began to make a portal.
Once Marco made the cut, a large swirling blue and white vortex opened up in front of the four as their eyes widened in absolute surprise.
"My word," River said awestruck.
"Whoa," Higgs said in equal surprise.
"Okay you guys," Scarlet says. "Who's ready for a journey to unknown lands?"
"Haha! Took the words right out of my mouth dear!" River said as laughed boisterously. "Tally Ho!" he then ran head long into the portal.
"Uh, should we have let him just rush in like that?" Marco asked.
"Ah, I think he'll be fine Marco." Scarlets said as Higgs walked up to the portal.
Scarlet could see the hesitation in Higgs's eyes which honestly surprised her a bit.
'Huh, so miss "tough stuff" can get nervous.' Scarlet thought. "Now I remember hearing someone say they wanted to be the best squire ever." She said which got Higgs's attention. "But to do that they'll need strength, heart, dedication, and most importantly… the ability to run head first into the unknown and face it."
"Scarlet? Where did that suddenly come – " Marco started to ask before hearing Higgs huffed and adjust her backpack before charging into the portal. "Wait, Scarlet did you only say that all that too – "
"No idea what you're saying Marco," Scarlet quickly said as she wrapped her tail around the boy's waist. "Now come on, adventure awaits!" she then flung Marco into the portal before jumping in herself just as it closes.
(Land of Orbis, Ritania, Skybreeze Forest)
Marco came tumbling out of the portal and landed in front of River and Higgs who had a 'why'd you come tumbling out like a rock?' look on her face.
"Don't ask please," He said getting up and dusted himself off as Scarlet came out of the portal as it closed.
The group of four looked and saw that they were in a huge forest with tall trees that seemed like they reached high up and touch the sky.
River then took in a big breath of air before releasing it.
"Ahh, do you all smell that?" he said. "That is the smell of a true adventure in the air."
"Really?" Marco said as he, Higgs and Scarlet sniffed the air. "It smells more like grass, trees and… something else I can't put my finger on." He said.
"Aside from the smells here, I'm more interested about what we might find in this forest or this dimension for that matter." Higgs said. "Hey red-head, any idea on how we – "
Higgs stopped mid-sentence when she sees Scarlet looking up at the sky as a few birds fly by with a sense of longing.
"Hey," Higgs asks bumping Marco with her elbow to get his attention.
"Uh, yes?"
"How come red-head over there looks so interested in the sky all of a sudden?"
Marco looks and sees Scarlet was indeed looking up at the sky fondly. He already knew the reason behind it, knowing that coming here could yield some answers into who she was before she lost her memory.
"Uh, that's because she's umm… interested in knowing what kind of weather this dimension gets?" Marco asked hoping Higgs would buy his story.
"Um… okay I guess," she said. "I mean knowing what kind of weather you'll have to deal with when you're fighting is important, maybe?"
"Y-Yeah! You never know if you'll be hit with a freak rainstorm or something." Marco said as he was quietly relieved that Higgs believed his story.
"Uh guys?" Scarlet called getting the two squire's attention. "Where did River go?"
Marco and Higgs looked around and noticed that River was no longer with them.
"Did he go somewhere while we weren't looking or something?" Higgs asked.
"Okay, that's not good." Scarlet said. "We're in an unknown forest where the King of Mewni could potentially be lost."
"That's worse Scarlet!" Marco said. "What if he's in trouble?"
"Relax, this forest seems peaceful for the most part so I doubt there's anything dangerous that lives – "
Just then a series of howls was heard farther ahead in the forest.
"Okay, I stand corrected." Scarlet said. "Let's just get going and hope River is not being eaten alive."
"Could you not make it sound like we just got the king of Mewni killed, please?" Marco said as he ran after Scarlet with Higgs quickly following from behind.
As the three further into the forest, they soon came across River who looked to be fighting a pack of green and brown furred wolfs and what also looked like tree monsters.
"Whoa, ten minutes in a new dimension and King River is already fighting this world's monsters." Higgs said.
"Not sure if that's a good thing," Marco said. "But we should get out there and help him before he gets overrun."
"Okay, so did either of you two bring anything to fight those wolves with?" Scarlet asked. "Because including the tree monsters, I'm counting like a 4 vs 27 fight on our hands."
"I brought El Chapo," Marco said as he took out a two-handed sword from his backpack.
"I just brought this dagger," Higgs says as she pulls out a short dagger from her bag.
"That's… actually decent." Scarlet said. "Alright, let's go."
"Right!" the two squires said.
"Come now you pack of beasts! I've barely even broken a sweat yet!" River shouted excitedly at the pack of monsters he had encountered.
He had already taken down a couple of them, but soon these tree-like monsters appeared looking to fight him as well. Not that he was complaining, this place was already proving to be a good place where you could find battle. Something that the King of Mewni loved to do.
Two of the wolves leaped at River, but he ducked underneath them and grabbed their tails before swinging them around and throwing them away. A third wolf tried attacking River while his back was turned, but he back-handed the wolf in the face letting fall to the ground unconscious.
River soon felt himself being lifted up in the air and hanging upside down. He looked and saw that he was being held up by tree roots that were wrapped around his ankles.
"Haha; well played I suppose." River said as he dangled upside down.
River then suddenly saw three shadows jump from the bushes behind the pack. Two of the shadows began fighting the wolves, while the third shadow used a sword to cut the roots that were holding River, freeing him and allowing him to drop to the ground. As he got up, River saw that the three were Marco, Higgs, and Scarlet.
"Ha, about time you three showed up." River said as he jumped back onto his feet and re-joined the fight. "I was worried I'd be the only one having all the fun on this trip."
"River you wondered off and found a pack of wolves and tree monsters to fight," Scarlet shouted as she knocked four wolves away with her tail. "Without letting us know! That's more like you hogging all the fun!"
"Apologies my dear, a bit of habit of mine. When I find myself in a new place during an adventure, the first thing I do is look for a good fight." River said as he punched one wolf in the face and then kicked another one in to a tree.
"Okay, I guess I can't fault you for that." Scarlet said while dodging two wolves that were lugging at her before swatting them into a tree.
Meanwhile, Marco and Higgs were fighting off the tree monsters with Marco cutting them down with his sword and Higgs cutting off their arms with her dagger.
"Heh, didn't think you even knew how to use a sword when I first met you, nerd." Higgs complimented as she dodged an attack from her left.
"Thanks, I think?" Marco said as he cut down another tree monster.
As the four kept fighting, more monsters kept appearing around them until they found themselves in the center, surrounded.
"This doesn't look too good," Marco said as he held his sword at the ready. "River how exactly did you end up fighting these monsters, anyway?" he asked.
"Oh. Well it may have something to do with the fact that I had…. Eaten some of their food when I…. accidently found myself in their territory."
"You What!?" Marco shouted.
"Well this forest is confusing to be honest; I simply walk into an open field and found some food sitting there. I had figured someone just left it there by accident." River explained.
"River I'm pretty sure no one just leaves food sitting in the middle of a forest." Scarlet said. "It just makes no sense; unless your hunting something, there would be no reason for it."
"That's for sure," Higgs said in agreement. "You'd have to be really stupid to just leave food in the middle of somewhere and not expect monsters to come and eat it?"
"Guys! Can we maybe save this discussion for when we're not surround by a pack of monsters?" Marco said as the horde of monsters threw closer to the four.
Just then two shadows leaped from the tree tops and landed in front of the four surprising them. One looked to be a person wearing a black cloak with a sword strapped to his side, while the other looked a creature that looked like a cross between a wolf and a fox it looked to be about the size of a warnicorn with blue and white fur, long fluffy tail and purplish-pink eyes.
"Are you four alright?" The cloaked figure asks.
"Huh? Uh yeah, we're fine." Marco asks being the first to recover from the shock of the cloaked figure and his… pet?
"Good to hear that." the figure said as he turned his attention on the horde of monsters surrounding them. "Don't worry, we'll take care of this. Arky!"
"Got it Master!" the creature now known as Arky said which surprised Marco and the others as electricity began to surge around it's body. It then leaped and released a storm of lightning bolts as it charged and tackled into the pack of monsters, shocking the daylights out of them.
"Holy corn husks!" Higgs said completely surprised.
"That was… that was…. I don't even know what I'm seeing. But," Marco said just as stunned before Scarlet and River cut him off with their excited shouting.
"It looked awesome! I mean wow! He's incredible!"
"Yes indeed! It's as if that creature was a raging lighting storm! Very impressive!"
"That's right! That's the kind of amazing things you can expect from me. My Master here should feel really grateful to have a partner like me in his life." Arky said boastfully as his supposed master sighed tiredly.
"Arky can you stop your showboating and clear a path already!" the cloaked figured said.
"Fine, fine." Arky said as he continued to charge through until an opening was made. "There you go."
"Alright, everyone follow that path." The cloaked person said.
"Wait, what about the rest of the monsters? Won't they just chase us down?" Marco asked.
"I'll take care of them. Arky, get these people to a safe enough distance away from here." The figure said as he began to draw his sword.
"Roger Master." Arky said. "Okay everyone, hop on so we can get out of here."
"We can't just leave you like this."
"Marco's right, that's a lot of monsters and your just one person. Let me at least help too!" Marco and Scarlet said.
The cloaked figure smiled; knowing that these two young children were willing to fight by his side even though they had no real reason to. It reminded him of someone who was also like that.
"I appreciate your willingness to help me; but you both don't need to worry," the cloaked figure then turned to look at Marco and Scarlet, allowing them both to see his face a bit.
They could see he had fair looking skin, white hair, and a pair of deep blue eyes that seemed tell he has been through a lot in his life.
"Have faith, I'll be alright." He said as he ran back towards the monster horde with his sword drawn.
"Is that guy nuts!?" Higgs said in surprise. "There's got to be like over 50 or more monsters back there!"
"Big deal," Arky said. "My master has faced a lot worse than that." He said which got River and Higgs's attention.
As the cloaked figure ran towards the oncoming horde of monsters, his sword began to glow with a blue light. He then leapt high into the air until he was above the horde.
"Fate," he said as raised his sword above his head. "Clear my path!" he shouted as he swung his sword downward, unleashing a storm of slashes that completely decimated the army of monsters when it hit.
Further away from the attack Marco, Scarlet, River, Higgs, and Arky saw with looks of surprise at the pillar of light that came from where the figure and the monsters were.
"Well, now we know why he didn't want us close by." River said as he let out a laugh of surprise. "Had no clue he could do something like that."
Higgs... was basically speechless due to the sheer scale of the attack she just saw.
Marco and Scarlet were just… completely stunned, they had no idea that their mysterious savoir was capable of something like what they just saw. And Scarlet had this…. feeling…. when she saw his face. It was as if she knew him or more specifically, who he was connected to.
"Wow!" Marco said bringing Scarlet out of her thoughts. "That was just… unbelievable! I didn't know he could do that!"
"Yep," Arky said. "my master might have a bad sense of direction and all, but he'll give everything he has when it comes to protecting people, that's for sure." He said as he began making his way to where his master had launched his attack with everyone else following behind him.
Once back on the ground, the cloaked figure looked around at the aftermath of his attack.
"Sigh; thankfully this part of the forest is further away from Tirel Castle, so no one could see." He said as he sighed and sheathed his sword. He then heard the sound of rushing footsteps and turn to see Arky along with the people from earlier. "Good to see your all okay."
"Indeed my good man!" River said as gave the hooded figure a hard but friendly slap on the back. 'And I must say you are truly something, I've only known a few people who could do what you just did, by boy."
"Uh… thank you." The figure grunted a little surprised at the amount of force from the slap on his back. 'He's… very stronger despite his height.' He thought before he saw Marco, Scarlet and Higgs come up to him.
"I… I don't even know what to say right now!" Marco said "That was like the coolest thing I've ever seen before!"
"I guess it was okay, not really something to freak out over." Higgs said.
"Really?" Scarlet said with a knowing voice and a smirk on her face. "Because your impression of a fish out of water when that pillar of light shot up from the forest was very hard to miss."
"How the heck could you have seen that!?" Higgs shouted in surprise before covering her mouth, realizing she had just given herself away.
"Thought so," Scarlet said smirking still while Higgs turned away with her cheeks colored red from embarrassment. "For someone who wants to be the best squire in all of Mewni, you tend to get embarrassed a lot from what I'm seeing."
"Mew-ni?" Arky said in confusion. "What's that? Is it some new place in Orbis?"
"I don't think so Arky, if it was we would have heard about it." The hooded figure said. "I assume that all of you are not from Orbis, right?"
"Ah ha, you'd be right." River said as he grabbed the figure's hand with a bit more force than intended, causing the figure to wince a bit in pain. "Names River; I happen to be a king from Mewni, but I prefer to be out and having a good adventure every chance I can. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"It's… it's a pleasure to meet you as well; I had no idea I'd be meeting a king out here, let alone one from another world." The figure said as he managed to free his hand from River's.
"I'm kind of finding it hard to picture you as a king really." Arky said.
"Arky can you watch what you say around people?" the figure said.
"What? I'm just saying is all." Arky said as his master sighed. "Anyway, what about the rest of you guys?" he asked looking to the others.
"Well my name is Marco, I'm actually from earth. It's a different place from Mewni and here." Marco said.
"Name's Higgs, squire to Sir Stabby and my goal is to be a great knight." Higgs said confidently.
"Although you'll need to overcome your fear of going to new places and not freeze up in front of a portal." Scarlet added teasingly as Higgs glared at her which she brushed off before introducing herself. "Any who; I'm Scarlet, thanks for helping us and nice to meet you Arky and?" she said waiting for the cloaked figure to introduce himself.
"Oh right, I suppose I should introduce myself as well." He said as he pulled his hood down reveling his face fully. "I'm Ras Elclare, it's nice to meet you all." The figure now known as Ras said kindly.
"And I'm Arkasus, but you can call me Arky."
After everyone had introduced themselves; Ras and Arky asked what brought them all here to Orbis. Scarlet explained that they came here so that Marco and by extension Higgs could get some training from the knights of the nearby kingdom. She explained that Marco had just recently become a squire, but a few of the knights back on Mewni were too "busy" to help him train. So she thought bringing him here would be the next best option. Arky then said that the closest place that trained knights was Tirel Castle which was located in the kingdom of Ezera. He said that he and Ras could take them their if they wanted. Seeing as his partner had seemingly made the choice for them, Ras agreed saying that he need to head and Arky were already headed that way anyway. They all thanked Ras and Arky and began to make their way for the Kingdom of Ezera.
Along the way; Scarlet asked Ras to tell her and the others about the Orbis while she carried Arky, who had shrunk down till he was about the same size as the laser puppies. Scarlet even commented on how cute he looked, which made him quite happy. Ras began to tell the group of Orbis's history.
Ras explained that the World of Orbis was named after the God of Nature, Orbis, who's bodies this land sits on after he had perished fighting a Celestial God during a Celestial war. He then went on to explain that Diche; the Goddess of Life and lover to Orbis who mourned his passing, created this land. However, Ilryos; another Celestial being, did not approve of this and sent a creature known as the Archdemon to destroy the world and force Diche to rejoin the war.
"That's just wrong." Scarlet said feeling angry. "I mean Diche lost someone she truly loved because of that war, so to force her rejoin it this person just sent some monster to destroy the place she made in memory of him!?"
"What was this Celestial war being fought for anyway?" Higgs asked Ras.
"To be honest; I really didn't know myself." Ras said. "And I don't believe even Diche knew at the time of it."
"Okay; so then what did Diche do to fight back against this Archdemon?" Marco asked.
"That's simple;" Arky said. "To fight against the Archdemon, the goddess made my master here to defend the Orbis. Everyone here knows my master as the Goddess's Heir of the Covenant."
Everyone dawned looks of disbelief at what they just heard what Arky said.
"Wait, this Goddess Diche made... Ras!?" Marco asked in shock.
"And you two fought something that was sent to destroy this world?" Higgs asked just as surprised.
"Yes, Diche did create me to defend Orbis from the Archdemon." Ras confirmed. "However it wasn't just me and Arky, there were others who fought alongside us and together we defeated the Archdemon. But the Archdemon soon returned again and once more me and people of Orbis rose up to fight it."
"The beast came back, after you defeated it the first time?" River asked.
"Yes; but even after that, it returned again and again, until finally the World of Orbis collapsed." Ras said sorrowfully.
"Wait," Scarlet said. "If this world collapsed, then how is still here?"
"That's because Diche used her power of creation to restore the world each time the Archdemon came back." Arky said.
"Each time?" Marco said. "Um Ras? When Arky said "each time", you don't have to answer this if it's uncomfortable but," Marco stopped her second before continuing, "how many times has this world… ended?"
"Marco my boy," River said. "Maybe it would best not to ask that question."
"No, it's alright." Ras said. "It's natural you'd ask that question Marco, given what you've heard so far. To answer; this world has been brought back about… seven times." He said.
"WHAT!?" They all said in complete and utter shock.
"S- Seven times," Scarlet said making sure she heard right. "This world has ended and restarted… seven times. That's just… just…"
"Completely unreal!" Marco said finishing for Scarlet.
"I must agree," River said still reeling from what he heard. "it's hard to comprehend knowing a place such as this has gone through destruction and rebirth so many times."
"Most people would agree with you on that, sir." Ras said. "If the people knew this truth there would be mass panic and chaos."
"So then no one knows about this?" Higgs asked.
"Well no, except for the other heirs and a few trusted people of importance. But outside of them, no one else knows." Ras said. "But even after knowing this, they still chose to fight alongside me to defeat the Archdemon and put an end to this cycle."
"Wait, so the Archdemon is gone for good this time?" Marco asked.
"Well technically the Archdemon's is now inside of someone so…" Arky said.
"Wait! That monster's soul is inside someone!?" Higgs shouted, but Scarlet used her tail to cover her mouth.
"Hold on "Miss Jumpy", let's hear what Ras has to say first before we let the whole world of Orbis know that the world ending monster they fought is still around, okay?" Scarlet said as she uncovered Higgs's mouth. "Now Ras, is what Arky said…"
"Yes; while we were able to destroy the body, the Archdemon's soul was implanted into someone. A close friend of ours who wanted to protect this world as much as I did." Ras said. "That's the reason why after the war with the Archdemon ended, me and Arky went into hiding."
"Me and my master did our part and helped saved this world," Arky said. "But we still need to bring back Meru."
"Uh, Meru?" Marco asked confused.
"He means Mercedes," Ras said. "She's a wraith, who was created with the soul propose of becoming a vessel for the Archdemon. Yet unlike others of her kind she was very kind-hearted and gentle towards others, despite their negativity to her."
"Sounds like this young lady is quite special to you, my lad." River said.
"River's right," Marco said in agreement. "If she's that important, then you have to help her, Ras."
"Marco he needs to do more than help her, he needs to save her is what you should have said." Scarlet said with a knowing smile pointed towards Ras.
"Hmph, I'm not surprised the nerd didn't know that the knights do more than help." Higgs said smirking.
Ras was happy at what these people who he had just met were saying, it gave him even more hope that he'll be able to help his friend.
"Not so sure my master is a knight, he's more like someone who needs people to always kick him in the pants to get him going." Arky said.
"Arky; for a second there I thought you were talking about Marco. He kind of acts the same." Scarlet said smirking. "Hmm, maybe he and master of distant relatives if they have the same problems."
"That makes no sense!" Both Marco and Ras said before the others started laughing.
After about 4 hours of walking, the group finally reached the kingdom of Ezera. The kingdom looked to be about the same size as the Butterfly kingdom with Tirel Castle being close in height to Butterfly Castle. Once they entered the kingdom, Scarlet saw Ras place his hood back on to conceal himself.
'Guess he would need to hide himself. If anyone saw him, they'd think him being here would mean something bad is coming." She thought.
"Alright, if you all follow this path it should take you straight to the castle gates." Ras said as he took out what looked to be a badge with a symbol on it and handed it to Marco. "When you reach there ask for either Sir Charles or Lady Iseria and show them this, they'll know what to do."
"You're not coming with us?" Higgs asked.
"Me and Arky have business somewhere else here in the Ezera, so it's most likely we won't run into each again." Ras said.
"It's too bad you guy couldn't come with us," Arky said sadly. "I bet Meru would like to meet you all."
"Hey, come on now Arky," Scarlet said petting him. "This doesn't mean we won't see each other ever again. We can come back and visit you, Ras, and Mercedes once you bring her back."
"Scarlet's right," Marco said. "This is just see you later, next time we come here Orbis we'll also bring someone for you to meet too. And I bet she'll thing you're really cute too."
"Really?" Arky said feeling a lot happier now. "Okay then," he said as he hopped out of Scarlet's arms and landed on Ras's shoulder. "Come on master, the sooner we bring Meru back the sooner she can meet Marco and Scarlet's other friend."
"Alright, alright." Ras said. "Well I guess this is where we part ways." He said looking to the group.
"For now my dear boy, good luck in your quest." River said.
"Thank you, King River."
"Just make sure you don't get lost out there, unless you want that walking cotton ball on your shoulder there to nag you ears off." Higgs said smirking.
"I'll be sure to do that, thanks for the advice. And good luck to you and Marco in your training."
"Just who are you calling a COTTON BALL!?" Arky shouted as Ras quickly covered his mouth. "Keep your voice down!"
"Hey Ras," Scarlet said getting the white haired man's attention.
"Yes Scarlet?" "Can I… ask you something before you go?" she said as she grabbed Ras's hand and began to drag him off so they could talk in private, leaving Higgs and River confused, But Marco had a good idea of What Scarlet wanted.
Once they rounded a corner, Scarlet let go Ras's hand and turned to face him with an uncertain look in her yellow eyes.
"What is it Scarlet? What did you want to ask me?" Ras said.
"When we were talking about Orbis on the way here, you said that the Goddess Diche created you to fight the Archdemon." Scarlet said before moving onto what she wanted to ask. "Do you know… do you know if she ever mentioned anything about a… dragon to you?"
"A dragon?" Ras asked.
"Yes a dragon, one that Diche might have known and was very kind to?" Scarlet asked. "Please; If you know anything, can you tell me? Anything at all will be helpful. See I've been asleep for a very long time now; I've only recently woken up when I met Marco. But I… can't recall anything other than the fact that I know that I'm a dragon." Scarlet said sadly as she felt tears begin to appear in her eyes. "One night I had this vision of this place and soon after a woman with long white hair and blue eyes appeared in front of me. She treated me so kindly like I… like I was her own child." She said as she felt her tear begin to roll down her cheeks.
"Hey master," Arky said. "You were with the Goddess before she sent you here to Orbis. Are you sure she didn't mention anything that you could tell Scarlet? I really feel bad for her since she can't remember anything about herself."
Ras looked to Scarlet and saw the pleading look on her tear stained face. He had seen that look many times on the face of those who fell during the many battels against the Archdemon.
"Scarlet," Ras said as her eyes locked with his. "I wish I had the answers you were looking for, I truly do. But… Diche she only told me of my task to defeat the Archdemon and bring hope back to Orbis." He said and saw her gaze shift to the ground.
"I see," Scarlet said feeling as though even coming here she still couldn't find a single thing that could help her.
"But there is something I did notice," Ras said which instantly had Scarlet looking back up at him.
"Really!"
"Master you sadists! Making this sweet girl cry like that, even though you knew something!" Arky said accusingly.
"It wasn't on propose! You think I intentionally would do something like this!?" Ras said before continuing. "Anyway Scarlet, as Diche was about to send me to Orbis, I saw that she had this… regretful look in her eyes."
"Regretful?" Scarlet said.
"Yes, it looked as if she was having… second thoughts about having me fight the Archdemon, already knowing the tremendous burden I would have to carry to protect the world she created." Ras said. "Then just as Diche was sending me to face to Archdemon, I think I heard her whisper something to herself, although I'm not entirely sure."
"Can you remember what you think she said?" Scarlet asked as she wiped her face.
"Well it was only a brief moment; but I think what I heard her say was, "One more life I did not wish to see leave me."
"A life she didn't want to leave her?" Scarlet said thoughtfully. "It sounded like Diche… didn't want to send you to fight Ras, but because she wanted to protect Orbis so much she had to. So you haven't spoken with Diche since after the Archdemon this time?"
"No, I haven't." Ras said. "The Goddess's power had been growing weaker due to how many times she's had to resurrect this world. So I'd imagine speaking with her would prove difficult."
"Well maybe since the Archdemon won't comeback; once the goddess regains enough strength, master could talk to her then." Arky said.
"Hey yeah, then maybe you could ask her if she knew anything about a dragon, please Ras?" Scarlet said as she gave Ras a cute puppy dog eye look, which she saw was quickly working on him.
"Alright, alright, if I'm able to speak with the Diche I'll ask her if she knows anything that may be helpful to you." Ras said.
"Yes! Thank you so much for this Ras!" Scarlet said happily as she hugged Ras.
"I can't ensure the next time we see each other I'll have anything, but I'll try." He said.
"I know; you and Arky have your quest to get Mercedes back." Scarlet said as she let go. "even if it's only a little bit of anything, I'll be fine with it." She said smiling. "Well I should get back to Marco and others, their probably wondering why I whisked you away back here?"
As Scarlet turned and began walking away, she heard Ras callout to her.
"Scarlet?"
"Yes Ras?"
"Continue to hope and believe; I'm sure you'll find the answers to your past."
"Got it." Scarlet said. "And you and Arky continue to hope that you'll bring Mercedes back."
"Of course." Ras said.
"Arky will make sure master doesn't get lost along the way." Arky said as Ras sighed and Scarlet giggled.
As the two watched the red haired girl leave and return to her friends, Ras couldn't help but wonder if maybe they meeting Scarlet was preordained.
"Master! You better not have fallen asleep for another century on me!?" Arky yelled into Ras's ear.
"I was thinking, not sleeping you walking puffball. And I told you to keep your voice down." Ras said. "Now come one, we need to make our way to the Infinite Library."
"And do you remember which way to it?" Arky asked already seeing the clueless look on his master's face.
"Umm…"
"It's a good thing I told Scarlet I'd make sure you didn't get lost." Arky said as lead his master to where they needed to go.
A/N: Okay I'll have to stop the chapter here. I feel like I've written enough for now. Next chapter will be part two where we'll be introduced to even more Epic Seven characters. Also, to those who are starting the game check these YouTube channels for help about characters, Team builds and other things related to the game: Grass Angel, Mogawty, Demone Kim, Mango Seven, Scion Storm.
Okay, hope you all have an amazing day! See Ya!