Marcapoo Week 2018
Disclaimer: I do not own Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Day 2: Adventures in the Multiverse
One month. That's how long it had been since he returned home from Hekapoo's challenge. But, it didn't really feel like a month… It felt shorter or was it longer? Time differences can really screw with your head. When he left he was fourteen, then he spent sixteen years chasing Hekapoo. During those sixteen years he learned, forged friendships, experienced loss, and even found love. Now, was de-aged by over half his life and the one person who know thought it was no big deal. It's just eight minutes. It was a big deal though, because Marco's home was no longer his home.
He had tried to fit back into his old life, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. He had forgotten everything that he had learned in school and was in danger of failing. On top of that, Star still didn't seem to grasp the fact that he had spent sixteen years hunting Hekapoo; and instead seemed to want him to be the same 'Safe Kid' he always was. But, that Marco, was gone; dead and gone for a decade and a half now.
Because of this, he had spent the last several nights staying up looking at his Dimensional Scissors and debating with himself.
'You can't do it, Marco,' he argued. 'If you give in, it'll just be harder to readjust.'
'Yeah, but she said I could come over whenever I wanted too, and I want to,' he countered. 'Besides, it's not like anything here would be missed. A couple of years there, a minute here. Besides, remember the wedding?'
Marco sighed pleasantly as he remembered that particular memory. Close to the end of his challenge, Hekapoo had informed him that the challenge would be put on hold, due to something threatening the stability of the dimensional walls. Not one to be left behind, Marco offered to join her. So, for the next 3 months they traveled together, learning more about each other as they went, and eventually tracked the disturbances to a group of occultist beneath ancient church. And how do you get access to a church?
You get married!
"Wait! What?" Marco asked in shock.
"You heard me, we're getting married," replied Hekapoo with a roll of her golden eyes. "Weren't you listening?"
"Yeah, but marriage?"
"Listen Fleshwad, the Church of Aquila is old; very old. Older than me, old. So, when I tell you, the only way we're getting in there is by marriage; then we are getting married." Hekapoo snapped. "Besides, it won't really be us, it'll just be two clones that I make to look like us," she reasoned with a shrug.
Unable to come up with an argument against it, Marco agreed and days later the two were set to be married and people form villages all over came to attend.
As Hekapoo's disguised clones stood at the alter and performed the traditional Aquilian marriage ceremony, the real Hekapoo and Marco were nearly half a mile below the surface in a series of ancient catacombs hunting down the occultist. They had to hurry as the ceremony would only last for a couple of hours.
"Is that the last one," Hekapoo asked as an occultist slumped over dead.
"Yeah"
"Then, let's move it," she replied as she ran. We only have twenty minutes to get back to the changing rooms before the clones disappear."
Marco had come to learn that Hekapoo's specialty clones only lasted so long, three hours at the most.
The two split up and arrived back at the groom and bride's rooms with a couple of minutes to spare. A moment later, the disguised Hekapoo clone walked in.
"Wait here for a couple of minutes and catch your breath," the clone said before disappearing.
Marco did as the clone suggested and worked on slowing his breathing. He hadn't expected such a hard fight in such a short amount of time.
Minutes later a knock came from the door. Opening the door, Marco saw that it was one of the church's nuns.
"Follow me, please," she said with a bow of her head.
With nothing to say he couldn't Marco wordlessly followed her. A couple of long hallways and turns later, he was lead to Hekapoo and the head priest. Before any questions could be asked, the priest spoke, "If the happy couple would follow me," and began walking.
Unable to do anything, but follow him, the two were led down a couple of long halls and then up several flights of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a door that the priest unlocked and ushered them into.
"Enjoy," the priest said as he closed and locked the door behind them.
However, Marco and Hekapoo didn't hear him as they were transfixed on the beauty of the room. The floor was a checkered pattern of purple and white marble with gold inlay. Obsidian columns stood about the room holding the ceiling up. All around them beauty stood out here and there. Then finally, their eyes landed on the bed. The bed was massive, easily able to hold twenty of Hekapoo's clones comfortably.
"Why is there a bed here?" Marco turned to ask the priest, only to then realized the priest was gone and they were locked in.
"Do you know what's going on?" he asked Hekapoo.
As Hekapoo thought a chant began to grow louder and louder below them.
"Hakpa, Hekpa, Hekpa"
"Hekpa? What does that mean?" Marco wondered aloud.
"It means I should have thought this through," Hekapoo replied with a growing blush on her cheeks.
"What do you mean?" He asked as he turned to face her.
"Remember how I said the Church of Aquila is an ancient church?" She asked with a full blow tomato red face. "I don't know it there is a word for it in your language, but basically Aquila is the church of pregnancy. And part of the traditional Aquilian wedding ceremony is to take the freshly married couple and lock them into one of the marriage rooms for thirty days for the hopes of producing children. And, 'Hakpa', is the traditional chant for 'good joining'."
With his own blush covering his face, Marco asked, "You mean-"
"Yes," she replied interrupting him. "This room was designed to amplify the sounds of the bed, so If we don't get to it soon. They'll know something is up and we'll have a lot of questions to answer."
Before Marco could say anything, Hekapoo pushed him onto the bed. "We don't have a choice. So, prepare yourself," she said as she began to undress.
That night, and the following twenty-nine nights, two souls in the vast cosmos of the multiverse became one and grew to know each other in a way that could never be broken.
Marco opened his eyes, as he finished the memory, 'I've made my decision.' He grabbed the scissors and cut open a glowing orange portal.
It was time to see his wife.
