Ok, ya dicknuts. I found this on my hard drive and decided that, since I didn't have time to write out an entire chapter for The Lives We Lead until Tuesday, I might as well post this to keep you guys happy. I really liked how this turned out and I hope you guys feel the same way. I cried writing this... it gets heavy...

Pre-written description:
I've seen a lot of songfics in my time and have decided that I'd write one myself. This is all about the time Star and Marco went to St. Olga's to rescue Ponyhead. I was listening to the song Hymn of Acxiom by Vienna Teng and was reminded of this episode but I thought up a little twist. Here's a good quality youtube video for it so you can listen to it while you read: youtube.c0m/watch?v=8ttTf8N7Bwg It's not the kind of music that I tend to listen to but this is a song my high school marching band played in my junior year and it just gets to me every time. I had to make the beginning of the story exactly like the episode in order for this to work, just bear with it. Enjoy the song and the text to go along with it. You'll know when to start the music. (Lyric divider idea totally not stolen, I swear.)

The Memories We Shared

A SvtFoE One-Shot Songfic by theRevil

"Ugh, my poofy dress won't fit!"

"MARCOOOOOOOO!" Star exclaimed as she slid down the laundry shoot, carrying the husk of what was once Ponyhead.

"Somethings got my stockings! Woaahoaohhah!"

Marco was yanked out of the shoot by unseen hands, yelling until Star could no longer hear him. They dragged him, kicking and screaming, into a room furnished by nothing but a chair. They slammed him down into it, locked his wrists into place, and left. Noticing the lack of supervision at the moment Marco took the chance to spit out the bobby-pin he had been hiding in god know's where. Unfortunately, his mouth was not nearly as skilled as his hands and ended up dropping the pin. "Really?"

Just as he said this a panel opened up in the ceiling. Slowly descending from it was a large pike cap garnished with a ribbon. It was placed atop his head and from it extended tiny robotic hands that held his eyes open. In front of him a white screen illuminated with an old-timey fashioned slideshow on etiquette. Despite his conjectures on the matter Marco was not to be released from this spot.

And then, the procedure began. Somewhere in the distance, as Marco's eyes were forced onto this screen, he could hear a soft melody striking up as if from nowhere. It seemed to say this:

Somebody hears you. You know that. You know that...

Star reached the bottom of the laundry shoot with a thud, the practical-zombie head making no change in facial expression.

"Marco!" She held the head in front of her own. "You gotta help me save him, I can't do this alone!"

Ponyhead made no reaction at first until uttering "A princess who misbehaves will be saved. In the solitary conforment chamber."

"Why can't you remember who you are?"

Somebody hear you. You know that, inside.

Star laid back on the ground, wondering if this was it. She looked over at one of the walls surrounding her to find an old propaganda poster. She sat up with malice in her eyes, let out a scream, and ran to the poster. She started clawing at it, swinging her fists at it, smacking it with other objects, yet none of the physical violence seemed to help. She huddled over a barrel after realizing its futility and started to cry.

Again, Ponyhead made no sudden movements.

Someone is learning the colors of all your moods, to say just the right thing and show that your understood.

Here. You're. Known.

Marco twitched and convulsed in his chair, the effects seemed to be working. Miss. Heinous stood watching from another window.

"Ugh, I can smell her free spirit from the safety glass. Full power!"

Her little henchman nodded and pulled the switch, causing Marco to shake even more violently.

Leave your life open. You don't have. You don't have to leave your life open.

You don't have to hide.

Star's cries only made Ponyhead start to rattle off more obscene and annoying rhymes. What was happening now? Why did she feel so broken? Of course she was sad that she seemingly had no way of saving her best friend but there was something... more. An ever corroding emptiness that made her want to vomit. It was like she felt more than just a friendship was at steak here...

But what if it was too late? What if he was already too far gone? Would she ever be able to live with herself?

She spotted a grate off to the side. A new feeling of anger and hope surged through her tendons.

Someone is gathering every crumb you drop

Miss. Heinous looked down at the readings coming through the machine and nodded in approval.

"Yes... yes I think it's working. Soon this 'free-thinker' will be nothing more than mindless royalty."

The machine started to process the inner machinations of Marco's brain, relaying personality traits, interests, hobbies, etc. Nothing that particularly excited Miss. Heinous, though the name "Jackie" went by the screen and she did get a tad skeptical. What caught her attention was what came up next. The memories.

These mindless decisions and moments you long forgot.

Keep. Them. All.

Star began to crawl through the vent she had just pried open, dragging Ponyhead along behind her. Her head was still swimming from recent events. So much so that she started to see old memories of her and Marco together. Memories she had since forgotten about.

Memories of them playing together in the yard after school, Star helping Marco to try and talk to Jackie in the school yard, beating up monsters while Ludo tried his best to take the wand, the bloodmoon ball... mewberty... all those times she had put Marco in a hard situation through her own ignorance...

The hands helping her body crawl forward began to feel it rain.

Let our formulas find your soul. We'll divine your artesian source in your mind.

"I can still smell a bit of her individuality. Isn't there a higher setting on this thing?"

"No, ma'am, it's set to max."

"What about operation sigma?"

The little hunchback helper looked somewhat afraid of this proposal but, going against his better judgment, decided to obey. He pulled another lever.

Marco seemed to stop shaking. This was because, though it was bolted to the ground, the chair began to shake as well. You could hear his screams from the other side of the castle grounds. Marco could feel the very culmination of his person torn from his sanity. It was as if someone was trying to rip out his brain with nothing but pure heat.

Martial feed and force, our machines will design you a perfect love, better still, or a perfect lust.

Marco was losing grip on all he held real. Everything the machine was reading seemed to be sucked from his head.

As Star heard the second scream she kicked it into overdrive. She wiped her tears away and booked it, throwing her former friend at the opposite grate from which she had entered to open it. She jumped down into the room just in time to see Marco's emotionless face twist into a smile as he shook.

That last thing Marco saw before it all went dark was Star's face, tearing up from such a horrid sight.

Oh how glorious, glorious. A brand new need is born.

The maddening shakes from the chair had slowly come to a halt. Marco's face unchanged from the creepy smile that had possessed it. Miss. Heinous' face could be seen from the window, pressed up against the glass and laughing wickedly. It worked! Oh what great news! Now to find a use for such a child.

Now we possess you. You'll own that. You'll own that.

Now we possess you. You'll own that in time.

The locks around Marco's wrists came undone and he fell out of the chair, breathing heavily behind his heavenly smile. Star fell to her knees and picked him up by the shoulders, eyes still watery and wide with denial. Marco looked up at his best friend.

"The proper hat for the event... lest you be a malcontent..."

His voice came out weak and raspy. Star refused to believe she had lost Marco to such a tremendously hideous place. She lifted a hand.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" She slapped him across the face. Marco only repeated himself in response. She did this twice more with no varying words from her best friend. She collapsed, letting herself melt into a hug as she wrapped her arms around him and wept. As she did this one last thing was uttered from Marco's nearly lifeless mouth. Something Star will never forget.

Now we will build you an endlessly upward world.

"I'm sorry..."

Marco's body went limp. Lifeless. Star let out a scream of pure despair as her very heart broke into millions of pieces. It was finally made clear exactly what these feeling were. What she had been feeling since she first met the boy. What she had felt all those times they had spent together. What she feels now that he has been taken from her.

Her cries died down to a whisper as she held Marco as close to her as she possibly could.

"I... I love you..."

Reach in your pocket, embrace you for all you're worth.

Miss. Heinous was finished with this pitiful sight. She snapped her fingers at two guards standing close by.

"Get them out of here."

They nodded in agreement and went to the door of the room.

Star didn't even hear it open. All she felt was the strong hands of the guard on her shoulders, the other on Marco, trying to separate the two. But Star refused to let go. She held on for dear life, not wanting to let go of the one she just lost.

All she wanted to do was hold him close for the rest of eternity.

Is... that... wrong?

Isn't this... what... you want?...

...