Author's Notes:
I really hope you enjoy the chapter, it took me 2 retakes before I could actually save it due someminor difficulties.
Don't forget, I love to hear your opinions and any ideas that you might have, so feel free to share them.
Upshot
Jackie
Jackie was in front of Pete's Donut shop, she had just bought a box for a late evening snack. The sun was nearly setting and she wanted to get home before it got too dark, she wasn't afraid of it, just not a big fan. She look down at her other hand, her skateboard didn't weigh that much, she liked to carry it wherever she went. She love the feeling of the breeze in her hair, that is what she loved about skateboarding the most. She thought back to when she first got onto a skateboard, her neighbor's were mostly boys. One day they dared her to join them, she never skateboarded before, but as soon as she got on one she loved it
Janna was on her way to the Diaz's, when she noticed Jackie just standing there. "Hey Jackie, you know where Marco is?" Janna asked, jumping out in front of her. She was feeling a little more bored than usual and she was hoping she could take it out on Marco. He made it so easy for her and never seemed to have a problem with it, well not too much of a problem. As much as she liked him, she loved causing trouble for him more.
"He's probably at home still moping around the house. He has been like this for the past two weeks. Nothing I have done has cheered him up in the slightest." Jackie answered, sighing. She has been trying everything for the last two weeks, it was starting to stress her out a little. She didn't like stressing about anything, she liked to be laid back and chill, it was just her style.
"I'm sensing that you're a little upset." Janna joked, teasing her friend. She didn't get many chances to tease Jackie, so she couldn't help herself. Jackie just looked at her.
"Well yeah, he's starting to worry me, I understand that it hurts to lose a friend like that, but I'm here. He doesn't even realize it, but him not talking to me that much and stuff is hurting my feelings." she told her friend, not ever talking like this with anyone.
This shocked Janna, she has been friends with Jackie since kindergarten and she has never seen her friend act like this. She changed her mind on teasing her and decided that she would give some advice.
"Sounds to me you need to think about some things, so let me help you out. First, you need to ask yourself what are things you like about Marco and then you need to think about the chance of Marco accepting Star's feelings." Janna tells her friend like she usually does, as if she were stating facts. She cares, but she has a reputation to think about.
"I've never thought about it, they're there, just never gave them serious thought. For Marco, I love his goofiness, he can make me laugh no matter what and he is one of the kindest people I have ever met. I also think he looks a little cute in a certain light. And for the idea of him accepting her feelings, I think it has a good chance of happening. I found out about his crush on me in the 4th grade, Ferguson had accidently let it slip in front of me. Ever since then, I have come to like him as well. When she came into the picture, I saw a slight change in Marco and for the longest of times I thought that they would get together. I've always felt that they had a certain chemistry that me and him would never have. So when I asked him to the dance, I didn't really expect him to say yes." Jackie confessed, it had been a while since she has had to think about something so deeply.
"I believe you've thought about this more than you think you have. I just have one more question, are you prepared for the possibility of him accepting her feelings, you've said it yourself that there is a good possibility if it happening?" Janna asked as she patted her friend on the back and decided to head home, her plans canceled.
For Jackie, the thought of losing Marco made her heart ache, but she knew how Marco is, another thing she liked about him. Thinking about them together almost makes her want to cry, but the only answer she could could think of was waiting, only time could give her the answer. She'll know the answer when he gives her that one look, the one where he looks like he'll start bawling at any minute, she smiled.
'No matter what his choice is, I'll support him, it can't be any other way.' She thought to herself as she rolled her skateboard on the ground and hoped on. She sailed down the sidewalk, feeling a little lighter than before.
Marco
The time dimension had to be one of Marco's favorite, it was weird, but it had a sense of calming to it. It was like it was the embodiment of peace, even with the crazy stuff that happened there. The dimension gave meaning to the phrase, when pigs fly, because they were chased by a group of flying pigs and that happened on his second visit. The more he visited, the crazier things he'd see, now it doesn't really surprise him anymore. On the other hand, he had some fond memories with Star here, from their first time meeting Father time to when they raced him on his wheel.
"So what exactly do I have to do?" Marco asked the giant.
Prime had reverted back to his form, since they were in his realm after all. He turned to look at the small boy. "For now, just follow." he said with a smile. It didn't take much time to reach where he was heading, a place Marco knew about already.
It was a little stage-like room with televisions stacked to the ceiling, it was one of the coolest places in the time dimension. "Hey S, you there?" Marco called out, the gigantic eye dropped down from above. The eye looked at Marco, and if an eye could smile it would be smiling at him. It went over to Marco and started
"Wait, you call it S?" he asked.
"Well it really wasn't my idea, it was Star's, we come here sometimes and we always visit this place. Then one day Star had enough of just calling it an eye, and it seemed to like some company, so she wanted to give it a name. As for calling it S, Star's exact words were 'It streams videos of people's lives, it has to be a simple name, and its a girl so why not S for Stream?'. So we've called her S since then." Marco explained, making the other start laughing.
"I've heard some silly stories in my time, but that gots to be one of the most silliest ones ever." he continued laughing.
S went over next to Prime and looked at him. "So is this is how it's going to happen?" Marco questioned.
"Well yes, unless you want to have some tummy-time?" he answered, patting his stomach.
"Yeah, I rather not, this is fine." he replied, tummy-time didn't sound very pleasing.
"Now, are there any specific things you wish to look at, and you do not have any set limit, so you can take your time? WIthout any specifics, I'd be showing you everything and that is something I can't do." Prime explained.
"The main thing I wish to see is my future, and that which pertains to those who love me. To me this is probably going to be one of the biggest decisions I'll ever make. I know life comes with many other problems and choices, but with my other half I know I'll be able to face them." he said with conviction, he was cheesy when it came to romance, but it was him.
"I see, well that is a pretty simple one, but yes that is a big decision even if some might think otherwise. You may not know this, but Eclipsa said same thing, well not word for word, but pretty close to it. She might only be known for being evil, but she definitely wasn't dumb." Prime looked down, Marco seemed confused. "Well I've said enough about that, shall we get things underway?" he asked, still looking at the young boy.
"Wait, what was all that about Eclipsa?" Marco questioned.
"Something that you'll have to find out yourself, now won't you." Prime smiled, and put his hand on S. All the televisions that surrounded them went black, and the ones closest to Marco come back to life. Only nine of them were on now, each of them only labeled A or B in the corners, except the one at the end which was labeled C. The one labeled C gave him an uneasy feeling, he felt as if he wasn't going to like what C had to offer.
"What's with the letters? Why the C?" he asked, turning to look at the giant behind him.
"Well all the A's are possible outcomes, just by looking at them you'll be able to tell what the decision is, and for the B's its the alternative if choice A is not made. As for C, you have to watch that one for yourself." he replied, this seemed to be the best way to display the possibilities without causing too much confusion. "All you gotta do now is watch them." he chuckled.
Marco turned his attention to televisions, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He took quick glances at all of them, but the glare on the screens and from his angle he couldn't see the full picture of any of them. This was his first step into a future that was up to him.
(This part was hard to figure out. So there isn't much transition, just the possibilities, so that it doesn't repeat. Bare with me on the repeat phrases and words. If this seems weird, well that is because it is, I wrote it weird because this is a weird situation/event.)
A-B 1
It was him and Jackie but, they were much older and they were cooking in a kitchen that he had never seen before. He looked like his Hekapoo Dimension self, muscular and handsome, except for the scars. Jackie looked the same, just more curvy, her hair was a little longer though. Two kids could be seen running through the kitchen, a boy chasing a much smaller girl with a frog. The older versions of them looked at each other and smiled, then the older Marco effortlessly got the frog from the small boy, who hadn't realized. Time skipped a little and the next thing he seen was the kids in new outfits and with backpacks on, the older versions bending down and hugging the kids before they hopped onto a bus which had Echo Creek painted on the side of it. The older versions had went back into the house and the older version of Jackie lead the older version of Marco up the stairs. The screen faded.
As for the alternate, Jackie was with a blonde haired guy, a little less built like older version of Marco, but just as handsome. The guy had a suit on, he was walking towards the front door. A Jackie was holding what looked like a newborn, it was wrapped in a blue blanket and had a blonde swirly hair. Before the man walked out the door, he turned and gave Jackie a kiss and kissed the little baby on the head. The time skipped, all that could be seen was a little boy, he opened the front door with tears in his eyes. He had the same skateboard that Jackie had and he was covered in scratches and bruises. It didn't take the older two to get to him, hugging him tight they consoled him. When he had calmed down, the older Jackie took him to a bathroom where she bandaged him up and gave the boy a warm smile.
Marco didn't take his eyes off the screens. "That seemed like it would be cool, and since I didn't see Star in it I guess we don't get to see each other often or at all. Plus, Jackie was beaming when she was with that blonde haired guy though. Are they all gonna be somewhat similar to this?" Marco asked Prime.
"Well in a way yes." he answered. That was all Marco needed to hear.
A-B 2
This one started off with a canvas portrait, it was of him and Star dressed in royal attire, with a little girl in between them. All of them had smiles on their faces, it was a wonderful portrait. An older Marco dressed is attire set at a table with Prime, Hekapoo, Rhombulus, and an older Moon, they were discussing things that had to be done. The meeting didn't take as long as one would expect. Time fast forward a little, STar, him, and the little girl all sitting on a blanket in the middle of The Forest of Certain Death. They were all casually enjoying a meal, a few monsters would show up here or there and wave and continue on their way. The screen faded.
The alternate started the same way, a canvas portrait, except he wasn't in it and their was a little boy instead. The one in his place was a pretty boy prince, he had dark wavy hair and what seemed like shining teeth. Everyone in the picture was smiling except Star who had a straight face. It went to the meeting scene, Star was replacing him in this scene, she had a forced smile throughout the entire meeting. Time skipped, you could see this couple having everything done for them, whether it was just chewing food or getting ready for bed.
"What happened in this one? That was not the Star I know." Marco said, turning to look at Prime.
"Well, you two grew up in this one, remember she is still a princess being groomed into a Queen. Not finding the one she wanted to be with, she was pushed into an arranged marriage for the sake of the kingdom. She took on all the responsibilities that her mother was in charge of. Life goes on, people grow up." Prime looked down, stating the cold hard truth.
"I understand." he replied, he really didn't like that alternate. Marco had to close his eyes and take a deep breath again.
He looked at the third set, he was surprised. There in full color was him in a tuxedo and Janna in a white wedding dress. This was a doozy, never have he imagined that Janna even somewhat liked him, she always made trouble for him and was always teasing him. His mind couldn't handle this one.
"I'm just gonna skip this one if you don't mind." Marco said, not wanting to think about Janna like that. It was unfair, but any scenario he could think of if he was with her made him shudder. That possibility was either horribly bad or awesome, there was no gray area.
"If that's what you want. You may not like the A possibility, but the B might be good for you to see." Prime chuckled.
B 3
This had Janna and Tom together and they were older. It was a pretty decent match if he did say so himself. He never thought of the possibility of them two getting together, but it did make sense and they seemed to have good chemistry. Tom and Janna were sitting in his flaming carriage driving through a dimension he hadn't seen before causing mayhem. Time skipped, the two were at his palace surrounded by fire and watching a movie together when a little three-eyed boy ran up to them, he got in between and sat and watched the movie with them. Skeletons could be seen behind them, hanging on the walls by cuffs and butlers going about their business.
"Well you were right about that. That was worth watching, they seem to be very good together." Marco smiled.
"Well in that alternate, they have enslaved a few dimensions. They've caused some mayhem on Earth and Mewni too." Prime laughed, the more he thought about it the less he laughed.
A-B 4
This surprised him a little more than the last, it was him and Hekapoo. They were in her dimension, he could see Nachos, his awesome dragon cycle and she was watching the television and he was in the back making a pair of dimensional scissors. He finished his job and joined her on the couch, putting a arm around her, she snuggled closer to him, giving him a little peck on the cheek. Time skipped, now they were at a meeting again, they were seated next to each other, Star and Moon were the ones leading the conversation. the screen faded.
This alternate made sense, it was a repeat of the last, but it was just Hekapoo by herself. She was still smiling in this one too. Nothing seemed to change from she was currently doing.
"Well that's Hekapoo I guess." Marco said as he started laughing.
Prime joined in on the laughter. "Yeah, she could go either way and it wouldn't bother her at all. This possibility is a little weird because she may or may not have any feelings towards you, that's why there was a simple alternate" Prime stated.
"Yeah that does make sense." he agreed. Marco looked at C. "I feel like I'm not going to like C." he mumbled. Prime looked at the young boy as he began watching C and smiled.
C
This one started off like a slideshow showing all the alternates, all the things that would happened if choice A was not made. Then it flashed to him, he had on a grey jumper with a mop in one and a bucket in the other. This older Marco didn't look sad, but he didn't look happy either. He was mopping the floors of Echo Creek Academy. Kids passed him without any notice and he kept mopping the floors. Time skipped, now he was dressed up and sitting at a diner table in a restaurant, couples surrounding him, he looked like he was waiting for someone. There the scene stayed, the hours on clock in the background seemed to pass in an instant, nobody came. He paid his bill and went home to a dark little house on the edge of town and went to bed.
"Well that is very depressing, care to explain that one a little more for me?" Marco asked, sighing.
"Well I don't know if I told you this, but each of the possibilities takes into consideration what we are doing right now. For this possibility, you chose to not choose any of them, you had decided that they would all be much happier with their alternates. Not many people would do that for others, even though it doesn't seem like the best for you, C is still a choice you can make." Prime stated, watching the young boy.
"Thank you, I'm gonna go take a walk for a moment and think this all through if you don't mind." Marco said, turning to leave.
"Go ahead, like I said you can take as much time as you want." he smiled at him.
"This is a tough choice, I like the alternate for Janna, so I don't have to take her into consideration. I really don't know how I feel about Hekapoo, that is a very complicated situation, I'd think it'd be easy. Not sure how I feel about the whole idea of her being fine either way. As for Jackie and Star, I like them about the same, and over the past two weeks and with the battle, I've come to notice that. If i were to take into consideration their alternates, I think Star would be much happier with me. I just don't want to lose my friendship with either of them." Marco said, talking to himself as he walked. It wasn't a long walk before he made up his mind, he made his way back to Prime with a smile.
Prime was having a chat with S, who was just listening when Marco returned. "That didn't take as long as I thought you were going to take." Prime retorted with a chuckle.
"Well yeah, I have made up my mind. I just wanted to thank you before I headed back to the castle." he said, giving a slight bow to the giant.
"You don't have to thank me, this was a gift for helping saving my life and possibly many others, it's the least I could do." Prime smiled.
"Hope we can hang out again." The young boy said as he pulled out his dimensional scissors.
"Oh we will." Prime mumbled under his breath, as he waved bye to the young boy. Marco stepped through the portal and all that was left was Prime, a smile still on his face.
