.
Disclaimer: sad feels.
Chapter 22
Poor Hestia
XxXxXxXxX
Marco Diaz.
My father…
The greatest swordsman, mercenary and Dark Knight of his generation.
He was many things.
There wasn't one person on Earth, Mewni, heck the multi-dimension that didn't know that name.
But for all he was…he was first and foremost, the best father any child could ever want.
So kind, so loving, understanding, thoughtful, he was never too tired nor too busy to play with me or my many siblings.
To read us our favorite books and stories, to teach us, to cook a bowl of nachos for us, scolding us for taking out the dragonbikes or reassure us when our crush broke our hearts.
Marco Diaz…
Dad…I miss you everyday…
Mom was never the same when you left…
Heck, I wasn't either.
That's why I can't—
Hestia ran back into the temple.
Hot tears streamed down her face as she passed her siblings, the board with scribbles of theories and ideas before she stood before the eye and the many screens.
"Please! What is going on? What happened?" Hestia pleaded, the eye slowly blinked and it fell to the ground, causing her to gasp. She looked around, the temple glitch before all the screens scrambled to life, Hestia looked around frighten and confused as she was bombarded with images, scenes and voices.
Marco.
He was everywhere.
Hestia screamed.
Marco gorged by Tom.
Toffee watches Marco get crushed by the glass room.
Ludo's Monsters beats him to death.
Hestia turned away but everywhere around her…
Her father was dying.
Jackie bumps into him on her skateboard on the sidewalk, he slips into the road and gets hit by a passing truck.
Janna takes his house keys, Marco ends up walking alone at night and killed by a mugger.
Alfonzo and Ferguson ditches Marco in a forest, getting him mauled by a bear.
Charlie Booth chokes him with his meat…balls.
Jeremy tells his butler to run Marco over with his limo.
Roy ODs Marco with Goblin Dogs.
A young Angie and Rafael crying in a hospital.
"NO! NO! NO!" Hestia cried.
She punched one screen but it only made the other screens flash through more scenes, more images and more voices screeching at her.
Star Butterfly stabs Marco during his daring Departure.
Moon Butterfly orders Marco's execution.
King River kills him with a battle axe, tearing his hoodie off and wears it as a codpiece.
Marco stabbed during the Blood Moon Ball by Tom.
A crying Kelly impales Marco with her claymore.
Rhombulus crystalizes and shatters Marco.
Omni smashes him to a paste.
Glossaryck drowns him in his pot of stew.
Eclipsa vaporizes him with dark magic.
Meteora pulls him apart. Limb by limb.
Monster Arm bursts out of his chest.
Talon kills Marco in a bar brawl.
Rich Pigeon and a thousand pigeons pecks Marco to death.
Tad poisons Marco's soda.
Pony Head stabs Marco in the back with her unicorn.
Buff Frog feeds his children Marco's corpse.
Sir Lavabo locks Marco with the Lint Monster.
Rasticore chain saws him in half.
Oskar hit-and-runs Marco.
Naysaya never leaves and ends up atrophying Marco, leaving behind a husk.
Star kills Marco.
Hekapoo picks up Marco's scissors and—
Hestia turned away and screamed at the top of her lungs.
Shutting her eyes and clapping her hand over her ears
Anything to drown out her mother—her father
"NO! This can't be happening! Why? WHY!?"
Hestia sprinted out of the temple, putting it behind her as she ran down the steps. She froze seeing Father Time and Uncle Omni on the ground, writhing in pain, they babbled incoherently even as Hestia shook them.
"—he…impossible…!"
"How could…one…?"
"Father Time? Uncle? Wake up, please!" Hestia cried shaking the two, they began to glitch erratically and started screaming.
"—the monster—!"
"—he—unleashed upon the land! NO—!"
Hestia hopped back as the two convulsed violently, they clutched their heads and began yelling,
"URGH! NOOO!"
"BURNING! EVERYWHERE!"
Hestia stared at them, powerless to do anything.
She felt a rumble and her eyes drifted to the mock house, in an instant, it exploded bits and pieces of the house falling all over the place. Hestia hid behind Omni's massive bulk before she saw the portal towering to the sky.
As if hooked Hestia felt compelled to abandon the two writhing on the ground and stood before the portal.
It swirled thickly before it parted and Hestia's heart sank.
Hekapoo.
Hekapoos.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Millions of them running for the portal.
Hestia felt herself rooted to the spot.
So many Hekapoos.
So many mothers she would lie to.
Too many.
Far too many...
Hestia felt as if she broke her ankles twisting herself off her spot and fell to her knees, she scrambled and ran for it.
Fresh tears streaming down her face.
"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!"
She pulled her father's scissors out and slashed a portal and leapt through.
Landing in her birth dimension, her home still intact.
She ran past it, past the garden, past family projects, past her childhood memories until she came to her parent's resting place.
Hestia threw herself on the sword between the graves and tried to pry it out, Father, nnnnnooooo! Please, no more! NO MORE! I CAN'T! I CAN'T, FATHER!
"Father! Father please lend me your sword! I'm not strong enough, I can't do it anymore! Please close that infernal portal!"
Hestia pulled the sword with all her might, her fingers slipping and she fell back, hurting herself; she pulled her wretched self up and laid herself on the sword sobbing.
"I GIVE UP! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT THIS RESPONSIBILITY! I DON'T WANT TO! PLEASE LET THIS HELL END!"
Hestia screamed her lungs out, uncaring how she looked. She wasn't the Forger of Dimensional Scissors, she wasn't the brave heroine that made the villains tremble, she wasn't the confident sister her siblings looked up to.
She was just Hestia...
Tired. Scared. Alone in universe.
"Please! Please lend me your power! I'll give you anything! ANYTHING IN RETURN! Please! Please just close that portal!"
Hestia screamed her heart out.
When her voice grew hoarse she settled for weeping...and laid there weeping on the sword.
Brought up by the legendary Marco Diaz and the equally legendary Hekapoo, Hestia always desired to be great like them, no matter how many times they urged her to just live life happily.
Live a normal life.
But no, Hestia wanted them to be proud of her, to praise her; no feat too onerous, no challenge unbeatable so long she was the one that did it. Maybe it was insecurities…maybe she was glory hound…maybe she wanted to be treated like a heroine of her own making much like her parents…
But this...this was too much for her.
Protecting the timeline and the universe singlehandedly…
What was she thinking?
Self-doubt and self-loathing worming itself into her heart…deep bitter thoughts that she kept at bay for years since the portal began to rear its ugly head…
Hestia, she…
She wasn't her father.
Or her mother.
She wasn't any of those great warriors or fantastic heroes her father told her and her siblings countless of times.
The praises she received in the past now felt…forced, as if the people said it to appease her, but not for her.
I inherited the Forge by default.
Only because I was the oldest.
I'm no one special...my parents were...what have I accomplished compared to them?
I'm just…piggy backing on their success…like some leech...
Some daughter I turned out to be…mom and dad deserved a better one.
Tears dripping down its hilt, guard and blade.
Still sharp and metallic sheen that no other could match.
Hestia looked at it sadly,
…dad said whatever it cuts…never heals…maybe I should just
She looked at it longingly.
Her arm slipping closer, her wrist upturn.
She blinked seeing something else on the blade.
Something winking.
Hestia slowly looked up and gasped.
The starry night sky—
It blinked out.
The stars.
Hestia felt a sudden dreadful cold seep wash over her.
Father said stars went out during his adventures, which was always a bad omen stating something powerful was at work in the universe. He even met beings capable of such feat: the Fell Dragon and the Concepts.
Hestia gasped when suddenly several constellations suddenly vanish.
She looked around and blacks gaps began to appear, distorting constellations and the starry canvas.
An uncontrollable shiver ran down her spine, Hestia stared at the dark sky, as more stars winked out the more terrible she felt.
Is this…a premonition?
…it has to be, hahaha…Father Time and Uncle…Mom…
Hestia continued stared at the starry sky, winking out one by one…
She couldn't tear herself from the sight.
Like the portal she felt compelled to remain, frightening her even more.
What the hell is going on?!
Hestia watched as fewer and fewer stars vanished to the Void, a dread bubbling inside of her when she saw the last vestige of stars blinking bravely as if fighting back. She numbly thought, unable to move but just witness in silent horror as everything was swallowed up by the Void.
…is this how the universe ends…?
Is everyone frozen…and just watching as everything around us falls apart without even putting up a fight?
Hestia felt something tug at her head.
It felt like a pinch.
Hestia winced.
There it goes again. This time it felt like someone yanked on her bangs.
What the fuck…? OW!
If the Diaz child could grit her teeth or scream bloody murder at the top of her lungs, she would.
Instead she was mute as it felt like someone had taken a handful of hair and pulled until Hestia swore her head would be pried off.
Hestia cried out mentally as the pulling reached its breaking point.
And something was pulled out.
Violently.
"Hestia, c'mon, let me have a turn!"
"This isn't a toy."
"I'm telling Papa!"
Hestia's heart stopped, not believing who she was hearing,
Mythra?!
What the he—!?
"Shhh, it's okay, Mom wont get mad."
"But, but—"
"Soleil, no more tears."
"…okay."
"WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"
"Grrr, I'm a scary monster!" Hestia teased.
"Oh yeah, well, I'm Papa!"
"Oh my gosh, why did you follow me, D'Artagnan?"
"I was only following Vincent and Orion…"
"WHAT?!"
"Hestia!" "Sister!" "Big sis!"
"Alright, alright, gosh, you three are so needy."
Hestia struggled to remember the three.
Ignacia, Flammetta, Sunflower…there were…her siblings…?
"Hestia, I'll watch the Forge."
"..."
"I know its tradition but you're the only one who can send Mom back. Besides it'll just be for a month, right?"
"…right. Thanks Marcus."
Hestia shook against her invisible restraints, horror seeping into her as her memories of her siblings taken. The universe wasn't the only thing being ripped apart…so was she.
And she desperately clung to them…
Marcus, D'Artagnan, Vincent, Orion, Dante, Hal David…
Mythra, Ignacia, Flammeta, Soliel, Sunflower…
"NO! DON'T TAKE THEM AWAY! THEY'RE MY FAMILY! PLEASE I DON'T WANT TO FORGET THEM! NOT A SINGLE ONE! I WANT THEM TO GIVE ME HEADACHES! I WANT THEM TO BUG ME! I WANT TO BE THERE FOR THEM! DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THEM AWAY!"
Hestia cried in torment, as memories of her siblings slipped through her mental grasps, she began to fiercely fabricate a mental image of all of them, any way to ground them to herself.
"Mythra has golden hair! Urrgh! And Soliel she loves the Time Hamsters! Oww! Sunflower is the youngest! Marcus is the first son! Nnnrgh! D'Artagnan is a great dragonbike rider! Orion and Dante are Dark Knights in training! Hal David is a nerd! Argh! Ignacia—is a brat! No…that's not right Flammeta is…no, no, that's Mythra…wait, who—Mythra? Who?"
Hestia felt around for the memories, they were vague…murky…uncertain. She felt the mental tugging, claiming even the obscure ones.
And when it ran out…it moved on.
To her half siblings.
Hestia groaned…she was in—Mewni? Playing with a little girl with blonde hair…a skaterboy…a girl with freckles…a girl who played in the trees…
She felt…empty as these memories slipped away.
Suddenly…she wasn't sure why she felt anguished at the loss.
Who were they anyways?
Then her relatives were next and she wailed at their fate.
Her grandparents hosting her birthday party; then turned into strangers before her eyes.
Her aunts and uncles congratulating her; she didn't who they were…
Nieces and nephews…looked no different to her than random passersby.
Hestia felt sick.
And hollow.
Her journey through life wasn't spared either.
Her childhood was in tatters. Instead of playing with siblings and friends, she only remembered herself. Playing alone.
Taking the mantle of Forger of the Dimensional Scissors muddled.
Gaps in her adventures.
Familiar places she's been to now strange.
The friends and siblings that tagged along. The people she met.
All faceless now…
Everything that gave her life joy and purpose.
Taken and made into gibberish.
Unrecognizable.
They might as well be lost.
This is what made her siblings go into coma. The failing universe was randomly euthanasia its inhabitants…so that they didn't have to face the End screaming in despair.
Stripped of every memory, experience and thought and peacefully slumbering.
Waiting to perish.
But for Hestia, she would find no solace…
And when she thought nothing more could be taken away from her…
Memories of Marco and Hekapoo began to be pried off her.
An unpleasant lurch ran through her, as if this would put her to sleep everlasting.
Please no more! Please don't take anymore!
Why? WHY? Give them back! PLEASE!
She desperately held on to both of them.
Her mother.
Her father.
Her frozen form and glassy eyes couldn't stop the welling of tears that slid down her young face as she poured every ounce of her will to keep her memories of her parents dear.
Her expectant mother…
Her motherly father…
Mom teaching me my unique gifts, drilling me on molten craft.
Papa reading me my favorite story books at night.
Her mother nodding appreciatively as Hestia clumsily worked.
Her father letting her watch him make his famous nachos.
Hekapoo tucking me in bed…kissing me on the forehead.
Marco telling me I can't go 5 days without bathing.
…my…parents…
Hestia felt her grip on the two wiggle and tire, the chilling fear she felt of them slipping through her fingers.
The tugging…the pulling…the relentless insistent prying on her beloved memories!
No. No. NO. NO! NO!
An mental image of Hekapoo holding Hestia hand, her mother smiled at her, brushing her bang away and smiled warmly at her daughter, unaware of what was going to happen to her. Hestia slowly shook her head and sobbing, as her mother began to drift back, Hestia clawed her fingers, hooking her mother's fingertips.
Let's call her…Hestia…our bundle of joy, our child…thank you, Marco…I never thought I would be a mother, and—never—oh Marco, thank you! Thank you, thank you…
I love you so much, Hestia, I promise, I'll be here for you, always.
Always for you.
Hestia screamed in misery as Hekapoo was flung into the Void.
Hestia cried, holding nothing back as she wept.
Crying as the memories fled her.
Crying over her.
Over someone.
Over a stranger.
Hestia looked at her other hand, Marco looked at her. Worried.
Did he know?
He reached out and touched her face, wiping her tears.
Hestia felt fresh ones well up, he always knew when she was upset or scared. He would comfort her, tell her to be unafraid and be strong.
Hestia felt a sly tug.
Hestia screamed as Marco slipped past her fingertips.
She swore the Void roared victoriously at sinisterly lulling her into a false sense of security.
And snatching her father away.
"NOOO! FATHER! DAD! PAPA!"
Hestia broke down, head slumping and bitterly crying.
Defeated.
Everything.
Taken from her.
.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Hestia blinked blurry and looked up, someone was looking at her.
The eerie sound of a portal lulled in the background.
"Whoa, easy there, c'mon let me help you."
Hestia felt herself be taken off the sword and settled on the ground, someone was looking at her.
The blurry figure slowly clearing, a young face looked at her, she reached out and a hand held her own.
Hestia blinked, slowly the details filled in more.
He was young.
His brown eyes looked at her, deeply worried, deeply concerned. Brown hair nearly obscuring it.
A cute mole. And a wicked scar marred his otherwise handsome face.
Hestia looked at him.
Words trembling on her lips.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Marco." he tenderly, holding her the best he could.
"Hah...my father's name is Marco, too. Marco...Diaz..." before she closed her eyes, the last image was a shock Marco.
XxXxXxXxX
To be unmade.
That's a terrifying thought. For some of us, I think.
For Hestia she loses nearly everything.
In the nick of time, Marco's memories are preserved.
She still remembers her mission and how to send people back to their timeline and the wipe, however she doesn't consciously know who taught it to her, just the components how to. There are now gaps in her knowledge and what she knows. More on that in the following chapter.
Father Time and Omni's beings are tied to the timeline or components of it so they are afflicted more adversely.
The Elementals and Concepts on Prima/Prime are still alive however in this Timeline/Future, they are desperately trying to stave off the debilitating effects.
Also, I've been getting some feedback asking about how Hestia really looks like or fanart. Plainly, there is none. It is easier and more satisfying if you have your own interpretation of Hestia much like the Traitor's Sword and StudMuffin, there are key traits but for the most part you mentally construct Hestia to your liking, filling in the gaps so everyone's mental image is unique, there very own.
Welp, this is the chapter so many avid readers were looking forward to, the following chapter more so.
Tell me how I do: masterfully or poorly [like with recent chapters].
tu ne me reconnaiss pas?
I AM NRG
END OF TRANSMISSION