Two teens, a boy and girl, laid; their breathing uneven and their clothes beyond ruffled. Their scalps kissed as they stared up into the ceiling. Eyes were unblinking and arms crossed on their chest. There was nothing between them but silence and eventually even that was broken.
It was the boy who spoke. "Does Tom still hate me?" He didn't know why that question that came out.
The girl cough, choked and laugh at the exact same time. "He never hated you. In fact I'm pretty sure you're his best friend." He didn't see it, but there was a tiny smile on her face. It contrast to the blank expression that they both shared previously.
"Tom? Really?." The thought seem to make him feel just a bit better for a moment. Any corroding smile was struck down swiftly. "But what about Higgs?"
"Well she." The girl moved a tiny bit, as much as she could. She was sure that the boy was lying on her long blonde hair. "I'm pretty sure there was a point where she didn't. I could almost say that she was crushing on you."
"Wait. No way." That actually did make him smile, if only because it surprised him.
"No really." She twisted a bit. She tried to peer up towards him as much as possible. "Marco. Don't you trust the master matchmaker."
"I do." He defended himself. He hesitated but did say, "In fact that makes perfect sense."
"Why, did something happen?" If it was possible she scooted a bit closer. Their heads were now pushing on each other.
He didn't take the chance to gossip."Why I am I only seeing this now?" He could only think of another time.
"Marco?" She either wanted the answer to her question or she wanted to see if he was even responsive.
"It's nothing Star. It doesn't matter I was dating Kelly then anyway." Marco felt the pressure on his scalp lessen.
"Ya, too bad. Higg's crush faded when you left."
"Honestly. I'm not sure what I would've done. At the time she use to push me around. I just hated that. You think I'd be use to that kind of thing because of Janna." He whined a little, but didn't sound too upset.
"How is Janna by the way." Star wondered.
"You remember how she was back than?" Marco lead.
"Of course"
"Basically the same." He didn't think there was a better way to explain except for, "Maybe a tiny bit scarier. If you can believe it."
"Oh I can believe it. Girl always knew her way around the mystical." She felt proud, but couldn't put up the effort to smile all things considered. "Way more than I ever did."
"Oh stop it, Star." Marco groaned, interrupting any thoughts she might have. "You should've seen yourself. You were amazing." She could almost believe it, the way he whispered it.
"Maybe between all those times I messed up."
"You hardly messed up." She felt his scalp grind against her as he shook his head.
"I messed up your arm real good." She said quickly and than cursed. She had to mentioned that. She grew quiet and for a moment so did he.
He tapped his left palm against his chest. Once, twice, until he had a little of a rythme.
He fished for a topic. "So um Higgs. She made knight yet? I mean it's been so long. Of course she would." He looked at the corner of his eye, trying to recall something. "Thing is there was that old man squire. I'm not exactly sure long the whole thing takes."
"Yes she did. She even fought a few battles." Star explained. She then took a deep breath before continuing. "She seemed excited for more."
"Cool. Really happy for her." He was, no matter how hard he claimed she pushed him.
"She hasn't been in any of the really important ones though." Star explained.
He reaffirmed his opinion. "Again. Happy for her."
"Fergerson? Alponszo?" Star took a turn.
"Still pretty the same. Just taller, or in Ferg's case, much taller." He blinked, nearly cursing at himself for forgetting an important detail. He grew excited. "You know he has a tail now?"
"Really?" She was a little bit interested.
"Earth might not be as magical as Mewni, but Mewni doesn't have Janna. You should check it out."
"Wait when you say tall. You mean really really tall?" She put a bit of emphasis on 'really.'
He confirmed a bit sheepishly. "Well ya."
"And he still wears that paper crown?" Star questioned. She could feel his head bobbing a bit. A yes. "Oh I think I've seen him and his tail."
Marco smiled for a second. Open his mouth wide like he was going to say something, than shut his lip close tight. He tapped his chest once more. "Oh. Um sorry about that."
"It's cool. It's cool." She said as casually as she could muster.
"And Alphonso. He's married." Marco switched course.
"Really? No way." She felt a bit bad about how surprising she found that.
"Ya him and that Pixie Queen got back together."
Star hissed. "That explains a lot. Remind me to have a chat with her and my mirror service." She glared at no one in particular.
"Go easy on her." Marco requested, though he didn't seem like he was willing to fight too hard for it.
"Relax. After this whole thing, I don't want to start another mess." She reassured him. "Hekapoo misses you."
"She said that?"
"No, but she does." She shook. "Remember."
"Alright, I got it. Don't doubt the matchmaker. Still she is the master of dimensional scissors. She could've just visit."
"Could she?" Star questioned.
"Of course. We're talking now." He said, referring to the two of them.
"Ya Marco, but I kinda had to go through a lot of things to get here."
He whined. "Sorry."
"Hey stop with all the 'sorries.' It's getting all-" She hovered her hands over her stomach and gripped the air like she was squeezing her guts. "It's like pins in my stomach. It's making me feel that."
"I really wasn't trying to make you feel bad. Sor-"
She wasn't going to to allow him that word. "No. No sorry."
"Oh sorry. I mean not that." He meant another word, that was no doubt very similar. "It was probably a good thing. That Hekapoo never visited."
"Ya. I don't know what Mewni would do without dimensional scissors." She pondered lightly.
"I'm not sure about that." He grumbled. "Her job is important to her."
"So are you." She stated.
"So was I." He corrected.
She shook her head and spoke with the same tone. "No. You still are."
"Really? Still? After everything?" He questioned relentlessly. He tripped over his words again and again until he decided. "Maybe I should've visited her."
"You were probably overthinking it." Star knew his reasoning.
"Of course I was. Man I can be dumb sometimes."
Star couldn't argue. "Ya."
Marco looked up and than down. "Hey Star. Why don't you come to Earth? For a little bit. Visit my mom and dad."
"Ya. We could have a friendship thursday. Just like we used to." She proposed absent mindlessly.
"Star, we can't do that." He said flatly.
"Of course we can." She waved him off. "Hello Mrs and Mr Diaz. How is Marco Jr doing? Don't mind us. Just going to watch a movie with my bestie."
He concentrating on playing along and not laughing. "Star step aside. I'm going to blow taste buds away. Here comes my world famous nachos."
Star popped air between her lips. "Delicious. Oh these are the best." Her tongue jostled between her cheeks as if enough movement would make it real.
"Don't hold back. I'm already making a second bowl." He encourage her imaginative feast.
"We know me so well Diaz."
He dropped her false tray. "But seriously Star. Just see my family. They miss you."
"They miss you too." She didn't need to confirm that.
"Ya."
"Sorry." Star sighed.
"Now why are you apologizing for?" Marco didn't if he actually wanted her to answer.
"Just for everything." She explained, "I messed up so much."
Marco made up his face. "That's debatable."
"Oh stop it. I did." Star snapped at him.
She didn't have to see his face to know he an expression of pure scepticism. "Not really seeing it."
"What about when I got you kidnap." Star presented her evidence.
"That was awesome." He remembered it fondly.
"And when you gave up being with Hekapoo for me?"
"What else was a squire suppose to do?"
"What about when I put this thing in your arm? Or let you read Eclispa's chapter or who knows how much dark magic I put you though. I poisoned you Marco. I just shook it off and kept ignoring how the whole thing affected you." She brought her knees to her chest; her palms to her eyes.
He rolled to his side, moved until he could whisper to her. "Star. You couldn't have known."
She slam her fist onto the ground. "I just had a whole spellbook. I'm not the best at studying but when it came to you-" She shuddered as she held in a large sob. "I didn't even do research on the blood moon ball. Tom was trying to put us through that and I didn't even give it a second thought. Souls bonded for a lifetime."
"What a lifetime." Marco laughed. "I don't think we bonded exactly the way the spell wanted us to."
"It's not funny." She said it and meant it. Nothing about this was funny.
There was a moment of silence. Marco tried to speak. "Wait Star."
"I'm sorry." Star whispered.
Marco's torso shot up. He managed to sit up right. He looked down on her. "Okay that's it Star. That whole 'no sorries.' policy. I think that goes both ways."
She was finally free and able to shift too. She sat up and looked at her friend before her. Her eyes drew to the stain on his shirt. "But you're bleeding."
"I've been bleeding." He stated it like it was a trivia fact. "I'm more worried about you."
His hand lingered in the air. Suspending towards her. She didn't fight against it as it landed on her side. A thumb gently stabbed her. She uncontrollably yelped and than hissed.
"A cracked rib. Star, you look like a mess."
"Blame that on big and fuzzy out there." Star laughed, but she saw how her friend flinched at that. "Marco if you so much as utter 'sorry' I will blast you. I don't care if you're bleeding out."
"That's probably not the best way to talk me out of it at this point." He admitted. "It's just I really want to just apologize to everyone. I want to say 'I'm sorry', but I can't because that would just ruin everything." Marco pushed on his arm and legs. It wasn't enough to stand just yet, but it was enough for him to pushed towards the wall. He used it to sit up. The boy looked the girl in the eye. "I didn't want to attack your dad, I didn't mean anything I said to him."
"To be fair. I love my dad but the whole squire-knight fiasco was kinda his fault."
"I didn't want to break Kelly's heart. I didn't want to hurt our friends."
"To be fair that was a bit obvious. None of us got really hurt" She followed him with just a bit more vigor, joining him at the wall. "You wouldn't have even broke Pony's horn all over again if it wasn't for all this."
"Well maybe some good came from all this." He laughed.
She laughed too. "Marco, you are so bad."
"The worst." He smiled before hitting his shoulder against the wall. It anchored and he began to lift himself up.
"Hey, hey. Are you supposed to be standing?" The girl's eyes fell onto the growing stain once more.
He nearly fell before palming the wall. Marco allowed the traction to keep him up. "It won't be for long. I just have to give you something real quick." He traveled off further than she could see. It was dark and for a moment that made her worry, but in a blink her view was overtaken by an object.
"A book" She gripped the spine and could see Marco once more, standing over her.
Marco corrected her, "Just some notes."
There was an audible crack as she flowed through the pages. "Only you would call this, 'just notes.' This is a novel."
"You're going to be okay? Maybe I could go through it again." He reached for the tome.
She reflexively pulled away. "Relax, I didn't go through all that queen training just to get scared of a bit of reading."
"You know usually when you tell me to relax I get a bit worried."
"Hey." Star warned.
Marco smiled, "But this time I know you got it."
"I have to. If I mess up now you won't be around to clean it up this time." Star held the book to her chest. She could look at him anywhere but the eyes.
He hesitated, "Hey Star, can you do me one last thing?"
"Anything." She swore.
"Your sword." He gestured.
Star felt the sheath on her side. Empty. The weapon was long discarded on the ground. "I guess you want it back." The blood stained katana was in one point his. She reached for it, stabbed it into the ground and finally stood.
Star presented the blade and tried to give it to the right hand. Marco took it in his left. He let his right arm suspended before lifting the weapon.
"Woah, what are you doing." Before Star could finished her panicked statement the limb fell.
"It's fine." The boy said, surrendering to reality.
"It's fine? You cut off your arm."
Marco shrugged. "Only my right arm."
"Any arm would be a big deal." Star put emphasis on each word.
"It's fine. I didn't really feel anything in it anymore. Take it." He flipped the appendage over to her with a flick of his toes.
"Okay." She didn't understand but bent down anyway. Along with the book, she cradled it in her arms.
Despite coming from her friend there was no blood from where it was severed, only exposed purple and black muscle. "You're going to need proof."
"It's time for me to go already, isn't it?" It really wasn't a question.
Marco thought for a moment. "I think so. No way for either of us to be sure until it happens."
"Maybe I should stay." Star offered.
"No, I don't think so. That'll be way too sad. Besides, you got the arm. You have something you need to do." He stared at her and she stared back. She wasn't moving. He sighed."Please Star."
She tipped towards him, but no matter how she moved the limb would be between them. In the end she could only do what he said and walk away.
"And could you thank Yvengy for me?" Was the last thing she heard from him.
"So it is done?" A heavy voice heard her steps as she left the cave.
Star looked down, shook her head before looking at bright yellow eyes. A frog saw something in her glance that caused him to look away. He shifted his view onto the horizon "Come on, we must move."
Star held the arm by the wrist in one hand and with the other reached the book over to the frog."Could you hold on to this for me?"
The frog eyed the tome. "What's this?" He placed a finger in before cracking the spine open. He didn't turn a page before he uttered "Misha?"
"Someone you know?" Star tilted her head.
"Someone you should. I trust you remember the assault on castle of wealthy birds."
"That was her?" A rhetorical question.
The frog had already turned the page. "She not only one here. Horizon, was mewman peasant. Not one who would make peace broking so easy. None of them are."
"When this is all over, it'll be my job to set up punishments." Star guessed at the nature of the book. "He gave me a list."
"Yes. I believe so." The frog didn't sound sure, but he didn't argue.
Star made a request. "Could you go through that with me? I don't want to miss anything."
The frog made a fist, pounded his chest before bowing deeply. "I've sworn to serve as mewni nobility."
"Thank you Buff Frog." Star smiled down on him. "From both of us. We made you do so much."
He smiled and shook his head. "You did much also. All for my sake."
"And for the babies," Star added, "but we also did it for ourselves."
"So did I." Buff Frog admitted.
Star stepped away from her companion and took in the horizon and the battlefield below.
Two armies clashed, both so uniformed that she could hardly tell them apart. She had to look at the possum king at the distance. He held onto his paper crown as he fought to keep her army from spawning him.
With her now free hand she took out her compact. The tiny mirror glowed. It had been a long time since she could rely on it. It flicked and died during some critical points, but she had a feeling it would work from his point on.
She whispered one word to the person on the other side of the mirror. "Capture." She shut out any questions.
She stepped forward. Hearts glowed on her cheeks and flicking the wrist to the sky she opened it.
All below could she her injured form and on the moment all fighting ceased.
She lifted the arm and the vision did as well. "The battle is over. I Star of the Butterfly line have claimed victory."
Her words didn't matter. The picture of her holding the trophy was enough. Everyone would know that the scourge of Mewni, enemy to monster and mewman alike was gone. The dark lord was dead.