Chapter 4: Fallen Star, Pt. 1

Marco couldn't believe it. Where would Star had gone without him? And why? He sat at the foot of Star's bed, wondering what he could do. He wanted -no, needed- to find her. There was so much that needed to be said, so much time to be made up for. He thought back to the night of the sleepover, when things seemed to have really began. The speech he had given to the monster inside Truth or Consequences about heads and hearts had been more right than he'd even realized at the time. He hadn't known how he'd felt. He'd always thought that Jackie would be the only girl for him, and while she was even more amazing in real life than the Jackie he'd built up in his head, at the end of the day there was only one choice for him. It's you, Star. It will always be you.

Suddenly, a pair of dimensional scissors appeared in front of Marco and started opening a portal. Marco leapt up. It had to be Star! "Star!" Marco ran forward, throwing his arms out to hug her. Instead, he ran headfirst into what felt like a large, slimy wall that he promptly became stuck too. He looked up, confused. "Oh...hey Buff Frog." The frog monster peeled Marco off of him and set him down. "You, karate boy. Is Star Butterfly around?" Marco looked down. "I don't know. She left her phone, and the dimensional scissors are gone. Even if I knew...I have no way to reach her." Buff Frog hit the wall above Star's bed, clearly frustrated. "Chert poberi! That means she has already gone after him." Marco looked back to him, trying to remain calm. "Buff Frog...who has she gone after?" The large frog sat down, "Ludo. I make map to find him for Star Butterfly. I had investigated him, he had new army but was crazy, talking to wand. But I go back and learn something new, something Star Butterfly must know." Marco didn't know why, but what Buff Frog had just said filled him with dread. "Well...what is it?" The frog's face suddenly grew dark. "Ludo talk to wand...but then wand talk back. I don't know how, but someone inside wand."
"That's why Ludo almost defeated Star...whoever was in the wand must've been helping him! I have to go after her!"
"Da, I take you there. We hurry, yes?"

Buff Frog opened a portal back to Mewni, and Marco followed him through.


Star looked out at the field, then checked her map again. This was the place. Finishing up the last of her snacks, she marched forward grimly towards the large hole in the center. It was time.


Not far behind, Marco and Buff Frog had finally made it through the Forest of Certain Death. He sat on the edge of the woods, catching his breath for a moment. Without Star and her magic, the journey had been far more difficult than before. He looked over to Buff Frog, who motioned for him to follow. "There", he pointed. Marco looked over. It was one of Mewni's great cornfields, but it was completely empty. Marco was confused. "Is this it?" he asked. His companion nodded. "Look again." Marco did, and this time he noticed the large hole in the middle of the field. That must be where he was. Marco began quietly inching his way to the hole. Suddenly the ground shook, and several flashes of light shot out through the hole. They were too late. The battle had already begun.

Inside, Ludo was losing badly and was starting to panic. He had never seen Star this serious and it was all he could do to avoid her onslaught. Every spell of his seemed to be a little off, and what's worse was that the voice in the wand had gone silent. In their last fight she had guided him with every spell, ensuring that he always knew what to cast and where to strike. But now, when he needed it the most, the voice was gone.

Despite the weirdness of not having Marco around, Star found herself more focused on the fight without having to worry about his safety. She threw spell after spell at Ludo, while dodging the ones that came her way. Plus, this battle had none of the excitement and fun of previous encounters. Star just wanted to retrieve her spellbook and get back home to Marco.

Meanwhile, Marco and Buff Frog were watching the duel from behind a pillar in a cave. Marco couldn't take his eyes off of Star. She was completely in control. Every spell of hers was focused, and she remained completely unfazed by Ludo's counterattacks. She was intense, powerful...and strangely beautiful. She looked every inch the future queen of Mewni.

Ludo's last spell had gone well to her left, and Star seized the opportunity to use the most powerful spell she could think of. "SHOOTING STAR EXPLOSION!" The spell hit Ludo square on and threw him against the wall of the cave, his wand flying out of his hand. Star walked past her defeated enemy to the back of the cave where she had seen her spellbook. She could feel the book giving off a strange power, and the book flew open at her touch. Green light illuminated the pages as they flipped forward, stopping at a page in Eclipsia's chapter. Star peered closer, and her eyes grew wide at what she read: VANQUISHING SPELL (for things you want to never return). She backed away in horror, and the wand spoke to her. "Don't be afraid, child..." Star dropped the wand in shock, and slowly it floated up from the floor to eye level. "Don't be afraid...just say these words and this worm will bother you no longer." Wordlessly, Star grabbed her wand from where it hung in midair. Quickly scanning the incantation, she turned back to Ludo. He was now cowering against one of the walls. "Please...Star Butterfly...have mercy!" Her hands trembling, Star raised her wand up to Ludo's height. She hesitated. Could she do it? No more Ludo certainly sounded nice, but this felt...wrong. Once more, the wand spoke. "Why do you hesitate...what more could you possibly desire?" Star's hands grew shakier, and suddenly her mind's eye brought her the answer. The wand fell from Star's hands and she answered the wand's final question: "Marco."

Despite Buff Frog's protests, Marco ran forward upon hearing his name. "Star!" The princess's head jerked around at the sound of his voice. "Marco?!" She barely had time to turn towards Marco when he reached her, throwing his arms around her to pull her closer in than ever before. The pair hugged each other silently for a moment before Marco spoke up. "Star...there's something I have to tell you. A big something." Star shifted herself to look at him, slightly puzzled. "Jackie and me...well, we decided we should just be buddies." Star's heart stopped, what could have possibly happened that Marco and Jackie would break up? And even weirder, why did Marco sound so okay about it? Marco continued, his voice shaking a little bit as he tried to find the right words. "I...I went to your room the other night to see what was keeping you awake, and I overheard what you were talking about with your mother. I know it was wrong, and I should have just forgotten what I heard, but...I couldn't. Because...Star Butterfly, Princess of Mewni, I'm in love with you."

Star's heart was racing. Everything she had been through in the past week, and Marco had just come right out and confessed? She didn't want to question it, but it seemed almost too good to be true. "Heyyy Marco? Could you...could you say that last part again?" She locked eyes with Marco. He spoke again, and this time it was without any hesitation or fear. "Star, I love you." Star giggled, her face glowing bright red and her heart barely able to contain the joy she felt at hearing him say that. She shifted her arms from around his shoulders, gently grabbing the front of his sweatshirt and pulling him slightly forward so that his forehead rested against her own. "Well, it's a little unfair considering you already know...but I'm completely in love with you, Marco Diaz." Their lips were mere inches apart, and the feeling of his breath against her face was driving Star wild. A small smile broke out on his face, and now it was Marco who was giggling with relief. He knew how I felt, and he was still worried, Star realized. Poor Marco, she would have to make it up to him somehow. They stood there for a few moments not speaking a word, sharing the newfound intimacy found between them. There would be no more walls between them, no more secrets, no more misunderstandings. Everything that had come between them in the past was breaking down in the wake of their confession. Then without warning, something shifted, and the two became aware of just how little space there was between them. Their breathing grew heavier, and now Star's arms found their way around Marco's neck and his hands cradled her face. Gingerly, the two of them leaned towards each other, slowly closing the gap between them. Star closed her eyes, her blood boiling as Marco moved in to kiss her.

Suddenly, Star felt an overwhelming amount of pain. Forcing herself to look around, she saw that Ludo had managed to retrieve his wand and was firing a powerful beam of energy hitting her dead on. She didn't know what spell Ludo was using but it was enough to bring her to her knees. Marco quickly picked up a stone and threw it Ludo's way, knocking him off balance and interrupting the spell. Star picked up her own wand, shaking with fury. She turned to Ludo, her eyes shining with green light. "DO. YOU. HAVE. ANY. IDEA. WHAT YOU JUST INTERRUPTED?" Star screamed at him at the top of her lungs. The wand blazed with energy, hissing and throwing off sparks. Star raised her wand and threw the Vanquishing Spell at Ludo, directly striking his own wand that had been thrown up in defense.

Ludo's wand shattered, the force of the blast throwing Ludo and Star backwards. Star's wand and the star from Ludo's wand remained suspended in midair, bound together by the green beam of Star's spell. Marco and Star watched on in awe as the two halves began hovering towards each other. The pieces of the wand drifted closer and closer, and a moment later the second half of the wand's star clicked into place. Blinding green light shown from the now complete wand, and a swirling orb of magic started forming around it. From within the orb, the silhouette of a woman appeared. The silhouette reached out and grabbed the wand, and at her touch the wand grew longer, transforming itself into what must have been the woman's preferred form: an umbrella. The magic started dispersing, and now Star and Marco could make out the woman clearly. She was a little taller than Star, with striking dark eyes and lips. Her brown hair was mostly hidden under a wide-brimmed hat, and the markings on her cheeks were spades in the same shade as her eyes. Star clutched onto Marco, shaking with fear.

For the first time in over a hundred years, Eclipsa Butterfly had set foot on Mewni.

Author's note: Sooooooo looks like our two-parter comes earlier than expected! Realizing that ~1,500 words had only gotten me halfway and the desire to not rush through anything important to the story contributed to this. Plus, we got a Marco confession and an Eclipsa reveal, which is not bad if I do say so myself!
Apologies for the constant shift in plans. From the beginning I've basically only had a couple things I wanted to happen and a couple places I want to go, and the rest of it has sorta been made up as we go along. Happy Holidays, Peace to All, enjoy.

-fatal