Prologue: All In

BEEP – BEEP – BEEP – BEEP – BEEP!

"Wake up Marco, it's your big daaaa-yyyy!"

Marco Diaz groaned, rolling over to look at the clock on his bedside stand and slamming his hand on the snooze button. "Ughhh…Star, it's only six a.m., why're you waking me up so early?!"

Star Butterfly hopped onto Marco's bed. "You have to get ready, Marco! Glossaryck is going before the Magic High Commission to make his official report on the aftermath of Mewni's invasion today and he'll be presenting you as well! You. Have. To. Get. Ready!" Star paused, an idea forming in her head. "But first…" She flopped backwards onto Marco's bed, rolling over onto his outstretched arm.

"Star, what are you doing?"

Star wrapped her arms around Marco, pulling herself as close to him as possible. "Jusssst testing how cuddly my new boyfriend is!"

"Star, we hug almost every day..."

"Well yeah, but that was all friend stuff, Marco! We're dating now, things are gonna be a little different!"

Marco chuckled a little, realizing there would be no talking her out of it . He pulled her even closer, enjoying how warm she was.

Star's phone buzzed, and she shot upright to check it. "Oooooh, new update from StarFan13! Let's check it out!"

"Helllooo fellow Starfans! This is your fearless leader StarFan13 speaking, coming at you live with a video update! Normally I don't find myself in front of the camera but I have BIG. NEWS. Drrrrrumroll please!

Ladies and gentlemen…Star Butterfly is NO LONGER Echo Creek Academy's most eligible bachelorette! I have EXCLUSIVE pictures, sent to me by an anonymous source, of Star kissing the new man in her life! Anddddd it is none other than her best friend, MARCO DIAZ! You heard it here first, the Starco has landed, I repeat THE STARCO HAS LANDED!

This is StarFan13, signing off!"

"Awwww, look at that Marco! We're trennnn-diiiiing!"

Star smiled back at Marco, her boyfriend now struggling to keep a straight face.

"Star…it was definitely you who sent her those pictures."

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Star giggled nervously, her face turning bright red. "Noooooooo, no of course I wouldn't do that, don't be silly Marco!"

"Star…"

"Welllll…" Star pouted, nervously twirling a strand of hair on her finger, "I may have given those photos to someone and they sent them to her!" She paused, "I know you wanted to keep us dating on the 'down low', but I was just too happy to not tell anyone! You're not…you're not mad at me, are you?"

Marco couldn't take it anymore; he was powerless against the force of Star's pouty face and burst out laughing. "Star, of course I'm not mad at you!" He hugged her reassuringly, "In fact…" Marco took her hand and slowly opened his bedroom door, signaling her to be quiet as he led her down the stairs until they could see the kitchen.

Marco's parents were hard at work preparing breakfast, having gotten up early to have everything set up for Marco and Star. Star shrugged her shoulders, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, so Marco pointed towards the center of the table where an ornate centerpiece had been set up. Star took a closer look and clasped her hands over her mouth in surprise. The centerpiece was a picture of herself and Marco in a heart shaped frame, the word CONGRATULATIONS below it in bold, red letters.

"You…you told your parents!?" Star whispered.

Marco scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Well…you passed out pretty early last night, so Mom and Dad wanted to catch up and, well…it just kinda came out! OOOF!"

Star had grabbed Marco to pull him in for a tight hug, accidentally slamming herself into his stomach. A happy tear rolled down her cheek. Even though she understood his reasons for doing so, she had felt a little hurt that Marco wanted to keep their relationship a secret. "Thank you, Marco. It…it means a lot to me that you told them."

Marco smiled, holding her tightly for a few silent minutes.

"Star…we should probably go get ready, since we woke up early and everything."

The princess only held him tighter. "I'm not letting you go that easily, Marco…you have to kiss me first!"

"Ohhhhhh nooooo!" Marco smirked, "Anything but that!"

His lips quickly found Star's, and almost instantly her grip on his shirt loosened; even after several days, Marco's kisses were still enough to nearly knock her off her feet. He pulled away, keeping his arm around her to make sure she didn't topple over. Star's face was bright red and her eyes were slightly out of focus.

"Mmmarrrrcoooooo…" She mumbled.

"Still? You're gonna have to get used to the kissing, there's going to be a lot more of it!"

"Yeah, yeah…I'm…I'm just fine, Marco…"

Marco chuckled again, "C'mon your highness, time to get dressed!" He took Star's arm, leading her back to her room as she slowly shook herself awake. The pair quickly got themselves dressed and met at the top of the staircase. They smiled to each other, taking a deep breath and heading down the stairs, ready to celebrate with Marco's parents before the inevitable flood of questions.

News traveled fast in Echo Creek Academy. No sooner had Star and Marco stepped off the bus then they were greeted by a cheering crowd. It felt like their entire class wanted to either congratulate or interrogate the two of them, and Star and Marco found themselves having to fight through just to try and get to their lockers.

"Oh wow, Marco. I had no idea people were so invested in our relationship!"

"Me either…is it just me or is it sort of creepy?"

"Suuuuper creepy." Star whispered.

"STAR!" Janna had managed to fight her way through the crowd and had reached Star's side. "Star, you have to tell me how good a kisser he is!"

"JANNA!"

"C'mon Marco, Jackie wouldn't tell me either, so unless you're willing to give me a one-on-one demonstration…"

"Not happening, Janna!"

The two of them had never been more grateful to hear the warning bell. Their crowd of admirers groaned and started making their way to morning classes, with Star and Marco making their way to history.

"Good morning class, please turn to page 270 in your books…"

Marco felt dangerously close to falling asleep. Between an early start to his day and Ms. Skulnik droning on about the Jamestown settlers his eyelids were growing heavier by the minute.

BRRRRT! Marco jolted upright. I could've sworn I put my phone on silent!

"Mr. Diaz! Is there something more important than this class in your pocket?!"

"Ms. Skulnik, I have no idea what that is-"

"That was me, actually…" Glossaryck floated out of Marco's backpack, yawning and stretching.

"Good morning, Diaz! You've redecorated!" Glossaryck glanced around the room, quickly taking in his surroundings.

"I see you and Star have been busy, how long was I asleep for?"

"Glossaryck, we're at school!" Marco hissed.

"Oh! Right! Well not for long, remember we have to go speak to the Magic High Commission today! That should be fun!"

"These children are not going anywhere! We're in the middle of class!" Ms. Skulnik was standing right in front of Marco's desk with her hands on her hips.

"Righhhhht…" Glossaryck began floating towards Star's desk, luckily she was sitting next to Marco today. "Well, you see – Star, Marco, take my hands!" The two of them did as they were told and seconds later found themselves hurtling through space towards a massive tower.

The trio finally started slowing down about a hundred yards out from the tower, landing gently on the ground between two of the massive fountains flanking the tower. Glossaryck waved over to the doorman, a humanoid moose with green skin.

"Shaun! I see the transporter is fixed!"

"Yes sir, Mr. Glossaryck! Don't want a repeat of last time!"

"Does this mean the elevator is working as well?"

"…Yes, the elevator has been fixed, Mr. Glossaryck."

"Excellent, excellent! Right this way, children!"

Marco and Star followed him into the elevator, awestruck at the sheer size of the tower. After what felt like an eternity, they were finally at the top floor. The doorman from below had somehow made it up before them, and he ushered them through a set of ornate double doors.

At the end of a long table sat the four members of the commission: a one-eyed crystal headed man in a brown robe, a goat with large, black wings standing on its hind legs, a crystal ball with a skull inside, and a cute, pale girl with a flame floating above her head.

Glossaryck sighed, meetings with the High Commission always bored him dreadfully.

"Well then, let's get down to business shall we?"

"Let's see…Mewni Castle has been fully restored, Ludo has gone back into hiding, and…where did you say Eclipsa and Toffee had gone to?" The pale girl had done most of the speaking for the commission, and was now reading back the notes she had taken from Glossaryck's report.

"Last I heard, she and Toffee were exploring some ruins in the Omega Dimension, hoping to learn more about the origins of magic."

"And you're certain she will pose no threat in the future?"

"Of course not, I even gave her a portable mirror so we can call her anytime we wish!"

"Fair enough…now, if there's nothing else you three are free to go!"

"Well…there is one more thing I imagined you lot would be interested in. Diaz?"

Glossaryck motioned Marco forward. The girl's eyes narrowed.

"Marco Diaz, age fourteen, dimension of origin, Earth. All around average specimen…what is the meaning of this, Glossaryck?"

Glossaryck smirked, "Well, my dear Hekapoo, since you asked so nicely…"

Glossaryck snapped his fingers and a tennis ball appeared on the table. He nodded to Marco, "Now then, Diaz. Just as we've been practicing…"

Marco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He focused on the seashell he still wore around his neck, which began glowing with red light. He opened his eyes, focusing on the tennis ball now. He released the energy that had he had been building up; a beam of red light shot from the seashell and sent the tennis ball flying straight into the crystal-headed man's eye. He leapt out of his chair in pain.

"ERRRGHHH, YOU MADE HIM DO THAT ON PURPOSE GLOSSARYCK!"

"Sit…down…Rhombolus…" Hekapoo's jaw had dropped, along with the rest of the council members.

"Now then, may I present: Marco Diaz, first non-naturally born user of magic!"

The council quickly huddled together, talking amongst themselves in frantic, hushed tones. A few minutes later and they returned to their seats, Hekapoo cleared her throat.

"Well Glossaryck, the commission has discussed this…situation, and we have decided upon three things. First, you will take up the task of training Marco in addition to your training of Star Butterfly."

"Excellent, I'm the only one I trust for these matters."

"Second, the members of this commission – myself, Omnitraxis Prime, and Rhombolus along with Chancellor Lekmet – will each devise a test of our own to present him with, to gauge the extent of his abilities."

Glossaryck sighed, "Well…if you must."

"And finally, he must have a proper focus for his power. The three of you will make your way to go see Fuhrnys immediately and see about having a proper wand made for him."

"Ah…at least we'll get to have some fun!"

"Alright then, the three of you are dismissed!"

Suddenly, Marco, Star and Glossaryck felt themselves being quickly pulled backwards. A moment later and they were all back in their bodies, right where they had left them in the classroom. The room was now empty, evidently it was already lunchtime and the class had decided to just leave them be.

"Thank goodness that's over!" Glossaryck said, pulling Star's dimensional scissors out of her backpack and opening up a portal before them. "Well? You heard the lady, we have to see about having a wand made for you, Diaz!"

Marco smiled, taking Star's hand. "Ready?"

Star blushed, "Always ready!"

Marco gave Star a quick smooch on her lips, then leapt through the portal after Glossaryck with his girlfriend in hand.

Author's note: Sequel time! Not much to say at the moment, except I'm really excited to see how this turns out. I even have chapter summaries this time (What? He actually planned things out in advance this time? PLOT TWIST!), they'll be on the next page but i'll mark 'em as spoilers, so don't read them if you want to be totally surprised going forward!