This one is about Marco and Higgs, though it does wander around a bit during some moments where the plot changes drastically.


Higgs and Marco did not get off on the right foot when they met. To Higgs, Marco is a grifter who got in through connections and denigrates all her hard work by existing. To Marco, Higgs is a jerk who makes it her mission to makes his job as hard as possible. The two rarely see each other and those feelings never went anywhere.

But for a change, let's say they see each other again. There is a mission that is considered too minor for the knights, so two squires are chosen at random. Three guesses who, and the first two don't count.

Of course, neither Marco nor Higgs are thrilled at being forced to work together to track down a beast that has been terrorizing a far flung village. In fact, Higgs tries to leave Marco behind at the very start, which turns out badly for her due to Marco's Dimensional Scissors.

The first day is filled with taunts and sabotage as they both try to get facts about the mysterious beast and prevent the other from doing the same. Little progress is made by the end as they bunk up in separate barns for the night. Then the mist comes in and the beast arrives. It is massive and takes to smashing various houses. Mewman and Monster flee as it rampages. Marco goes to fight and Higgs, unwilling to let him get any of the credit, goes as well. It is less of a fight and more of them annoying it more and more. Finally, it seizes Higgs and darts off, her screaming and frozen in fear as she is carried away.

No normal boy could've found it, but Marco hadn't spent 16 years in the Neverzone for nothing so he tracks the monster to its lair. Turns out, it hadn't been killing its victims, it was storing food up for some sort of hibernation. When Marco finds the cocoon Higgs has been put in, she's honestly surprised to see anyone again, let alone him. Weapons in hand, both agree to a truce in their relationship to finish the mission. In enough time to fill a episode of tv, the two of them defeat the creature and rescue the captured villagers, both Mewman and Monster. The credit is shared equally and they part on amicable, if awkward terms.

It's not much, but it's enough to start.

Higgs sees Marco in a different light from then on. Gone is the embodiment of all she hates and instead she opens up to seeing him for himself. Of course she still doesn't let him off easy, its not in her nature. But eventually she grows to appreciate his steady nature. The way he knows the best tricks for maintaining weaponry. How he teaches her a new fighting style that helps her gain an edge over the other squires.

Marco too sees Higgs differently. Both of them still snark at each other, and he gets annoyed at times at her early inability to give him a break. But he comes to appreciate the fire inside her. How she is dedicated enough to work in her sleep. How her sharp tongue more and more strikes at the rest of the squires who still harass him. How she refuses to let life beat her down into being a simple peasant.

Acquaintance transitions to friendship eventually. Perhaps the first step is during the Soulrise where Higgs tags along and gives her own brand of advice (namely, that Tad was a leech and that if he didn't vacate Kelly's hair, she would throw him out. It works, for real this time.) After Marco runs from Star and Tom with an aching heart, Higgs is the one who finds him. To Marco's shock, she confesses that she wasn't always sure she wanted to be a Knight, that once she was content to live simply as a peasant girl. Then her parents died to a rampaging creature from the Wildlands. Worse than that, their bodies were raised as the creature's minions, and so she, at a young age, was forced to kill them to defend her and her village. Afterwards, she could not forget that other such creatures threatened Mewni. She could not forget her parents where she lived and she couldn't be content with being a simple peasant. So she decided to become a squire, and leaving home to do the greater thing was the hardest decision she ever made.

It isn't precisely related to Marco's romantic problems, but it is a welcome distraction and Marco's grateful. Kelly too is impressed and empathetic with Higgs and the redhead gains a new friend.

As a side note, when Janna reveals that she conditioned Marco, Higgs forces her, at swordpoint, to reveal all her trigger words and to release Marco from any form of mental conditioning. Marco notes that Janna actually stops harassing him so much afterwards.

The Monster Bash is hard for Higgs. The creature who killed her parents was more of a rampaging beast than a Monster, but she has grown up expecting to fight Monsters as part of her training. Even so, some encouragement from Marco has her open up a bit. The revelation of who Ms. Heinous is a deep cut though and causes some cracks in Higgs supreme loyalty to the current Butterfly's as a concept. After all, if the current rulers were not true Butterfly's, then did that make all oath's sworn worthless?

Higgs needs distraction, so she hangs out with Marco more afterwards. Through him, she meets Eclipsa and questions her. She is unsure what to make of the Queen of Darkness, for she seems a fine woman, with her only hang-up being her love of monsters. Even then, Higg's own knee-jerk dislike of Monsters is vanishing.

All the while, Higgs and Marco go on trips throughout the Multiverse. Eventually, Higgs is introduced to Marco's parents during a baby shower. She and Star both take the quiz when Marco's painting goes awry, and Marco's parents can sense that there is something growing between the two squires. Angie especially is taken with Higg's passion for her job, and sees an echo of her own relationship with her husband, with herself being the more assertive one of the two.

They visit many times afterwards, Marco eventually confiding that Higgs's parents died in her youth, so the Diaz's take her under their wing. Higgs is hesitant at first, but eventually comes to regard Echo Creek as a new home, and to love Angie and Rafael as parents. The parents in their own turn, hope that eventually Marco will make the new parental relationship more official. The only hiccup is that Higgs doesn't like Mexican food.

Meteora's rampage is tough for both of of the Squires. Higgs joins Marco's 7 (now 8) Marcnificent Samurai. Her training, both as a squire and with Marco serves her well as they attempt to slow the half-Mewman half-Monster Butterfly down. As before however, the group whittles down until Higgs is caught. The sight of her about to have her Soul stolen is enough to drive Marco to new heights of rage and he attacks. It is impressive as he stops trying to delay and instead truly goes to defeat Meteora. All the skills he had picked up and honed are shown as he manages to score hit after hit upon Meteora. In the end however, he throws himself in front of Higgs as Meteora takes another shot at her and has his soul stolen.

Higgs is in shock as she and Tom limp back to the castle to meet a despondent Star. Meteora is close behind and soon comes upon the capital. Higgs lets Star take Marco, hearing that she can restore him, but turns and joins the fray against the once-rightful-heir to the throne.

Emboldened by her time with Marco, Higgs takes hold of the flagging resistance, Knights are fleeing and peasants are easy prey. Instead, in the name of acting-queen Star Butterfly, Higgs organizes the peasants to get away while the knights and the King put up a fierce resistance. Bit by bit however, they are forced back till Meteora has all but wiped out any resistance.

Forced into a metaphorical corner, it is Higgs who releases Eclipsa and urges her to fight. She is witness to the duel of Star and Meteora, and after that, the rise of Queen Eclipsa as the long-gone Queen saves the realm. The sight of Mother forced to all but kill her daughter calls to mind Higg's own past, and her respect for Eclipsa's inner strength solidifies. When Star surrenders the throne, Higgs is confident that the old/new queen is one she would gladly follow.

But in the midst of that, she is the one to catch Marco, the one to hug him tightly. Their first hug is done in the ruins of Butterfly Castle, with Higgs threatening to eviscerate Marco if he mentions the tears running down her face. The warmth in their hearts solidifies their feelings as inevitable, from here on out, it is a question of when, not if.

Higgs is unimpressed with Moon leaving Star after she gets home and makes her thoughts known. Moon is no longer Queen, so Higgs feels no need to censor herself. Her loyalty to Eclipsa is deep as she works to secure the true Queen's reign. Both she and Marco are kept busy putting out fires as the realm transitions. Through it all, they only rely on each other more and more, growing into an impressive duo. Even before their official knighting, they gain a reputation far and wide. By most they are saviors, who appear and help to calm tensions between Monster and Mewman, or else punish those who caused damage. To a few unsavory individuals, they are harbingers of the new regime and are despised.

Marco and Higgs have a segment on the Ponyhead show discussing weapons as well as fighting technique. It trends well, too well, so Ponyhead ends it early to get the attention back on herself. When the Spiderbite family arrives, Higgs, who has done her homework, prevents Star from insulting the them and keeps Eclipsa on track so their alliance is solidified.

Instead of an adventure with Kelly resulting in a short-lived rebound romance, Marco goes with Higgs to visit her old home. The building is out in the middle of nowhere, only a small town nearby. When Higgs is overcome with emotion, Marco hugs her to him. His kind nature, mixed with everything else, finally allows Higgs to reach past herself and pull Marco into a kiss.

Their first kiss, in the ruins of Higg's old home, is one they will never forget.

Marco is in turmoil for the next week until the Blood Moon Curse is done away with, his feelings solidify then and he and Higgs start calling their expeditions to support the new Queen and keep the peace, 'dates.'

The Queen-napping of Eclipsa that turns out to have been a glorified stunt by Ponyhead, fuels Higg's feeling that the realm must be protected. She had just been knighted, along with Marco and had collaborated with Eclipsa to reform the Knights. Now they will be able to retire and not be bound to a single task forever (and so much frustration taken out on their subordinates is avoided) and the two of them also begin martial training that has severely slipped. Marco is noted in history books for introducing the Dragon-Cycle as part of the job, to be raised by Squires as their companions.

When the portals close and Mewni becomes isolated, Higgs is there. She had planned to join Marco after some time, but it was not to be. Even so, their separation is another reason that drives Marco even harder to find a way to Mewni. Jannanigans do not ensue as Higgs has rubbed off on Marco enough that he cuts through her time-wasting.

Once at Mewni, they find a nation putting up a heck of a fight. Higgs leads the reformed guard to great effect and the new Dragon-Cycles swarm the old Solarian Warrior. It was rusty and not all that well put together, and so they manage to pry its joints apart and destroy it before Star arrives. Even so, there is no victory to be found in the moment as the full Solarian Army arrives.

As plans are made, Higgs takes the role of getting the citizens away, much as she did with the fight against Meteora. When Moon reveals herself as the ringleader of the revolution, Higgs is disgusted, and Marco is cut to the bone moreso than he would've otherwise been. Both had devoted themselves to the new Queen who was bringing Mewni into a new age of unity between its long-feuding citizens, and now the false-Butterfly was endangering that.

With all the ways this could turn out, lets change things up according to the characters we have. There is no truce with Moon, she has betrayed them. The wand is not handed over and Eclipsa unleashes a blast that forces the Solarian's back just long enough for everyone to escape.

From there, they are the resistance. Moon, but more Mina, may have won the battle, but she shattered the unity of Mewni better than Eclipsa ever did. Some sub-kingdoms join Moon as she retakes the throne in force, others don't, having grown loyal to Eclipsa or perhaps unwilling to allow the old status quo back. If Mina was sane, she might've considered what Solaria wanted beyond killing Monsters, how her idol had doted on her daughter and always fought to keep Mewni safe. Nowhere was safe now.

And yet, Higgs and Marco refuse to let the new Mewni die. Eclipsa appoints them their generals and they lead the resistance. Star is their champion, for she had magic, and her support gains them much and cuts much away from those who support the usurpers. Eclipsa meanwhile throws herself into forging alliances and being a Queen. Globgor rallies monsters to them, and Eclipsa rallies Mewmans. Globgor makes peace with the Spiderbites, which goes a long way towards giving them credibility.

Through it all, Higgs and Marco are inseparable. At the start, they have only the core guard they trained. Their Dragon-Cycles allow them to conduct hit and run attacks and they whittle away the Solarian Warriors. Soon enough though, as Moon replaces their losses, Eclipsa finds a new strategy. She gives Magic to others. First to Higgs and Marco, her most trusted generals, she grants them the wand for a time, which unlocks the potential Magic within them. With teaching, eventually they grow stronger and stronger. Other's follow, such as Globgor, Katrina (she didn't tell her dad until after, he was simultaneously proud and angry), and, shockingly enough, Ludo.

The underworld does not wish to get involved, Tom, who was retrieved from the Realm of Magic (in an adventure that involved the defeat and purification of the tainted millhorses, Eclipsa's doing) ignores this and joins the resistance.

A year passes, the resistance grows stronger as it moves. They are aided by access to Earth, as Hekapoo quits the usurper's plot early on and becomes a fickle ally to Marco (much to Higgs chagrin). It is on one of their short trips to Earth that Marco takes Higgs by the hand and, in his living room, asks her to marry him. Her response is to give him a kiss and an embrace that feels more like a vertical wrestling match, one he swiftly loses.

Marco's parents pull out all the stops in their celebration, Higgs has even come to enjoy their Mexican dishes. Most of them, she still hates Jalapenos.

Back on Mewni, more territory is retaken as armies and bands clash. It is the worst breakdown of authority since the time of Solaria. Bandits roam and less benevolent factions, Monster and Mewman alike, take advantage. Some declare total independence, others begin raids and wars to sieze what they can. Still others simply start killing their opposing numbers to let out deep-seated angers and prejudices. Septarsis, for the first time in hundreds of years, emerges and begins a campaign to cleanse Mewni of all Mewmans. Eclipsa's heart breaks for what has become of Mewni but she is Solaria's daughter, and for all that Solaria did wrongly, she was never one to shirk from a hard job. Eclipsa has become like her in this respect.

Two years into the resistance, a sea-change occurs. Moon vanishes. Her absence is noted, but Mina takes the reigns and ramps up the war effort. Before, Moon had been attempting to piece back together her kingdom, and had looked after her people as she could, she was not cruel or innatentive for all her other flaws. But now, Mina grows more and more unhinged if that were possible. To her mind, she was the only hope for Mewni and so she lead her warriors on brutal campaigns. Septarsis, the old enemy, is invaded and put to the torch. The blades of the Solarian warriors are one of the few things able to kill the lizards, and so they do. Septarsis reaps its reward for its crimes, much as Mewni is doing as well. Some estimate that the Septarians may not survive as a species.

Meanwhile, out of the wilderness, River finds the Resistance. He explains that Moon had been intending to call a ceasefire and give up the crown, that he had managed to make her see sense. But Mina would not have it, so she imprisoned her former ruler. Star and River set out to free her as Marco and Higgs lead the now fully grown army of Eclipsa to fight the Solarian Warriors.

The final battle comes with the two General leading the charge. Marco now fully resembles his Neverzone self in build. Higgs meanwhile is akin to a Valkyrie as they lead the armies of Mewni and those gifted with Magic to defeat the Solarians. The battle is long and intense, though Moon and Star show up late in it. Even with this, Eclipsa is the one who defeats Mina. At the end, as the broken body of her Mother's greatest champion lies before her, Eclipsa cannot help a tiny smidgen of pity for Mina. This woman came from nothing and was promised purpose that she clung to above all else. She and Eclipsa had both loved a woman like a mother, the difference being that Eclipsa was able to see her mother's flaws.

After the battle is over, there is much work to do to put Mewni back together. It is not easy as bandits and traitors must be brought to heel. Through it all, Marco and Higgs work tirelessly. Eventually, the new kingdom is formed, and it is far more equal and cohesive than the former one. Through shared suffering, a new identity has been forged that leaves aside division between Mewman and Monster.

Assuring the security of the realm are two Knights and a Duchess. Marco and Higgs are famed as heroes, just as Star is. The former Princess becomes a Princess and then Queen once more as she eventually marries Tom Lucitor. Moon, however, is forbidden from holding any type of power ever again (she was let off other punishments due to her helping in the final battle, though she is not popular at all and lives the rest of her life in self-imposed obscurity). The Avarius line gains new steam as a premier monster family, Ludo having magic now makes him the head of the family. The frogmen as well gain a new leader in Katrina. Monster now have access to magic, so concerns of the Mewman's redominating them are put to rest.

The remaining portions of Higgs and Marco's life is caught up with adventures as they right wrongs across Mewni and train its military. They are married in a grand ceremony that is one of the first great celebrations the new capital of the nation (built on new ground to symbolize Mewni's new beginning). Their children are all fierce and awed by the lives of their parents.

In the end, both lived out their days fulfilling their duties and loving each other. Books and legends would, years and centuries later, tell of two nobodies who did such great things and fell in love. Their children, who accordingly inherited Magic from them, would go on to form a great line of heroes, adventurers, and military servicemen, often all in the same people.

If you were to ask either of them, neither Marco nor Higgs would've thought they would fall for each other, nor how drastically this could change their futures. But ultimately, it molded them into greatness and heroism. And both could say with total confidence that their taking note of each other at the beginning was the best rivalry ever started.

From rivals to respect.

From respect to friendship.

From friendship to love.

And from love to becoming heroes together.

Theirs was truly the stuff of legend.


I originally was going to go with the idea of shortly describing some different endings. But then I figured, 'hey, I could maybe make those into their own chapters, so here we are, with an alternate ending to the whole show. I may make more than one entry for a couple if I can think of a way to do their relationship in multiple different ways.

I hope I entertained you, if I did, don't forget to let me know if you enjoyed it!

Have a good day and God Bless!

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As a fan of Marco and Jackie as a couple this was beautiful. You are right that this could have worked great. A personal top pairing for me but I wonder who the others are.

Well, here's one of them, lol. And one that has little to no support from the series at all. As far as Jackie and Marco, I too thought Jackie was underutilized and it might've been interesting to see them stay together. On the other side, I still did like StarCo and felt like that was cute and nice in its own right. I also felt like, since the beginning, that that was going to be the endgame ship in the show. I just wish they hadn't wasted so much time getting to it.

Thanks for the comment. If you liked it, let me know!