Sorry for the break, Christmas got me off schedule. I have a better idea of what I want to do with the story now, so hopefully that'll start to show. This will definitely be a long story, and the main challenge will be keeping it on the same track from the beginning to end. So far so good. It wasn't the best idea to add in the Future Kids AU in the middle, but I was already in a story that fit it, and I wanted to write about it anyways, so a separate story with it would feel repetitive. I've set it up so that it should feel smoother from here on out. Enjoy, and please leave your comments below!

"Uh, so, Dad?"

Elizabeth's uncertain voice broke through quiet noises of the forest around them. They'd been walking on a trail that would supposedly lead them to Ludo's cave for the past hour. Early on, Marco had realized that he hadn't asked where the hideout was, and after a brief set of questions, had gotten his bearings. He hadn't talked since then. Both Jam and Elizabeth had wanted to ask about something that had been bugging both, but they were afraid to ask. Their father, or the person who'd eventually grow up to be their father, seemed anxious and fixated on something the entire journey. It was only after the silence had become too much for the young teen that she eventually spoke up.

Her words, however, appeared to have fallen on deaf ears. Marco continued to hike onwards, seemingly not hearing his future daughters words. Elizabeth spoke up, making her voice just a touch louder. "Dad, can we talk?" Marco said nothing. Elizabeth pouted in irritation, then yelled, "Hey, DAD!" The shout finally broke the boy's concentration. He jumped, startled, and almost tripped as he tried to face her.

"What, what, what did I miss?" Marco's voice matched his body: jumpy, distracted, and paranoid. Jam scowled at his half-sister. He'd been brought up to respect his elders. One did not simply yell at their own father unless a crisis was underway.

"That's a bit rude, don't you think?" Jam spat.

Elizabeth looked at him like he had grown a third arm. "The hell are you talking about? You smacked him across the face earlier!"

"So did you." His voice got louder.

"AFTER you did it." Her voice got louder.

"I only did it once, cuz' I never get to. You can't keep being that disrespectful to my father like that."

"Ok, first of all, he's my father too, wiseass. Secondly, I don't think I need to take orders from some hypocritical scavenger who-"

"STOP IT!" Marco shouted, causing both of them to flinch. He noticed the looks on their faces as they turned away. Jam looked ashamed of himself, while Elizabeth looked resentful. Interesting, Marco thought. Good information for later.

"Both of you are acting like five-year-olds," he chided them. "I don't have time for this crap right now, and neither do you two." He turned to face Elizabeth specifically. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask?"

Elizabeth's glare stayed on Marco for a few seconds before she asked, "Why wouldn't you let us tell you why we were here or what our pasts are?"

"That's simple. I already know why you two are here, and I don't have time to listen to your lives' stories."

His words made both of the kids pay more attention. "Wait, what?" Jam asked, taken aback. "How do you-"

"Oh please," Marco interrupted him. "Star admits that she has a crush on me, the conversation ends badly, I leave to go fix the problem, and you two just happen to appear here. You two, supposedly my children from two different timelines: one where I'm with Star, and the other with Jackie. What an amazing coincidence, huh?"

Neither teenager responded. He was right, of course. They were there because of the Marco's romantic issues. If they hadn't been so short-sighted, they realized, they would have figured out that Marco had put the pieces together.

"But, dad," Jam asked, still unsure. "Don't you think that we need to talk about this as soon as possible?"

"No, Jam, I don't. Right now, I'm putting my romantic issues aside to help my friend. She's lost something very dear to her, and it's been two weeks too long since I've tried to make a serious effort to undo that. I just hurt her feelings horribly recently, and it's only fair that I try to make up for that." His gaze, one that had been cold with resolve, softened. "I understand that your existences matter a lot to you two, but I can't help you right now. Not until I fix this first problem." He turned around and started down the path again. "Besides, we're missing two major components."

Elizabeth spoke this time. "What do you mean? What components?"

"Glossaryck, for one. He'll know more about time travel and be able to give us vital information." He mumbled to himself, "So long as he isn't pulling his weird bullshit on us again."

"Huh?" Jam asked.

"Nothing. Secondly, we need to see your mothers. This is just as much of their problem as it is mine, and I need to hear their input first."

"Problem?" Both half-siblings sounded disgusted and hurt.

Marco rolled his eyes and faced them. "Your lives are in jeopardy. Wouldn't you call that a problem?"

"Oh, right."

So the trio continued onwards. There was little chatter, besides a few small feuds between Jam and Elizabeth. After three hours, they broke out of the forest and into a large clearing. What had once been forest was now a massive corn plantation. Acres upon acres of corn filled their view. Both Jam and Elizabeth's mouths were open, small pools of drool coming out. Marco heard a dripping noise and looked at the two. "What's up?"

"Corn," Elizabeth mumbled.

"Food," Jam mumbled.

Marco sighed. "I'll feed you two afterwards. Nachos, or enchiladas if I have the ingredients."

The two teens eyes grew wider and they looked at Marco, awestruck. "Really?" They sounded like he'd just told them they were getting puppies for Christmas.

Marco gave them an odd look. "Yes. Really. Now let's go."

The corn fields were empty, which unsettled Marco. A field this large would require several workers to be attending to it constantly, but there were no creatures around. A half hour later, they arrived at an entrance to a cave. Several wooden cogs, levers, cranes, and likewise machinery were connected to the cave. Torn up earth and mud lay around the entrance to the cave, which looked like some sort of mine, in a twenty-foot radius. The entrance to the cave was also abandoned.

Marco's voice shook as he tried to say, "I, uh, we need to, um…" he trailed off. His eyes started to dart all around him, looking for dangers.

"Dad?" Elizabeth sounded calm.

He blinked. "Ah, yes? What?"

Jam interceded. "Are you okay?"

Marco looked at the two of them, then shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just… stay alert."

And then they crept into the cave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"No, Ms. Butterfly, I will not help you." Buff Frog replied. He sounded stern, and tried to get across to the young princess that his reply was the end of the conversation. Star disagreed.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeassssse, Buff Frog? Pretty please? With a nacho on top?"

Buff Frog looked disgusted at the notion of putting a nacho on top of a 'please'. "No."

Star groaned very audibly. After her conversation with Tom and Jackie, Tom had used his dimensional scissors to get them to Buff Frog's house (Star had visited once while Marco was sick). Yet after thirty whole minutes of begging and pleading, Buff Frog had refused to tell Star where Ludo's hideout was. Despite arguing that Marco was going to die and that Ludo needed to be stopped, Buff Frog had stayed stubbornly against her plan. If she died trying to save Marco, he argued, the whole realm would go to shit.

Star left Buff Frog to go talk with Jackie and Tom. They'd been making attempts at small talk, and each attempt had ended in awkward silences.

"So, how'd it go?" Jackie asked, eyes lighting up.

"No luck," Star huffed out.

Tom sputtered. "What!? I thought you said Buff Frog was your friend?"

"Sort of. It's complicated. He thinks that I'll die trying to save him, and that Mewni will go into chaos then."

Jackie shook her head. "How are we going to find the Lair, then?"

"I, I don't know," Star's voice broke. Her only idea had been to ask Buff Frog for directions and move from there. There was no other way that they could find Ludo in time. Her shoulders fell, and her body started to shiver. Despair didn't often overtake the young teen, but her failure to find Marco was about to take its toll. Her best friend was about to die because she had made a big fit over him not changing his feelings on the spot for her. Crushing self-hatred slowly seeped into her thoughts. If she hadn't been so stupid, so self-centered, this wouldn't have happened. The death of her friend would be on her shoulders. Her stupid, arrogant, ridiculous, weird-

Tom saw Star's reaction and got up. "No." Before either of the girls could ask, he stomped his way over to where Star had come from. A minute later, a scream broke the silence of the two girls. They started to get up, but as they were, Tom returned. He was sporting a big, vicious smile on his face and had a small trail of fire behind him.

"Right then." His voice was casual, as though nothing had happened. "The lair is one hour of mild hiking away from here, to the North-West. We might even be able to get there before Marco does."

Star narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"

Tom shrugged. "Habits die hard. He'll be fine in about, oh say, a week?" He nodded. "Yep, about a week." Star's eyes grew fierce, but before she could speak, Tom interrupted her. "Hey, do you want Marco to die because we're all standing around like a bunch of jackasses, arguing about ethics?"

Star wanted to argue. She really wanted to argue. But Tom, damn him, had made a good point. Grudgingly, she muttered, "Fine, let's-"

"ARGGHGHGH!" Tom yelled at the top of his lungs. Jackie had kicked him in the nuts. She retracted her leg, looking upset.

"Janna always said that it would feel satisfying," She explained, guilt on her face. "But that just kinda felt… bad."

"Why! Why did you kick me in the balls?"

Jackie shrugged. "It's what Marco would've done if he were here."

Tom looked at her with a pained expression, then conceded. Star felt bad. She should have known that Marco would have done that. Tom stayed on the ground for another minute, then slowly got up. The three nodded, Tom still in pain, and they left.

True to what Tom had said, it only took them an hour to get to the lair. They arrived at the back entrance, a hole that led right into the ground. A wooden pulley system with a bucket attached led into the hole. Star let out a small sigh.

"Jackie, Tom, are you-"

"Yes, Star, I know what I'm getting myself into," Jackie interrupted her, irritated. She pulled out a small bottle of pepper spray and a stun gun. "I've kept these around in case we ever got attacked on another date."

Star looked unsure, but gave in and nodded. She looked to Tom. He shrugged.

"I'd like to see Marco again. He's interesting."

Star nodded. "Let's go."