It was the middle to end of July, back on Earth. Summer was in its prime now, the blistering heat tearing holes through the air-conditioned defenses of homes all around Echo Creek. Marco, however had no problem with the heat. Throughout the last month, he had trained in the freezing temperatures of the Arctic Array and the incredible torridity of the Underworld, so these extreme conditions seemed pretty puny to him. He had become a fearsome warrior, under Hekapoo's intense training schedule. He had really grown on her over the last couple of weeks, mainly because their personalities complimented each other greatly. He was anxious and pretty afraid of everything, whilst she was pretty calm and had this extremely bored aura surrounding her. However, that aura was negated whenever the two fought. You could call it the thrill of the fight, perhaps. They had travelled to different areas, in order for Marco to learn that he should always use the vicissitudes of the environment to his own advantage. This was an important part of scissor-sparing, as Hekapoo cleverly put it. Since you were going to teleport around, the battlefield had to be your ally, but it might as well be your worst enemy. Should you be on unknown ground, you must be at all times aware of your surroundings. Especially if you happen to just appear between groups of enemies, who greatly outnumber you…
She had taught him, that, in this sort of fight-style, you can always win, regardless of the odds. And he found that out, by completely decimating legions of her clones, all at once, using nothing but clever tactics. He was far from being a mastermind of the battlefield, relying more on pure brawn, rather than on brain, but he had gotten by thus far. She managed to teach Marco about different dimensions as well, specifically about Mewni. He learnt that Mewni had different layers, one of which was where the Royal Family lived, and the one he was the most acquainted with, another one, being the Underworld, Tom's family was inhabiting and the last one being that elevated ground, where the High Magic Committee was located. The biggest, and most varied of all, was the middle ground, due to its well-known 'good side' and its extremely versatile evil sides, ranging from swamps of monsters, forests of doom and perilous mountain peaks to innocent, yet extremely vicious realms, inhabited by the most devious and deceiving of creatures.
One day, after their usual training routine had come to an end, Hekapoo looked sad, yet happy at the same time. It was a weird mix, confusing, yet intriguing at the same time.
"Look, kiddo…Today's the last day of our little thingy we've got going on here for the past month or so…"
"You mean…"
"Yep, I've passed down to you every single thing I've learned in my loooong life. Now all you can do is teach yourself whatever you need."
"So…I'm ready to go and look for Star?"
"Oh…that. My guess is that you've always been ready, but your friend wanted you to be more than prepared. I believe you'll have some trouble along your way, because he had been nothing but a know-it-all for his entire life, and he was fully aware of what lurks in Mewni."
"Anything else, I've got to know, before I head for my doom?"
"Hmmm…I can't read anything in your amigo's gesture to send you to me, so nothing about that. And since, I've taught you all I can, I guess there's nothing left to say now, except for…goodbye."
Marco didn't know how to react. This happened so fast, the change was so sudden…Was he really prepared to take on the challenges that finding his best friend would pose? It was an unknown territory, unknown dangers, unknown…everything. It was all a sea of uncertainty, and he wasn't sure he was ready to dive in.
"You gonna leave me hanging or what?"
"Oh…no, sorry. Thanks for everything you have done for me, Hekapoo," he said bowing down, as if he was speaking to his karate sensei.
"No problem, Marco," she said slapping the back of his head, burning his hair, just like the good old days.
"You've…called me by my name," Marco replied, after having already stepped one foot in the portal back home. "You've never done that before."
"Call it a goodbye gift. Now chop-chop, you've gotta get to your beloved," Hekapoo said smirking, as she ushered Marco inside the portal, teasing him at the same time. "See ya around!"
And with that, the portal closed behind Marco, leaving him standing in his room, all alone. He had to gear up, before embarking on this ultimate trip and…what better place to shop for your interdimensional needs other than Quest Buy. After he had cracked the map of the seemingly infinite 'shopping center', he wasn't wandering around the hallways aimlessly like the other simple-minded buyers. He knew exactly where to go, and since he had made a list with what he needed to look for, he was a relentless shopping machine.
He cashed out a light suit of armor, a sharp, curved dagger a pouch for water, a bag for any important items he might need to stockpile, sheathes for his two weapons, an pixie-iron helmet and boots and last, but certainly not least, a pen and notepad, because he was out of them. They all costed the incredible sum of six hundred and fifty human dollars. Returning home and equipping what he had bought, he was now staring at himself in the mirror. He resembled a knight in shiny armor as they were portrayed in video games or movies. The little dagger on the right side and the dimensional scissors, sheathed on his left, made him look as if he had chosen the 'Thief' class. The helmet complimented and completed his appearance, covering his brown hair, making him look threatening. Overall he was ready physically, but mentally he didn't know whether or not he will be able to withstand the trials awaiting for him. He grabbed his scissors and contemplated them for a minute or so, after finally clenching his hand on them and opening the portal to Mewni. Hesitating still, he stepped in and now his fate was sealed, as the entrance closed behind him…
He 'spawned' in a forest, fairly lit, unlike the darker woods he had encountered in his many leaps through multiple dimensions. A giant tree was reigning over the landscape and Marco could see its majestic crown, stretching on, seemingly endless in size. He decided to head for the king of the forest and use it as a viewpoint and a way for him to find out more about his surroundings.
The armor suit did nothing to slow him down, although its weight was considerable. He could run at the same speed and his mobility was the same, so he had no problem with that aspect. However, the helmet restricted his field of view, meaning he could be easily flanked…But he didn't have to worry about enemies at this point, because the only living creatures around him where peaceful: deer, bunnies, foxes, they were his 'companions' throughout his mighty quest.
Strangely enough…his adventure was uncannily resembling the story line of a role-playing game. It started lightly, with a rather innocent-looking map that only symbolizes the quiet before the storm. He couldn't help but wonder for a second, if the rest of the trip was going to be the same. But, if Scott decided it was for the best if he got the training he had received…maybe he knew what was hiding beneath that delightful surface.
Having reached the enormous tree, he was extremely surprised to found a note on the humongous trunk. It bore Scott's handwriting and a supporting message on it…That was strange, given his other messages, which were more written to give advice, rather than encourage anyone…
"Marco, congratulations on embarking on this journey to find Star. I wanted to tell you that what you've signed up for is not…easy. I had constructed Star's hideout, bearing in mind the power Toffee has, therefore it has a lot of…defenses, for lack of a better word. You will need to be brave and bold, and should you ever lose hope, or want to give up, remember why you are doing this all for…for whom you are going through all of this, especially. It is imperative that you reach Star's castle (yes we are talking about a castle, whose towers you should be able to see from the top of this tree), in two days. You may ask, how I know that, provided that I have no idea when you will find this note. The answer to that is…because I am Scott. I have no better way to put it. You shouldn't try to climb up and use this 'Old Oak', as it's called, as a viewpoint, because it would only waste time. I know what I said earlier, but still…It's me we're talking about. I suppose Hekapoo taught you some things about Mewni like how the Sun rises from the north, sets to the east, and never points south. Bear this in mind, because you must only go north, ok? With that said, I wish you all the luck you need to succeed in your journey.
P.S. Any enemies you would encounter, you are free to slay. They are nothing but figments of my imagination and were brought into reality for the express purpose of defending the princess. Take care."
It's funny how Scott still had such a great influence on his life, even from beyond the grave. It seemed that posthumous he was more present than he ever was before. Marco couldn't wrap his head around how the heck these notes kept popping out. Maybe he wasn't dead after all. Maybe it was just an elaborate trick to trigger this change for him, to transform his life into what it should be. Perhaps he was the heavy hand of fate that was driving the plot of his life forward. But, then…why go to the trouble of sending him to Hekapoo, when he was more than capable of teaching him those things himself. The hypothesis was shaking now, Marco being the one to denounce his own arguments as always. Still, he had this theory for a while now and he couldn't just erase it, so he put it on the backburner for the moment.
But he had pandered enough already. Looking towards the setting sun, he realized the direction he should be going on and decided to go as far as he could, until night would settle in. However, he wasn't used to Mewni's time progression. The second the sun touched the horizon, it seemed like it sucked him in, leaving Marco in the dark almost instantly. He stopped under a rather solid looking tree, whose trunk had a hole inside as if it were specifically made for someone to take shelter inside. Using his survival skills, gathered from spending a total of sixteen years living on a prayer, mostly, he had lit up a fire. He stuck his dagger and his dimensional scissors in the ground, as he saw many knights do in the movies, even if he didn't know why. Perhaps it was, in case of danger, they would be handy and he wouldn't have to stumble with unsheathing his weapons. He removed his helmet and laid his head on the ground. Thinking of the journey he had ahead, he fell asleep…
A loud crackling noise woke him up, as the moon was in the middle of the sky, signaling it was midnight. Marco, didn't know exactly what broke his light sleep. He could hear the rustling bushes around him, and a series of strange growls. Putting his helmet on, he grabbed his dagger and his dimensional scissors and, hiding further inside the hollow and waited for his unknown enemies to show up. The tip of an enormous snout popped out from the hedges on his left. Following it, a humongous horned reptilian head and the monstrous body of what appeared to be a wyvern, showed themselves to the on-the-prowl boy. Marco had three choices now. He either fought his much more powerful intruder, driving him off his camp, waited for the beast to leave or teleport himself to a safe place. The first one was completely out of the question. He could destroy Ludo's powerless monsters and go toe-to-toe to some chaotic neutral forces, but he wasn't going to fight a fricking dragon! So, he patiently and silently waited, his heart skipping a beat with every earthshaking step the huge reptilian. He was hoping that he wouldn't smell him or see him with his glow in the dark eyes, especially since he knew that his human stench was unbearable…
Thankfully the wyvern minded its own business, not even caring for the delicious boy hiding inside the tree. It continued its midnight stroll through the dark forest, looking for whatever immense mythological creatures search before the crack of dawn…The sun swiftly rose to its place on the wild blue yonder. Night and day were strange on Mewni…the transition between them was way too sudden for Marco. After about six hours of sleep, he set out towards the castle, being as tired as he was anxious. He could still hear the trees falling behind the mighty dragon's warpath and, with a relived sigh, he thanked himself that he didn't confront it.
Soon, he was at the edge of the forest. He could clearly see the towers of a medieval-looking castle in the distance, but he couldn't quite approximate how much it would take him to reach his destination…Mainly because there was a mountain he had to cross over. Mountain was an underestimation, though, because the rivers of lava flowing from its top, sent a very clear message. "You're facing a volcano here, boy!" Surrounding the base of the imposing peak was a burnt down forest…crawling with what amounted to legions of possible hellspawns…
"Why is this place so weird?" Marco asked out loud, dumbfounded by the diversity of Mewni's ecosystems. He made a 360 degree turn and took in the landscape this dimension had to offer. Obviously in 4 corners of the horizon, he saw four completely different sceneries. In front of him there was the blistering infernal décor of the smoking volcano, completely contrasting the calm, peaceful forest, crawling with adorable innocent critters he had left behind. Far in the distance, kissing the woods, the glaciers were creeping in the green of the grass, declaring war against the springtime reigning over the forest. It was the battle between the oldest and the youngest of seasonal sisters…and none were winning as their forces were at a ceasefire, resting quietly at the frontier between the two environments. On the other side, the ruthless, dry desert was slowly creeping in, engulfing with its ever-expanding sand dunes the virgin woods…Four corners of Earth's most extreme climates were found in an area of a couple of square miles on Mewni…This is how weird this place was, Marco…
He had two ways to assess the next part of his interdimensional trek. He could climb up the volcano, spending as little time as possible in the area with the horrendous monsters, but engaging in an extremely dangerous hike…Or he could go around the base, on the riverbank of the aforementioned lava stream, but he risked many battles with the grotesque beasts…He chose the latter, because it was less hazardous…Not even Marco, understood this decision, but he couldn't waste any time fixing the train of thought, halted at the station.
It was dusk again. The armored boy had successfully managed to repel the attacks of three packs of hellhound and one fiery harpy…The only thing he lost was a bit of blood, as the harpy's sharp talons slashed through his chest plate with ease, and his right shoulder pad was now being digested by the river of lava.
"Note-to-self, never fight packs of demons near lava. You can't survive falling in it, but they can," Marco wrote in his notebook. At least, he managed to cut the horn of one of the bigger beasts. He looked at it, thinking about the challenges he had faced so far…Apart from the fear he felt when the dragon passed before him, completely ignoring his stinky being and the four, rather easy fights, there was nothing else. The sun set, but the fiery magma was lighting his path with its incandescent glow…He could skip sleeping for the night in order to cover more distance. The castle's tall towers were blocking the moonlight from falling on this damned forest. This was a good sign. He was getting closer. If he were to walk all night long, tomorrow morning he would be knocking at the gate of the palace in no time.
The night was peaceful. He could hear the blizzard raging in the distance in the arctic corner of the world, and the crickets chirping from the exuberant forest. Those were the only noises breaking the lugubrious silence. He was glad for those, otherwise the tense atmosphere would've overwhelmed him…Marco had his dagger and his scissors in the same hand, walking with his guard up, expecting the worst. However… nothing attacked him for the rest of the night. The seemingly restless beasts were perhaps sound asleep. Strange. You'd think that at the shelter of darkness, these monsters would grow even more powerful, but they didn't. He was left wandering alone in the night, mirroring the course of the river, smiling. He was grateful that he had a moment to catch his breath.
Marco could see the end of the charred string of trees. Finally, he could see something else apart from the empty black leafless branches and the burnt slim trunks. Another forest, this one looking a lot like the one he had just passed through was contouring in front of him. Just a couple hundred feet were separating him from the exit from hell. For the first time, he left his guard down. He was exhausted, therefore his hearing and sight were slightly impaired…He didn't hear the light steps of the slim and shady silhouette that was slowly, yet surely crawling towards him. The second it grabbed Marco's leg, the boy instinctively kicked and recoiled, landing a feet away from the hot, deadly river. The strange hand of whatever touched him was still clenching his left foot. He shook it off and took his guarding stance. He could barely see his assailant…
It was a skeleton, his royal head wearing a rugged, worn out crown, a red jewel faintly shining on it. It was clearly the remnants of a former king, judging by the heavy armor he was wearing and the emblem on his shoulder pads. Even though he had absolutely no skin left sticking to his bones, he still had his long white hair he probably died with poking from beneath his crown. He wielded an enormous hammer that he could lift and presumably swing with only one hand, his strength remaining with him, even when he passed in the afterlife. His armor was heavy and thick. He had a multilayered chest plate, double knee pads, a big belt buckle from which a red cloth hanged, possibly the tip of the crimson cape hanging from his back. The boots he was wearing completed his knight-like appearance. The skeleton was looking at him menacingly, but didn't seem like he had any intention to attack. He walked up to his hand, grabbing it from where Marco had kicked it and he inserted his wrist back in its socket.
"A skeletal warrior? Scott couldn't think of anything else more original?" Marco taunted his royal enemy.
"I may be unoriginal, but I am what stands between you and the princess now, boy. I had been created to be the last stand between any evil and her."
"Oh…well, then. I am her best friend and her crush, for that matter. Does that qualify as me being good?"
"All who trespass are evil!" The skeleton yelled, his ghastly voice making Marco's blood freeze in his veins. The next thing he saw was the spectral warrior charging towards him. His hammer fell heavily on the ground, shattering the river bank Marco had dodged the attack from. The skeleton quickly dislodged it from the molten lava and swung it towards the nimble boy again, who jumped back about five feet, putting a safe distance between the psychopath and himself. Marco had already analyzed his enemy. He was slow-moving but could wield his phage with amazing speed. Even though he was dead, his strength was fearsome and his reflexes were intact…Marco had to take him by surprise.
He opened a portal and quickly appeared behind him, cutting his head with his dagger. He then grabbed his skull and threw it in the lava at the same time restraining his body with his free hand. However, he was silly to think that would end the fight…The warrior grabbed him with his powerful grip and threw him overhead, sending him about ten feet away from the headless skeleton. Marco saw him turning around and grabbing his head which was floating on the molten lava…With a loud crack, he put its skull back in its place and started slowly walking towards him, raising his mighty hammer. Marco rolled away from the fierce blow at the last second, but the skeleton was already preparing for another attack. Swiftly, Marco opened a portal underneath him. He fell on top of the king, thrusting his dagger in his skull. He jumped off, the skeleton's skull still stuck to his little blade, as the warrior fell to the ground with a loud thump.
Marco threw his skull on the ground, crushing it with his foot to guarantee that he won't be able to use it again. He was about to leave, having already sheathed his scissors and dagger, when an enormous wall appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Two more walls had risen to his sides, leaving the only way out to be behind him. He feared what he would see should he turn around, but still he had to look. Standing on his knees supporting his weight on his enormous hammer, the skeleton guarded the only exit. His hand was glowing green as he touched the small bones of his skull.
Before Marco's eyes, his head glued itself back together and with the same crack as before, he lodged it back in place. His gaze was not empty anymore…two red dots appeared in the middle of his empty eye sockets. Fueled by his rage, the skeleton swung his hammer at the ground, shattering the earth beneath. Marco couldn't jump high enough to avoid the attack and the shockwave was too fast. He couldn't teleport in time to dodge the quake, and it sent him flying in the air…He landed outside the tomb created by the skeleton. The force at which he was thrown, made him roll on the scorched ground, stopping when his head was hanging dangerously close to the magma river. He was too exhausted and weakened to be able to recover. He could feel the skeleton's heavy steps coming closer and closer to him. He saw his emotionless skull looking at him.
"Pathetic," he uttered as he raised his hammer, preparing for the final blast. His mighty mallet blocked out the moon as it was descending towards Marco, predicting his inevitable doom…
Or was it inevitable? Marco was reliving a former fight he had with Hekapoo…She had cloned herself to the point where he was surrounded by an armed legion of her. They all charged towards him, but he opened a portal and blinked away, leading to the clones destroying themselves…He could recall her words clearly:
"Whenever an enemy greatly exceeds your power, use that power against him. Make him hit himself, then maybe ask him why he did that."
This is how he came up with the idea of opening a portal above him, to shield his body from the crushing blow…The exit of his portal was behind the skeleton. His own force made his bones break and scatter all over the battlefield, some even landing in the lava…He had defeated the boss.
He gathered all his strength to get up. He was barely breathing, being extremely fatigued after a sleepless night and an intense fight…But he ignored that the second he looked towards the castle's direction and saw the two towers…and saw them falling apart. Using his adrenaline rush he exited the infernal forest and entered the 'blessed grounds' as he saw them to be.
The castle was surrounded by a barrier only visible from very close…Surprisingly Marco managed to pass right through it, no effort needed whatsoever. He carefully made his way through the ruins of the palace, his hand grasping the dagger's handle. His senses were all amplified now…he could clearly see all the cracks from the knocked down walls and he could hear the fire cracking the wood in the heart of one of the towers… And he could see the light being reflected by the shining blonde hair of his friend, who was too preoccupied to study a scroll…she didn't even notice him.
"S-Star?" he asked stammering?
"WOAH!" she recoiled loudly, blasting him out of nowhere. He was now stuck in a wall…
"M-Marco?" she asked realizing what she had done.
"Yeah," he groaned in pain as she helped him out of his hole.
You'd think that after so much time they spent separated, they would jump into each other's arms glad to be reunited…but that wasn't the case. The same awkwardness from before was still present between the two. No one knew how to break it…
"Listen, Star," Marco said, but got interrupted by Star.
"No…you listen Marco…I want to apologize about everything that happened between us…I'm sorry for the way I told you about 'the thing'…It was childish and immature, and I just took off afterwards just to top it all off. I'm sorry for the way I made you feel, I'm sorry for whatever I put you through…I'm sorry…" but this time she got interrupted by something she couldn't have possibly predicted. Marco locked his arms around her, tightly hugging her, while kissing her. She was at the same time: surprised, scared, amazed and glad.
"I'm just happy that you're ok…"
The moon above them shone bright, spilling her crimson light over the two kids hugging…And with this last ominous glow…the crowned queen of the night returned to her pale state…