Forgotten Ventures
Ch. 4
New friends
~ EDIT ~
As Star made her way down the mundane, yet charming staircase of her new home, she found a certain issue glaring at her with prominence: What exactly was she going to say to the boy she'd only just met? In truth, she felt like there was more to him than she could discern with just a glance. Like a mountain of unimaginable story was hidden just behind that fragile, but strong smile. If he was really telling the truth, that is.
She let that thought escape her, however, feeling in the back of her mind that there was no way someone could possibly have traveled from the future. At least, not without magic, right? It was creepy and almost frightening how he knew so much about her, and in stark contrast she had absolutely no idea who he even was. But, maybe he had some good reason for it all, stranger things had happened in the universe, and Star felt like maybe he deserved some benefit of the doubt.
'Maybe I can test him more? I could see if he really does have something hiding," She thought quietly as she made her way out the front door. Marcos' parents paid her no mind, being blissfully engrossed with each other's presence with an extreme emphasis on gross.
But as she found herself on the street, Star pondered for a moment about what she could use to try and catch him red-handed. Any sort of underhanded tricks would be fine if she didn't showboat them quite so hard, but Star stopped herself. Remembering what happened the last time she pushed her new friend too far, she decided to simply see more of what he was really about. There was clearly something strange about him, so she wasn't in the wrong for giving a little prodding right? Unless he was telling the truth.
"Well star," she thought out loud, rounding the corner towards a well-lit trading depot, "Here's hoping I'm very wrong about this."
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
Marco was stuck. Again. He'd just been kicked out of the gas station he'd slunk off to last time. Something about 'causing a scene', as the attendants put it. "Hey, you think you have it bad?! Try dealing with eighteen years worth of interdimensional memories duking it out with fourteen more!" He shouted angrily at a mother and child leaving the store. They gave him a worried look, but otherwise ignored the kid making a fool of himself.
The warm and inviting sun had quickly faded to a dark and not so inviting night in such a short time, Marco was almost caught off guard by how late it was. He stopped his ranting and looked down at an empty cup in his hand, breathing a heavy sigh of indignation. "What am I doing…? This is exactly the same thing that happened last time." he mumbled.
"I should probably get out of here before…" his eyes grew wide with a memory he had all but forgotten. "Ludo's army!" He shouted. He'd been so focused on Star that night, it was hard to remember anything else. He didn't have long to get back to her before that gang of thugs caught his house and family in the crossfire.
Marco quickly got up and threw his things away, likely out of pure habit, before turning on his heels to take off into a sprint. But before he could pump even one step off, he skid to a stop as he met eyes with a thoroughly surprised Princess.
"Star!" He exclaimed loudly, startling everyone close to him except for the amused, sheepishly smiling blonde girl standing just three feet away. Her grin widened, though he could tell by her posture that his reaction hadn't helped her feel comfortable around him.
"Are you okay? Did anything happen?" He asked, not waiting to look her up and down. But he didn't see anything wrong, if anything, she looked as fine as she did the first time she'd followed him here. She looked around, furrowed her brows at his unusual outburst.
"Yes, annnnd no? I actually came down here to talk to you," she offered with equal parts confusion, and drive. She let out a nervous sigh before she straightened up and met his eyes with finality.
"Look, Marco. I don't know how things work on Earth, or even how you and I are supposed to work out, but I do know that neither of us got a choice. I didn't get to choose when I got sent here, and you didn't get to choose when you woke up in the past." Corn. It sounded even crazier when she said it. But regardless, she pressed on. "You don't seem like a bad guy, so if what you're saying is true- and that's a big if- then… maybe being friends isn't such a bad idea. Future or not, I at least need your help getting my bearings here, and I feel like I can trust you. At Least, when we're not talking about the future."
The boy before her was silent for a moment, reviewing everything she'd just said at a mile a minute, landing squarely on, "Wait, you still want to be friends?" Marco asked tentatively, "You actually believe me?"
Star stared at him with a knowing and cautious look before folding her arms. Just beneath the hem of her dress her foot tapped. "Don't get too crazy on me, Diaz, your story is pretty crazy. And I need to know more about how you and I… click. But crazier things have happened involving me so, yeah…. I do."
Marco let a wary glance shift around the parking lot of the stop and slurp before he met Star's gaze. It was a good first step, and it came with the promise of more to come, at least. "I uh, I really appreciate that," he noted with sincerity, "I wasn't sure if I'd have someone to talk to about this, I was getting worried about-"
"I know, I kinda saw your little meltdown just now. But I don't blame you, if you're really from the future, this must be pretty scary." Star had to admit, she had no idea what he would likely be feeling. And even less of an idea as to why she was entertaining the notion that he was actually a time traveler!
"Well we should probably get moving before Ludo and his goons arrive. They're pretty harmless when we team up, but they can be dangerous in the wrong fight." He said it with caution, as if his own words might materialize and punch him in the face. And as he warned her, Star stared blankly at him before asking, "Ludo? How do you-," she stopped, replaying his many ominous premonitions, "Oh right. Well, I'm sure we can take him with your fighting and my magic right?"
As if on cue, the sound of tearing fabric drew both teens' attention, a large rift appearing on the other side of the parking lot. Although, unlike the one on Mewni, this portal sported black and green, and as it slowly rose from the ground, it grew into a wide, jagged diamond. With a shower of sparks, scores of various monsters that Marco actually recognized walked out of the portal, led by a small feathery creature with a sharp beak, black robes, and an intimidating staff capped with a winged eyeball.
Marco recognized the group easily and as he began to size them up he muttered, "why don't we go ahead and find out what your new toy can do?"
Star looked at the small but dangerous leader of the group, and then down at her wand. So far, Marco was two for two, but that could wait until she wasn't dealing with… whatever this was. "Ludo, where did you get dimensional scissors? And how did you know I was here?" she asked with an annoyed glare as she pointed her glowing wand at the lot of them.
The small feathery leader smirked at the Princess with smug finality before boasting, "Wouldn't you like to-"
"Has buffrog been spying on us? I think he was doing that when we babysat, right?" Marco cut him off, craning his neck around the easy to miss Avarius. He looked to the back of the group to see a very confused and muscular frog-like creature staring back at him before it quickly hunched out of sight. "Ohhh hohohooo you do have him spying!" Marco called out as he defensively took position in front of Star. "That's pretty low, man, and more than a bit creepy."
"So creepy," Star added over his shoulder.
Ludo looked at the two with a shocked expression that quickly turned to a nervous chuckle as he tried to wave off the question, beads of sweat pooling above his beak. "W-what? No no no, h-he's um. Just an intern. Yes, that's right. We just- HEY!" Ludo shouted angrily, his frustration evident. "I don't have to tell you anything! All of you, GET THE WAND!" He shouted at his minions, the odd menagerie quickly moving to charge the two teenagers.
Before Star could fire off a volley, or even use her war cry she'd been practicing, Marco ran ahead and flipped forward, bringing his foot down on the face of the first monster he saw. It crumpled like a puppet with cut strings beneath his foot and, using the force of the kick, he launched into the air, bringing down an elbow to a chicken monster's face. One terrified squawk later and he grabbed it by the beak, throwing the beast through the window of a car.
He easily sidestepped an ax that came crashing down into the concrete, facing the offending monster and lunging for it. Marco jumped and drove both feet out in one fluid motion, straight into the chest of the monster that dared to attack. With a crunch to the ribs it flew backward, crashing into a door of another car and crumbling it like tin.
As a Giraffe charged for him at an opening, Marco quickly spun himself around, gripping the handle of the ax and using the bending wood to launch himself straight up, shooting his knee into the Giraffes chin with enough force to turn its neck into a hook.
As the tall creature fell over, out cold to the world, Marco called out to the starstruck Princess to snap her out of her daze. "Star! Come on! I'm kinda showing off here, but this is actually more fun than I remember!" he shouted.
After collecting herself and picking her jaw from the asphalt, Star watched as the boy she only just met flew from creature to creature, taking them out with ease and determined flair. He had the fighting strength of ten men and wasn't even breaking a sweat! "What even- so much for being 'Just a human'!' She grumbled through her grin, "I am gonna need, such an explanation after this." But that could wait, for here there be Monsters, and her new toy was all but itching to ruffle some feathers.
"Narwhal blast!" She commended, her wand immediately glowing white with power and shooting forth several sparkling narwhals directly at her enemy. What remained of Ludo's forces could only watch in horror before being flattened by the massive mammals. "Cupcake gem storm!" Star's spell echoed across the lot as her wand exhumed a purple energy, shooting hundreds of guided desserts at her enemies.
"Radial Bicycle Storm!"
"Heartache Mushroom Cloud!"
"Electric Cuddle Storm!"
She stopped to breathe for a moment and watched as Marco dove from one monster to another, dispatching them with controlled precision. He dodged a mace that missed him by inches, grabbing its chain and effortlessly sending it reeling right back into another monster gut.
"Where did you learn to fight like that!?" Star called out, a wide grin on her face as she caught her breath.
"It's called karate Star!" He replied as he effortlessly chopped another monster in the ribs, letting it crumple in his hands, "And a little fighting style I cooked up in the Neverzone."
She watched him continue fighting, clearly enjoying himself and knocking down foes without faltering even once. The way he handled himself screamed a confidence she couldn't ignore, like this was a warm up he'd been waiting for.
After the last baddie was sent to the ground, both Star and Marco stood over a very spiteful little bird. Ludo stomped on the ground and kicked at his men, screaming at them, "GAH! This is what you babies get for not working out!"
A murmur of groans and complaints rolled across the lot as Ludo shook his head, glaring at every living thing around him. "Come on already! Get back through the portal, all of you, hurry up!"
Ludo watched as his last minion walked through the rip in space before turning back to the two that so easily defeated him. "I don't know how your little Earth friend could defeat my minions so easily, but rest assured. I will be back," he warned through an angry voice that Star was almost certain was meant to be intimidating. Ludo began stepping through the portal before screaming back "This isn't over Star Butterflaaach!" The portal suddenly closed around him, forcing him to the other side of the rift without his precious skull helmet.
"Well, that was fun," Marco chided, dusting his hands with a grin. Star looked at him and smiled back, but she was far too pressed with questions to enjoy the joke. "Where did you learn to fight monsters like that? And... why the heck do you know Ludo?" She asked with a tilt of her head. Thankfully, she wasn't being as forceful as she had been earlier that day.
Marco took a seat on a bench in the parking lot as he rubbed his shoulder, wincing at the sores his knuckles would be sporting the next day. His old body clearly wasn't used to doing what he'd been doing every day. Likely, if he was going to be here for a while, he'd need to start immediately to get back in shape.
"About a year from now, Hekapoo accuses me of stealing a pair of dimensional scissors that we got from your lovable friend Ponyhead," He recalled with sarcasm, "The only way to get your scissors back was to chase down and defeat over a thousand Hekapoos. It took me 16 years of fighting and training in her dimension, but when I'd finally beaten her, she gave me a new pair of scissors."
He glanced at Star, taking a moment from memory to note how much had changed since then. And how much now had yet to change in the first place. "Coincidentally, right after I got them, you showed up. Apparently only eight minutes had gone by in our dimension, so I came back just peachy, with all the experience of a warrior."
Star looked at him with a tinge of amazement before a confused look spread across her face. "And, what about Ludo?" She asked carefully, not sure if she wanted to know what horrors became of that relationship. She may not have believed everything he said, but after that fight, she could be certain that Marco was the real deal.
Without an answer he stood up and walked closer to her, meeting her eyes with a look of conflicted resolve. "Star, I can't tell you everything I know, even if it would make you believe me. There's so much that I wish I could tell you, but there's gonna be a lot of bad people who want to hurt you. And at some point, I might… hurt you." He felt his cheeks growing hot as he pressed further.
"But I'll try to keep you safe from what I can, while trying to make sure you still get to live your life," he promised, and she could almost swear he was blushing, "And I promise, this time around I won't do anything to hurt my best friend."
Star looked at him and felt her cheeks turning red to match, and with a nod, the two started walking back home. With a dismissive wave Marco added, "Also, don't worry about Ludo. For now, he's pretty harmless as just a guy that keeps showing up and bugging us." Star nodded along, but she noticed out of the corner of her eye a dark look overtake his face. "Above all, we need to watch out for someone who's much worse. Someone planning on destroying… everything," he said soberly, remembering the moment he thought he lost star forever.
"Everybody's pretty much worse than Ludo," Star laughed, giggling at the idea of someone who could manage to be weaker than him. But Marco stayed silent as they walked, and she noticed his expression harden as he glared at the ground. "He's worse than anyone out there, Star. You have no idea what he's capable of yet."
"Well, if you told me about it I'd probably have a pretty good picture," she prodded, though from her tone, she wasn't serious, "Is this guy someone I know? Does he know magic? Is he a Monster like those guys? Important details, Marco."
Marco shouldered her onslaught of questions and smiled at her with an equally serious eye roll. "You know that's not how it works, Star. If I do tell you about him, then things might happen differently."
Star frowned, thought about that for a moment, and slugged his shoulder playfully before grinning. "What's wrong with that? Maybe things can be better if we change them," she offered, "We get a drop on this mystery guy, and then boom, no more worries."
This time Marcos frown was real, his eyes not leaving the sidewalk. She had a point, he couldn't deny that. But for whatever reason, he couldn't shake the idea that changing history would have serious ramifications. "Well… if we change things… then I couldn't keep you safe, Star. I wouldn't know what is coming, and I won't be able to help you like I did before."
Star stared at him, noticing how he seemed genuinely worried at his own admission. She smiled with a warmth like the sunset and offered, "Well, it seems to me like you did a pretty good job last time. I'm sure we could handle whatever happens this time around."
Marco thought about it for a second and smiled. She was right. No matter how bad it got, things always worked out for the better when they had each other's backs. And who knows, maybe this time around, Toffee never shows face.
The cool evening air kissing his nose, Marco looked at Star as they were almost home. For the fourth time that day, he took a passing chance to take in her beautiful features, stealing a glance of everything He'd fallen so hard for. She looked just as stunning as she did that night in the booth. But with this, macro thought about how he'd handle their more.. complicated moments. 'I have to let her walk her own path,' he thought as they made it home, 'I'd never forgive myself for taking advantage of her just because I know our future.'
His thoughts fell to the Blood moon Ball, the school guidance counselor, and his fake friendship with Tom that led to one of history's greatest bromances. Tom was a reset here too, if Star was any indication. 'Which means I can't let him take advantage of her either,' came his chilling realization, 'I'll keep her safe. She may not need a hero, but someone has to be her guide.'