I do not own Star vs. the Forces of Evil.
Contains spoilers for Starcrushed. My take on what could have happened after Star returned to Mewni. Brief mention of self-destructive behaviour.
Such a Simple Concept
Moon had never felt so uncomfortable seated on her crystal throne as she did in this moment. She supposed it was because she looked so unkempt, with stray hairs curling from her braid and her armour scratched and scuffed. Though it was unlike her to allow herself in any other state besides close perfection, there were far more important matters at hand besides keeping appearances. She pressed her fingers against her temple, where tension was rapidly building and she knew she would develop a migraine shortly.
River sat beside her, gently rubbing his thumb across her knuckles, a soothing sensation that she greatly appreciated. They had been sitting in a grim silence for a long while, contemplating the situation and what actions needed to be taken. Moon felt her chest clench at the vivid recollection of Toffee exacting the revenge he had no doubt been waiting for. The flashes of green light, the smooth flicks of his crudely constructed wand, the power he easily executed as she struggled to keep up with him.
Feeling her muscles clench, River squeezed her hand. "You did all you could," he said softly. "Now we have an idea of what we're up against."
"I couldn't do anything," Moon said, frustration coiling through her entire being. "I had no clues as to what was really going on. I led us all into a trap."
"That is not your fault," said River strongly. "You saw Ludo with his own wand, had knowledge he was in possession of the spellbook and acted accordingly. You couldn't have known. None of us could have known. We must decide what our next move will be."
"That will be difficult, with the Magic High Commission out of action," Moon whispered, closing her eyes as the unbidden images of her fallen friends and comrades flashed through her mind. "Their only chance is if Toffee is defeated and his magic is undone."
Moon had tried to revive them but with no success. The magic used against them was dark, and she had no knowledge of how to wield dark magic. She was certain they would be restored once the second wand was destroyed. But that was a feat she did not yet know how to accomplish.
The heavy atmosphere was disturbed slightly by a rattling clank, and soon Star shuffled her way into the throne room. Moon ached for her daughter, who had tear tracks staining her cheeks and a bitter frown on her normally upbeat features. Her sympathy merged with sudden suspicion when she locked eyes on the large, bulky backpack hanging from Star's shoulders. Her sword was attached to the front and her wand was stuck in the red belt wrapped around the front of her light blue dress. A pair of dimension scissors hung loosely from her fingers.
"Star, what in all of Mewni are you doing?" demanded Moon.
"Preparing," she said shortly, voice laden with misery and resignation. But her sapphire eyes glinted with steely determination. "Where's Toffee/Ludo?"
Moon's eyes narrowed. "Why do you need to know?"
"To stop him. Duh. He's coming after me. Since you won't tell the people what's going on, I'm not putting them in danger. I'll go find him myself. So where is he?"
Moon stood abruptly, her armour clanging against her throne and causing an ugly sound to ripple through the spacious room. Panic threaded through her, rising above all her other emotions. She had thought Star was in her room, processing all the information she had been fed. She had not missed the heartbreak shattering through Star's eyes when she broke the news of Glossaryck, the trembling hands when she discovered the Magic High Commission had been cruelly beaten. If she had known Star had been moving around the castle, collecting supplies for a battle, she would never have left her daughter alone.
"You will do no such thing!" she said forcibly.
Star glared. "What am I supposed to do? Wait for him to come to me?"
"He won't get to you, we will make sure—"
"Mom, you and the Super Magical Squad stood no chance! You all almost died!" Star's voice cracked, tears burning in her eyes before being furiously scrubbed away. "Toffee will stop at nothing until he gets to me. Delaying the inevitable isn't going to make this better!"
"You're thinking recklessly, darling," spoke River, voice soft but firm. "I know this is hard, but we will find a way to overcome this obstacle."
"This isn't some namby-pamby kingdom dispute!" cried Star, fingers clenching the straps of her backpack as hysteria grew within her. "Lives are at risk, and I'm the one who has to do something about it! Who's going to get Glossaryck back? Who's going to save the Magic High Commission? Who's going to free Ludo from Toffee's control?"
"We will help all of them, but we will do with a strategic battle plan," said Moon sharply. "Running off by yourself to confront Toffee is a suicide mission!"
Star's eyes flashed. "I sacrificed my wand to defeat him the first time. Maybe now I have to sacrifice myself."
Horrified by the serious set of Star's face, Moon did not get a chance to speak, for River got to his feet and slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne with such force a small crack splintered across the material. "You will not say such things!" he thundered.
Star immediately quieted, shrinking back slightly at the force of her father's anger. It was a rare occurrence, but it always reminded her of just how powerful his presence could be when pushed hard enough.
Taking a sharp breath, River lowered his tone. "How could you entertain such notions? How would your kingdom feel if you were gone? How could we tell Marco and his parents such news? How would we feel if you were taken from us?"
Tears spilled over and dripped down Star's cheeks, her devastation clawing through her insides and feeling as though it would suffocate her. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean it, I'm sorry. I just want to do something, this is all my fault—"
Moon and River took quick strides to gather their distraught daughter into their arms and she clung to them, shoulders shaking with emotion. "We have told you before, none of this is your fault," said Moon fiercely, smoothing her fingers through the long blonde strands. "If you hadn't attempted to destroy the wand, Marco would have died. You had no idea of where the broken half of the crystal would end up. Ludo would have gotten the spellbook and Glossaryck eventually—Toffee would not have stopped until they were in his possession."
"You've been so strong and so brave," said River, rubbing soothing circles in her trembling back. "But you do not need to face this alone. I know it is a lot to ask, but please, wait. Wait until we have a plan. Promise."
"I promise," whispered Star. "I do. I promise. I'm sorry. I love you."
"We love you too, dear."
They stayed in that embrace for a moment, before Star finally pulled away and rubbed the tears from her face. "I'll go put this junk away," she said softly.
"Darling, would you mind giving us your dimensional scissors?" asked Moon carefully. "Not that we don't trust you—"
"No, no, I get it." Star handed over her dimension scissors, exhaustion suddenly crashing down at her. "I'm really tired. I think I'm going to go to bed."
"You do that." Moon lowered to kiss her forehead, relieved that she had calmed enough to see logic and reason. "Get lots of rest. We'll take care of this situation."
"If you need to talk, please, come to us," added River.
"I will."
Star offered a small smile not lacking sincerity, and began the trek for her room. When she stepped through the glimmering jewelled doors, she dropped her bag ungracefully to the floor and collapsed onto her bed. She wanted so badly to speak with Marco, and her heart ached at the knowledge that that was no longer an option. It had probably been a mistake, to blurt her true feelings in front of everyone, but she couldn't leave without confessing. Even if it meant she lost her best friend.
Sitting up suddenly, she dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. "Stop crying!" she snapped, frustrated with herself. "You can't cry forever! You can't fight Toffee if you're just going to sit and blubber!"
The news of Toffee's return was at least a distraction from her estrangement from Marco. She lowered her hands, brow furrowing, as she stared at her wand, glinting at her waist. She would be at a disadvantage—Toffee had the book of spells.
A pang seared through her chest, as the thought of her lost spellbook reminded her of Glossaryck, who was apparently gone, most likely receiving the same fate as his fellow magical comrades. "Why couldn't you have come with me?" she whispered into thin air, striking her fist into her open palm. "Why couldn't you leave the spellbook? It's of no use without you."
"Yes…you are surprisingly close."
His voice burst through her mind, so clear that it was if he was in the room with her. Star stared up at her domed ceiling, crystal chandelier casting glittery shadows on her walls, biting down on her bottom lip. At first, she had taken Glossaryck's last words at face value. But now, considering everything that had happened, she was starting to view his cryptic sayings in a different manner.
She was doubting now that Glossaryck was referring to her ability to break through the Spying Spell to reach for him. He had been mildly impressed and attentive, watching her white-glowing eyes as she concentrated on the magic within her.
"Surprisingly close to what?" she muttered, rolling her wand between her fingers. "Dipping down?"
She was definitely getting better at wandless magic, but she wasn't sure if that's what Glossaryck meant. A familiar knot of frustration formed in her gut, as it always appeared when she was trying to decipher Glossaryck's seemingly nonsensical advice. She could picture his amusement at her growing agitation, his indifferent taunts to her sneering, sarcastic comments, and she could not help but smile.
"Friends? Well, that's such a simple concept."
Her lips curled downwards slightly. She thought Glossaryck had implied that without the spellbook, she wasn't anything to him. He was her friend simply because the book had been in her possession. But now, as she grimaced over her complicated relationship with Marco, she was beginning to wonder if he had just…known. When she considered Marco just her best friend, everything was pretty simple.
Maybe he was talking about Ludo
Star felt confliction rise within her. Now that she knew Ludo was now just a puppet for Toffee to use as he pleased, she felt sympathy for the fallen ruler. In fact, she never thought she would miss the days of Ludo being her main enemy.
She recalled her mother informing her gravely that Ludo had no clue what was going on. Moon was positive it wasn't Toffee-acting-as-Ludo when she interrogated him about Glossaryck and the wand. The sincerity in which he wanted to know how his younger brother Dennis was doing, his desperate, almost pleading expression when Moon offered to help him could not be faked by someone as sociopathic as Toffee. He seemed almost willing to accept Moon's offer, an olive branch of friendship. A rather simple concept, to get a power-hungry Ludo to relent and surrender…
"Ugh!" Star groaned, yanking on her strands of blonde hair. "Glossaryck, why does it always have to be riddles? Why can't you ever just tell me things straight?"
Because you hardly ever listen when someone tells you something directly. You don't learn unless you want to, by doing it yourself.
Though it was her own conscious chiding her, Star could have sworn she heard an echo of Glossaryck. Giving her head a sharp shake, she muttered, "Okay, I can't lose my mind now."
"Maybe this is what you need."
Glossaryck had uttered those final words to her as her spell collapsed around her. He had been unconcerned and speculative. Star was pretty certain he was referring to her separation from him and the spellbook.
"This is what I need," she repeated, kicking out her legs as she thought. She didn't have Glossaryck to guide her or the spellbook to teach her. All she had was her wand, the spells she had learned, the ones she made up and her imagination.
Her mother went by the book. Toffee seemed like the type of guy to go by the book. But she…she didn't like being predicable. She didn't like doings things the normal way. Never in a million years would Toffee come up with something like her Narwhal Blast.
Without the spellbook, she couldn't use it or Glossaryck as her crutch. She was forced to use her mind, to use her creativity, to do things the Star Way.
"I don't know if this is what you meant, Glossaryck," she said, raising her wand high and clenching her fingers around it determinedly. "But that's how I'm going to do it. I'm going to get you back, save the Magic High Commission, and when it's all over I'm going to fix things with Marco once and for all."
She felt a cold weight forming in her chest at the thought of her best friend, who she had left with little information and a shattering confession. She truly hoped she hadn't ruined things between him and Jackie, for that had not been her intention. But she would get Marco back, and if he just wanted to be friends she would live. So long as she had him in her life. They were partners-in-crime. There just couldn't be a Star without Marco.
But for now, she had business to take care of. When the time was right, she would strike, with her parents' permission. She was Star the Warrior Princess, Star the Rebellious.
"Hope you're ready for the worst butt-kicking you'll ever receive, Toffee. Because sooner or later, I'm coming for you."