Diaz Plan Chapter 21

After the fight at the Poyle farm, Captain TickTock had taken Marco from the remaining guard, telling the man to return to the castle on his own. Hoisting Marco on his cold metal shoulder, he had taken off at a relentless mechanical sprint, feet crashing through the burnt grass, faster than any man could run. Marco had watched the still-burning farm disappear rapidly behind him, and in the distance, he could just make out the screams from Bandit's Point as Ferguson rampaged through it.

He had no idea whether or not Star, his mother, or Janna had survived the inferno at the farm. The anxiety was making it difficult to breathe, and in a blind panic he squirmed and strained against his restraints, kicking against the robot that was carrying him, until the metal man, with a metallic grunt, swung him off his shoulder and dumped him rudely on the ground. His gear and brass face filled Marco's vision, the glaring white lanterns of his eyes making him wince.

"Boy," said the robot, "You continue to squirm, and I am going to break your toes one by one."

Marco tried yelling around his gag, producing only angry muffled noises. Captain TickTock sighed and removed his gag. "Did you kill them, you dumb robot?" Marco spat, as soon as he could speak. He was immediately stunned by a hard metal slap that left his jaw feeling loose.

"I am not a robot," said Captain TickTock coldly. "My name is TickTock." Then he stood up, looking down at Marco appraisingly. "If I tell you what happened to them, will you sit still?"

Marco nodded sullenly, his mouth too sore and full of blood to speak.

"Your mother, the Princess, and that other girl you were with? They escaped into the woods." Captain TickTock grimaced, and then shrugged. "Ah well. You have to roll with what you're given, you know?"

Marco wasn't sure what he meant by that. He could only spit blood. Still, it was good to know that they were okay. "What about my father?" he asked.

"Your father? You mean the warlock?" the robot snorted and pointed to the burning eye hanging in the sky. "Boy, that there is your father's handiwork. He's doing just fine, believe me."

Marco took all this in silence.

"You're a brave one," continued Captain TickTock, using a metal claw to turn a valve on his mechanical legs, releasing a hiss of steam. He seemed to be taking a break from running. "Jumping in front of the Princess like that. I was half a second from gutting you."

"Where are you taking me?" Marco said, jaw cracking back into place as he spoke. Blood dribbled from his mouth as he did so.

Captain TickTock dabbed it away with a corner of his cloak. "Back to the castle. I'm Guard Captain, boy. How stupid would you feel if I killed you, eh? You would have died pointlessly protecting the princess from the person who's supposed to be protecting her. Maybe you will think before you dash into these situations in the future, eh?" Then the robot squatted in front of him, white lights filling up Marco's vision. "The Princess. You care for her a lot?"

Marco turned away from the painful white lights and, hesitating, nodded.

Captain TickTock stood and snorted. "You really shouldn't, boy." His metal visage twisted into an odd semblance of a smile. "You'll thank me before all this is through." Then he grabbed Marco again, hoisted the boy back onto his shoulder, and took off at a sprint once more. This time, Marco did not struggle. He merely watched the woods blur past, and tried to stay as comfortable as possible.

The robot made few stops. First, he stopped back where he and his men had apparently made camp, a circle of five tents in a small clearing. Captain TickTock entered the largest of these tents, which had a table with parchment and a quill, and a few cages of pigeons in the corner. Dumping Marco on the ground, the robot began quickly scrawling out a few letters with mechanical efficiency, tying them off to the legs of the pigeons.

"What are you writing?" asked Marco.

"Orders," Captain TickTock replied absent-mindedly. Then he turned his bright glare on Marco again. "Your father, the warlock. How powerful would you say he is, exactly?"

Marco considered lying, but then realized he had no idea in what direction he should lie. "I really don't know. I didn't even know he WAS a warlock until recently."

Captain TickTock responded with a disappointed-sounding "Hmm," as if he had been hoping for more information. Then, elbows on the table, clasping his metal hands together, he looked at Marco. "That's odd, you know, boy. Your father is pretty notorious. I didn't recognize him at first, but I've seen that burning eye before. I've been places where his name is spoken in dread."

"You have? I thought he had never been to this dimension before Star bought him here."

"Other dimensions." The Captain smirked. "This isn't the first dimension that I've been to." Then he released the pigeons he had attached messages to, hauled Marco back onto his shoulders, and began sprinting again.

Marco considered trying to escape, but it really seemed hopeless. He was bound tight, and even if he did manage to temporarily get away, it seemed like the robot would catch up to him in a heartbeat. He resigned himself to being bought to the castle, and fell into an uncomfortable, cramped sleep to the motion of TickTock sprinting beneath him.

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When he awoke, the sun was beaming down on his face. Marco looked up to see the Mewnian castle looming above him. Captain TickTock was still tirelessly sprinting beneath him. They were nearly at the city walls.

Before they entered, though, they stopped at a small ramshackle inn just outside the wall. TickTock slammed the door open, and, without a single word to the innkeeper, went upstairs. There must have been some form of understanding, because the innkeep gave no protest.

Captain TickTock dragged Marco to a room with just one small window, a table and quill, and a pigeon. He placed Marco in the corner, and began writing out a letter.

"What are you writing this time?" said Marco, curious.

Captain TickTock gave him a weary look, then wordlessly walked over and tied a cloth around Marco's mouth, gagging him again. "That's enough out of you," he said. Then he finished writing his letter, attached it to the leg of the pigeon, opened the window, and set it free to fly. "The die is cast," he said, quietly.

Then the robot grabbed Marco once more and abandoned the inn.

Past the city walls, peasants gawked at them in the streets on the way to the castle. Some of them threw tomatoes and rotten fruit, though they seemed to be aiming mostly at Captain TickTock, rather than Marco. Some of them cried protests:

"WHY HAVEN'T YOU STOPPED THE WARLOCK?!"

"I CAN'T SLEEP WITH THAT EYE IN THE SKY!"

"I BET THE QUEEN'S IN LEAGUE WITH THE WARLOCK, ALL MAGIC'S THE SAME!"

A mob was beginning to form around them. However, they backed off quick enough when Captain TickTock drew his sword. As they reached the castle, a line of guards formed at the gates to hold back the howling mob. Once within the Castle walls, TickTock began picking off bits and pieces of rotten vegetable that were stuck to him.

A fat little man in a ridiculously poncey outfit skipped up to them. "Captain TickTock. The Queen demands your presence in court immediately." The man sniffed. "I see you do not have her daughter."

"I will not keep her highness waiting," replied Captain TickTock simply, shoving the man aside.

After a few twists and turns inside the castle, the robot reached two massive wooden doors. He flung them open, revealing an ornate throne room. At the far end, sitting on their thrones, were the King and Queen of Mewni. As ever, their courtiers lined the sides of the room, tittering and fanning themselves.

"Captain TickTock," said the Queen, as the robot approached the thrones, "Where is my daughter?"

TickTock deposited Marco on the cold marble floor, ignoring the Queen. "This is Marco Diaz, son of the Warlock-"

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER, YOU STUPID ROBOT?!" shouted the Queen. The court got dangerously silent.

Captain TickTock shuddered and shook. "Not a robot," he said, quietly but distinctly.

"WHERE, TICKTOCK?"

Captain TickTock paused, gears whirring, and almost seemed to draw himself in, as if he was taking a breath. "She's dead," he said.

Marco shouted against his gag as the court erupted into gasps of shock and horror. The King slumped against his throne in shock. The Queen also looked to be in shock, her hand shaking as she clutched the wand, which was beginning to glow with a cold blue light. She raised it, and a blue flash startled everyone into silence. "How....did...this...happen?" asked the Queen, biting off each word.

"I pursued her to a farm on the edges of Bandit's Point. The Warlock must have been informed about her presence, because he had descended from his tower to capture her. His son was with him - he must have some method of traveling between dimensions already.  The fact that he has not left, or offered to leave, proves his ill intent. My guards fought valiantly, but were no match for the warlock's dark magic. He set fire to the farm, and summoned a foul creature that even now ravages Bandit's Point. As for your daughter, well...I am afraid that this is all that's left of her." He drew out an item from his cloak and dropped it on the floor: A charred and warped, but recognizable, pair of Star's devil horn headbands. There was complete silence as they clattered to the floor.

The Queen shook, her eyes burning with blue, crackling magic. Blue light was beginning to emanate from her, filling the throne room. "I....WILL...END...HIM," she said, as a pair of magnificent butterfly wings, seemingly woven from blue light, unfurled from her back.

Just then, a distant explosion rocked the castle, followed by a roar and a howl. People crowded the windows to look outside and catch a glimpse of what was happening.

From the distant Necromancer's tower, like a rolling apocalypse, shadows were filling the sky, and the ground beneath them was turning into a sea of flame.

The throne room erupted into chaos.