"Ugh." Marco groaned as he woke up. Marco tried to sit up, but pain shot through hie entire body and he clopped back onto the couch. "Ow." Marco groaned, with a dry tone of voice.
Marco heard a portal open next to him. He tried to turn his head face to see what it was, but it hurt to much to turned his head. "Ah, you're not dead." Marco heard Hekapoo comment, with a monotone voice.
"Ugh, thanks for your concern." Marco sarcastically groaned.
"Hey if it wasn't for me you'd be dead." Hekapoo shot back. Well technically if it wasn't for Glossaryck he'd be dead. But telling him that would lead to questions she didn't have answers too. "How are you feeling?" Hekapoo asks with a more gentle tone.
"Well, everything hurts." Marco answered.
"At least you feel everything." Hekapoo responded. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Marco opened his mouth to speak, but soon shut it as memory after memory came rushing back to him, like a flood.
Flashback.
"I was walking across the wasteland." Marco narrated.
A pale and weak looking Marco was limping across the red sand.
"I hadn't eaten in days and I twisted my ankle. Speaking of which..." Marco commented.
"Ugh. Yes I have some food you can have." Hekapoo mentioned.
"Thanks." Marco responds. "Anyway where was i?"
"You was travelling across the wasteland." Hekapoo answered.
"Oh right." Marco remembers.
Marco soon hears a growling behind him. He turns to see the pack of those blue furred creatures behind him.
Then those, things came out of no where and attacked me." Marco continued.
"They're call Bull-fangs, and yeah they do that." Hekapoo commented.
"I don't remember much about the fight. It's all a blur. All I can remember is it drained me of what little energy I had left."
"Do you remember anything else?" Hekapoo asked.
"No, should I?" Marco questioned.
End of flashback.
Hekapoo was sat next to Marco's feet on the couch. "Well, when I found you, You asked if I was real." She answers.
"Well, I have been having delusions." Marco admits. Hekapoo face palms herself with a pained expression. "What? You didn't ask." Marco mentioned.
"It's not that." Hekapoo responded with a weak voice.
"Then what is it?" Marco as softly as his dry voice allowed him to.
"I could have killed you, or any challenger before you the second the challenge is accepted. But that is not how the challenge works. I can anything but kill you or permanently destroy your psyche. When the challenge is accepted, it is my response ability to keep you alive, and give you a chance. I almost failed today." Hekapoo finished with a sigh that showed how ashamed of herself she was.
Normally when Star was upset, he would hug her until she calmed down. But seeing as every inch of his body hurt when he moved and he wasn't sure if Hekapoo would hurt him or not. Marco found himself awkwardly asking. "Soooo. What happens now?"
Hekapoo sighed as she threw her upper body back into the backrest of the couch and looked up to the ceiling. "Well I usually take care of a challenger until they're healthy enough to be sent back the their home dimension." She answered.
"Usually?" Marco repeated with confusion.
"Considering you were off to a strong start, I think you just need some experience. So I'll give you a choice. Once you're healthy, you can either go back to your home dimension, or I could train you up and you can run the challenge again. What do you say?" Hekapoo asked.
Marco gave about it about 5 seconds thought before he answered with a grin. "I'm in."
And with that it was decided. Once Marco was back to full strength, Hekapoo would train him until he was ready to retake the challenge.
A few days later.
Hekapoo opened the door to her house with a bundle of sticks under her left arm. "Alright Marco, le-" Hekapoo cut herself off, as she watched Marco sat with his legs crossed, his eyes were closed, and his thumb touching his index fingers. Hekapoo watched as Marco took slow, deep breaths. But what really caught her attention was the return of the the crescent moons on his cheeks. Hekapoo put the sticks down and approached him. "What are you doing?" She asked.
This broke Marco's concentration. The marks faded as he opened his eyes and lowered his hands. "It's called, meditation." Marco explained.
"What's it for?" Hekapoo questioned.
"It's basically used to help a person relax and find themselves." Marco explained.
"Huh." Hekapoo muttered. "Sounds like dipping down." She thought to herself.
"Hey, what are the sticks for?" Marco asked as he pointed at them.
The question had sapped Hekapoo out of her thoughts. "Well I might be able to teach you anything to physical at the moment. Like fighting, hunting or building shelter. I can still show you how to build a fire, make weapons, turn skin into leather, and most importantly for you. Patch up wounds." She answered.
"Hey!" Marco responded playfully.
2 years later.
It was time. Marco was now ready to retake the trial. Both Marco and Hekapoo were stood in the middle wasteland, with Hekapoo holding a large egg. "What's that for?" Marco asked, as he pointed towards the egg.
"Call it a gift. It'll help you get around when there's less of me." Hekapoo mentioned. "It's got a strong shell, and best to keep in a fire when you can." Hekapoo mentioned as she handed him the egg.
"What kind of egg is this?" Marco asked.
"A dragoncycle egg." Hekapoo answered. "And with that, the challenge begins." She ran past Marco and burned his head with a slap.
"See you around H-poo." Marco muttered with a smirk.
The End.
I couldn't think of away to make the training that entertaining. Yeah I could do a fight, but they don't last long and I would want to do more then a single chapter showing Marco's training.