Hey everybody. Finally got this chapter finished. Sorry for being late with it, university stuff keeps eating up time.

Episode 1: Cleaved Part 2

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!


Into the late hours of the night, she barely budged an inch away from her chair, slaving away every last second into scribbling on the page. She didn't notice a friend come through the door.

"Can't you just leave it be for tonight? It's depressing seeing you confined in your study day-in and day-out."

"What other choices do we have? Ugh, we're wasting time idly chatting right now."

He let out a sigh before walking up to her. He set a pot of tea on the birch-wood desk, the ring on his middle finger clinking on the porcelain.

"In that case, let me help you…"

She turned over and stared blankly at him for a moment. Then, she returned her attention to the page on the desk.

She slid a book with a cover written in Ancient Mewnish in front of him.

He picked up the book, peering over to his exhausted friend. He placed a hand on her as she was about to collapse on the table. Perhaps it would've been better that way, let her rest up a bit. But he knew she wouldn't like that at all.

He opened the book to the first page. "Where did we leave off last time?"


Mr. and Mrs. Diaz waited by the edge of the castle. Mrs. Diaz tried to listen in, curious as to what was going on inside. Mr. Diaz leaned next to the wall, coughing out the traces of soot still stuck in his throat.

Queen Butterfly took a deep breath. She stood over Star and Marco with arms crossed and a serious, stony expression painted on her face. She kept her eyes sternly glued towards Star. At this moment, Queen Butterfly tried her best to keep the nagging, worrying and sinking feelings in the back of her mind from bursting out. Judging by Star's fidgeting, the Queen believed it was working.

Star couldn't help twisting and twiddling her foot repeatedly as her mother stared down on her with such oppressive eyes. She held her wand behind her back, fidgeting around with family heirloom.

Marco stood by Star, his eyes darting back-and-forth between the Queen and his best friend. He coughed into his fist, expelling specs of soot and dust from his throat.

Star drew in a deep breath, ready to speak. "Can I just say, that at the very least, no one actually got hurt back there?"

"Except for an orc," Marco chimed in.

Star corrected herself. "Oh yeah, except for the orc, he's super dead." She kept kicking the dust scattered around the floor. "But, hey, I, uh, at least got rid of the monster, like, you…" Star kept murmuring incoherently to herself, "…asked me too…"

"I asked you to control the wand," Queen Butterfly said. "Not level a portion of my kingdom."


Meanwhile, King Butterfly shuffled backwards as the sandwich shop owner lashed out at him.

She hovered over King Butterfly, leaning over him, forcing him to bend over backwards. "…the building itself costed a fortune! Plus I have to purchase new equipment, shipments of food, among other things like…"

King Butterfly held his hands over his body. "Yes, yes, we will gladly compensate you for all materials Star damaged, as well as provide you with extra gold. You only have to ask. Just give us some time…"

Lina tugged the owner by the hem of her dress. "Mommy, are we homeless now?"

King Butterfly's eyes widened. "No, no, no, no," King Butterfly muttered, desperately forming a reassuring smile, "you are absolutely not homeless."


Star cringed, gritting her teeth. "It was just an accident…"

Queen Butterfly kept staring at Star, her expression unchanging. "Oh, I know. I'll be honest, I had a feeling the wand wouldn't function properly." She trotted down from her throne, making her way to the mirror on the far wall.

"But, to be sure, let me ask a fellow expert on this." She pushed the button on the underside of the mirror. The entire reflection filled with static for a moment, before it cleared up, showing a crystal-clear, high-quality image of Glossaryk passed out on the floor surrounded by cups of chocolate pudding.

"Igh," Marco muttered, flinching a bit.

"I'm not cleaning any of that," Star said, pointing at the puddle of chocolate around Glossaryk.

Queen Butterfly sighed before wrapping a fist on the mirror. She knocked on the glass multiple times, each one getting progressively louder.

Glossaryk let out a gasp before flopping in the puddle, splashing globules of pudding. "Again, seriously?" He mouthed out, drowsily. As he yawned, he stretched his arms out. Glossaryk unintentionally showed off the chocolate pudding coating his armpit hair.

Marco covered his mouth before the bile inevitably spewed out.

"Sorry to bother you again, Glossaryk, seems like you're a bit busy," Queen Butterfly said, trying her best to hide her disgust. "But something came up." She peered towards Star. "More specifically, Star did something, ehm, unexpected. And it'd be nice if you came back for a moment."

Glossaryk let out a belch. "Of course I'll be there, just give me a few moments"—Glossaryk slid beneath the mirror's view, and popped up right beside Marco, using a handkerchief to wipe away the little bits of pudding still stuck in his beard—"and I'll be right with you."

"Hi Glossaryk," Star greeted, waving at him.

Marco turned over to the blue, genie-like being that floated next to his head. He pointed in all directions, stammering a bit as he observed Glossaryk in front of him. "Wait, what. But you were just—"

"I always come when I'm needed," Glossaryk said, tapping Marco on the shoulder. "Now, my Queen, what seems to be the matter?"

"It seems like Star has lost control of the wand," Queen Butterfly said.

Glossaryk snickered under his breath. "You say that like she had control in the first place."

"Hey!" Star interjected. "It wasn't my fault!" Star hesitated for a moment, mulling over her next word. "Not entirely."

"Yeah, the wand wouldn't do that normally," Marco added.

"If the wand was in one-piece, that might be the case, my dear Marco." Glossaryk floated down to the wand, examining the empty space the cleaved half created. "But since we're dealing with a broken wand the circumstances are different. That missing portion creates some interesting outcomes. Preferably, the missing piece would just weaken the wand immensely. Make sense, right? Half a power source should only work half as well."

Glossaryk stared out the window, looking over the village street. Or at least, it's charred, blackened remains, swept away by the blowing wind. All that's left was the barren, desolate ground and a middle-aged villager crying over the ashes of his stall.

"But, I don't think that's the right answer."

"Ya think," Queen Butterfly sneered.

"In that case, then the cleaved piece must have been an inhibitor. A sort of power-limiter that's supposed to prevent this sort of thing from ever happening." Glossaryk veered his eyes towards Star. "And you blew it off."

"Ehhhhh, yeah…" Star looked off to the side, letting out a mix between a forced chuckle and an unassuming humming noise.

"So now what?" Marco and the Queen asked simultaneously. Marco noticed, gasping at the Queen, while she looked on, rather expressionless.

"Well, the wand's still working, so Star's free to use it to her heart's desire," Glossaryk said. "Sure, she might level a city, an entire kingdom and perhaps, the possibility of collapsing the entire universe in on itself, but at least the wand is still functional, right everybody?"

Queen Butterfly had her arms crossed, fingers impetuously tapping the sides. She had a sharp, tightening pout formed along her lips, as if she was sucking on something extremely bitter. "What other options do we have besides risking the desolation of the entire known universe?"

"Get that shard back," Glossaryk said. He stared at his jagged, unkempt, cracked nails and dry heaved a bit. He pulled a nail file out of his sleeve, rubbing it along the top of his nails. "It's somewhere near Ludo's castle, so go find it and then we can work on actually fixing the wand."

"Easier said than done, my dear Glossaryk," Queen Butterfly muttered. She let out a deep sigh, and walked off toward the doors. "That said, I'll begin making preparations for the expedition. Star get some rest, we'll be leaving soon. Manfred, get the boy…"

Star's ears perked up. "An expedition?"

"Yes, to find the cleaved-off shard."

Glossaryk continued to file his nails. "Yeah, it's probably a good idea to find that shard ASAP. Someone could create their own makeshift wand with that shard."

Marco's ears picked up some rustling noises behind him. He waved it off, dismissing it.

Star grabbed Marco by the collar, pulling him closer to herself. "Can Marco come too? He was with me when the whole wand explode-y thing happened. He could probably help out."

Queen Butterfly stopped moving and stood still. "Ehm, well…"

Marco set himself up in a standard karate stance, methodically punching and hook kicking the air. "I can totally defend myself."

"Yeah," Star exclaimed, "Marco's, like, a master at Karate."

"A blue-belt, actually," Marco corrected.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright," Queen Butterfly said. "We're not doing anything dangerous." She turned around and began trotting out, peering over her shoulder. "Perhaps it would be nice for Star to have some company." Queen Butterfly didn't take her eyes off Marco until she made it out of the chamber. She closed the door behind her.

"Yeah, yeah it would." He forced out a bitter laugh. Marco tugged slightly on his collar, swallowing hard.

Star tangled Marco in her arms.

"Expedition Buddies!"

Neither Star nor Marco noticed the muted footsteps pattering inside the room.


Buff Frog winced in pain as the debris of pine needles and jagged rocks cluttering the area pressed against the soles of his feet. It didn't help that the fountain on his back pushed his legs deeper to the ground, jamming the debris deeper.

Taking a deep, pendulous breath with each step, Buff Frog trudged on as the weight of the fountain kept pushing him to the ground. A spasm shot through his back. His eyes twinged as the shock wrapped around his spine. He stiffened on the spot, hyperventilating the pain away. A part of him wanted to keep the fountain where it was and pass out on the forest floor, at least for a little bit to catch his breath. Then, he stared at the tadpoles crowded inside the fountain, with their big, glowing eyes with the pleading look in them.

Buff Frog bellowed out a sigh, cracking a small grin. "That's right, I still need to find you guys somewhere better to grow up." He pushed himself up off the ground and lifted the fountain back on his back.

"There's bound to be an even better place for my babies." And so, Buff Frog hobbled down the forest, bearing thousands of tadpoles on his back. He didn't care how long it took, so long as the spot was perfect. Eventually, he stopped and settled the fountain in a nice clearing in the forest. He backed away a bit, staring at the fountain and the trees behind it. He wiped the sweat of his brow with the back of his hand, drenching it.

"Let's see." Buff Frog placed a hand over his eyes and looked around the forest. "Far enough from mainland Mewni, decent shading..." He pushed the fountain closer to one of the trees. Buff Frog made a crisp nod. "Seems like an excellent place to raise a family."

A fly hovered over him, milling around in front of him. Buff Frog flicked his tongue out, snaring it. He swallowed it whole, his lips curving into a wide smile.

"Each and every last one of you will have bright futures ahead." Buff Frog knelt down on the ground. He gently tapped the closest tadpole on its forehead. "I guarantee that." He pointed to a tadpole with a green outline rimming its iris. "Especially you, Vladimir, I see great things ahead for you."

The little tadpole let out a tiny little 'meep' in reply.

A pile of leaves further away crunched under someone's step. And then another one echoed in the still air. Each step rang inside Buff Frog's ear. He swiveled his eyes left and right. Buff Frog growled under his breath. He already had his fair share of life-and-death situations earlier. It seemed a little too early for another one.

The ground felt soft underneath his feet. Soft enough to lay his head down and take a quick nap. Even so, Buff Frog caught a glimpse of his helpless tadpoles, eyes wide as saucers, shining and bleary.

"They'd do the same…"

Buff Frog pushed the fountain into a thick bush. For extra precaution, he collected extra piles of leaves and covered any exposed holes and openings the bush failed to conceal.

"…I guess I have to as well."

As soon as the entire fountain was enveloped by the vegetation, he pulled himself up into one of the trees. He climbed higher and higher, stopping at a branch covered in leaves. Buff Frog practically blended right in. He crouched down and stared down the far reaches of the forest.

A Mewman, decked in armor, marched down the path. He had his spear brandished in front of him. He was heading towards the fountain.

Buff Frog placed his hands outwards, ready to pounce on the soldier. The sight of another soldier caught his eye as he nearly leapt off the branch. His eyes widened when he took a closer look.

Behind the Mewman, a group of five soldiers, each of them armed with a sharpened spear and a sharpened scowl, marched right behind. Even further behind, another squad of Mewman soldiers followed. The trail of soldiers reached all the way to the entrance of the forest, with several familiar faces lagging behind them all.

Buff Frog scowled. Royals, he muttered in his head.

Buff Frog held his breath, the air sac in his throat engorged immediately. He tried to keep himself steady on the branch.

If the fall didn't kill him, it'd be a safe bet the Mewmans would.

The first soldier walked past the tree where Buff Frog hid, looking straight on ahead.

A bead of sweat ran down the side of Buff Frog's forehead. At that moment, he refused to breathe out. Not yet.

The next cluster of knights walked straight on without batting an eye at the bush. So did the next grouping. The knight and the warnicorn strode past Buff Frog, their eyes intent with the path in front of them, rather than the bush.

Buff Frog finally let out his breath. He kept himself perched on the branch for a little while longer, biding his time until he was sure they had all left. He lowered himself from the branch, taking a look down to the next closest branch.

Suddenly, he picked up on a familiar voice.

"—hey Marco, check this out, there's something weird inside this—"

"MY BABIES!"

Erupting a tremendous roar, Buff Frog dove down. He tumbled onto the figure by the bush, rolling together across the forest floor. When they bumped into the side of a tree, the frog was perched on top of the blonde figure. She had her wand aimed straight at his face, half-star insignia glowing.

Buff Frog raised an eyebrow. "Star?"

Star lowered her wand. "Giant Frog Monster that keeps spying on me?"

Marco popped up in front, hands extended out.

Mewman soldiers encircled Buff Frog, spears at the ready. "Hands off the Royal Princess!"

Buff Frog's eyes widened.

"No, no, it's okay guys," Star said, holding her hands outwards towards the soldiers. "He's cool… I think."

The soldiers lowered their weapons. A few even moaned out in disappointment.

Marco lowered his stance as soon as he recognized who the frog was.

Star pointed towards Buff Frog. "You're still cool, right?"

"Ehm." Buff Frog shrugged. "Sure, I guess…"

"See, told ya guys."

King and Queen Butterfly sauntered towards their daughter, catching up to the other guards.

"Star, who is this"—King Butterfly leaned in closer towards Buff Frog for a better inspection—"overgrown, amphibious creature that's laying on top of you?"

As he hopped off of Star, Buff Frog groaned and stared daggers towards the King and Queen. He gently pushed the King back, even taking a slight step back for extra precaution.

Star looked to the ground and wiped the dust off herself. "That's uh…" She shifted closer to the frog and whispered, "Buff Frog, right?"

Buff Frog nodded. "Although I'd prefer if you'd call me Yvge—"

"Buff Frog!" Star slung her arm over the back of his neck. "This guy helped me rescue Marco back at the cast—"

At that moment, Marco shushed her.

Star noticed Marco pointing towards her mother. Immediately, Star shut herself up. "I mean, uh, he's just the friendly neighbourhood frog monster. Always, uh, bringing a smile on everybody's faces. Yeah…" Star kept nudging him with her elbow.

Buff Frog peered his towards Star. "Eh? Friendly, neighbourhood what?"

"Play, along," Star muttered through gritted teeth.

Queen Butterfly pitter-pattered her fingers along her shoulder, her lips forming a sharp scowl. "You realize assaulting a member of the royal family is punishable by dungeon time."

Buff Frog rolled his eyes. "I understand, but…"

"Or alternatively, you can attend a seminar on sensitivity and royal etiquette, hosted by the lovely queen herself," King Butterfly chimed in.

Buff Frog and Star froze in place. They shivered incessantly, feeling a chill rush down their spines.

Marco simply stared at both of them, a little bemused.

Buff Frog let out a heavy, sincere sigh. "I apologize for laying a finger on your daughter," he said, "but I did it in self-defence, on instinct."

"Instinct?"

Buff Frog walked towards the dense, verdant bushes a bit further away. The soldiers trailed behind him, still armed with their spears. Buff Frog pulled the extraneous branches and leaf coverings camouflaging the entirety of the fountain. As soon as Buff Frog tugged the fountain out for everyone to see, all the tadpoles that littered the inside opened their wide, beady eyes.

"My babies were here," Buff Frog explained, "I thought a predator was coming. I had to protect them."

Star hobbled towards the fountain. "So these were what was staring at me." A couple of the tadpoles blinked, before setting their eyes towards Star. "These are some pretty cute tadpoles." Star moved a hand closer to one of the tadpoles.

Buff Frog slapped her hand away. "No, my babies."

Star whimpered as she rubbed her arm.

"A father has to do what a father has to do," King Butterfly muttered, "I commend that." He turned towards his wife. "Moon, darling, I think it's best if we let him go."

"I was about say so too," the Queen replied. "The Dungeon's crowded enough as it is." She faced north, opening up her parasol. "Let's go gentlemen, we still have an expedition to complete."

King Butterfly's eyes widened. "That's correct," he said, "let's go men, haste makes waste!"

All the soldiers carried out their salutes to the King and Queen before they marched onwards down the forest path.

"Expedition?" Buff Frog asked.

"Yeah, we're off to find the missing piece of my wand," Star answered back, pointing to the empty space on the faceplate of the wand.

"I see." Buff Frog darted his eyes toward the wand, noticing the tiny little hearts that surrounded the edge of the Star. The missing shard still stuck out like a sore thumb. "I thought you destroyed it back at Ludo's castle."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Star twirled the wand in a circle, along her fingers. "But then the buff Italian unicorn came and fixed it, so it's all good, sorta."

"Eh?"

"It's a long story," Marco replied.

"Dah." Buff Frog kept staring at the wand. Definitely looks a lot different from last time, he thought. "I guess Toffee's plan didn't work out in the end."

"Yeah, I guess so," Star said to herself. She looked over towards Buff Frog. "Wait, who's Toffee again?"

"The Lizard Lawyer Dude," Marco said.

"Oh yeah, him. Yeah, he was kinda creepy." The wand stopped twirling. Star grasped it with both hands. "Well, at least he's dead, I think."

"I mean, it's pretty hard to survive a massive blast to the face like that," Marco added.

"Well, we sorta did today." Star glanced over to the fountain, each tadpole back at her. "Now that all the messed up stuff is done with for the most part, what do you have planned now?"

"I'm a father now," Buff Frog replied. "I have children to feed and raise." He sat by the edge of the fountain, stroking the tadpoles' heads. "They can't do that by themselves yet."

Star gave him a slight smile. "That's pretty cool of you."

"I'm gonna miss you spying on Star and me every day," Marco said.

Buff Frog shrugged. "I can't spend time looking over you two, when I have babies of my own."

"Eh, true enough." Star heard her name called out from further away. "Anyways, nice seeing you again Buff Frog. We got a wand piece to find." She and Marco began their trek through the forest. "See ya!"

"Wait." Buff Frog stopped the two of them in their tracks. "If you're searching for something, there's a peculiar spot that you might want to check out. Right where Ludo's castle was. I think all of you will be surprised."

"It's been a rough couple of days," Marco said, "I don't think anything can surprise us now."


Everyone had their mouths wide open, as they kept staring at it.

"I don't remember this being here," Marco remarked.

"Neither do I," King Butterfly replied.

Star attempted to force some semblance of a smile. "Well, you know, a pleasant surprise never killed anyone... right?"


To Be Continued