So, this story blew up out of nowhere. I was genuinely surprised at the attention it's received. Thank you all for following, favoring, and reviewing! Please enjoy the chapter!

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I call the spell which has no name,
My mother's gift with which she reigned
Eclipse my heart with rightful power,
Stand before the Queen and cower

Star stared at the words on the paper, tilting her head to the side. "No, that doesn't look right," she muttered to herself, erasing the second line. "Solaria isn't my mom. Maybe I can just replace 'My mother's' with 'Solaria's.'" She groaned, all but slamming her face onto the table. Why did she get the feeling that this wasn't going to work? Eclipsa had been really powerful, could she ever live up to that? Would she be a suitable substitute to cast the spell?

"I'm not even a queen yet," she murmured miserably. "What if I don't have the power to cast this?"

Marco suddenly burst into the room, holding a tray of gooey, cheesy nachos. Both Meteora and Mariposa were on his shoulders. "Who wants nachos?" he asked, presenting them to her.

Star frowned at him, lifting her head up to look at him. "I'm not hungry," she mumbled, gently pushing the tray away.

Meteora promptly clambered off Marco's shoulder and placed herself on Star's lap. "Stah ee!" she exclaimed, pointing to the tray. Mariposa merely giggled at her companion's antics.

Marco didn't even try to hide the triumphant smirk on his face. "I think Meteora wants you to eat as much as I do," he stated arrogantly.

Star rolled her eyes, but complied with their wishes, taking one of the cheese-covered chips and nibbling on it. "Didn't Janna hypnotize you to not like nachos?" she reminded him. That had promptly put an end to their weekly Nacho Night, much to her disappointment. Still, she hadn't pestered him on it. She still never ate broccoli or asparagus, despite her mother's constant pleas.

He shrugged. "I had her reverse it," he told her. "I got tired of being sick whenever I saw chips and cheese together."

She nodded, finishing her chip and reaching for another one. She had to admit; Marco's nachos were pretty freaking good. "She's changed," she commented nonchalantly.

Of course, she was referring to Janna. Seeing all their friends die had really changed her, as it would change anyone. But even before then, Star had noticed a shift in attitude from her usually laid back friend. No one had taken what she said seriously when she'd told them that she couldn't remember how she got to Mewni that day. They had figured that Janna had been playing her usual mind games.

But no, Janna had been deadly serious. And now, she was even more serious. And everything was a mess because Star had been the one to do that to her. If Janna had never met her, she wouldn't have had to go through that. She'd be perfectly content in her little bubble of ignorance.

It seemed like she tainted everyone around her. Marco, Janna- hell, even little Mariposa had been affected! Getting stuck in the Neverzone would never have happened had it not been for Star and her dysfunctional family.

It was moments like these when she pondered leaving the Diaz household and Echo Creek behind. Clearly, she was a danger to them all. She had gotten Marco kidnapped before, had caused damage around town, and had put innocent people in danger. Maybe it would be better if she took Meteora and left, finding them somewhere quiet to lay low and allow the baby to grow up safe and happy.

But then she reminded herself that that wouldn't work. Because she needed to go back. If she wanted everyone's sacrifice to mean something, she would have to try her hardest to take Mina and her mother down.

Marco nodded, setting the nachos down on her desk. "She has," he replied, settling on her bed. "I never thought I'd see the day when Janna was this upset about something. She's usually so..."

"Chill?" guessed Star. She began to absentmindedly stroke Meteora's hair, the purple tuft soft against her fingers.

"I was going to say undisturbed," he told her. "I guess we've all changed, though."

"Yeah, we have," she agreed. Though, she wasn't entirely sure if that was a good thing. She leaned down and kissed Meteora on the head. "Do you think it's a good idea? Leaving her with your parents while we go back to Mewni as Janna said?"

"Well, I know they'd be happy to take her," Marco responded. "They fawn over her every time she's here."

Star sighed. "But what if... we don't come back?" she asked. The possibility had been nagging at her ever since she had faced off against that first Solarian Warrior. All of their friends were dead. Who was to say that the same couldn't happen to them?

He got up and stood behind her chair, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Then we know that she'll grow up safe and happy," he assured her. "Just like Eclipsa and Globgor wanted."

She leaned into his embrace. "You're right," she said. "Then again, you usually are right."

Marco chuckled into her hair. "Glad you think so. Now, why don't we get ready? Janna's gonna be here and something tells me that she's gonna get straight to business."

"No Jannanigans this time," Star remarked.

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"So, first thing's first," announced Janna as she walked through the door. As predicted, she was wasting no time. Star hadn't expected her to and, for some reason, she was grateful for it. She and Marco had accepted that they were at a standstill, but she hadn't. No, Janna Ordonia wasn't going to mince words, she was going to avenge their fallen friends. "How are we getting to Mewni?"

"Well, we'll have to somehow get into contact with Hekapoo," Marco told them. "She managed all the portals. She'd be our best bet in getting off Earth and onto Mewni."

Star almost rolled her eyes. "Should be easy," she muttered sarcastically. If Hekapoo didn't want to be found, then she wasn't going to be found. It was that simple. "But I guess she is our only option. The Realm of Magic is... unstable at the moment."

She didn't remember everything that had happened, she but recalled bits and pieces. The tainted black, murky water. The monstrous- actually monstrous- black unicorn running around the place. Baby unicorns corrupted with its essence. They couldn't risk going back, not with the state it was in. Besides, they had all been taken to different places last time. They couldn't afford to be separated like that again.

"When we do get there, I think I can take Mina out," she continued. "If I use that spell that Eclipsa did on Mina, it should be able to break the resolve of the other Solarian Warriors."

Take down the leader and you've won half the war.

People often mistook her optimistic demeanor and outspoken friendliness for sheer ignorance and harmlessness. That was their first mistake. Because even though she preferred to be happy, she had been trained by the royal guards of Mewni themselves. She was a war strategist and a warrior- and she would do whatever it took to protect her kingdom.

Janna nodded her approval, but Marco still looked uncertain. "Star-"

Star held up a hand to stop him. "I know what I said before," she stated. "but things were different back then. I think... I think that Eclipsa was right. Sometimes, hard choices are necessary. That spell might be our only option."

He still seemed uncomfortable, but she could tell that she had his support.

Now, how to get in touch with Hekapoo...

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"I. KNOW. YOU. CAN. HEAR. ME. OPEN. UP!"

"I don't think that's working," Marco deadpanned from the other side of the room.

Star, who was in her Butterfly Form, glared at him. "Well, I'm out of options," she huffed. "You know her better than I do, you know that she'll keep hiding until it's safe to come out." She held her tongue, refraining from calling Hekapoo a coward. Star certainly thought she was, but she knew that Marco held her in high regard. She didn't want to upset him, especially at a time like this.

Marco glared back but didn't say anything else on the matter as he pulled out his own scissors. "Why don't you let me try?" he asked. He began to cut another portal when an orange one appeared in between them.

Hekapoo stepped out, an irate look on her face. "Alright, already!" she snapped at them. "You got my attention, now what do you want?"

Star stepped forward as she dropped her Butterfly Form, her back straight and her shoulders squared. "We want you to take us to Mewni," she commanded, her voice holding the strength and poise of a true queen.

But Hekapoo had never been one to shy away from Star Butterfly. "And why should I?" she retorted. "I already helped you, Star! Besides, you'll all just get yourselves killed, anyway."

Star's hands went to her hips, her eyes narrowed in haughtiness. "The reason you helped us, Hekapoo, wasn't for us," she grounded out. Her anger swelled inside her, her magic rolling off her in waves. She watched in satisfaction as the woman in front of her moved back. "You did it because you felt guilty. Because you knew you were wrong for helping Mina and my mom. Because you knew that you and the other Commission members only made a move against Eclipsa for your own validation."

Her words were harsh, yes, but she knew they were true. Besides, she had lost Eclipsa and all her other friends and had been betrayed by her own mother. Hekapoo could take a few mean words.

The Scissors Enforcer staggered a bit, her face flushed with embarrassment. But she crossed her arms and scoffed. "Ugh, fine!" She handed Star her scissors. "Take them. Just don't come crying back to me when Mina hands you your asses."

Star nodded. "Thank you." She might not have liked Hekapoo, but she would give gratitude when it was due.

Hekapoo rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She took out another pair and left, probably to go hide in the Neverzone or something. Honestly, she didn't really care.

All that mattered now was that they had a way back to Mewni.

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"Thank you for watching Meteora for me."

Angie smiled warmly at her. "Of course, sweetheart," she promised. "She's a joy to have around the house, we absolutely adore her. Besides, I don't think Mariposa would ever forgive us if we didn't." She took Star's cheek in her hand, gently caressing her cheek mark. "Now, come back soon, you hear? All of you. We want all of our kids back home, safe and sound."

Star nodded. "I'll get Marco and Janna home safe," she swore. And she would. Whatever happened to her, she would make sure that her friends got to go home. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to them.

The green-eyed woman frowned at her. "Star, I'm talking about you too," she explained. "Come home safe, alright? Promise me."

Star was sure that she couldn't promise this but nodded anyway. "Okay," she agreed.

Angie smiled and kissed her on the head. "Thank you," she said. And if you have a chance, try talking with your mother. Maybe you'll see things from her point of view."

Well, Star doubted that, but she would never say this to the woman in front of her. So, she merely nodded. "I'll try." She kissed Meteora on the cheek. "I love you, Meteora, okay?" Before her death, Eclipsa had been talking about making her the baby's godmother because of how fond the hybrid was of her. She loved Star, and Star most certainly loved her. "I... I'm going to try my best to come back to you, okay?" She didn't want the baby to lose another person in her life.

She pulled away to stand in front of the portal with Marco and Janna, who had both borrowed some of Star's spare armor and weapons from her closet. "Are we ready?" she asked them.

Janna nodded. "Always."

Marco mimicked her actions. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Then let's go." Without a moment of hesitation, they stepped through the portal.

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Like I said, I'm working on Hekapoo's redemption, but it will be a long road. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please review!