Author's note:So, if Star vs The Forces of Evil is a box, then I don't own the box and anything within 3 meters of it. A money hungry cat with human face named Disney Enterprises, Inc does, and all rights and characters in this fanfiction belongs to it.
The fanfiction is set in an AU where the consequences of Star's action in Mathmagic was much greater.
This is my first shot at writing a storytelling fanfiction. And my writing is pretty much a WIP. So if you have any criticism, feel free to comment it on the review page.
Lastly, I revised this chapter a little bit, before switching this into the first chapter, so that it's more intuitive to the reader.
Heart of Darkness
Chapter 1: The Encounter
"Since the ancient times, the forest has always been described as a mysterious place; in legends and fairy tales, they are usually inhabited by mysterious creatures, symbols of all of the dangers with which young people must contend if they are to become adults. It is a place of testing, a realm of death holding the secrets of nature which man must penetrate to find meaning. The forest represents feminity in the eyes of a young man, an unexplored realm full of the unknown. It stands for the unconscious and its mysteries. A sleeping gallery of mysteriousness, of beauty and life, an undisturbed scenery that's full of challenges and enigmas, waiting to be solved.
Doors and doorways have been symbolic across cultures for as long as history has been recorded. A door is both an entrance and an exit, so it has been associated with portals and passageways on many levels throughout history. Portals are no different. It's a path between dimensions, a bridge between civilizations, the key to the foundation of the universe as we know it. To destroy it is to destroy every aspect of life as we know it, across many dimensions, and it is exactly what he wanted. Your goal can be achieved by much less impactful means that would still satisfy your wish of vengeance and to crush your foes under your boots. Choose wisely, you have two paths to pick from, each with its own hindrance. It's the selection between the power of knowledge or the power of destruction. Your choice, my master."
As the light from the swirling vortex curtailed, Marco fell down to a fast fall before landing on the vines, or at least that's what I thought they were, it was so dark that he can barely make sense of directions for a moment then. Marco can only narrowly open my eyes, but he can feel that something was jolting me.
"Marco!" A sudden, loud shout burst through my ear. "Do you know where we are?"
Marco was still shocked and tired from that landing, but it seems that Star doesn't notice it. Sure, it's might be easy for an alien warrior princess to survive a high fall into a forest, but to him, it's a miracle that he's still able to stand on my own feet.
"No. I almost died. Where we are should be the least of my concern then."
"We're in the Forest of Certain Death," Star said in a surprisingly calming manner that should not be applicable for any sentence that has the word "Certain Death" in it. "I've been here a million times before kicking monster's butt since I was 5. I can handle it."
"Well then, I think you should lead the way, Princess Butterfly." Marco said with an obviously sarcastic tone "Why did I even agree to this."
"Because I'm an independent warrior princess, and you're my best friend. I can't just "sit-tight" when my father's missing you know, that's just not...me!"
"Well, couldn't you use something other than, I don't know, a swirling green portal of doom? What about your dimensional scissors? Couldn't you just use those to open some portals?"
"This is not just a dimensional problem. I screwed time up, and my father is caught in it. I can't use dimensional scissors to like visit my dead grandmas, or could I...?"
"Nope, don't get any ideas"
Marco and Star trekked across the narrow dirt road, with Star leading the way, wand in hand as a flashlight. "Still as gloomy as last time," Marco said in abhorrence "Why do you think the portal lead us here? To this Stygian forest of all places" Marco made a question with his other hand clearing the vines obscuring his vision, "No idea" Star jumped across the giant Venus fly trap that still has the small bit of gum that was left by Marco last time they traversed across the forest.
"Sometimes things just happens for no reason as all. We've to find my dad, and if that means burning this forest down, then so be it."
Star said, stamping her foot down, although Marco wasn't particularly paying attention as he was more concerned by the subtle thumping noise that was gradually getting louder.
"Shhh" Marco whispered as he put his hand on Star's mouth to silence her "Are you hearing what I'm hearing? Something is coming our way"
On the edge of the horizon, a swirling beam of red flashes like a nova across the small dirt road, heading straight to Star and Marco.
"Not something, Marco, someone," Star said, as she handed over her wand to Marco, and through the hollowed wand that resembles a magnifier, he can obviously see the warnicorn mounted warrior. She has an orange-ginger hair tied into 2 braids, wielding a red battle axe, traveling toward their direction
"I have a bad feeling about this"
"Well.." Star tried to be optimistic "We don't know if he's hostile or-" but she was interrupted by the flaming fireball that flew between her and Marco, completely destroying the tree behind them "Now we know. Run!"
Star began running, with Marco follow suit. But they soon come to the realization that they can't outrun a knight on a warnicorn back.
"He's right on our heels!" Marco yelled loudly, his voiced cracked in fear "Don't you have any spells that can help us in this situation?"
"I can't" Star replied, shaking her wand, which was glowing green "There's wrong with it, I can't cast...anything!"
Marco frowned before suddenly turning back "Marco! What are you doing?" Star shouted, tried digging deep into her brain to figure out what her best friend is trying to do before turned back and chase after him.
The warrior raised her warhammer as Marco approaches closer, but in an unexpected twist, when Marco was almost directly next to the pitch black warnicorn, he changed his position and slides on his knees and shin. The warrior tried to lash the battle axe down but Marco has already passed behind her. She immediately turned back, but Star was in the same spot, putting her under the belly of the large warnicorn. Star realized the opportune moment, threw out a punch aimed directly at the creature's belly. It groaned in pain, before kicking its rider off and running into the dark abyss of the forest.
Star immediately ran towards Marco, "So this is your plan?" She spoke triumphantly.
"More like a desperate move that I figure on the place. How about y-" The battle axe crashed into the ground next to Marco "YOU!" the warrior shouted in anger, pointing toward Marco, her face covered in dirt from the fall. She raised her axe for a finishing shot, aimed at Marco.
Star was thrown away by the ferocity of the hammer crashing into the solid ground. She tried to get up, still shocked by the collision and the debris that hit her. But all the pain and shock seems to go away immediately the second Star saw Marco under the blade of the battle axe. Her wand glows a pink, bright light.
As the axe descended down, Star jumped in front of Marco, holding her wand up as a last ditch desperate attempt to block the impending death coming for them. She closed her eyes, not hoping for it to work. But it did.
"Booooooonnng..." A loud sound burst through the air as if 2 large pieces of metal just clashed.
From the top of her wand, sprouted a pink blade, turning her wand into a sword, blocking the slash from the battle axe. Star turned back, glanced at Marco, who was just as shocked as she was, before urging him: "Run! Marco"
"I'm not leaving you behind"
"That's the best thing you can do for me at this point. Now go!"
Star used her leg to push the warrior away, before flipping back so that her head would face the enemy. While Marco was running in the distance, the 2 combatant was standing at a safe position relative to the other, trying to figure out a strategy.
The unnamed warrior charged first. She aimed her battle axe at Star's feet, but Star was quick to drawn her sword back to block the hit. She then raises her sword from the blocking position to form an upward attack, which was evaded by the warrior's habit of backflipping. Star then went on the offensive, She aimed the tip of her sword directly at the warrior, but it was cleanly deflected by the rotating battle axe, a feat Star wouldn't have thought could be achieved considering the weight of the weapon. She soon realizes that her opponent has supernatural strength and agility.
The warrior then switches to a much faster attacking style, combining forward slash before switching the axe to the other hand to perform a straight hit, resulting in a very fast attack. Star can hold her off with her sword and downward ducks for now, but she started to feel a bit overwhelmed. And some of the gashes did hit her eventually. Star felt thankful that she was wearing the blue attire that her father has gave her, which can resist even the fierce claws of monsters, not to mention a Mewnian Royal Battleaxe.
"Mewnian Royal Battleaxe" Star whispered to herself. The wielder must be royalty.
The battle was turning south for Star, but in a twist of an event, she managed to catch the curved end of the axe and locked it with her sword. Seeing an open opportunity, she retracted her sword, pulling the axe with it. Her opponent was now unarmed.
Taking her chances, Star went on the offensive again, lashing her sword back and forth, but all of it was block by the sleeve armor of her foe, who then ducked the attack and ran toward the battle axe.
Star flung her sword downward, hitting the warrior's knee, making her fell to the ground, but still manage to realize that the battle axe is within reach.
Star saw her enemy on the ground, catching the opportune moment, striking her sword directly on top of her foe's spine.
But it didn't hit the body.
The warrior has pulled the battle axe back, before turning her body around to use the axe to block Star's should've been the death blow. The forces of impact were so great that it pushed Star's sword backward in a recoil movement, before flying off her palm altogether. She quickly re-grabbed it on the ground, simultaneously with her enemy standing up, they both struck their weapon at each other. Their face is now only separated by a small space and 2 blades.
From this distance, Star can observe her opponent more clearly. But there's one detail that struck Star the hardest.
The warrior has cheek emblem. Red, a fiery glowing ball of flame.
Star hasn't seen this cheek emblem in her life since she was a baby, since...she tried to remember...since the last time she's been to the physical Grandma room when she was a baby.
A small tapestry, tiny in fact compare to the others right next to it. A strong, fierce looking warrior, mounting a warnicorn, with a warhammer in hand, charging in the night.
Star's wand-sword glowed a bright pink color upon her realization. Her sword blade retracted, causing her opponent to fall forward due to momentum.
Star casted a spell, a simple levitation spell that lifted the marbles next to her. It worked. Her wand was working again.
The warrior was still recovering from the fall, scratching her head, before looking up just to see Star Butterfly, pointing a glowing wand toward her.
"You...have a wand?"
"Yes. My name is Star Butterfly, and I know who you really are."
"Fine then" the warrior stood up, while Star was still holding her wand, pointing at her former combatant in a defensive stance. She didn't know what to expect.
"I'll let you live and be on my way, while you, can keep this incident a secret to the House of Nobles. Deal?"
"Wait, that's your bargain? But..I..I defeated you!" Star flung her hand forward in an angry manner.
"Well, you're not the only person to have a wand." The mysterious warrior pulled a long staff behind her back, which then sprouted out 2 giant heads, turning it into a warhammer.
"Come to my castle tomorrow, and we'll discuss about your stolen...wand."
"But it's not stolen! I'm-" The warrior morphed into a red large checkerspot humanoid butterfly and flew away before Star could finish her sentence.
"Star!" A sudden shout came from inside the bushes, and a certain Marco Diaz jumped out and hugged Star
"Thank goodness you're fine!" She said, in a joyful but stressed way.
"Yeah, but I didn't come out without a scratch though" Star showed him a small cut on her unprotected arm. "AND WHY DIDN'T YOU RUN LIKE I TOLD YOU TO!"
"I can't just leave you be there alone, so I ran back. The battle was over but hey, at least I did some moral support" Marco shrugged, well before Star punch his arm that is.
"Ouch" he yelp "Anyway, who was that?"
"I'll tell you later, but first, we have to find a place to spend the night."
Dealing with the mistakes of her mother
was what made her legacy obscure.
Witnessing the death of her father
was what made her hunt the 'impure'
To be continued
Author's note: 4 hours of researching into battle axe fighting techniques, including watching a shirtless Russian guy in the snowy woods that I'll probably never have to use in my life. Yep.
As always, criticism and feedback are welcome.