Marco's hands shook as he lowered the pistol. Ludo looked horrified, his tiny body covered in blood, bone, and brain. Star's nearly headless body smacked wettly as it hit the ground.

"Would you like to know how many times I've killed you, Ludo?" Marco asked, voice flat.

"N-n-n-n-no."

"Five. Five times." Marco looked down at the pistol in his right hand. Dull, solid, old. "I could tell you about each one. The first time I did it with my bare hands. I was so, so angry. I thought that - just maybe - I could stop this. Fucking. Nightmare." Star's wand began to glow, sensing the demise of it's weilder.

"The second time I stabbed you with your own dimensional scissors. Sliced you right in half." Marco chuckled. Ludo swallowed hard.

"But the last three times we're pretty quick." Marco pulled back the hammer on the old gun. The cylinder rotated silently, locking the next paper cartrage into place. The glow of the wand was getting brighter as heat began to eminate from it. Ludo stared into the boys eyes as tears made tracks down his cheeks, "I just want it all to end."

Marco placed the gun against his temple and pulled the trigger. He didn't see the wand detonate. He didn't feel time move backwards. He didn't need to, all he needed to do was look over at his alarm clock. 11:36PM, Tuesday. 100 hours until his death.

/

And then Star kicked open his door. "What the hell was that Diaz?!" She whisper shouted, so as not to alert Marco's parents. "You killed me, you killed me super hard!"

"What?" Marco asked, jumping out of bed. Star was supposed to be asleep. "Star, what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about YOU SHOOTING me in the back of the head. What the heck was that? Who does that?"

"Star, I don't know what you're talking about, I just came in to bed."

"Ap-ap-ap, zip it mister, you just shot me and I want answers. Question 1: Why did you shoot me in the head? Question 2: Why am I currently alive? Doesn't being shot in the head kinda put someone out of commission for, like, ever? Question 3: WHY DID YOU SHOOT ME IN THE HEAD YOU GOBLIN LICKING PASTAFARIAN!"

Marco just stood there in his boxers, mouth open, staring. Star had never remembered what happened in the loop. Never. But he had done something different this time. Marco had killed her. Shot her in the back of the head using his father's ancient black powder pistol. Did dying have something to do with remembering what happens during a loop?

Marco had always died, of course. That was what had started this whole thing in the first place. But he hadn't considered that being dead was what allowed him to remember what had happened during the loop while everyone else reset back to zero.

A none to gentle tap on his head made him look up into his housemate's eyes, "Are you going to answer my questions or am I going to have to get rough with you?" Star grinned at him, doing her best impression of that psychopath Toffee.

Marco sighed. Well, he did want the nightmare to end, and Star could probably help him with that, now that she was aware of the situation. "Y'know Star, I would really like that, but I'm tired, and I'm sure you are too, so how about we both sleep tonight and I tell you in the morning. We have school to go to anyways, and I don't want to be alseep in class." Marco layed down on his mattress and closed his eyes, dying was hard work.

But the springing of his mattress alerted him that a certain princess was lying next to him, eyes wide open, staring at him. "Sta~r." He whined.

"Oh no, Marco Diaz, you are ot leaving my sight until I wring every last drop of information out of you. By the time I'm done, you will be more used up than a white towel in a frat house."

"Okay, one: ew, and two -"

"ZZZzzzzzzzz" Star snored next to him.

Marco smiled at his housemate. Things were going to get easier with someone to confide in. His eyes closed slowly. Dying was really hard work.