I feel like trying something new. Think of this fic as a Season 2 of Star vs.
Episode 1: Cleaved Part 1
Synopsis: After taking a few moment to reflect on the past, everyone has to move forward. Soon, Star and Marco go on a search for the broken-off wand piece. When word of the broken shard spreads, a race for ultimate power begins.
Special thanks to Sabrina06 for helping me with the story.
Enjoy!
Two kids crowded together near a large, jagged boulder; one stood on top of the boulder, the other lingering on the barren ground. One child stood on the ground stared to the side and saw the obscure mirage of a warnicorn spurting towards them. The kid on the rock, a modest, top-heavy boy with blonde, frazzled hair stomped on the surface to grab their attention. The girl turned her head towards the boy.
"Hey, are you listening?" The blonde boy asked. "I'm just about to get to the best part!"
"Ugh, Damian, we've already heard this story before," The redheaded girl in ponytails muttered. "Let me guess, 'Nova swoops in with her all-powerful, royal scimitar, and saves the day'?"
Damian crossed his arms, his lips forming a pout as he tried to hide his gritted teeth. "No Lina, of course not. That'd be too predictable." He took a deep breath, taking some time to exhale it all out in one fell swoop. "No, that day was totally different. For you see, Nova Butterfly's battle doesn't end there."
Lina rolled her eyes. "Figures."
Damian extended both hands out towards the two. "Lina, grab on." She grabbed onto Damian as he pulled her up onto the boulder. Damian crossed one arm over his chest, his fist positioned as though he were holding a sword. "So as the Orc charged towards Nova, she slashed the air like this"—with his one arm, Damian slashed the air diagonally, making sure he mouthed out a swishing noise along the way—"and the Orc fell on his back, taken out with a single strike."
Damian teetered down, landing on the surface of the boulder on his back. "Ow."
Lina peered-in closer. "Okay, and then..."
Damian hopped back up. "And then, as she bent down to pick up the bag of gold the Orc had stolen, she looked up and well…" He pointed down the field. "You see how far the field goes. As Nova stood here, she saw the whole army of Orcs"—He spread his hands across the horizon—"cover the entire field, ready to fight. Lina, we're standing on the same spot Nova did before she took on a horde of Orcs. How cool is that?"
"Heh." Lina drifted her eyes down to the surface of the boulder. "Never heard this part of the story before."
"We're standing on top of history, Lina." Damian let out a hollow chuckle. "You know, when any other Mewman sees a horde of Orcs coming, they'd probably just run away and let the army take care of it." Damian stood up straight and tall, crossing his arm over his chest. "Not Nova. That's not the way she rolls." He turned towards the open field, setting himself up for a running start. "As the horde charged towards her, she hopped off this boulder"—Damian jumped off, slashing the air with his imaginary sword—"and she cut down every Orc in front of her."
Damian bellowed out a roar as he pierced his empty surroundings, imagining every Orc falling on its back. He grunted with every sword slash. In his reveling stupor, he imagined the unconscious Orcs pile together into a hill of bodies. In this moment, he was 'Nova', a hero from legends.
Lina stared at Damian, head tilted to the side.
When Damian looked over to a confused Lina, he pulled himself out of his own stupor. Damian pushed himself back on the boulder. He let out a dry cough into his fist. "Anyways, it took a while, but eventually, every Orc in the vicinity fell to Nova's scimitar, each of them bruised, bleeding and begging for mercy." Damian lips molded into a huge smile.
"Heh," Lina muttered. "I guess it wouldn't be much of a story if she was mauled on the spot."
Damian looked over to Lina and said, "You know, some might say that taking down an army of Orcs is enough put you in the Royal Mewni Hall of Fame, with your picture to be hanged next to other heroes, forever remembered. But to Nova, taking down a horde is just a regular afternoon for her."
Lina peered up to the sky for a moment, thinking. "Hey Dame, you always keep banging on about how Nova was totally real and stuff, right?"
"Well, yeah, she totally is," he replied.
"If that's true, then why don't we ever see her picture in the Mewnian hall of fame?"
As Damian was about to open his mouth, he instinctively silenced himself, unable to find a suitable answer. "Well, uh," Damian stammered. "She… uh… she was probably busy, yeah. Probably busy dealing with other forces of evil, or something, you know?"
Lina let out a low groan. "Or maybe she isn't as real as you believe she is."
"What," Damian yelled. "Come on, she's totally real. Ask my grandpa, he's he used to see her all the time. And he always has these cool stories about her, stuff you can't make up."
"This is also the same guy that keeps going in-and-out of my mom's restaurant every day for eight hours straight," Lina replied.
"Yeah, but still." Damian's lips quivered a bit. "She was real! Nova Butterfly, heir to the Mewnian throne, the legendary sword master. Doesn't it ring a bell?"
Lina took a moment to think. Then she shook her head. "Not at all."
Damian pouted and let out a heavy, bitter sigh.
A warnicorn charged past the kids by the boulder, the rider screaming and struggling to ride it.
Lina nudged Damian on the shoulder and pointed to a girl in a turquoise dress trying to keep up with the warnicorn. "Speaking of Butterflies, here comes one now."
Star Butterfly sprinted as fast as she could, dragging a burly Latino man in a knight's armor with her.
"Come on, Marco and Mr. Diaz, we have to hurry before the warnicorn runs off!" Star said.
A boy struggling to put on a red hoodie gasped for air, trying to keep up with the Mewnian princess. "Can't we just wait until it gets tired or something?"
"It doesn't!" Star thought about it for a second as she was running. "At least, not for several hours."
Star didn't mind dragging two-hundred and fifty pounds of metal and flesh as she dashed across the field. In fact, she was more than happy to help out Mr. Diaz as the aging man couldn't keep up with the spunky, energetic girl. Besides, she's had to carry heavier things in the past, physically and emotionally.
Mr. Diaz, on the other hand, felt the armor dig into his skin as he was pulled across the ground. He gritted his teeth at the sensation of metal gnawing into his legs began to overpower everything else. Still, he considered this a much better alternative over sprinting while wearing a suit of thick, heavy armor.
Marco managed to tug the last sleeve of his red, slightly dishevelled hoodie on. After going several hours without his trademark hoodie, Marco let out a light sigh, as he seemed to ease up a bit. He coughed and sputtered for breath immediately after, as his legs flared up horrifically.
"Star," Marco pleaded, "I don't think we can catch up. Can we just let the Mewni guards take care of it?"
Star stared down the barren, empty fields, watching as the warnicorn galloped further and further away, along with Mrs. Diaz. "Don't sweat it Marco, we can totes catch up with it." She picked up her pace, running faster and faster. "Just gotta keep the legs movin', right?"
Marco's legs flared with growing intensity. A cramp struck him behind the thigh, stiffening the leg like stone. "I'm not sure how long that'll last," Marco said, his voice strained.
The warnicorn blazed forwards into a dense forest.
"Not much longer, Marco," Star said, "we'll cut it off at the Forest of Dres'kathar!"
Marco squinted as he looked towards the forest. "Huh?"
"It's ancient Mewnish for Eternal Despair and Damnation."
Marco's jaw slacked slightly. "Lovely."
Star beamed "I know, right? It's much livelier than that other Forest of Death." Star chucked Mr. Diaz to the side, banging him on the side of a tree. "Sorry Mr. Diaz, I can't carry you inside."
Mr. Diaz whimpered as he meekly raised a hand. "I'm alright." He collapsed on the ground.
Star and Marco set foot into the forest, feeling various leaves, twigs and bits of vine crushed under their feet. Marco looked ahead, barely able to see the path ahead through the overgrown vines and decayed, rotting branches hanging throughout the vicinity. In the corner of his eye, he swore he saw something hiss at him. It vanished deeper into the overgrowth.
"Man," Star muttered, "this place brings back some really good memories."
A long, verdant vine snapped in front of Marco. Marco sidestepped the vine and kicked it away. "Oh really?" Marco asked incredulously. "What kind?"
"Well, one time, me and Ponyhead found a massive orc sleeping in the middle of the forest. She thought it would be a good idea to prod it with her horn."
"Yeah, I can see that happening." Marco dropkicked a vine that shot out to him from the ground. Another vine flew in from behind.
"Next thing I know, me and Ponyhead start booking it out of the forest, screaming our lungs out."
Marco's screams filled Star's ears.
"Yeah, just like that. Wait…" Star's eyes widened. When she looked up, she gasped as she saw a vine drag Marco into the air. "Hold on, Marco, Star's coming!"
Star grabbed onto one of the vines and bit on it. Without warning, the vine soared above the treeline, an arms-length away from Marco. She clutched onto a squirming Marco, pulling him down to the ground along with her. They struck the ground with a hard thud.
Marco pushed himself back up. "Thanks Star."
"I gotcha Marco," Star assured. "Now, where did your mom and the warnicorn go?" With a quick glance, Star saw the warnicorn and Mrs. Diaz just in front of them, slowed down by the moderate, verdant vegetation. "Found them, Marco! They're just a few steps ahead of us." A bunch of vines wrapped around Mrs. Diaz and the Warnicorn enmasse. They vanished into the air. Star clutched Marco's wrist. "Hurry Marco!"
"We're not gonna catch up with them!" Marco said. "Unless…" He dragged Star along as he rushed for one of the vines on the trees. He tore one of them off with his foot. The vine grabbed Marco by the foot and launched him and Star into the air. Above the treeline, they saw a cluster of vines all wrapped around one thing. When the bundle of vines tumbled back down, Star pulled Marco along and dove for the bundle of vines.
"Hang on!" Star pleaded.
As soon as Star had a firm grasp, she, Marco and the bundle plummeted towards the forest grounds. When they struck the ground, everyone rolled along the ground, barely skidding by the edge of a chasm. Mrs. Diaz and the warnicorn bumped next to Star and Marco, almost rolling them into the deep abyss.
Everybody struggled to stand back up, legs wobbly, heads spinning.
"Welp, looks like everyone's alright—"
The warnicorn rose up in an instant, giddying-up and letting out horrifically loud neighs.
"Woah." Marco nearly teetered into the abyss. He fell backwards, landing on the soft patch of grass. Marco let out a deep, much-needed breath.
"Hey!" Star yelped. "Calm down, boy, relax." The warnicorn planted itself on all fours, stopping himself. Star swiped across her forehead, wiping the sweat off her brow. "That, was a close one, eh Marco?"
Sitting up, Marco let out a dry chuckle. "When has it ever not been?" Marco peered over the edge of the abyss, staring down the massive crevice extending horizontally throughout the forest. He couldn't see anything through the darkness as the pitch-black pit seemed to absorb and grasp every remnant of light that tried to shine through. "Uh, Star, why is there a seemingly, bottomless crevice in the middle of the forest?"
"Oh this?" Star clarified, pointing to the crevice. "This is the Dres'kethar Abyss." She stuck her fist underneath the roof of her mouth while tilting her eyes upwards. "Apparently, some ultimate battle for the fate of the universe took place in this forest, yada yada yada, they made a big crack in the earth and everyone fell into it."
Star edged Marco and Mrs. Diaz closer to the deep daunting void. The warnicorn also huddled in.
"Some say, when you step into the abyss, you step into a new dimension. An inescapable dimension of death, despair and some other D-word I can't think of off the top of my head."
Marco and Mrs. Diaz stared in awe above the abyss. Mrs. Diaz especially couldn't keep her eyes away from it.
"Has anyone ever gotten out?" Mrs. Diaz asked.
"Eh, probably not," Star replied with a shrug.
For a brief moment, everyone perched above the abyss. Then Marco lifted himself up, dusting off his skinny jeans as he gave a hand to both Star and his mother. "Well, I think that's enough staring into an abyss of despair, I think it's time to get back to the castle." He lifted Star and Mrs. Diaz up. "Besides, I think Star gave Dad a concussion on the way into the forest."
Star brushed it off. "Oh he's fine, Marco. Don't let that pretty little face of yours worry so much. The castle has the best doctors in all of Mewni. Only one in two people actually die… on average!" Star made a massive grin.
"Ehh, I don't really like the odds of that," Marco said.
"What? Are the Earth doctors any better?" Star asked.
"Actually, yeah. In fact, the mortality rate for concussion on Earth is…"
The group began to trek across the forest, making their way back home. As they went, they moved further away from the abyss; the deep, bottomless crevice scarred across the forest floor.
On the other side of the mirror, Queen Butterfly pulled the wand up closer to her eyes. Half of the Star insignia broke off, leaving an empty half on the head of the wand. The other cracked half of the Star was deeply jutted in.
"Yup," Glossaryk answered. "That looks like one cleaved wand to me. And in the bad, separated sorta way, not like cleaved together." He pulled up a string of floss from underneath, stringing it behind the two top teeth. "You guys have already found all the pieces right?"
"Star just gave us the wand like this," King Butterfly replied. "We honestly have no clue where any missing pieces could be."
"Well, the 54th and the Diazes found them on near the Banished regions." The Queen stared at the empty half of the wand. "The shard has to still be there," the Queen deduced.
"Banished regions?" Glossaryk raised an eyebrow. "What were those two doing there in the first place?"
King Butterfly shrugged. "Who knows? None of the other monsters were available for questioning. They all seemed to have ran off. And Ludo was nowhere to be found."
"Ludo?" Glossaryk scraped along his beard. "Oh yeah, that little turd. He and his father were always so annoying. I guess Star and Marco managed to get rid of them somehow, along with wrecking the wand. We should congratulate her!"
"That's not the point, Glossaryk," Queen Butterfly muttered. She laid her eyes on the cracks along the edge of the star. Her heartbeat rose any extra beat. The Queen took a deep breath and tried to plaster a stoic expression on her face. "In any case, perhaps, we should look into a few alternate punishments for Star's recklessness," the Queen suggested.
King Butterfly's eyes widened. "Hey, now, let's not get too hasty, Moon. We don't need to send her off there, this was just a mistake on her—"
"We'll discuss it later, River." With a snap of her fingers, two guards appeared by their side. "In any case, we should begin a search party for the broken shard. Let's set one up immediately."
"As you wish, Moon." King Butterfly began to walk out, motioning the guards to follow him. "Let's go gentlemen, we have a search party to form." The trio of men headed off, closing the door on the way.
Glossaryk kept quiet for a moment, after a few moments King Butterfly left. "There's something I wanted to mention, Moon."
"What is it?"
"I don't think Star cleaved her wand over a reckless accident," Glossaryk said. "I thought the wand would be idiot-proof enough to prevent something like that from happening."
"You're right, Glossaryk, I know it couldn't have been an accident." The Queen perused the wand, brushing her finger against the cracked edges of the broken heart. "I only know of one way to damage the wand this badly."
"You mean the whisper spell?"
"Yup." Queen Butterfly nodded. She remembered the days they spent, memorizing every word of the incantation. And every single day she always reminded Star to only recite it in the direst moments. And perhaps…
"Do you mind if I humour you with a few hypotheticals, Moon?" Glossaryk asked.
Queen Butterfly rolled her eyes. "Oh, why not?"
"Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent. Star wouldn't recite the spell, willy-nilly. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't. What if ... someone forced Star to use the whisper spell? Perhaps, they bargained with Star in exchange for the wands destruction."
The Queen tilted her head to the side.
"Maybe that's why Marco Diaz is here. He was that which was bargained."
"I thought about that." Queen Butterfly gripped the wand even tighter. "But that's impossible. This was supposed to be a secret between me and my daughter. No one else should know of the spell's existence."
Glossaryk lowered himself on the floor, crossing his legs. "Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent. Do you remember those long, soul-crushing nights in the study, Moon? You didn't conjure the spell alone. You had help."
"Come on, Glossaryk, don't be foolish. You know the only other person besides you and Star that knows about the whisper, is de…" Queen Butterfly hesitated.
"Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent."
"Or is he…" Queen Butterfly's eyes widened. For a moment, Queen Butterfly didn't catch a breath. "If that's the case…" Her heart skipped a beat. "No, no, no, no, no…"
Glossaryk pouted. "Let's assume that the whisper spell had to have been used to cleave the wand to this extent." He laid his eyes on Queen Butterfly. "I think you know the answer"
The Queen dropped to her knees "…no, no, no! Why now?!"
Glossaryk crossed his fingers together and rested his chin on his knuckles. "I told you, you should've double checked to make sure he was actually dead."
On the other side of the door, King Butterfly took his ear from the frame. King Butterfly rushed off, confused.
"Oh my gosh, Star, this looks absolutely scrumptious," Mrs. Diaz said, salivating a bit.
Star set the sandwich on the table. Everyone stared at the layers of ham, roast beef and other meats stacked between two pieces of freshly-baked rye. A sheet of dark green lettuce and several thin slices of tomatoes were neatly placed on top of the tantalizing meats. Mr. Diaz noticed a bit of mustard dripping off the side. His tongue instinctively flopped over, bits of saliva pouring out from his tongue.
"Well, they don't call this 'the best sandwich place in Mewni' for no reason." Star took a seat in front of Marco. "You guys help yourselves to whatever you want, the owners pretty cool with me."
Mr. and Mrs. Diaz hopped out of their seats in delight, darting their eyes to the main counter. "Don't mind if we do, Star." They rushed to the counter with empty-stomachs, ready to devour everything in sight.
Marco also stood up from his seat, until a familiar hand planted itself over his. He looked over to the other side of the table and noticed Star holding his hand.
"Wait, Marco. I need to talk to you," Star pleaded.
Marco raised an eyebrow. Going by Star's distant, semi-serious expression, Marco pulled his chair back out and sat down, ready to listen. "What's up, Star?"
"There's uh, something I wanna say." She let out a short, pained breath, forcing the lump in her throat down. Star saw the sandwich from the corner of her eye. "I meant to tell you this earlier, but then you got kidnapped and it kinda got lost in the mix, you know?" Star tried her best to maintain her composure, but it seemed impossible to stop the shaking.
Marco leaned in a bit closer. "What is it?"
Star looked Marco straight in the eye. "I'm sorry I snapped at you over that sandwich earlier," she said, voice cracking. "I understand you were just trying to keep us both alive." She backed up reflexively, peeking down to the ground. "I guess, I got… really carried away with the stupid sandwich."
Marco took one of the slices from the plate. "Eh, I don't really mind, Star. We got a sandwich right here." He bit down on the sandwich, tearing the layers of meat into his mouth.
Star choked out a chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess we do."
Marco swallowed the layers of meat and rye, coughing a bit as it all slid down his esophagus. "And besides, I appreciate what you did for me back at Ludo's castle. I'm surprised your mom didn't ship you of to St. O's immediately."
"Yeah, I was kinda surprised by that too." Star scratched the back of her head. "Well, it was really the least I can do honestly. I mean, I couldn't leave my bestie with a bunch of monsters. It wouldn't be right." Star laid her head on the table, pouting and clutching the sleeve of her dress tight. In the back of her head, Star wondered what was going on with the wand. "I really made a mess of things today."
Marco slid the plate next to Star. She looked up and saw the slice "Hey, we both messed up pretty hard." Marco slipped a reassuring grin towards Star. "Mess-up twins for life?"
Star took a quick glance at Marco, then back at the lone slice on the plate. She picked up the sandwich, cracking a smile.
"Mess-up twins for life."
She devoured the sandwich, ripping chunks of roast beef and ham from the sandwich. She kept chewing on it, savouring the saltiness of the ham, as well as the flavourful juiciness of the other combined meats. As she swallowed it all, she could feel the tangy mustard rub down her esophagus. "This tastes a lot better than the sandwich we got from the Blowtoad."
Marco shrugged. "I wouldn't know."
"I still have what's left of it back in my room."
"Still?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't it like, covered in sand, dirt and other icky stuff?"
"Yeah… but, it's there if you wanna try…"
"Nah," Marco replied. "I think I'll stick with this sandwich, instead." With only a bit of sandwich remaining, Marco shoved the remnants in his mouth, savouring every last bit. He picked up a napkin and wiped the edges of his mouth. As he felt something rise from his throat, he covered his mouth with his fist, belching out a bit. "Man that hit the spot."
"Yup," Star replied, "Nothing beats a good sandwich on a quiet, peaceful—"
Shrill cries pierced the air. Star glimpsed over to the side. It caught Marco's attention as well.
A trio of rough, stocky boys dressed in black ran towards the restaurant. One of them carried a Mewnian-designer purse with gold dripping onto the ground.
"Help, somebody!" a lady with a fine, silk hat pleaded, "those ruffians took my purse!"
Star rose from her seat. "Welp, peace and quiet was overrated anyways."
Marco did the same. "I've always wanted to stop a mugging in progress."
Star cracked her knuckles; the popping sound made Star smile.
"Let's do this."
Marco and Star rushed past the other guards running their way to the thugs.
Tunneling towards the thug with the handbag, Star hopped up in the air and drop kicked the thug to the ground. Star slid on top of him as he skidded against the ground. The thug struggled to lift himself up, collapsing flat on the ground.
"I'll be taking that, thank you," Star said, grabbing the bag.
Another thug charged behind her, before Marco hook kicked him to a nearby wall.
"Ow." As the thug slid down to the ground, a massive crack on the wall formed.
"Not bad, Marco." Star chucked the purse behind her head, knocking the last thug down hard. The bag actually bounced of his head and Star caught it with ease.
Marco chuckled a bit. "That was pretty easy."
One of thugs groaned as he crawled towards Marco. Marco pushed him on his back, stopping him there.
All the nearby villagers gave the two a jaunty round of applause, including the guards.
The lady in the fine hat sauntered up to them, squealing and giggling. "Thank you so much!"
"It's our pleasure," Marco replied. Star nodded in agreement.
"OH SWEET MEWNI!" Another villager screeched.
Marco and Star looked down the street. A goblin thrashed around, smashing stalls, slamming on the sides of buildings and striking down villagers. Star careened her neck, embracing that satisfying pop.
"Just one goblin?" Star said, raising an eyebrow. "I've taken on hordes since I was like, six."
Marco and Star charged towards the goblin. Star pounced on the goblin first, only to get elbowed in the back in response. Marco swung a hook to the side. The goblin stared at Marco, bemused, as he caught Marco's fist with his palm.
Marco's eyes widened.
Not even a moment later, Marco found himself crumpled on top of Star.
"Ow," Star muttered.
"Looks like we're in for a real fight, Star," Marco remarked.
"Oh Star," a regal, commanding, yet feminine voice called out.
Nearby, the Queen and King had arrived. King Butterfly targeted the goblin, raising his fists.
The Queen blocked him off. "Please take your wand back, your father and I finished cleaning it up." Queen Butterfly ambled towards the battle in progress, holding the wand in her hand. "Let's see if you've learnt better control, Star." The Queen tossed the wand over to Star. "Show me what you're capable of!"
"Well, never mind, we got this, Star." Marco said.
Star slid through Marco. "Yeah we do." She ran for the flying wand. The goblin did as well. She shoved him to the side and caught the wand in her right hand.
Two beams of lights twisted together in a helix loop along the wand, bursting in an explosion of colour. The half-star insignia beamed underneath the sun.
Star channeled the energy of the wand, twirling it in her hand.
Marco was taken aback by the teal-glow on Star's irises.
"Radiant Beauty Burst!"
The star insignia twinkled. White light discharged in a single blast.
For a moment, everyone went blind.
As the light cleared up, Queen Butterfly coughed out dust. "Just as I suspected."
Everyone in the vicinity coughed out some dust.
The wind blew the ashen remnants of the goblin.
The sandwich shop–and by extension, the rest of the block—was blown away by the wind as well, smoldering ash flying through the air.
"Ohhhh…" Star lingered, shuffling away slightly, "that's… not supposed to happen…"
To be continued...