Marco at a Crossroads
By: DJ Rodriguez
(Author' Notes: Hey there everyone! How are you all doing? I hope that all of you are doing well. It's been a crazy time for me, but so far hanging in there best I can.
Before I say or do anything else, I want to give praise and glory to the Lord. Thank you God for helping me; not just with my stories, but with my life. It has been very tough for me to break away from old habits and such that have been with me for years God, and it's tough to stand resistant against the peer pressure that is out in the world today. But I thank you Lord for being there for me as I really want to make certain old habits die for good, and also to be strong by your side Jesus Christ against a world that has gone severely off-course.
I look to you Jesus for guidance, strength, courage, conviction, steadfastness and wisdom! And that I hope to my best to obey you, be faithful to you, to really obtain and use self-discipline/restraint/control to become a better servant & soldier for you God! Continue to look after me, my family, my friends and those out there that really need you Lord!
I want to thank all of you who have reviewed my work here, and have been patient with me. It is not easy as I have more projects to do, for others as well as myself. But I promise you all this on my honor as a Rodriguez; that THIS story will be finished! It will span about three or four books in total, and become something more like my Disney/Toho Monsters and Magic series!
And I am taking a cue now from my Dragonball x Danny Phantom crossover, which I hope you all take a look at. Instead of putting the intro and outros up in each chapter, going to put it where others can see it in the previous chapter. It saves time and writing like so.
Sad to say, Disney continues to disappoint with its reboots/remakes that its making that are all aimed to satisfy certain groups that I believe are killing the people, nation, society and more. Until they finally realize their mistake, reject and repent completely from the New Normal/WOKE movement & current bandwagon they are still on, will have nothing more to do with them. I'll stick with the Disney classics that I grew up with as a kid, and other old-school cartoons/movies as well.
I really hope to do God proud with my stories, as I really want to promote Christianity in my works. To tell you all the truth… getting quite fed up with demons/devils and such being given praise and such, being portrayed as heroes and such. And also tired of seeing people looking to magic and mysticism so much like so, both in real life and in fantasy works. While I do like seeing movie magic and such, I really believe that it's time to focus on something more real and true.
So in this story, and in ALL of my future works, going to put Christian values and such in this. The real-deal, true school kind that used to flourish in the past. If those of you do not like it… well, there are other stories out there for you to read. But for this one and future books of this series, going to show the real and true power that comes from Jesus Christ! The good, true, real, right kind that is sadly missing in almost everything now.
I will continue to hope and pray the best for the country I live in. I will continue to hope and pray that the people remember the many fine lines/barriers/boundaries/limits that used to be recognized, realized and respected back then. The small, subtle differences that are quite significant & make the entire difference between what is right & wrong.
I state this again- I cannot please everyone, nor do I ever wish to do so. I believe in the words of my pastor Rick Godwin from Summit Christian Center at San Antonio and it is this: If you try to please everyone, you lose yourself entirely. So while others may not be pleased at this, it is what it is. My aim is not to please all, but to write a worthwhile story. No more, no less.
No slash/femme-slash actions or pairings. There will also be no trans, gender-free, binary/non-binary, gender-neutral characters or notions in this series, nor in any of my other stories. This I am DEADLY serious about! See my Profile here to see & know exactly where I stand.
To see fanart of the series here, check out the DeviantArt account of my friend Author drjeesh. His account name is same name as Author name, and also he is making a comic of my series that is so far very impressive!
I wish to do this for my Tia Pamela Espurova-Allen, and will keep doing it until some solid news comes in. She is working with police and other official groups to locate and bring home a missing girl that is part of a family she works with & has befriended.
Her name is Lina Khil, a little girl that was taken on December 20th, 2021. The search is still on for her, but so far… no luck.
Her information is this: She was four years old when she was abducted; hair brown, eyes brown, race Afghan, weight 55 lbs. & height 4'0. If any can help to locate and find her, please do so and notify the proper authorities. Hoping and praying still that she is found alive & returned to her family. They have put up a special about her on TV thanks to the San Antonio Police Department. Any information you wish to seek about her you can search for online, and hopefully it will help to find her and bring her back home safely.
So again, just to be sure I am clear… trust in what I do. I may not be a total expert with the Star Vs. series, but I will do my best with what I know and pick up along the way. In addition, I have been seeing a lot of old cartoon & live-action series that I have on VHS & DVD, still working in fine condition. They consist of both Disney & non-Disney series, and thus I have enjoyed & learned much from them to put in here. So this story will also have educational purposes, similar to shows that combined education with entertainment in the 1980s and 1990s.
The action will also take place mostly on Earth, with some taking place in Mewni. The dimension where time is greatly accelerated, Hekapoo's home, will only be shown a minor number of times. After seeing the Diaz's losing their two kids once more to rapid growing up to them not being part of their lives… I will not have anything like that here. I believe that parents should see their kids grow, help them grow and become good adults in the process. So Mariposa nor Marco will return to Hekapoo's home realm.
So while this is a Marco/Multiple Girls story, there will be NO kind of slash or femme-slash actions, characters or references here at all. I believe that I can bring forth the true and real potential of Jackie and the other ladies here, more so than what was done to them in the series.
Also, will be giving my OC names from the website 20000-NAMES, as I have done in my previous stories. Each name is linked to a different nation, and has a different meaning. To see what they mean, go to website to look it up. If any of you wish to create your own OC's for me to use in the story, let me know & I will see what I can do.
I should have done this in the first place, but doing so now for the rest of the story. To give credit where it is due. Ratatusk the Mole man, Silka the Giant Spider, King Khan & Queen Seres belong to Author Darkness Rissing, and the Destroian characters belong to Author LORD DESTYRUK. If I have missed something that belongs to someone, please let me know so that I can rectify notes here and give the person the credit for the character, as it is their right.
Dr. Sky Exten and Nurse Delma belong to Author SKYx10, the Author who has made some impressive Star Vs. stories himself & is what inspired me to write my own story connected to the TV series.
I do not own Star vs. the Forces of Evil, it is created by Daron Nefcy & executive producers Daron Nefcy, Dave Wasson and Jordana Arkin. Production is the Disney Television Animation, and aired on network Disney XD and Disney Channel. Originally released January 2015, ending on May 2019.
I Am The Christian The Devil Warned You About is by Mario Murillo, © 1996 by said author and edited by Carol Ann Murillo. Published by the Fresh Fire Communications company in Danville, California in 1996.
Now, on with the story!)
~Intro, insert favorite song here. To see Intro, check previous chapter~
It is now 11:30 a.m. in small town of Echo Creek, said town becoming a little bit more active. While a majority of the citizens opted to stay indoors where it was cool from the summer heat, many were out and about doing various activities. Some were going to the movies to watch feature films, the theater promoting now a four feature showing of the three Marvel movies that were quite popular: Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War and the latest one that was released in April Avengers: Endgame. Some made plans to see the movies at night at the Djinn Drive-In Cinema since the weather would be clear, and also suitable since there was no school.
Well… there was summer school, but that only applied to the children that HAD to go there due to poor grades they received at the end of the semester.
Some of the citizens were either at the beach, or at the local pool cooling off. Many little ones were wearing floaties or being watched over by the adults, while the young adults had fun jumping into the water from either the side or from high dives. Many young lads chose the high dives in order to impress the young ladies that they had their eye on, doing either insane stunts or tricky flips that ended up splashing them & others. This led to them almost being banned from the pool by the lifeguards, as they were told to discourage such actions as there was a great chance of something being broken that could cause some serious injuries… or worse.
However, a certain someone at Echo Creek Hospital was busy at the moment recuperating in his room.
Marco Diaz was propped up and reading the book I Am The Christian The Devil Warned You About by Mario Murillo. After eating some breakfast, though he had Nurse Delma to help him since he still could not eat steadily on his own yet, he started to write down notes from reading Secret #2- Conation. It was long and tasking due to taking frequent breaks due to the pain from writing, but he managed to take down all the important/critical stuff from the book.
If there was one thing Marco was still known for, it was being detailed. He had learned long ago that even the smallest of things, even the subtle ones, made much of a difference in anything. So while he did not write down exactly everything that covered the Secret, it was enough so that the really important lesson was in it.
Once it was complete, he put the notebook down and started to read the book itself which was twenty minutes ago. He was now nearing the end of Secret #3- The Steel Punch.
Marco spoke out loud but in a soft tone as he read the book, "According to the author here, 'Imagine someone taking his hands and striking an opponent with fingers dangling. He would hurt himself more than his adversary! This is a sadly accurate picture of the Christian movement. With depressing frequency, we have attacked with disjointed leadership, limp weapons, and wilting warriors. This is why our efforts have damaged us more than Satan.'. And he says that what heightens this tragedy is that it is so avoidable. And that history is replete with episodes of totally unlikely heroes and heroines who, permeated by God, without warning, delivered a knock-out punch to Lucifer.".
He continued to read on, "The word 'breakthrough' is a noble word of war that has sadly been cheapened by overuse. A breakthrough is supposed to be like this; a decisive blow at the front line, a turning point of a war where the enemy's line of defense has been breached, and warriors are flooding in to take strategic territory. The steel punch is a gift from God that causes breakthroughs in demonic strongholds. A unique and powerful gift from the Lord indeed... but sad to say, the problem is that we do not strike evil where it matters, and we do not seek meaningful targets."
The young lad thought deep on this part, recalling certain events that he learned while living in his home dimension of Earth & also some combat simulations that were shown back with the knights and squires at Butterfly Castle in Mewni. In his homeworld, he remembered some events that was shown in his History classes. That in various instances around the world in various locations, armies that looked to be on the verge of victory were either delayed or defeated due to not seizing the advantage when it was given.
And it seemed that kind of loss was not a strange to Mewni either. He had read the History books concerning not just the Butterfly land, but also the other realms as well. And it seemed that even those with magical ability met with defeat due to lack of strategy or allowing their pride to get the better of them that soon spelled disaster at certain campaigns.
Marco remembered a moment six months ago while in Mewni:
~Flashback~
The young Mewnian knight was in a large circular room that was able to fit all of the current number of knights and squires, though it was only him and another who was standing across from him on the opposite side of the area. Around and above them were stands that normally would seat the knights, squires and also the royals' family. What Marco was in was a Sparring Arena, where young squires would come to showcase their abilities to their peers, the knights and the royal family.
It was originally meant to see if the squires would be ready to advance to the next level, to spar against either other squires or knights to see if they had what it took to rise up in rank.
If he or she would pass, they would be taken to see King River & Queen Moon who would give them a very difficult task to complete within a certain allotted time. Once said task was complete and meeting the standards of the royals, the squire would be knighted by both King and Queen. If he or she failed at the task, they would have to wait up to four months to try again.
Of course, this was just one of the ways one would obtain knighthood. Now the arena was more like an entertainment spot, where knights would have squires fight one another for their amusement & to place bets.
In front of Marco was renowned military strategist Lord Isdernus Llychlyn, a person who was part of the Mewnian Military Council that had was responsible for several crucial victories in the past that helped the Mewnians push back in the Monster beings. However, there was one thing that Marco knew about this guy as he had found some interesting information about him in a few books that only the royal family had.
While he was responsible for crucial victories… in the past, he had been part of several monumental disasters that almost allowed the Monsters the ultimate victory. Had it not been for the efforts of Moon Butterfly back in her youth as a budding royal princess, the whole of Mewnian and the other known realms would have been under the flag of the Monsters led by Toffee.
Marco realized why the books had this information about him, but not releasing it to the public. It was all due that Isdernus did not want his failures to be made known, so he made sure that those who published his exploits only kept the good parts. But the royal family, specifically Queen Moon, wanted the WHOLE picture to be written down. In her view, seeing only the victories of a person would only paint half a picture. And just in case, she would have proof of the other half should Mr. Llychlyn would get too big for his britches.
The man was quite handsome despite his age, as Mewnian citizens aged slowly due to the abundance of magical energy that was in the environment. He was tall and lanky, shoulder-length hair that was a shimmering silver color, eyes green as emeralds and looking dashing in the military uniform he had worn many years ago. The uniform was well maintained and gave off an air of importance and rank.
What many did not know was that his hair was dyed, a special hair potion made for him to keep it that way. His real hair color was red, and he needed to take the potion every three years or so.
While the two were facing one another, they did not realize that they had company. In the stands were three women; Hekapoo, Eclipsa and Higgs.
The ginger-color haired knight was using a Ring of Invisibility to keep her hidden. Said ring was a useful tool that Higgs managed to buy with some of her savings at one of the markets. While it would keep her invisible, it did have its weaknesses which she was aware of. This particular one had a time limit of only thirty minutes, and once it was all used up, that was it. Rings like that were decently crafted and enchanted, but it would take a very high quality item to be forged at a place where magic was intensely concentrated, such as Hekapoo's forge, that could be recharged.
But the recharge came in two categories; external, which meant that an outside force like a sorcerer/sorcereress to recharge the invisibility spell, or internal where it would recharge by absorbing the ambient magical surroundings. And both categories would cost a fortune that only a high-ranked noble or such afford!
The other weakness was that while it did block out sight, it could not block out other factors like sound and smell. Enchantments to block out those and other senses could be added to it, but that would cost another great fortune in gold to do.
Fortunately for Higgs, she was far away just enough so that Marco nor Isdernus would hear or smell her.
Hekapoo was using her own unique dimensional magic so that she was on another plane. She was there, yet invisible to all as her body was in another phase of reality so to speak. It was similar to the ability that was shown by the dwarves Brok & Sindri from the 2018 video game God of War.
Eclipsa was using her natural magic she had in her to eclipse herself, the shadows concealing her presence & also using her magic to increase her hearing and sight slightly. Even without a wand to really use more potent magical techniques, she still had her natural affinity for darkness and she had learned that sometimes being subtle & crafty would beat out flashy & over-the-top moves.
Star was not present, as she was with Thomas and Lilacia, the trio having more fun in one of the many dimensions.
Isdernus called out with arrogance in his tone, "So Earthling, Queen Moon says that you have a sharp mind and some impressive analytical skills… for a human. I wish to test that theory on a field of mental battle!".
Marco sighed, having dealt a lot with nobility of high rank that still looked down on him due to his status as an Earth-Man. As someone that hailed from a place that had no magic at all. It was the kind of arrogance he had seen not just from Mewnians, but from various other beings from other dimensions/realms that did not like non-magical beings. He managed to win some races over, but that was in Mewni and the list was rather short.
He called out, "Is that why you called me here? To stoke your own ego?".
The military strategist frowned and exclaimed, "Quiet peasant! I do not see why the Queen of the realm praises you while you do not look like much. I have heard of your exploits, but I believe they are GREATLY exaggerated. She told me and others at one of our weekly meetings with other heads of noble and high-ranked military families that you have quite the sharp and intellectual mind. I wish to see if this is true, that is all.".
Queen Moon really did praise Marco for he did have a sharp mind, one that actually had common sense within it. The Diaz lad had managed to organize her work area in one of her offices; accurately filing files according to dates, urgency and more. He also managed to figure out some bills and notices, showing to the Queen the results of finances and productivity that needed to be addressed.
To the beautiful blue-haired mature woman, it was amazing as the office had been a nightmare for her to keep organized. It had piled up over the years, and Marco had managed to organize it all in just a few hours! So yes, she would praise him for doing something that normally would have taken others weeks or months to organize correctly!
Lord Isdernus Llychlyn lifted up his right hand, which now glowed a white aura of gathered magic. While the Mewnian Royal Family could use the Royal Wand to really showcase some powerful magic, all Mewnian nobility could do wandless magic even though it was limited in strength and often specialized. He then waved his hand, and a thick sheet of magic spread out to almost cover the area of the room they were in.
Marco now saw a field of white before him, and shortly after it had been set up, 3D constructs started to pop up. He had seen magic like this done before in some of the various towns that he and Star visited, though often it was quite small with a paper map of the area being the foundation, so to speak. It seemed that the military officer liked to showcase his magical might.
He now had a castle that looked like the Acacius family one, and before it was the kingdom's layouts of the town underneath said castle. And on the other side where Isdernus was at, said military man was smirking as on his field was the Butterfly Castle and the town underneath it. The large space in between the kingdoms was blank, but Marco knew that would change soon.
Lord Llychlyn smirked in arrogant superiority and stated in a tone that mirrored his look, "I assume that you know how to play this game called Castle Conquest?".
The young Diaz lad answered back in a neutral tone, "I have. So what are the rules, what is the environment and what characters do we get?". Marco had seen kids and young adults playing a board game that was similar to chess, but with a paper map and the pieces looking like knights, archers and the like. He had asked on how it was played, and the young ones showed him.
Truth be told, Marco soon realized that the game was like a version of the popular board game Dungeons and Dragons back at his home realm, only in a more primitive way. He had played similar games like that in his youth, though in his opinion the best one was the Yugioh card game. When he was young in middle school, he got into the anime and card game. He managed to gain some really rare cards such as Cosmo Queen, Soul of Purity and Light, Cost Down, Dramatic Rescue and more.
He was actually pretty good at it, managing to win a small tournament once in his hometown where the winner received three very rare cards. He won the Anti-Spell Fragrance Trap card, the Sword of Dragon's Soul Spell card and Cyber-Stein Monster card!
Once the trend died down for him, he stored all of the cards he acquired in protective plastic and put them in a large card binder that could up to 900 cards. They were still in his room in his closet, high up on a shelf.
Isdernus called out, "The rule are simple; to capture the opponents castle with the most minimal of losses. The environment is a forest area, and in the middle of the playing field is a large lake. And we each get ten Footmen, ten Archers, five Knights, five Healers & one Monster.".
Upon saying those words concerning the environment, the magical map construct created an impressive 3D version of a forest area that popped up with excellent detail. And a large lake appearing that took up a good chunk of the middle section.
Coming up in front of his face was a magical construct that showed the various characters. Marco had come to learn that not all characters were the same, as the ones who made the game were quite thorough in making accurate stats & abilities of those living in certain kingdoms. He saw that his characters minus the Monster were pre-selected to be from the former Spiderbite Kingdom, while his opponent had free range over characters from other realms.
Hekapoo sneered, Higgs growled and Eclipsa frowned over the audacity of Lord Llychlyn who was giving himself the best choices while Marco was limited to a single kingdom use. A blatant cheating tactic, but there was nothing they could do about it without revealing themselves.
But Marco did not whine or cry, rather he looked rather pleased on what was before him. He soon chose the required number of characters, and as for the Monster… he chose a Water creature that was called a Lake Dragon by the Mewnians but actually looked like a Futabasaurus dinosaur from his home realm! He had run into one of the creatures two months ago in a forest area that had a large lake west of the kingdom on a little self-reflective walk, and found that it was not a terrifying beast that many made for it to be.
The one he met was a female, as females had dark blue skin with the head being a dark purple coloring. Males had dark-green skin with the head being black. Marco had befriended the large lady by giving to her some of his lunch, which was a sandwich and some apples. The creature appreciated the gesture and nuzzled to him, and in gratitude showed to Marco one of her impressive abilities.
It was this ability that Marco chose the Lake Dragon without hesitation.
Isdernus soon displayed his army, which bore blue armor to indicate which side they were on. He looked rather pleased, especially with the Monster that he chose to be a Fire Spitter though it looked like a Wyvern of the European-class. It had the head and body of a dragon, but it only had two legs and batlike-wings that could act like appendages. And a long serpents tail that was used to balance its long serpentine neck.
However, his proud smile turned into a frown when he saw Marco's assembled army. It consisted entirely of female characters! Yes, Marco had chosen for his fighters and healers to be female! And they all bore the forest-green colors on their clothing. This certainly amazed/perplexed the three onlookers, wondering on why Marco had done such a thing.
The military strategist exclaimed in sheer confusion mixed with indignation, "Is this your idea of a joke, boy?! If it is, then I do question why Princess Star even made you a knight!".
Marco just smiled and replied calmly, "It is not a joke sir. I am using the best characters for a scenario like this. And as for my Monster, she is also on the field. She's a bit shy though and won't come out until I say so.".
This made the prideful Mewnian a bit cautious. While he did make sure that Marco's humanoid team was comprised of characters from the Acacius kingdom, which were considered weak by a majority, he had failed to make sure that the Monster choice was pre-selected. And now Marco could have anything on the field that possibly have a powerful ability.
But it seemed that he only was cautious for a moment, his prideful ego soon pushing it aside as he was very much confident that victory would be his.
The military man simply sneered in contempt and stated, "Oh, it does not matter. I will outmaneuver you and crush you like the Earth-Man that you are! Now then… BEGIN!".
The match was officially on!
~Fifteen minutes later~
Lord Llychlyn was seething as he saw that he was down to his last two Knights and Fire Spitter, being forced to fall back near his own castle while his opponent was closing in on him.
Marco was smirking, seeing that his strategy had worked out. The characters he chose may have been weak in terms of power and strength, but they had other abilities that he took advantage of. The female warriors were more swift, agile, dexterous and evasive. He had his forces spread out through the forest, ordering them to be in specific places at the edge of the forest near the lake.
His Archers had used the trees for cover, firing their arrows at the Footmen who had come within the range of their arrows. While not powerful, they could reload and fire faster. The Mewnian military man had sent all of his Footmen ahead, and all ten were decimated swiftly. He sent in his own Archers to try and flush out the female ones. But that is when Marco unveiled his Monster, the Lake Dragon's head rising up and using her special ability which was dubbed aptly Water Spray.
But to everyone's surprise, Marco ordered her to spray not just the forested area on his opponent's side, but also his side as well! It did not make sense to the group, but it soon did when Lord Llychlyn had sent in his own Monster to deal with the Water-one.
Marco's plan was two-fold; to make the trees slippery for the enemy Archers so that they would lose traction & footing, so whenever they fired they would slip and their arrows falling short of their targets. And the other was dousing his side so that it would be harder for the Fire Spitter to burn, as he had anticipated his opponent to do. The Fire Spitter let loose his fireballs at the forest to burn and force the others out of hiding. But the trees were soaked, making it harder to burn.
Once the Monster was in range, Marco had his own rise back up and spray the beast! She managed to get a clean shot with a focused spray of water, hitting him in the side and causing massive damage! This forced the noble military man to order his beast back to recover, soon sending in his remaining forces. But once more Marco had out maneuvered him, as his Footwomen rushed in from their positions to strike at the Archers with their slings at close range! Once the Archers had fallen from the high perches, they were finished off swiftly by the Knights that accompanied the Footwomen. One Knight being with two of the Footwomen making them a three-woman team.
The Healers followed with the Archers, also making three-woman teams.
Isdernus sent in his Knights which were accompanied by a Healer, but said Healers were soon decimated first by the Archers. And it was the Footwomen/Knight teams that quickly dispatched most of the opposition, forcing the noble to retreat with his remaining forces. Marco than had his teams spread out, the Archers targeting the Fire Spitter while the Footwomen/Knight teams waited in the reserves.
The Fire Spitter had fired his fireballs at the teams, but each were spread out evenly & also the Healers had defensive spells that would reduce the damage done by the attacks. So the Fire Spitter was forced to choose a team to attack, while the ones that did get hurt were healed by the medics.
And overtime the damage piled up on the dragon, his health in the red and now falling back with the last two Knights.
Lord Llychlyn was seething, seeing that Marco had lost NONE of his forces while he was backed into a corner with no way out. He glared at the human, who merely had a small smirk on as he had outmaneuvered him with precision like a surgeon. The ladies who were watching were very much impressed that Marco not only held his own against someone who used a superior force, but down it in a way that made the renowned military strategist look like a complete novice!
Marco called out, "I believe that you need to concede defeat sir. You have lost.".
The Mewnian snarled and shouted in rage, "I WILL NOT LOSE TO A WHELP FROM A NON-MAGICAL BACKWARDS DIMENSION! MY BEAST AND KNIGHTS, ATTACK!". He had lost all reason, giving the command that had his losing forces make a suicide run.
The young Diaz lad shook his head in disappointment, than gave his own order to his forces to finish the remaining foes. The Archers made swift work of the Fire Spitter, who fell down when the last of his health was down & vanishing like all the other vanquished ones. The remaining Knights were swarmed by the teams, decimated with ease. Marco than gave the final command to go and seize the Enemy's castle, which they did.
And soon his banner flew over the front of the castle, indicating that he had won!
Higgs, Hekapoo and Eclipsa were very much pleased & surprised to see that Marco had gained a complete and utter victory against someone that had superior resources and soldiers!
The magical field soon disappeared in a flash of light, sparkles of light remaining until they too faded away. Marco looked to see Lord Llychlyn looked positively enraged, the Earth-Man calling out to him, "That was a good game sir.".
The prideful one merely snarled, let out a loud HMPH and turned to leave, his cloak flapping behind him dramatically as he left in a huff. Marco soon had a disappointed look on his face, soon leaving the arena. Once all were gone, the ladies decided to vacate the premises as well… but their admiration and respect for the lad from Earth had increased very much.
~End flashback~
Marco had not heard from the noble military man ever since then, but there was something that the lad did not know. Shortly after he had left humiliated, Isdernus vowing to do anything he could to humiliate the man from the Earth dimension… he ran into Hekapoo and Eclipsa! This made him pause as he was standing before royalty and a member of the potent Magic High Commission.
The duo quickly dismissed his flattery introduction, stating that they had seen what he tried to do in the Sparring Arena. He had blanched, wondering on why he had not seen them. The two mature, beautiful beings warned him that if he tried to do anything against Marco in retaliation… they would put him in a nightmare in which he would never wake up from!
The threat was clear; should he try for petty revenge against Marco, they would do anything they could to humiliate him. And most likely tell the Queen, which would have his title stripped from him & him becoming a commoner! And that was something he could not stand being!
So the military man decided it was best to keep a fair distance from the Diaz lad, least he incurred the wrath of Hekapoo and Eclipsa.
And now Marco realized from his flashback from that moment on why the noble military man had not been aiming for a steel punch. He was overconfident in his abilities; choosing the best for himself while giving Marco a pre-selected set of a weaker force. But it was only weak in terms of power/strength, while Marco had used their other stats & abilities to their full potential.
And it was at that moment Marco had delivered his own steel punch, going in for absolute victory which he did claim in the end.
The lad continued to read the book as he spoke, "To obtain the gift, start by realizing that it takes more than just realization. Prime examples are Joshua and the battle for Jericho, as they attacked first with obedience in what God had told Joshua to do. And also in the Book of Acts, where Paul and Silas were locked up with no way out... until God provided the escape means. Ask yourselves these questions first: 1.) Does God want to give me the steel punch? 2.) Will I know what to do with it? I hope that your hearts answer these questions with a violent YES, same here with me! Look for more examples in Psalm 18:34.".
Marco told himself to read the Bible later on as soon as he felt more better, making a mental note to ask his father to see if they could retrieve the one he had in his room. It was on a shelf, but sadly been collecting dust as it had not been opened in a while.
He continued to read, "And also, the steel punch is also called by another thing in the annals of war, and that is this: Principle of Concentration by Sun Tzu, the one who wrote the Art of War, which this book takes many cues from.".
The young lad soon listed from the book on what was needed in order to deliver a critical & decisive blow to the Enemy:
1.) Choose the right place to attack. Choose a target that is feasible and important. Feasibility means that we have received a word from God, but it is not just an issue of God's authority, but of our own level of faith and the depth of the fight within us.
And also important as to not waste to attack a weak position where no meaningful damage to the Enemy is done.
2.) The attack MUST be focused and overwhelming, even if we are outnumbered.
The evidence is shown in the Bible where God had aided many heroes and heroines within the Scriptures, and it is evident that prayer of concentration is needed. Look at a key proclamation in Samuel 14:6.
3.) The attack must be original in appearance, but classical in application. Do not be a copycat, or think that by doing the same thing over & over again to expect a different result, as that kind of thing is true insanity!
4.) Weaken non-essential points of your defense in order to attack at the decisive point.
He finished up the book as he read, "Say no to flaky friends, guilt-inducing relationships and a host of decent, but distracting activities that prevent you from forming the steel punch necessary for delivering the critical blow. So now you know what the Steel Punch is, and I hope that myself and others use these Secrets in order to deliver fatal blows to the Enemy and his machinations.".
Marco put a marker in the book before slowly closing it, his mind absorbing all that he had read from it. He said to himself, "Wow… these Secrets are really potent and powerful stuff. One thing is for sure, I'm going to take the notes and the book with me on my trip.".
He would have said more, but the door opened up and coming into the room was Student Assistant Nurse Joasia Nadzieja. She smiled at him and inquired, "How are you feeling now Marco?".
The young man smiled back and answered in a voice just enough for her to hear, "I'm doing a bit better… although I hope that lunch is going to be better than breakfast.". While the hospital food was not bad, it fell a little short and was hoping that lunch would have something better.
She giggled softly and replied, "Heh, nothing I can do about that. But I do have a little surprise for you. Some guests that have been eager to see you.". She soon stepped in and opened the door wide… and coming in was Angie, Mariposa, Hekapoo, Eclipsa and Kelly!
Mariposa rushed in cutely and exclaimed, "Big brother!". He smiled at seeing his energetic little sibling, soon looking up to see his mother and the other ladies who were smiling at the scene of the eager Diaz girl clinging to the side of the bed that held her brother.
Angie walked over, a smile on her face as she got close to her son to deliver a gentle hug to him. He returned it, but winced a little as it was still a bit painful for him to move. But he endured it, especially for his mother. Angie slowly released her baby boy, than picked up her daughter who proceeded to hug and plant a little kiss on cheek for her brother who smiled and thanked her for it.
The Mewnian women and the Earth nurse could not help but smile at the beautiful family scene. Once Mariposa was gently back on the ground, the ladies went towards the bed with the nurse hanging back since it would be a bit crowded if she came in.
Mrs. Diaz asked her son, "Are you really getting better honey?".
Marco nodded and answered back, "I am. Still in a lot of pain, but that is actually a good thing.".
His sister looked confused and asked an innocent tone, "Pain good? Thought pain bad?". She a confused look on her face that made her look quite adorable, the other women in the room making an effort to not squeal and just pick her up & cuddle her like a teddy bear.
The Diaz lad smiled gently at Mariposa and explained, "Heh… it's a bit complicated than that little sister. Let me see… ah. Has Mom ever put antiseptic on you when you get a cut or scrape?". Angie nodded her head, looking to her little angel and saying about the large brown bottle that she used on her when she did get a scrape or a cut. She remembered it, and had a look of fear on her face. It showed that she now knew what she was talking about, and she disliked it a lot when her mother used that on her boo-boos as it stung her.
Marco pushed onward, "Well, the antiseptic is used to clean wounds. It's meant to get rid of other bad things that could make boo-boo worse. It does hurt, but that is good as it means it's working. Pain and healing go hand-in-hand, like friends do.".
It was difficult to explain things to her in a way that she could understand, but he was doing his best. Marco had learned that pain and healing did go together; like how antiseptic medicine was needed to clean the wound of infection before proper treatment of the wound, on how a broken bone had to be set correctly so that it could mend on its own, on how medicine such as antibiotics/pills/liquid variety was needed to fight infection in the body, and so on.
When the medicine or correct procedure was working, it did involve pain as the body was repairing itself while fighting other kinds of nasty things that could still damage the body. But there two positives to enduring the pain; one of them was that at the end, the body would soon be fully repaired and possibly get stronger after the incident. The other was that the pain would tell you at least you could FEEL it, as sad to say… some accidents and such could be severe enough where the nerves and other such internal areas would no longer work, thus a numbing sensation or worse to indicate that the limb would never be fully functional.
One day when his sister was old enough to fully comprehend the situation, he would tell her in full. Until then, had to explain it in a way she could understand for the time being.
Mariposa still had that cute confused look on her face, but she soon smiled and said, "Brother get better soon!". This made Marco and the ladies smile, glad to see and hear her words & action.
Marco than looked to Angie and the older women and inquired, "So everyone, what have you been doing today?".
His mother answered, "Well, me, Kelly and Mariposa went to Parent 12-D Photo Shop to develop the pictures that she took from the zoo. And after that, we spent some time at the Echo Creek Library. We were soon joined by Eclipsa and Hekapoo, who took to some certain books very much. And once we were done, we went to the Photo Shop to get the pictures. And it was actually Mariposa's suggestion to see you".
The young man turned his head a little to look at the Mewnian women, seeing that they had a few books in their arms. In Kelly's arm were two thick black objects which were Ywlake Photo Album books. Each one could hold 1,000 photos that were 4x6 in size, and it could be in vertical or horizontal position. On the front cover itself were four slots where one could put the photos in.
The shopkeeper at the store had put the photos in said books, the originals for Kelly and the copies for her parents. The digital copies was on a small memory stick that was specifically marked with the Parent 12-D Photo Shop label, and it was resting in Angie's purse. The ladies checked the photos, and they were done so beautifully and professionally that it was amazing! Kelly commented that not even the photos and pictures that were taken in Mewni or in the other dimensions she had visited were of that high quality.
Normally, the photo books were $30 a piece but the shopkeeper stated that due to her paying a high amount earlier, that the prices for both would be cut in half. A real bargain considering that each book only had fifty-four pictures. Kelly was planning to fill her own book with photos from her future journey around the world with Marco and the others, an endeavor she could not wait to start on.
However, what Marco did not know was that Kelly had managed to acquire some Library books that were in the Diaz car in the parking lot. It was four books that looked into prehistoric animals; two about dinosaurs, and two others that focused on other animals that were long extinct such as the mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed tigers, giant sloths and more.
Marco asked the alluring Amazonian, "I take it that you had a good time at the zoo?".
She smiled, nodding her head and answering with excitement in her tone, "I sure did! Marco, I had no idea that Earth had such varying animals! I mean, many are not as large as the ones I have seen in my homeworld or where I have been, but they have their own charm and unique style that sets them apart from all of them!".
It was true, as the animals held their own unique charm and capabilities. While not magical, extremely large or bizarrely weird in a physical sense, the animals of Earth had something special that caught her attention quickly. She was still fascinated on how small things like certain frogs existed, like the Amau Frog & the Golden Poison Frog. And also how the latter was considered extremely dangerous like so. Kelly had seen some poisonous creatures, but none had such potency like so.
The young man smiled softly to see that Kelly was finding his world enjoyable… and this was only a very small part of it! There was much for her to see and experience, and he hoped that it would benefit the both of them very much.
He stated, "That's good to hear. And I hope you get a camera that will take as many pictures as you want, because there is more to my world that I hope surprises you.".
Kelly nodded, and she believed with little doubt that she would be surprised at the things that were on Earth.
Marco then turned to Eclipsa and Hekapoo and asked, "And what did you two find at the Library?". He doubt that his Library held anything interesting to them, considering that they had access to all sorts of information from various worlds and such. But he was going to be surprised here.
Eclipsa answered with a smile on her face, "Well, I found some interesting books there concerning your world's geography and world history. A lot of them were interesting, but these three caught my attention enough to check them out.". She showed to him her books; World History: The Human Odyssey, World Geography and finally Prentice Hall World History: Connections to Today: Volume One.".
The Diaz lad was a bit surprised that Eclipsa had chosen to look at books concerning his world's history, but he had come to learn some time ago from her that knowledge of any kind was power & worth looking into. He had assumed that she would not be interested in the history of his world, but again it seemed that he as wrong.
The older relation to Moon saw the look of surprise on his face, giggling softly and stating, "Now Marco, don't be so surprised dear. I believe that your world is worth looking into. It has something that I believe perhaps could benefit Mewni as well as myself. I already read some of the books, and I really find it fascinating on some of your world's history in certain places.".
Indeed, the mature gothic beauty had read up on the very early histories of certain parts of the world such as North America and South America. So far, she had been mesmerized by the pictures and fascinated by the histories of the lands that was thousands of years ago. She started at the beginning, and was now working her way up.
The Queen of Darkness commented with an excited smile on her face, "I'm sure that I'll be able to learn something from a place that has fully explored their world.".
Angie looked puzzled and inquired, "Fully explored? What do you mean by that?". Even Marco looked a little perplexed at that statement.
Eclipsa looked at her, quickly realizing that she had no idea on the situation concerning Mewni. She answered, "Oh! I am sorry Lady Angie. I forgot that you and Marco did not know this. Mewni is not as complete as you like to think. There are certain parts of the realm that have not been explored due to them being so dangerous. We have explored various dimensions and such, but not our own world.".
She than explained on how they had tried to send explorers to the four corners of their world, but sadly all had failed as even magic fizzled out fast when in those natural areas… if one could call it that. Even Hekapoo and the Butterfly magic had been quickly rendered useless when they gave it a try, and that was saying something.
Now this did surprise the Diaz, not Mariposa though as the little one was now playing in Kelly's long hair. Nurse Nadzieja looked surprised to see the little girl disappear into her hair, Kelly looking to her and explaining that her hair was something special. Taking it at face value, especially after what she had seen in the past concerning Marco, she let it slide.
While Marco had been in Mewni for three years, he did not know that Mewni was limited in search of explorations. He assumed that he knew there was to know about the land in terms of geography, but it seemed that once again he was mistaken.
He nodded his head, putting the information away in his head as to think on that particular subject later on. He looked to Hekapoo, who showed him the three books she checked out; Managing People: Across Cultures, Leadership and Management for HR Professionals and finally The Constitution of the United States of America: The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights.
Hekapoo smirked and said with confidence in her tone, "As you know Marco, I like to make business ventures from other worlds. And from what I can see here on Earth, this place is truly a gold mine in many areas! I would like to know how business is done here, and also your world's laws too as I am part of a powerful council.".
The sorceress really saw that Earth was a treasure trove of business, and that was just on food alone! She quickly started to see that the world was very much prime estate in many areas, and it was ignored all because it was non-magical. And also she needed to learn certain laws of the world she was doing business in as it would avoid any legal court hearings. If there was one thing she knew, is that court cases could last from a couple of hours… to months, or even years! And if she could avoid that by learning the laws beforehand, she would do it.
And secretly, she wanted to know if there was some laws in Marco's world that would be wise to implement in Mewni as the magical realm seriously needed to upgrade itself in many ways.
Marco nodded his head, knowing full well that Hekapoo was an expert when it came to business due to her forging establishment & also being on the Magic High Commission. He just hoped that she would be able to discriminate on which laws were good, and which were not so good. The Diaz lad had learned that right and legal did not always mean the same thing, as he had seen in both his History classes & also here in the real world on how sometimes a law being legal was not always in the right.
The buxom and booty-packed beauty inquired, "Okay than, you know what we have been up to. Anything new for you here Marco, or is it same old, same old?".
The Latino boy answered with a sheepish smile on, "Well… I did receive news from Dr. Exten earlier that… well, my blood type which was B changed into an O-Negative.".
Angie and Joasia gasped in shock while the Mewnian & Amazonian natives looked puzzled. Joasia asked in a tone that was full of surprise, "Marco, are you sure about that?". To her knowledge so far, it was very rare for blood type to change. Usually it would occur after a bone marrow transplant, or getting certain types of leukemia or infections. Not all of these changes in blood type are permanent… but it seemed that it has changed.
He nodded, also realizing that the doctor seemed to have forgotten informing his parents and others about the change. It was most likely he had been preoccupied with other patients that really needed his services, so he let it go. He explained, "According to Nurse Delma, my blood was tested a lot by experts. Not only did my blood change, but it also seems to have some strong antibodies. And according to Dr. Exten, my blood could be the beginning of making some new medicine and vaccines with it, though he admitted that it might be premature to go down that road.".
Kelly spoke up, "Wow. All of this sounds really important.". You see, the Mewnian society and also Amazonian society did not have hospitals. Oh, they had doctors and such but it was more along the lines of herbalist and magical medicine men & women who used magic in their crafts & potions. They did not have any machines and such to analyze blood samples & the like, nor any spells that could go deeper or be more specific when it came to that branch of knowledge. It was not an exact science to the societies, but it seems that they were learning about the value of doctors, nurses, medicine and techniques from the hospital they were in. And it was only a tiny sample!
Nurse Nadzieja looked to her and the other women and answered, "It is! If Marco's blood is as potent as Dr. Exten says it is, then it's going to open up a whole new page in medicine history! Not to mention causing a lot of pharmaceutical companies and businesses to seek Marco out like so!".
The nurse had truly evolved from her Starfan13 persona. While she was not a genius, she was smart enough to see that this was truly big news. And if her hunch was right, it would also open a floodgate of people in the healing business to try and seek Marco out. That they would need more samples of his blood to make all kinds of medicine… and they would profit from it as best they could, and perhaps attract the attention of unsavory kinds as well.
Angie inquired, "Son, do they know how your blood changed?".
Marco answered, "It's just a theory but… I guess it's all due to a number of things. Like me getting exposed to various kinds of magic, and my ki awakening somehow mixed with all of the magic that changed my blood like so.".
Eclipsa and Hekapoo were now very interested, as this could also open up a new page in magical theory as well. They had seen many kinds of beings getting changed due to being exposed to magic, but it was all external. Many were focused on the outside changes, not paying too much to the internal changes, less to the specific kind of internal changes like blood changes and the like.
It seemed that Marco was getting more interesting to them, making him that more valuable to pursue. And also that his world was starting to hold more appeal than any of the other realms/dimensions they had visited, and could not wait to explore it with him even with the others tagging along.
Joasia looked to an analog clock that was in the room, seeing that it was now 11:55 a.m. It seemed that the group had really talked for some time, and now it was about time for lunch. She announced, "Okay everyone! Sorry to do this, but I believe it's time to leave. Marco needs to get his lunch, and then rest.".
The women looked displeased, but they knew that Marco's well-being came first. Angie went to her son, planting a small kiss on his forehead and saying that she would see him soon. And also assured her son that she would tell everyone else back home about the situation with his blood change. She called out to Mariposa, the precious little blessing's head popping up from Kelly's hair. She managed to wiggle out from the magical part of Kelly's being, Angie telling her that it was time for them to go.
The little girl pouted in a cute way, not wanting to leave her brother. But Marco assured her that they would meet again later on, which satisfied her if only a little bit. He then asked her to be a good girl for the others, in which she smiled and said that she would. Mrs. Diaz picked her up so that she could plant a kiss on Marco's face, in which she did as she put a small kiss on his bandaged cheek.
The others soon came over to give their own farewell; Kelly planting a kiss on the left side of Marco's face near his lips, Hekapoo doing the same on his right side and Eclipsa kissing him on the right cheek a little further from Hekapoo's kiss. The lipstick kiss marks were on his face, making the young lad blush a little from the intimate contact.
Mariposa giggled and pointed at him, in a way teasing him that was cute. Angie smiled, seeing that her son was quite the ladies' man & did wonder though on whom he would choose in the end. Nurse Nadzieja frowned slightly, not liking the actions but could not figure out why it was so.
She went to the door, opening it and allowing the ladies to leave first before following them outside. Marco said goodbye to them, and when the door closed, he sighed and let his head sink further into the pillow. The talk with the others had left him a bit drained, and also he was starting to get hungry. He pushed the button that would call for Nurse Delma, hoping that lunch would be a bit more better than breakfast was.
Meanwhile on the outside, Nurse Nadzieja was speaking to the others. She said to them, "How about if I treat you girls to some food at the cafeteria downstairs on the Ground floor? They have a better selection of food than some of the lunch they try to serve to the patients.".
Angie answered back in a slightly confused tone, "Oh. Well, thank you very much dear. But why treat us?".
The young lady answered in a serious tone, "Because I believe we need to talk. Marco told me on what happened, on how he got into this condition here at the hospital. He didn't tell me everything, as I believe you all can fill in some gaps.". This did surprise the women there mildly, but they felt that there was something else about the nurse.
Kelly's eyes narrowed and asked the question, "Excuse me but… why would Marco tell you that? Are you close to him or something?".
Joasia sighed and answered, "My former name is Starfan13, and I was one of Marco's early friends when Star came to our town. And I believe that all of us have a lot to catch up on.".
~Outro, see previous chapter to view it~
(Author's Notes: And… cut! That is it for this chapter! Hope you all liked this one!
Before I do or say anything else, I want to give praise and glory to the Lord! Thank you Jesus for once again helping me out! I have had my ups and downs this week, but you always helped me to get back up! Thank you God for once again helping me to get back to writing, and I will do my best for you Lord that my head & heart are always with you in many aspects!
Just so you know, I had to look back at a lot of chapters here to see how to get this flowing once more. And also check what movies were played during this particular time period, which is set in June 2019. I hope that Guest Reviewer- djinn likes how I included him or her in it like so. And I hoped you liked the flashback here, as I did my best to showcase an example of the Steel Punch.
Also, I put in some of my favorite stuff like the Yugioh card game & had to find some RPG board games that were popular to use as an example. Not much of a surprise to see that it was Dungeons and Dragons.
And here is something on a serious note concerning the pain-healing aspect in this story. About a month or so ago, my younger sister Jessica was in a car accident by someone who did not make the correct turning actions. She broke her arm in three places, and according to the doctors, it was a very rare kind of break that caused her a lot of pain. It required surgery and a metal bar being put in it so that the bones could set correctly and properly.
It could have been much worse, so we all thanked the Lord that it was not so.
Over the days, we all did our best to try and make her feel comfortable despite all of the pain she was in. And slowly but surely, her arm was healing rightly but she had to endure daily pain. And believe me, my sister is a real trooper as she has endured this & also became more close to God like so!
I then remembered the lesson on how pain and healing go hand-in-hand, told by our pastor Rick Godwin. And also after a talk with Jessica, I knew that it was a good thing she did feel pain… as it showed the nerves were still alive and connecting. And after hearing & seeing where people lost use of their limbs, or their limbs together in really serious accidents, then it's actually good to still feel something instead of numbness/deadness.
Her arm is almost completely better, and the pain is lessening though it flares up now and then. Please pray for my sister that she recovers completely. And I know that the Lord has made her stronger after all of this endurement!
Also dealing with the legal issue that Hekapoo is vested in, I took a cue from a fanfic story I managed to stumble upon that actually says a lot in real life. It is called Atonement by Author eckles, and it shows Kim Possible hurting Ron Stoppable in a fit of emotion that really rocks the boat for both them and others around them. In the last chapter of it, Kim stated this to Yori, "Right and legal are not always the same thing.". And when one really thinks about it, the saying is true as it shows in both the U.S. and World History. And also now in this day and age where many 'legal' things are not right…
In any case, I did my best with this chapter and will continue to do so for this story! Story writing, relationships and such in my view are like building a house. And again, I take this cue from one of the many Christian lessons I learned in my life.
One needs to build a strong, solid foundation first & foremost. And once that is done, then it's time to build the base of the home with careful planning & working hard to make sure that the base is all up to par with your plans. And it takes much effort, time and more to make sure the base is all set before working on the next level aspect.
And that is how I want to work on my stories. It takes time, effort, looking back at previous chapters, collaboration and more. But I believe that it's worth the effort in the end, and in the life-run.
Now for the questions! Ahem…
If you were in charge of the movie theaters back then, what movies would you play at the theaters, both indoor and drive-ins? And if you were a lifeguard at the pools, how would you enforce the rules concerning dives and such?
What do you think of Secret #3- The Steel Punch? And do you know of examples on how said Secret was often wasted in real-life?
What did you think about Marco's flashback? And if you were in his shoes, what kind of characters would you have chosen to go up against Lord Isdernus Llychlyn's forces, taken into account the types and number limits there?
What do you think of Marco being in the Yugioh rave while in his youth? And if you could, what deck would you build for him, which also includes the cards he won in the tournament?
How would you explain healing to Mariposa?
If you were Marco, what would you have said to Kelly concerning about the animals that all of them they were going to see on their upcoming trip around the world? And what kind of camera would you recommend for her to take for said trip?
If you had the chance, what continent would you recommend to Eclipsa to look up in its history? And if you could, what kind of business or legal laws would you recommend to Hekapoo for future business/legal references? Like concerning the food industry and such.
What do you think the others {Janna, Jackie, Rafael, Higgs and even Queen Moon} will say or do when they hear about the change to Marco's blood?
And finally this… what do you think will happen in the Cafeteria as Joasia talks with Angie and the others?
Optional Bonus Question: From what I have seen from the Star Vs. universe, there are no hospitals of suitable kind there. Most likely, even though my theories could be wrong, that any kind of hospital are simple buildings that are quite basic with the medicine/medical procedures being quite crude & mostly done by magic. If you had the opportunity, what kind of building would you recommend become a hospital? And how would you educate any of the herbalists/magical doctors & nurses in studying more in the specific arts of healing, like checking blood types, analyzing muscle and bone structures, etc.
R&R, no flames, enjoy and leave LONG reviews!