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Disclaimer: we're in the fanfiction Endgame now.
Chapter 33
Mewni Civil War:
Dark Knight of the Old Mewni
XxXxXxXxX
Marco swung hard with a bar of fire, meeting metal and whirling away to avoid being countered by his opponent, he kept the sword on guard despite the writhing flames licking and warming his face.
He poised himself for a moment before lunging forward; a feint as he spun, a whirl of flames enveloping the Dark Knight and hiding the tarnished blade. He gritted his teeth when his attack was met with cold steel, he spun away throwing flaming darts knowing it was a futile attempt, the opponent lazily dodged them and came in swinging.
Marco grunted as he held his ground, his boot biting into the dirt as he muscled through the assault and pushing off his assailant. He cocked his arm back and sent a wave of fire, it was neatly cut in half; Marco took the chance and attacked at the window of opportunity, a thrust for the heart.
He felt the jarring parry and pivot to the side, narrowly dodging the counter thrust and regaining his footing. He panted heavily, he wasn't making any progress: they were evenly match despite all the years he incurred. He noticed the disdain on his foe's face and glance down, he was standing in a patch of flowers. Marco felt a savage grin on his face and slammed his sword into the ground, an explosive wave of heat boomed from the epicenter of the sword, decapitating the nearby flowers and sending the petals aflame into the air.
Marco rushed forward, his sword pointed for his opponent, they too rushing forward.
CINDER CONFETTI!
Eyes widening, the flaming petals froze in midair before hundreds came pelting, Marco was in silent awe as it was masterfully torn to shreds but he laser focused and came sweeping low, dodging the slash for his neck and coming up as the victor. His tarnished blade pointed at his vulnerable foe,
"Well, done, Dark Knight…you're making look bad in front of my wife."
"Lay off the corn bread, then maybe your student wouldn't whip you so bad."
Buttercup rolled his eyes as Marco, Honeysuckle and Oblivion Pendragon burst out laughing, Marco helped up the Lizard, "Y'all suck, you know that."
They just grinned.
"Well, if I used Frost Edge properly…ah well, would be pointless either way."
"You could have used Flame Brand then it wouldn't be an issue."
The Lizard shrugged, "Heh, me all hot-blooded with my lovely wife close by? Yeah, I mean Honeysuckle wont complain but then I wouldn't be able to teach you."
Marco shook his head, his teachers extremely happy to see him again and also harp on him coming out of retirement. He told them of the appearance of Darcy and they pulled books to show him of monster comparable to her, both from their investigation and Marco's testimony and it just looked bad from both standpoint. Among sharing different tidbits of information such as Mewni's time disruption and him disappearing for a time.
"In the past a monster such as Darcy would be a godsend for us Monster however, she's entrenched with such monstrosity…she'd be detrimental to any cause unless mass chaos is the objective…"
"Yeah…I noticed…she's unstable but she's smart enough to put Menwi in a death grip at a whim. And she's just getting stronger if your books are right."
"You might have to bring your full might to bear. You had a full arsenal of Elementals and Concepts with Eclipsa, but you were holding back because you needed her alive, Darcy is a different story, you can rip her apart with the Traitor's Sword."
Marco frowned at the words,
"I've heard from Eclipsa that some royals have been kidnapped…Hekapoo is prisoner."
"…ah, so you can't march upon her then?"
"Cowardly to steal a man's woman."
"All honesty, I would do the routine shake down and find where she's hiding and end her. Then leave. In that order. But things have been complicated because of hostages. She's crippled any help from the kingdoms because of that."
Buttercup, Honeysuckle and Oblivion looked crestfallen.
"Marco you have the powers of the Elementals and Concepts. That's literally checkmate. This farce shouldn't stand more than a day."
"Can't use the Concepts. They choose when they want to help, I can't force them. The times I used their powers…was to entertain them, my futile struggles in my short life is like a blink of an eye to them."
/Certainly is./
/Our sisters are a little more…attached though, lean on them, rely on them./
"Well." Oblivion grunted, "Fat load of help you are."
/Oh cork it, Pendragon. Don't make me bring you back to life just so I can choke it out you again. Then you know…do it a thousand more times./
"…you guys are awfully unhelpful. Like more than usual." Marco deadpan.
The Concepts shrugged, the Elementals have been chilling out in the grove during the fight, except Automata who went to fetch all of Gnome's Stone Coffins that Marco had prior left behind in case he needed his weapons, gear and ammunition.
"Your spat aside, do you think I can take Darcy out?" "Without a doubt."
"With minimal causalities and collateral damages?" "Heck no, lad!" /Yeah, you're tearing shit up in this puny dimension. I'd say you kill half of the dimension before you're done./
Marco rolled his eyes, he laid out his weapons and plan for his teachers hoping they could give him some insight, "Darcy said she's my clone meaning that what I think will be something she can counter, so I need eyes beyond my own to counter her." "She's got a year head start on you plus fighting in a dimension that doesn't like you too much and the current government is in shambles so you're not recruiting any strong braves for an assault."
"Basically it's just me or a very small elite party." "Your Warband."
"I could bring them here, they'll be more of a match against Darcy's mooks." "Your fan base here, though."
Marco's face darkens, "No. They are just a bunch of kids, this is going to be a bloody conflict with a monster that brought a dimension to its knees…I've killed those before…"
"So…what's the plan?"
Marco exhaled,
"I'm going to make some diplomatic visits. I need information on this crisis. Accurate information. Eclipsa said that Butterfly and Johansen are relatively okay. Cloud, Spiderbite, Kelpbottom and Jagged Mountain had themselves a Civil War. Lucitor apparently got frost nuked and Pigeon suddenly went dark and quite literally batshit crazy. I can surmise which Darcy had a personal hand in it but to what extent? That needs investigation...and then there's her...when it deals with her though at best its rumors..."
"Sorry lad, we've confined ourselves to the Grove to keep out of trouble and out of her reach."
Marco chuckled darkly, looking at the sky for a moment.
"Good thing there's only one of her."
"...Darcy aside for a moment; I've felt something quite off about you, lad."
"...there's been an underlying resentment in your tone and your stance too."
"...it's just the Mewni air." Marco sighed, his eyes darkening, "I just can't shake it off sometimes."
"...meeting that dragon...tis a blessing and a curse; it led you to StudMuffin, your Warband, the Elementals, the Concepts and everything else...but at such a cost."
"Is it really that bad?"
"Lad, your eyes make you look like a bootleg Dracula, it's like you weren't even trying to look threatening."
"Darling, I can give you eye shadow tips."
"...fuck y'all." Marco sighed, despite their laughter, he knew they were trying to make light of such a dangerous thing he had done to himself...
Darcy looked up.
She sniffed deeply before she grinned to herself.
Darcy looked over to Liquid Lizard.
"Marco is already on Mewni…it's time for a showdown with yours truly~"
She glanced over her shoulder and a shark of a grin spread across her red lips, as she eyed something in particular,
"Oh what fun we will have, Marco~"
[The Hand of Star]
The Dark Knight bid his teachers farewell, slashing a portal out of the grove and found himself on a prairie far enough to be unseen from his teacher's abode. He marched openly to the distant Butterfly Castle, decked out in full gear, even at a distance the lone imposing figure got the guard details to stir and sound an alarm. Marco ignored the hubbub and continued, whether or not the royals made it public he was back on Mewni it mattered little, Darcy was imbedded in some shape or form in the kingdoms.
An ambush on her would just be wishful thinking.
He continued to march until he was at the walls, he looked up, his hood obscuring some of his face but the knights recognized him either way. And what any guard detail would.
"HALT! STATE YOUR NAME AND BUSINESS!"
"Dark Knight of Mewni, Marco Diaz. OPEN THIS DAMN GATE."
"Y-yes, sir, right away—hey, wait no."
Marco scoffed before he felt sand collect underneath his boots and he was lifted off the ground and over the wall, he ignored the slack jaw guards before he landed on the other side and kept walking, his stride confident.
The townsfolk gasped and hid in their homes, others just stood there, Marco didn't stop to greet any of them, he gave them cursory glances seeing their state and welfare and it didn't look at all promising.
They were a wreck.
They always been but this was an all time low.
Marco felt a savage satisfaction bubble in him at the sight, he dutifully squashed it after a minute or so especially when the castle began to lord over him. He could hear an excited whisper and murmur building, he saw a flash of red in an alley but kept moving, the awe would soon wear off and then the knights would start pouring in to stop him.
If there any knights left anyways.
He picked up the pace but the Elementals made their thoughts known.
Loudly.
Marco, why don't you just open a portal and get in the damn castle already!
"I needed to see the state of the kingdom."
Okay. You have. Get there. Now.
"Aw, but can't I just bask in memory lane just a wee bit longer~?"
MARCO.
"Fine."
Marco unsheathes the Traitor's Sword and slashed open and rift and leapt through, landing in a very familiar throne room, Marco spun the sword around him before masterfully sheathing once again. His entrance was greeted to the sight of paled-face staring Mewmans, he coughed loudly and the knights aimed their halberds, spears and swords at him a second later, he nodded appreciatively.
"Good, good. That's the sort of greeting I am well-accustom to; I just love that about Mewni." Marco drawled as the royals stood up at the sight of him.
Star stared trembling.
River blinked almost owlishly.
Moon blinked rapidly before she painfully step down towards him, Marco straighten up and bowed to the royal,
"Greetings Queen Butterfly. You're looking...sickly."
"…why have you come back, Marco?"
Marco straighten up and threw his hood back, his hair combed neatly to the side, exposing his scar prominently.
"You could say…Mewni invited itself back into my life." Marco said curtly, "I've heard from a despicable creature that it had plunged Mewni into chaos and responsible for crippling the lot of you from stopping it."
"!"
"H-how?"
"…you knew?"
Marco narrowed his eyes at the words, "Forgive me for not dropping everything and coming here immediately. You may not know this but this dimension did go through a temporal time disruption. I don't know what caused it, but apparently it has passed."
"How would you know?"
"My teachers told me as much. And confirmed by an authority on the subject." /Hear hear! Oops, forgot they can't hear me!/
The queen caution to ask,
"Marco…who told you what became of us?"
"Darcy the Scourge of Mewni impersonated Hekapoo and tried to kill me back in Echo Creek."
The three gasped, the knights shook at the name.
The Queen looked at Marco expectantly, he knew the follow-up, he stated evenly,
"No. She is not dead. We battled and put many lives in danger. She fled before I could stab her black twisted heart with my sword. So I have to ask: are you all fucking mental or something? THAT THING SAID IT WAS A CLONE OF ME. WHO THE FUCK MADE A CLONE OF ME. WHO WOULD BE SO FOOLISH TO DO SUCH A THING AND LET IT RUN AMOK."
The monarchy looked as if someone had dropped the temperature of the entire room to absolute zero.
"I-it's…a clone of you?" Moon whispered, Marco narrowed his eyes, "Safe to assume you didn't make Darcy. So: who did it."
Moon stumble back but Marco caught her arm and guided her to a chair, River and Star quickly joined her, looking at Marco and Moon frantically.
"How do you know it was a clone of you, Marco?"
"It told me as much when we fought…it's gone completely insane…there's no reasoning with it anymore. It's a monstrosity of Mewman, Monster and whatever else she has absorbed into herself, she will devour anyone and everyone…and I know she will not stop even at that."
Moon looked ready to faint, Marco glanced at the knights and ordered to leave.
They resisted but before Marco could order them again, Moon loudly told them to leave.
The clangs of metal boots soon left and Marco, River, Moon and Star were left alone.
"Marco…you couldn't beat her?" River said nearly inaudible, the Dark Knight gave him a look. Star and Moon braced themselves for biting words but Marco slowly looked away from him and walked off, folding his arms and showing them nothing but his back.
He didn't say anything for a hot minute.
"…Marco?"
"Marco, what wrong?"
"..."
The Dark Knight inhaled and exhaled loudly and said mockingly cold and slowly, "…I don't know why I keep entertaining these problems that are clearly not mine; I can't seem to stay on my damn lane." He drew his sword and a tremble ran down the spine of the sword, it grew teeth and drooled on the floor.
"I know Darcy is hiding on Mewni…the simplest solution…the absolution to this Scourge…is to wipe the Mewni dimension from existence. Then all the troubles and misery this blasted place has cause will cease to exist."
Star, Moon and River felt their hearts seize at the absolute loathing in the Dark Knight's voice, the way the sword seemingly began to chatter and fountain drool, as if sharing the savage delight of destroying the dimension.
With a fabled sword such as the Traitor's Sword.
It was no idle threat.
Star ran forward, ready to embrace the Dark Knight, reach out to his
Marco faced the princess and Star felt her paltry thought of soothing the tumultuous heart of her best friend shatter into pieces.
His eyes bored into her baby blue eyes.
Except…there wasn't any.
None of the soft brown eyes she would fall into.
It was pitch-black sclera, mired by a poisonous green, Star realized it was his iris, she stared at it and felt a sickening hollow flooding her. For the first time—no…in a long time did Star become aware of Marco's potential, his inner strength he always had but bogged down by his low self-esteem and kind nature. She knew that Marco always had it, but easily overlooked due to his indecisiveness and worrying…and because of that, Star was never afraid to look to him for support and comfort in her life.
He was like embracing sunlight.
Star shrunk at the terrible visage before her…this wasn't the Marco who fled Mewni…this wasn't the Marco who tried in vain to reason with them, no…this Marco had no quarrel, no hesitation…no warmth.
This wasn't Marco Diaz…her best friend.
"Marco…you're scaring me…"
"Oh? Am I?"
Star stared frighten as Marco let the sword drag behind him as he lumbered forward, his eyes positively glowing, Moon and River rushed forward and stood between him and their daughter, but even then they cowered at Darken Knight as he thundered,
"Do you think I want to? Lo and behold the monsters you've created: Mewni is damn well good at that."
The three royals looked ready to bolt instead of fight, an enraged Dark Knight of Marco's caliber wasn't a fight they were going to win. For a moment, the three thought if Marco did indeed killed Darcy: did they trade their troubles for something worse.
"W-what do you think you're doing?"
"Marco?!" Moon said warningly.
Marco grunted and grabbed his face with his free hand, his eyes wide through the gaps of his fingers.
"NO."
"You keep saying that. I'm getting closer. Every time. You push me back with all your might. Yet your darkness keeps calling me back. Stronger than the last. I WILL NOT BE DENIED."
Marco looked at his mindscape, there was just another Marco looking at him; not Ocram, not Warco. Just another Marco staring him down, he knew with every fiber of his being that it was anything but that.
This Marco…without a doubt: a true Fallen Dark Knight.
"You will never—" "Yes, that overused pledge of yours. Pathetic. This conflict will break you. And I shall have satisfaction."
Marco pulled his hand away from his face, he saw the royals pale faces before he wiped his brow and flicked it to the floor. The Elementals and Concepts were completely in the dark about his mental battles with the Fell that tempted him to embrace the dark gift of the Fell Dragon.
"Darcy will die. If something like this ever happens again…you will stand testament to what happens next."
Marco said gravely at their terrified face before he turn and walked out of the room, he didn't know where he was going but he didn't care. Anywhere but the throne room; he took to a route he knew and he descended through the castle, avoiding the castle staff and the sparse knights guarding the place before he came to the Wash. He knocked hard on the door, waiting for a moment before the door opened revealing Sir Lavabo, the knight blinked before hugging the Dark Knight.
"Marco! My boy, when did you get back?"
"Just now, Sir Lavabo."
The two grinned at each other before the older knight's smile faded and looked at him more critically, seeing the gear he had and the sword he was known for now. The knight, gave a sigh and led him deeper into his Wash station,
"Marco…did the royals…?"
"No. They didn't come to me begging, although it might have been a better alternative. Darcy tried to kill me back on Earth, now I'm hunting down Darcy to get rid of her. I am quite literally bailing out Mewni out of their mess and for free I might add."
"…you don't want us to fall into ruin, lad."
"Oh no, don't get me wrong: I don't care for Mewni. But if I let Darcy live she's going to just come right back to me. If all else, Darcy dies just on principle alone for what she had done to me."
Sir Lavabo found his favorite chair and sat on it, he looked at Marco who looked indifferent about his words, the older knight shook his head sadly, "No matter how you go about it Marco, its exactly as you say. Are you angry about it?" "Yeah. I am." "Did you want to come back to Mewni? Especially after your oath?" "No." "Really, Marco?"
Marco blinked, not understanding.
Sir Lavabo leaned forward and looked meaningfully at him.
It dawned on Marco what Sir Lavabo was getting at and he exhaled, the older knight gave him knowing smile, "Even though I'm here? And young Higgs? How about your teacher? Do you really mean what you said."
"OF COURSE I DO." Marco said harshly.
He regretted it a second later, Sir Lavabo wasn't fazed at the response, he looked at Marco quietly.
"I know you mean your words, Marco: Mewni has done a lot of awful things to you…but you can't say it didn't do many good either. I accepted you, Higgs respects you, your teacher sees your worth, Princess Star…after all you had done together, can you really hate her?"
Marco's eyes darken, Sir Lavabo flinched, he deflated and leaned against the wall; he looked extremely tired his scar looking even deeper, "I'm going to my room, Sir Lavabo."
He didn't wait for a reply and left, dragging his sword behind him.
"You better sheathe that sword! Scratching my floor, the nerve!"
"Sorry! Sorry…"
Marco hastily put the sword away before calling upon Dunes and fixed the damage to the flooring.
"Come back here later, Marco, when you're in a better mood to talk…I know you're upset being back here…doing something especially dangerous, interrupting your life back home, but know Marco that I'm grateful you're here, no matter how much you despise it."
Marco stopped at the door.
His hand on the doorknob.
"You shouldn't have to see me like this, Sir Lavabo…"
"…I was there when you fell Marco, from your Princess's grace and picked up yourself as a true knight. You've seen me at my worst as well, don't be afraid or embarrassed to keep a strong face around me; know that I am knight but also your mentor and friend. Never forget that."
Marco said nothing and left.
Wiping his cheeks as he ascended up the castle.
.
He looked at his door and opened it, he was pleasantly surprised to see the room had been tidied up in his absence; there were a couple boxes that didn't belong to him. He peeked inside and saw and assortment of odds and ends but he left it be: no doubt the room was considered to be a storeroom.
He ran a hand on the wall, seeing no more graffiti and nicely painted, the furniture replaced and kept clean.
"Someone's been keeping with the upkeep."
"I do it, Marco."
Marco felt the presence but chose to be oblivious; he was ready to fight at a moment's notice anyways. He pretended to be very interested with the room, studying the new layout, making his guest wait longer and longer.
Letting her fidget.
Marco laid the sword on the desk and finally looked at his guest, she looked at him then glanced to her feet, not quite meeting his eyes.
"How are you, Higgs?"
"Fine. Great actually. Outstanding!" she said confidently, the knight smiled her hair still short but more pixie cut than before, a flair of femininity to it now.
Marco smiled at her and she fiddled with her orange locks.
"Well?"
"…I'm sorry!" she blurted, she blushed and looked at her sword, "I lost your sword to that Fiend and she just went and killed a bunch of Mewmans and Monsters with it! I fought as hard as I could, but she overwhelmed me—!"
"It's fine, I got it back when she tried to ambush me on Earth. I'm glad you're alright." Marco said kindly.
Higgs blinked.
She blinked rapidly before she bashfully looked away.
"S-sorry."
"It's fine. Really. Higgs what can you tell me about her?"
"…ah, um, okay."
Higgs looked a little put off, Marco smiled apologetically, "Afterwards, you can tell me how you've been. It's not all business for me." Marco lied, but Higgs perked up at his interest in her, she adopted a cool looking demeanor and retold her battle with the dastardly Fiend.
Marco listened intently.
Most of it he already knew, but with Higg's experience he could solidify what he knew about this Darcy. A formidable swordsman, someone with considerable social or political sway and apparently some bastardization of himself mixed with all sorts of nasty, one of which is commandeering abilities from other species.
"You really held your own, Higgs."
"…I wish I did better."
"You came out alive, from what I heard, you did what most could not."
Higgs blushed.
Tired of standing, Marco and Higgs sat on the bed and continued to talk, the focus on Higgs more than an unpleasant one of Darcy. Higgs boast of all of her feats since Marco's year long absence, some she was quite pleased with others not so much, the mention of Mewmans in red hoods caught his attention immediately.
"Where did you see them?"
"…once in the kingdom, the other time when I was out in the field. Do you know them?"
"…yeah, I kinda do."
"I bet they're a bunch of nerds."
"Hey." "Geez, it's a joke."
Higgs tried to make light of it but she could see how serious he was about it,
"Are you worried about them?"
"Yeah, from what you told me they are heading for nothing but trouble with their antics."
He sighed and flop back, staring at the ceiling thinking what to do next, Higgs looked over his ensemble, admiring the craftsmanship. He grunted causing her to look away, he chuckled before he sat back up ready to find his 'fan base' and finally set them straight about their agenda.
He felt his cellphone buzz and he fished it out of his jean, "Diaz speaking. Oh, hey, Kelly, yeah I'm at Mewni already, sorry I was catching up with my teachers. Yeah, I'll see you there, let me get you."
Marco walked over to his sword and slashed two portals both pointed to each other so Kelly simply leapt through into Eclipsa's castle. Marco closed them while Higgs giving him a quizzical look, he shrugged,
"Don't want me to see your girlfriend?" she quipped.
"Then I better hide you then!" Marco laughed, but Higgs turned scarlet.
"Ah. No, sorry, that was un-called for." "…maybe you should." Higgs whispered.
"I'm sorry what?" "N-nothing!"
Marco blinked before nodding, he headed for the door with a red face Higgs right behind him before it swung open revealing Star. Marco stopped dead in his tracks as the princess opened her mouth to speak up, her face alight but then abruptly fell seeing Higgs right behind him, the knight quickly curtsey to the princess.
"Ah. Princess Star."
"Princess Star."
"…hello, Lady Higgs. Marco, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Star leaned closer, her blue eyes looking at his brown ones, "Your eyes…" "Hmm? What about them?"
Higgs's eyes swivel between the two, feeling out of place.
And it annoyed her.
"As you can see my eyes are indeed fine, I shall take my leave."
"Please, Marco, don't ru—don't leave."
"…what more do you need of me, Princess Star."
"Marco! Marco, please." Star cried, tears welling up, Marco's hand twitched, the princess didn't notice but Higgs did.
If I acted like some damsel…no. NO. I am anything but that!
Higgs couldn't help but feel all sorts of terrible.
Marco looked at the distressed princess for a moment, it wasn't obvious but Marco could tell that Star had grown up a bit, "…you're older now, aren't you, Star?" "…I turned 18 while you were gone, Marco." "Ah, well, you don't look a day older." "...Marco, that's some weak sauce compliments you're handing."
The two glanced back to see Higgs with her arms folded.
A scowl on her face.
Marco blinked before he shook his head, "Well, I'm off."
He pulled out his sword and cut open a rift, he took a step forward before unsurprisingly he felt someone pushing him and going through the rift as well, he controlled his sigh as he stood upon a meadow just outside of Butterfly Kingdom.
"Alright, what are you doing here."
"Guess, you nerd."
"…I don't know."
Marco tried his hardest not to roll his eyes, "I need to talk to some kingdoms about the situation maybe even just some regular folk; gather some real intel. See what's on bounty boards and the underground."
"…did you do those kinds of things on your own?"
"Sorta kinda. I had to learn to survive and work as a mercenary and as a knight too in the Multiverse, I did a lot of things." Marco said off-handedly, the two stared at him as he walked off in no direction in particular, the two quickly followed.
"What, what else did you do?"
"I was a merc, a bounty hunter too, a lot of things. Name it I was probably that."
"A nerd."
"Rude!" "Low blow, but yeah."
"Heh, I can respect that."
Marco continued to walk on the path, he looked around, studying the sky, the terrain, the tracks that stumble across the trail and the like. Higgs understood the things he did, Star was more or less lost on it, but she seemed to know what it meant especially when he patted his sword and glance to them.
"Mewman raiders. They probably have a camp around here. Ambushed someone some time ago."
"I was going to warn you about that Marco."
"You both knew?!"
"Wow, Higgs that's impressive. How many?"
"Five."
"Wrong. A dozen. They stepped on each other's tracks."
"So what the heck Marco, are you walking into an ambush? Are you still good in a fight?"
"I'm too good in a fight…with this many, it stands to reason one of them will still be alive to be questioned."
Higgs nodded understanding while Star reluctantly nodded, a numbing sensation spreading to her fingers as she squeezed her wand.
Marco said it like he was doing some mundane chore, however the two were aware what it meant: there would be blood.
"You're more than welcome to go back to the castle. I know you're uneasy about what I'm going to do."
"W-what?" Star paled, "What are you gonna do?" she knew but hoped it didn't entail it.
"…what I do best: mercenary work. Look it's gonna get pretty bloody and violent. I'm not even gonna sugarcoat it: there will be corpses at the end of this."
"…I mean, I am but I really want to see how good you are."
"Morbid curiosity, you would get along with Janna."
The three continued to walk, Star looked around cautiously, while Marco and Higgs merely kept their eyes ahead, there were some jutting rocks and outcrops ahead.
"Fall back, last chance."
"I can hold my own in a fight." Star did her best not to stutter, trying to mask her unease.
"I've fought plenty, Marco."
"Suit yourself."
Marco unsheathed his sword and walked into the ambush, Higgs drew her sword and Star thrust out her wand.
"Come on out, ya bastards, let's have some blood!" Marco echoed his words off a nearby rock, immediately rocks tumbled from above.
RAZOR LETTUCE WHIRLWIND!
Star cried out as the magical leaves came whizzing out and taking care of the rocks, two Mewmans swung out of rocks and shot their cross bolts at them, Higgs ducked and Marco threw his sword splitting the other before Warping to the thrown sword.
The Mewmans stared wide eye before he threw out his hand, electricity crackling around his fingertips,
LIGHTNING LANCE!
The lucky Mewmans rolled away leaving three roasted before Marco spun and threw the sword and Warped to another point immediately tackling a raider into the rocks. Higgs and Star stood back to back as the raiders came at them, holding makeshift weapons and rocks,
"Lookie here!"
"Put that sharp sword down lass, no one gets hurt!"
Higgs parried the swings, avoiding the rocks thrown at her before she swung and bat a rock right back at the sender, braining him. Star was rapid fire on her side, using non-lethal spells, her mind still reeling when she killed that Mewman,
SUPER BOUNCY BEACHBALLS!
She shot the spell against the rocks, getting fast at each ricochet and knocking the raiders down on their asses, but that only made them angry and came at her all madden. Marco fly kicked a raider from the outcrop and glanced down, he yelled as he threw his sword and it tore through a Mewman,
"Star what are you doing?!"
"Marco, they're just—!" "NO, THEY ARE NOT!"
He drew up Yuki and slammed his palms on the rocks,
WINTER SPINE!
The temperature dropped just as the ground was soon covered in powder snow before bursting with ice spikes. Higgs slid under a Mewman using the ice and let the sword cut into their inner thigh, Star's eyes widen as one of the rogues dangerously skid side to side before he dived at her with a knife.
"STAR!"
The princess stared at the rogue, his knife plunging forward but she only held the wand close to her chest, terrified, flashbacks of that Mewman staring at her, lifeless.
A shadow fell upon her and she shut her eyes, ready for the sharpness of the blade, but instead she felt something warm pressing against her. The princess looked up to see Marco in between her and the rogue, his hand around his throat as the blade was lodged into his side, the princess cried,
"MARCO!"
"Not now, Star!" Marco grunted, Higgs looked around quickly seeing either dead rogues or those who had fled before she waved to Marco.
The Dark Knight stared down the rogue before his feeble resistance mellow away at the icy visage, he stared bug eyed at the sight,
"Y-yer that git!"
"Oh ho, so you know who I am." Marco drawled, his grip tighten and the Mewman flailed, "Where is Darcy."
The blue faced Mewman snarled at the name,
"Dunno who da is, ya git!"
"Then you are no use to me." Marco said simply, his face devoid of emotion, his eyes darkening and revealing the Fell within him.
The Mewman shrieked at the sight,
"MONSTER!"
"WORSE."
"No one! No one knows! He just vanished! Gone! GONE! After e'eryone ran out da forest we been raidin' 'nd lootin'!" the Mewman quickly pleaded.
The answer didn't please Marco. At all.
The urge to tighten his fingers became so unbearable, it would be so easy to just
"...m"
"...M"
"MARCO!"
Marco flinched and dropped the Mewman, who scuttled on the ground for a moment before he went running, crying and hollering the entire time.
He looked to see Higgs and Star holding onto his arms, he blinked seeing their scared and tear stained faces.
"…your eyes."
"I wasn't imagining it…Marco what happened to you? Why are your eyes dark and green?" Star's eyes welled with tears, Marco exhaled heavily and looked off to the side, "Marco please!"
"Don't worry—"
"I AM WORRIED! MARCO DON'T PUSH ME AWAY!"
"...it's funny...that's how I felt too, y'know."
Marco's handsome face was disfigured by the arrogant smirk on his face, as if it was a long time coming.
"…I'm sending you both back to Butterfly Kingdom." He said in an afterthought, his sword zipping to him.
"Marco!?"
"This isn't a discussion. I can't do this grisly work with Star constantly harping me."
"Then why me too?!"
Marco cut open a portal even as Star pleaded with him, he looked at Higgs, "Because I need someone to make sure Star doesn't try to find me whilst I work." "And why should I do as you say then nerd!"
Marco sighed, he shook his head sadly and looked at her, his eyes back to normal much to Higgs and Stars' relief, "Because I know you will." "...I won't."
Marco held her hand for a moment before he knelt shocking the two females, "Please Higgs, this is a favor between a knight and a knight."
Higgs found the gesture quite pleasant; in a bid to seem resistant and to keep the intimate contact she kept a sour face.
Marco looked up at her, his eyes locked on hers…and only her…
"Higgs~?"
"...oh...oh fine! Geez, Marco…" Higgs managed to say, shaken out of her stupor and scarlet face.
Star stared at the two before she was shaken out of her stupor and argued to stay by Marco's side, the Dark Knight ignored it before he pointed at the portal, it led back to the throne room.
"I won't go. And you shouldn't be doing this kind of—"
"The chance to do it your way has already passed." Marco replied flatly, he held her hand and casually pulled her to the portal, the princess tried to come up with some excuse, any to fight back.
But there was such a warmth from his mere touch that put her at ease, like a moth mesmerized by a faraway glow she followed. Marco got her on the other side of the portal as she smiled all the while however with a glaze stare Marco was slightly concerned. Higgs hopped across and looked at him,
"Be careful out there, Marco...it's treacherous."
"I know, Darcy is out there as who ever she wants..."
"...yeah."
Marco could see how concern she was over that fact, he looked at her hip seeing the plain sword, it looked well used and he frowned, he called out for his sword,
"FROSTFLAME!"
Higgs and Star's head flicked at the sudden yell, Star stared at the portal entrance and the place she was, "Marco!"
He caught the flying sword in time and tossed it to Higgs who caught it,
"Keep her safe, Higgs! And don't lose that again!"
"Marco?!"
"MARCO!"
He gave the both of them a small smile, an apologetic one as the portal closed leaving them safe in the castle.
"…Marco, please be safe."
"Oh, baby I missed you, mama Higgs will keep you safe." Higgs hugged the sword, humming happily before she realized Star was staring at her.
She coughed and held the sword more properly and adopting a more knightly composure.
.
Marco sighed and thought over the options of the places to gather more information on Darcy, "I need to see the condition of the kingdoms for myself...there are too many gaps I can't leave unfilled."
He slashed a portal and hopped through.
He was going to hate what he was about to do...but he'd rather do it first and done with it.
[Student of the Last Pendragon]
Jagged Mountain Kingdom.
It was a wreck.
Plain and simple.
The high walls were littered with craters, projectiles, charring and blood, an odd ladder further away, the Dark Knight lifted himself with sand and swept over the battlements, the guards gave yells of surprise but he waved them off.
"Take me to your rulers, it's urgent."
"R-right away!"
Marco pointed at the sand cloud and the guard nervously hopped on it and he directed him to the castle, it looked lovely in its prime now it was lost it with the caved in sections and makeshift patching.
He landed on the courtyard and send the guard back as the castle guards aimed their halberds at him but he ignored them as he walked past them even as they commanded him to halt.
"Take me to your King and Queen or get out of my way."
"There's...no need to speak so harshly...Dark Knight."
Marco's eyes soften as two shadows shamble forward, the royals looked upon him with eyes of amazement and sadness,
"Welcome Dark Knight...to our home."
"...Darcy did this."
"Nay...Nefon did, or is that her name too? Bah it matters not...she played all of Mewni quite well..."
Marco looked at the ruler he gestured for the knights to leave but they were stubborn, the King made a gesture, "Please Sir Marco, they wont leave...our daughter was abducted and they all feel guilty of it...don't let them give up any more honor they have left."
"...I'm sorry to hear that."
"Mhmmm...would you like something to drink?"
Marco stared at the ruler for a moment, there were a tiredness to them, a hollow shadow he had seen so many times before.
Whatever savage delight he thought he would have seeing Mewni suffer...faded a little.
"Your home is in ruins, your daughter captured and your people in despair...and I am most likely the cause of it all, yet you treat me as if I was an honored guest."
"...no matter what has happened, to our kingdom or personally...can we really blame you, Dark Knight?"
"You can." Marco said firmly.
The rulers sadly shook their head,
"It would solve nothing. Why shift the blame when we are at fault for our plight? That meeting showed us your worth and valor, without question you defended Mewni with your life; you may have done it to defend your friends here but you also defended those ungrateful and your enemies. Mewni doesn't deserve a Dark Knight like yourself."
Marco frowned.
"You may feel that way but look all around you: Darcy got you and others to battle each other to bloody ribbons."
"...yes...she did..."
Marco stared at the rulers, they were beaten down to the ground.
He folded his arms ready to lay the truth bare, even if it meant that they would hate him even more…
"Darcy...this 'Nefon'...she's a clone of me...the Scrouge of Mewni...the Fiend...she's made from my flesh. I might as well have done it."
The knights trembled at the words.
The rulers however weren't even fazed, in fact they looked relieved.
"Then she truly is the consequence for Mewni then."
"Why are you—"
"Dark Knight do you believe we deserve Nefon?"
"Yes, you do." Marco said without hesitation, he felt the cold looks from the knights, "But be as it may...the innocent should be spared of the foolishness of their rulers; but that hardly is the case."
Marco took a good look around the castle, he spied a massive slam of a fallen wall and called out to Automata, the Elemental was...intrigued at his suggestion and he walked over and touched it. The slab was instantly turned into a gilded treasure, the rulers blinked at the sight as did the knights, Marco turned to them,
"I know this is a poor consolation for your missing daughter...but use this to clean up the kingdom."
"You are...most kind."
"Don't use this to get smashed. There's enough depressed people around here."
[The Royal Butterfly Squire]
Marco stepped into Cloud Kingdom, he stopped himself from hopping back through the portal seeing the cloud surface. He experimentally stepped on it before he was silently relieved he didn't just go right through and fall to his death.
Then he noticed Spiderbite Kingdom.
Then the ocean.
Being a tad too close.
"What. The. Fuck."
"Language boy."
Marco spun and saw the massive Pony Head King coming down from his balcony, his daughters and Pony Head Princess not far behind. The sight of Marco caused all of them to immediately whip out their phones and furiously text, Pony Head stared before she came flying at him.
Marco sidestep and she zipped off the cloud, the king sighed,
"That girl...hello, Dark Knight."
"King Pony Head, I'd say good day but it seems far from it."
"Indeed; there hasn't been one for a long time."
Marco and the king stared at each other.
His daughters still taking pictures and texting, no doubt blowing up any social media site that was still operational.
"What happened. I was told you, Spiderbite, Jagged Mountain and Kelpbottom went each other's throats."
"...yes, we did." The king said after a pause, he sighed heavily, "Nefon the Informant...some way, some how she got us to erupt into Civil War against each other. How could we be so blind..."
"Nefon...is just one alias she's had. She's also known as Darcy the Scourge of Mewni and the Fiend."
The king said nothing and drifted closer to the cloud edge, Pony Head came zooming back and tried to bum-rush Marco again until her father glared at her, "Earth turd why are you even here?!" "...where's your horn." "Don't cha change the subject!"
Marco rolled his eyes and waved her off, the king snorted he gestured below,
"Nefon...she brought my kingdom nearly crashing into the sea, nearly obliterating Kelpbottom."
"...how did she bring your kingdom down."
"I don't know, before she vanished she managed to talk the Jagged Mountain rulers to come to a meeting; there it was revealed that Jagged Mountain had a ballistae capable of attacking my kingdom...I foolishly blamed them, I should have known Nefon had set it up; somehow."
"Why haven't you gone back into the sky?"
"...fear that she would shoot us down once more, Nefon may have disappeared from the face of Mewni but I do not doubt for a second she's still out there watching us die slowly."
"You can recover from this." Marco said neutrally, he wasn't trying to give any false hope, just stating facts, "Darcy humbled you, no reason you can't pick yourself up."
The king laughed, he shook his massive head, "I agree but with her waiting to knock us back down on our asses? I can manage that, no matter how many times she tries...but my people are a different story...we are a resilient people, but the she has shaken my people's spirit, nearly plummeting to our deaths has been a wake up call to many as well as myself. No doubt we can and will bounce back...but with Nefon freely roaming Mewni it is hard to soothe my people's fears. Hope is a fragile thing to have at the moment...I don't want it snatched by Nefon."
Marco saw some wisdoms at the words but nonetheless shook his head,
"It shouldn't matter if Nefon can make your spirit falter: you are the ruler of this kingdom, that still means something to your family and subjects. Faith in yourself is pivotal right now; because if you can't even do that, then Nefon has achieved victory, all she needs to do is watch you roll over and she wouldn't even need to swing a sword to have it."
"…" the king said nothing even as Marco walked off the cloud and sank into the ocean.
[The Runaway Knight]
Marco swam back for air, coughing,
"Fuck, I forgot Undine and Sylph can't help me! Idiot!"
"That's quite alright, Dark Knight we can talk above the waves."
Marco turn to see the Kelpbottom rulers looking at him, their faces stripped of joy for many moons, he frowned as he swam for the shore the rulers following him, he could tell they weren't alone as many murky shadows followed closely.
"The Riptide Knights are never far behind."
"Good then you're less likely caught off guard by Darcy."
"...who?"
"Nefon. Sorry, Nefon and Darcy are the same person."
Marco lit his sword aflame and waved it around him, hissing vapor rose around him as he dried off, the rulers looked at him patiently, he sighed and looked at them.
"Were you expecting me?"
"Yes. For a long time in fact, the rings it..." "Are you disappointed or amused with our lot?"
"Both actually. But hearing it was Darcy's doing doesn't make the folly less foolish. Darcy is a clone of my flesh, someone on Mewni had unleashed that Scrounge upon you."
The rulers paled.
When they got a hold of themselves, they said gravely,
"Somehow that doesn't so far fetched...her being your clone that is; the way she manipulated us, she's as cunning as you."
"Yes, she nearly killed me too."
They looked at him alarmed, he shrugged,
"She tried to kill me back home and I hate to say it you, I mean the guilty party, made one hell of a monster to contend with."
"...Mewni have mercy."
"...do you regret it?" Marco asked, the rulers looked at him, "You and Jagged Mountain sided with me and you bore the brunt of this calamity."
"...no one could have imagined this would happen Dark Knight, we surely did this to ourselves all by the bidding and prodding of Nefon sure but instead of belief in one another it was war we waged." "So easy for her to topple us over...blind us to bicker and distrust one another."
"To be fair y'all been doing that since I left." Marco started, they blinked, he shrugged unapologetically, "I'm not going to sugarcoat it: she played you, all of you."
"You're quite blunt." "Indeed."
Marco frowned, "I oughta be since this catastrophe happened, and it falls upon me to clean it up."
The rulers smiled then bowed, Marco scoffed, "I'm not doing this for you; if Darcy isn't stopped she's just gonna come back to Echo Creek and cause all sorts of shit for me since she failed the last time. And to be honest: I'd rather wreck Mewni than Earth since I live there."
The rulers purse their lips at the declaration, knowing he meant it,
"Be as it may, Dark Knight."
"Good. Now, I want you tell me all you know about Darcy—Nefon, fuckin' whatever she called herself. Don't leave anything out—no matter how insignificant."
The rulers felt a slight chill at the order, the way Marco looked at them, a dreadful nauseating aura...the tone of a man on the hunt for a beast as vile as himself...
"A-as you w-wish, Dark Knight."
He held up a hand before they could start, he grabbed a handful of sand and gestured to the royals, they held out their hands before he poured the sand, using Dunes and Jewel he turned it into precious gemstones.
"This is for the damages you've sustained: now talk."
[The Demon of Echo Creek]
Marco marched upon Spiderbite, he waved the guards aside and they dived for cover as crystal and sand exploded at his whim, his eyes blazed furiously.
"Something is foul in this damn place!"
Damn Marco calm down! I can't get all this giddy~ in public!
Yay! Destruction!
Marco readied to slash open the gates but the creak of timber alerted him to it swinging open, the guards hauling ass so he didn't chop through it with the Traitor's Sword. He glared at them before he surged forward, he didn't bother looking over the kingdom he knew it was a mess, just like all the rest of the kingdoms...
He reached the castle after the mobs of citizens cleared a path for him and he kicked down the door, knights tried to halt his progress but one look from him and they cowered and fell back.
He roared across the hall,
"SHOW YOURSELF SPIDERBITE ROYALS!"
Despite the yell, he marched himself down to the throne room scattering everyone he came across. He knew three of the eight kingdoms of Mewni disliked him, maybe enough to do something extremely foolish, but out of the three only Spiderbite was the closest to his vicinity. He would have to question River or rather some royal from Johansen Clan and visit the Lucitors at a later time.
Marco came upon the door and slammed his concussive gauntlets, forgetting for a moment what would happen: a destroyed door.
Marco walked through the door, he looked at a sheet white Page,
"Put that on my tab."
The Dark Knight turned his attention to the Queen and King of Spiderbite, only to see the Queen on the throne, swishing a goblet in one hand, "...ah. Another one...Page fetch me another goblet." She let the goblet clang on the floor and the wine seeping into the carpet.
Marco frowned and walked up to her, the knights watched him but made no attempts to stop him, he narrowed his eyes and stood in front of the queen,
"...you're a mess, where's your royal bearing." He snarled.
"Gone." She mumbled, "It's all gone..."
"What's gone."
"...everything."
"Bullshit. What have you done."
The queen tried to evade his gaze but he adamantly stood there until she finally peered upwards, seeing his stony face,
"Ah. Sir Marco Diaz...how do you do?"
He grabbed her front and lifted her off the throne, the knights started at him but she waved them off, "Leave us. Leave. Take the day off." "...yes, Your Majesty."
They abruptly turn without another word.
Marco looked at them questioningly; they didn't even fought back at the order especially after all the other royals he ran into today.
"I'm going to ask again: what have you done."
"...I've laid waste to Mewni."
"..." Marco paused at the words, he looked at her, his eyes searching, before it fell on her eyes, the same blue eyes of Darcy.
"...you," Marco could hardly hold himself back, shaking from head to toe, "…YOU. YOU MADE DARCY. DIDN'T YOU."
For the first time since they spoke did the Queen's eyes lit up.
Not with life.
But with terror.
It wasn't an accusation.
From from it, but the look of panic cemented Marco's words.
Marco's hand reached for his sword but the Queen's eyes welled up with tears and her palms clapped over her face.
And bawled.
"…I—I did! I made her—she's a monster! Nothing—nothing I hoped!"
"!" Marco's face lit up at the last word, "Do you…HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU MADE!? Why?! What could be so—"
"You!" she wept, "YOU were THAT important! Mewni—Mewni owes you far too much, too much to bear! And you turned your back on us...after we turned our backs on you...now she's done nothing but brought misery to Mewni...wrecking havoc no matter where she trends...how could something so despicable come from someone so powerful...it doesn't make sense..."
"How. HOW DID YOU MAKE HER." Marco thundered, the Queen cowered.
"B-Blood Pit. Underneath the castle."
"Bring me to it."
"It's...it's gone. Darcy came back and destroyed it."
"..." Marco glared at her and pulled the sword a wee bit out of the sheathe making sure she was being honest, "Did she only do that?"
The Queen saw lightning arcing, she opened and closed her mouth repeatedly like a fish out of water before she blub for the Dark Knight,
"She came back and stole the third masterpiece I made; then she destroyed the Blood Pit!"
"YOU MADE THREE!?" Marco roared, "ONE WAS BAD ENOUGH!"
"She killed the second one! She fled and I...I made another clone from the remains. She came back and stole it and destroyed the entire place...I can never make anymore..."
Marco looked at the Queen, sickened.
He felt the Fell react, his eyes darkening at every twisted thought worming into his skull, he could fell her right here, right now...no one would know.
And one less blasted royal to deal with.
"Go on."
"!"
Marco steeled himself at the whisper, the temptation to obliterate the royal...
As much as he desired her grisly end...he wasn't an authority to mete out justice...
Mewni faults shall be remedied by Mewni hands...
Marco inhaled shakily.
What the Queen had done...he had no words for it; the one thing that shouldn't have been done and she gone on and did it. It took all of his self control to utter the next scant lines, hoping to leave before he went nuclear,
"You'll be dealt with; I'll see to it that all of Mewni knows what you have done."
"!"
"No amount of running your gob will protect you." Marco said with finality.
The Queen stared at the towering Marco for a moment, trying to see if he would be merciful in the slightest but she saw naught of a shred of it. She slumped against her throne, looking every bit miserable as her subjects when he tore through the place,
"Please...she has my daughter...my husband worked himself till he was bed ridden...I—"
"Save it." Marco snarled, he turned his back on her and marched down the dais, hating himself by the second, "You've yet to get what's coming to you."
[Master of the Traitor's Sword]
Marco looked at the frozen magma of the Underworld for a moment before he looked back to see Prince Tom Lucitor, he looked paler than usual especially after Marco forced him to retell the tale of Nefon/Darcy wrecking the Underworld.
He was greeted to demons bellowing at him, even some hotshot descendant of a Hell Knight, to which it was greeted to the bottom of his boot and sent packing. Marco drew his sword and with a thundering boom caused the demons present to shriek as he brought it down into the ground.
"What the heck—MARCO!?"
"TOM, GET DOWN HERE."
"Tsk! What the—!"
"OR I'M COMING UP THERE AND KICKING YOU OFF YOUR HIGH CHAIR. I AM IN NO MOOD TO PLAY THESE GAMES."
Tom in fact played these games.
And for his troubles, he caught Marco's hands. And boots.
"Enough, Tom, I don't have time for your shit." Marco snarled.
"I can do this all week!" Tom wiped his chin, only to have Marco deliver a stunning roundhouse kick to it and sent him sprawling on the ground.
The next time Tom woke up the Traitor's Sword was at his neck, his parents watching fearfully as several MagmaMen, courtesy of Golem, Elemental of Lava, kept them back.
"What underhand tricks you have, Dark Knight."
"Run the spittle at me again and I might just finish what Darcy started." Marco said unnaturally calm.
Everyone present felt an unnatural shiver run down their spines.
Marco offered a hand to Tom, who slapped it away and stood up, the two walked towards the edge of the kingdom plateau and gazed down at the cooled magma and Tom unravel the tale of Darcy invading and destroying the kingdom.
How she infiltrated the underbelly of the castle, stole weapons from there and carved her way out, taking on him, his subjects and guards and finally Hekapoo.
Tom so engross in his storytelling didn't see how Marco's hand twitch at the name and how she must have fought valiantly if Darcy was so willing to run for it afterwards.
For a long moment the two didn't say anything.
Tom felt like a child explaining himself to Marco someone the same age as him [FYI: he doesn't know he's older now. Technically.], still it felt better than talking to demons that just agreed with his sentiments on the situation.
"...how long have you known we've been fucked."
"...just recently, Darcy paid me a visit."
"So...she's still alive."
"Tom, what the heck do you think I did." Marco retorted irritated, "Oh, she showed up and I OHKO her?"
"YES!"
"You are thick in the head." Marco exhaled loudly, "She is not just some mindless idiot, she played all of Mewni, a low brow feat but she still managed to put you in a death grip. She trounces knights, warriors, and kingdoms apparently and even the MHC the stalwart guardians of the multi-dimensions. So don't come at me with this sass, Tom."
The prince looked even more hopeless at the words,
"We're so dead."
"And this 'we' shit; she's your problem."
"Then why are you here?"
Marco's face darken, "Because if I'm going to cause a ruckus, I'd rather trash your place than mine."
"The fuck—really?"
"Hey. You weren't in Echo Creek backing me up when I was fending her off: singlehandedly. Now sit your ass down, protect your citizens and subjects and try not to get in my way."
"...hey wait!," Tom yelled at Marco who was leaving, "I ain't your bitch!"
"Fine. But YOU are a BITCH."
[The Fallen Knight of Mewni]
Marco spun and sliced through flesh, bone and sinew.
He shot out lightning through his fingertips, dealing with a slew of raiding Monsters and Mewmans.
Prairie Style Elemental Combination : Grass Wildfire!
Marco spun low before corkscrewing upwards slicing through raiders at the same time Golem searing his blade and igniting the nearby grass making a sea of flames.
"RUN ITS—GYUK!"
Garden Style : Thorn Dance!
Marco leapt over a crowd of raiders and with unnerving accuracy dipped a quarter of the Traitor's Sword into their cranium before moving to the next and the next and landing with grace; his victims did not.
Forest Style : Ash Crash!
Marco gripped the Traitor's Sword with both hands and in overhead chops, broke apart anyone and anything in his way. The survivors seeing the absolute onslaught of one man, one Dark Knight was enough to get them scurrying for their lives, Marco raised his hand to blast them with Dunes, Automata and Yuki before he grimace and put his hand down.
"Damnit...this body still can't take it."
"You're not your adult self, Marco, you can't just abuse your body like this."
"...funny," Marco slid his sword back and inspect his handiwork, "I have to be an adult to make a difference. This really isn't a shounen manga where I can just tryhard my way into victory."
"Cute, but not the point."
Marco looked at the kingdom walls to see the Johansen Berserkers and guards, they looked shaken up by the display, their arrows and cross bolts aimed at him.
"You're going to shoot me?"
"...maybe."
"Go ahead. I'll tear these walls apart afterwards."
"What do you want?"
"Like I said before I was interrupted by a damn mob: I need to speak to a royal."
The guards muttered with themselves before they sent a runner.
"We wont let you in, but we'll do as you ask."
"I didn't ask to be let in, I wanted to talk to someone." Marco deadpan.
Marco sighed when the guards pretended to not hear his logic and began to look busy.
It took about 10 minutes before the royal showed up, the same one that he had dealt with in a year's past, he glared at him,
"What do you want."
"...I want to know if Darcy or Nefon have come through your kingdom." Marco yelled up the wall, everyone there did a sign of warding, "If she did, I want to know where she went and how frequently."
"Nefon...yes, she did come here but she refused to stay in the kingdom after talking to us, Johansen!"
"I wonder why—"
"SHADDUP!"
"So where did she go?" Marco asked despite the tirade the royal tried to stir up.
The royal pointed South-West, "Some of our riders said she would go in that direction…they would lose sight of her after a time."
"…what could be there?" Marco mumbled, he racked his brain for a moment but the royal broke it.
"The only thing there worth mentioning is the Pigeon Kingdom," the Johansen royal yelled, "But you can't get near it, the Pigeons have gone feral they attack anyone who gets close, Nefon—"
"Unless she caused it," Marco yelled back, he glanced at the direction seeing dark shapes in the horizon, "Has anyone gone to Pigeon Kingdom? Tried to?"
"Not as far as I know."
Marco frowned and faced the faraway kingdom,
"Fine, I'll do it myself." he retorted fixing his concussive gauntlets.
"Better you than me."
Marco rolled his eyes and moved forward, "Yeah, and that kind of thinking got you in this predicament in the first place."
He slashed himself a portal and fell through.
[Mewni's Strongest Dark Knight]
Marco landed outside the castle, he immediately rolled away as a pigeon flock tried to scoop him up.
"BUZZ OFF!" Marco roared as sand exploded underneath him and obscured him from view, still the pigeons tried to muscle through it. The merc ran for cover and after a bit all the pigeons scattered and tried to find him, a minute rolled by before they flew away without a prize.
Marco narrowed his eyes.
"They've gone savage...what could Darcy done to them...are they under a spell?" he observed them, watching them but as far as he could tell they were fine…on the outside.
Marco watched them at the rafters then he glanced down and held down his bile seeing so many pigeons amongst others. He looked at the pigeons more carefully and saw they were haggard, pox-ridden, some nearly featherless and starved.
"..." Marco looked at them sorrowfully, before he heard something land behind.
"Coo."
"...fuck."
Marco rolled out of his hiding place before a storm of pigeons came tearing in, he spun the sword around him, hacking the poor pigeons that crossed the blade and threw it as far as he could.
Raiju!
THUNDER FIST!
Marco slammed his fist into the ground and a shockwave sent the pigeons scattering, he grunted as he was Warped away, he looked around and saw he was inside of the castle, and even more pigeons were there to greet him.
Automata!
IRON SKIN!
"I can't keep this up for very long...better find out where the royals are..." Marco thought as the pigeons tried to peck his insides and eyes out, but their beaks did nothing to the metallic Marco.
Until they started to drop furniture and slabs on him from above, Marco growled at the sight and molded some lightning and let it pulse through him,
Automata + Raiju!
POLARITY!
Marco yelled as he suddenly shot through the ceiling and every consecutive ceiling until he was out of the castle's roof, he flapped his arms, the two Elementals shrieked with laughter, "YOU BITCHES!"
Marco focused and pushed himself back to the castle, landing on the roof and running towards a nearby spire, he summoned his sword and threw it through the brick and mortar and Warping inside.
Marco grunted as he skidded on the stone flooring and looked around, he settled himself seeing it was a prison and currently guarded.
Four Mewmans and four Monsters lunged at him with swords, lances and a morning star,
"What the heck!"
"Who're you!?"
"INTRUDER!"
Marco spun low avoiding the blades and rolling past the morning star before he spun in mid air and roared,
Dunes + Automata!
IRON SAND!
Said sand exploded from his sleeves before he gestured it to wrap around the guards before hardening, the guards raged from inside their prisons.
"Ugh!"
"What the feck!"
"Gwaaah, rage!"
"...I don't know this arse."
Marco glared at them, he raised his sword and moved to the closest one, their eyes widen at the sight of him,
"It's him...the Human Man!"
"Marco effin' Diaz..."
"Biggus dick..."
"...Dark Knight, the Monster Slayer, the Mewman Breaker."
"Kek...he's no match for her."
That got Marco's attention, his eyes landed on a Monster, he stalked closer, "And who are you talking about...Nefon or Darcy."
"...both?" the Monster blinked, he nodded and the sand shrunk inwards the Monster shrieked.
The other guards who still hand their weapons in their hands threw it at Marco with all their might, Marco's eyes harden as did the globs of sand, but his order was as calm as ever as he closed a open hand...
IRON COFFIN
The guards shrieked as the globs of iron sand shrunk and shrunk and shrunk into itself.
Into a marble.
Marco didn't pity them a glance and stared at the Monster, who turned sheet white,
"Talk. Now."
"W-What are you?!"
Marco's eyes darken, the Fell bleeding into it, he grimace the sensation, being in Mewni really did bring the worst in him…
"I...can...Squire..."
"…?" Marco turned to see Rich Pigeon looking at him from one of the cells, he quickly berated himself from his lack of attention to detail.
Marco looked at the Monster before he made a gesture and the Monster was shot through the wall followed by a hard thud later.
Marco looked at the cell and slashed it open, he didn't see Rich the first time, he had lost half of his feathers, pox-ridden and huddled in the corner where it stank of droppings. He sorta blend into the background, he knelt down and picked him up, Rich chuckled before he cooed,
"My parents...please..."
"Where."
"Next...cell..."
Marco walked to the next one to see Rich's parents.
Dead.
They were nestled together.
Their bowl empty.
Webs lingered it.
"...they pushed their portion…to me…through a crack…"
"...Rich."
"...they were the best parents...and rulers of this kingdom..."
"Rich, let me—"
"Bring outside. I must address my people. They must be stopped."
Marco solemnly nodded and brought out Rich Pigeon to the balcony, he coughed before Marco tapped his beak and held it up, he spoke but the sword emitted it instead,
"Hear me my loyal subjects!
I, Prince Richard Pigeon, have been saved by Dark Knight Marco Diaz!
No longer are you coerced to do that egg breakers doing! You are free once again!"
Marco saw the pigeon masses loop around the castle in celebration before many promptly plummeted to the ground. Exhausted. Freed of their burden.
"How many did she enslave."
"…all of them: she used me as leverage." He coughed, he looked at Marco, "But she said I outlived my usefulness...she told the guards to stop feeding me and my parents, days ago."
"Why? Why now?"
Rich shook his head weakly.
"She was going to collect some royal gems she said."
.
Higgs was set flying into a column, she hacked up blood before rolling to her side as a morning star came crashing for her head. She wiped her chin and leveled the FrostFlame the best she could,
"Un…believable!" Higgs roared, she spun the sword to deflect the projectiles before cartwheeling in midair and dodging furniture thrown at her. She slid underneath tables and chairs, running up a pillar and leaping off in a great display of athleticism, evading even more bouts of magic thrown at her as she grabbed onto a banner and swung to safety behind another pillar.
"Awww~ don't wanna play?"
"Fight bitch!"
"Tsk, but we're having so much fun right now! Aren't we~?"
Darcy smiled evilly as she marched upon the shivering knight, Higgs bit down on her lips as her blood down beneath her armor, brow and arms. Black thorn spikes grazed her but smaller ones did manage to pierce her shoulder and abdomen.
Higgs spun out of her hiding spot and swung with all her might, not caring how her body screamed,
SEARING BLIZZARD!
Darcy braced herself as the wave of burning ice actually forced her back even though she wore the Hell Crusader Armor, her boots digging into the flooring before she realized she was frozen all over.
"Heh—not bad. Stop them then~"
Higgs screamed as Star, Moon and River struck her down with the Royal Wand, magical sword and a battle-axe, the FrostFlame barely raised enough to protect her from their blows. Higgs breathed in haggardly as she kicked and scrambled away from the three royals, her head spinning at the onslaught she had to endure.
"Run little one, run~!" Darcy sneered as Higgs held up the sword the best she could, eyeing the three royals in front of her as they readied their assault on her once again.
"Marco...where are you...?" Higgs desperately prayed to herself.
XxXxXxXxX
This first chapter is a really doozy in terms of length.
I had to regrettably cut it in half otherwise you, my avid readers, would get lost in the sauce.
Ooh, Higgs, brave Higgs.
Will she survive such adversaries?
And will Marco make it in time to help his fellow knight? Stay tuned!
The following chapter should really kick off the battles between Marco and Darcy, who will reign supreme in their desperate struggles against each other. And who will be left standing when the dust settles, for no one on Mewni is truly safe...
WHO WILL SURVIVE!?
Ciao,
I AM NRG
END OF TRANSMISSION