(Back where we left off)

Star and Marco dashed towards each other and clashed with a punch, with the clash causing the ground to shake and some rocks to briefly levitate as the duo exchanged glares. After a while, Marco flashed a smile before he teleported behind her and attacked, only to be blocked flawlessly by the girl.

With that done, Marco frowned and executed a rapid barrage of punches, all of which Star dodged or blocked with ease. Then, Marco started to slow down and switched between punching and kicking, sometimes stopping just before hitting Star and letting her block it. At first, Star was confused, but it didn't take her long to figure out why this happened:

He was holding back.

Noticing that, Star used some of her magic to push Marco away, which gave her enough time to think of something quickly. She then moved her scepter clockwise, aimed it directly at Marco and chanted:

"Ring of restraint!"

The scepter charged energy and Star shot it as Marco rushed towards her, hitting him effortlessly and briefly paralyzing the boy. Once the paralysis wore off, Star followed it by creating a golden ring around Marco and tighten it before he could fly away.

"Marco, I know you're in there!" Star stated as the boy struggled to free himself. "Ludo may have done something to turn you into this...thing, but I know you have enough strength to overcome it!"

Marco briefly looked shocked at hearing the girl say that, but his eyes glowed dark purple as he flashed a smirk and broke free from the ring. He dashed at the girl, created some golden...gauntlet-like things and used them to attack her, though she managed to block it with her scepter, and she charged and shot a fireball at him. While this did managed to send him away a bit, it barely even hurt him, and he simply dusted the remains of the fire away before he and Star exchanged stares.

"Don't let Ludo cloud your mind, Marco, you know this isn't the way you want to achieve your super form!" Star stated. "Making a deal with a walking frog-lizard isn't the right way to gain super powers!"

"Star, Star, Star, your empathy towards your friend is admirable, and laughable at the same time." Marco chuckled. "The Marco you speak about can't even hear you, he's locked deep inside his mind, unable to do anything but watch as I use this power to destroy you!"

The possessed teenager laughed like a maniac for several minutes, and once he ceased laughing, he saw Star confidently smiling and giggling. "No, the Marco I know isn't sitting still in the deepest part of his mind, he's fighting back Ludo's control, and once he returns, he will make sure that Ludo pays for this decision."

"Well, while we wait for his return, how about I give you a delicious beating?"

"No thanks, I already ate something terrible this morning."

"How dare you insult my kung food skills!"

With that said, the battle continued, once again with Marco and Star being pretty evenly matched.

(Inside Marco's head)

Meanwhile, Marco walked around the dark, desolated wasteland that was his mind. The skies were dark purple, the seas were magenta and hundreds of possessed animals ran around, ignoring the boy for some reason.

"Where am I?" Marco questioned. "And more importantly, how do I get out of here? I need to take control of my own body back and kick Ludo's ass!"

And with that said, a fiery explosion occurred behind Marco, which caught the teenager's attention. Once he turned around, he saw a hooded figure as tall as him, and with a grin as smug as Ludo's. The figure took out his hood...and revealed that he looked exactly like the possessed Marco, only with spikier hair and eyes similar to Ludo's.

"Who are you?!"

"I am you, silly." the figure answered. "Or, at the very least, a representation of what has become of you; An unrestrained monster who follows Ludo's order without question."

"Hmm...do you know how I can return back to normal." Marco asked.

Upon hearing that, the representation took a battle stance and grinned. "I suppose you're implying that I must beat you in order to get control of my body again?" the representation nodded once. "I don't know how that makes sense, but no matter!"

Marco and the representation rushed at each other, and they clashed with a single punch, which was soon followed by a fast barrage of punches and kicks, though Other Marco managed to catch Marco off-guard and strike him, sending him into a couple of trees.

(Back with Star and "Marco")

The girl hit the ground, leaving a huge crater. She managed to recover consciousness and roll away before Marco punched the ground, expanding the crater as he "glitched" and remained immobile for a moment, allowing Star to hit him as fast as she could with her scepter.

However, once "Marco" returned to normal, he grabbed the scepter and tried to hit Star, only for the girl to move too fast for him, even managing to get a few hits at him before taking back her scepter and hitting "Marco" with it.

(Back with Marco and Other Marco)

Other Marco managed to keep his ground and charged his arms with energy, which he shot at Marco. The boy managed to dodge most of them and be mildly hurt by the ones that did hit, and he punched and kicked Other Marco multiple times before uppercutting him.

(Back with Star and "Marco"...again)

"Marco" charged his hands and tried to shoot Star, but she managed to hit him before he could try it, and the two engaged in a locked barrage of punches as "Marco" got surrounded by purple electricity. After a while, the electricity "exploded" and sent Star a few feet away as "Marco" screamed in agony and started to twitch like mad.

Seeing she had a chance, Star aimed her hands directly at "Marco" and charged energy into a small sphere, which grew larger and larger as more energy was charged. Once she got enough, she got a better clear of "Marco" and got ready to shoot it.

"This will finish you off!"

However, just as she managed to shoot the ball, Star's transformation lost power and she reverted back to her base form, much to her horror. She exclaimed, "Oh no!", as she fell and hit the ground, though luckily Marco's possessed body failed to notice this. However, he quickly returned back to normal, saw the depowered Star and flashed a malicious smile as he went to the ground.

(Back with Marco and Other Marco...again.)

Other Marco landed near Marco and grabbed him by the neck, lifted him and charged his free hand with energy and turned it into a fist as he spoke.

"You don't understand the power you're facing, Ludo is far stronger than you think. Looking at what he's turned you into is enough proof, and with the last time he'll be able to use his scepter's true power, he'll get the wand and make the entire universe his plaything. Once I get rid of you, Star will be the next to die, and Ludo will conquer the universe without oposition. I bet you'd like to watch the events unfold, but you'll no longer exist by the time they happen."

The instant he heard the part about Star dying, Marco's eyes turned into fire and, just as Other Marco swung his fist, he managed to catch it and redirect it back at him. The punch was somehow strong enough to send him flying some feet away, though he managed to catch his balance soon enough to see Marco walk towards him.

Other Marco shot some energy balls at him, but he simply deflected them with little effort and rushed to Other Marco as he charged his fists with...fire energy?

"You have one thing right; "I" will cease to exist." Marco stated as he formed his hand into a punch. "The "I" who'll cease to exist, however, is you!"

And with that said, Other Marco watched in horror as Marco reached and punched him with the energy-fied fist. Though it didn't look like it did anything at first, Other Marco got a crack in his face, which quickly expanded as Other Marco backed away, noticed and started to panic.

(Back with Star and "Marco"...AGAIN)

Star watched in confusion as "Marco" grabbed his head and he started emitting light from his orifices, which expanded up until he was covered in light. The light then developed into a sphere, which didn't exist for long before it got a crack on it, which increased until it exploded, revealing Marco...in his super form.

He looked exactly the same, only his hair was spikier and was now golden, and his eyes turned green. "You're back." Star said with joy. "And you unlocked your super form as well."

"Yeah, and I got to admit it, this super form is pretty aweomse!" Marco enthusiastically remarked.

And, just as he scratched the back of his head and Star giggled a little, Marco felt someone approaching and looked around, much to the girl's confusion. "Hey, why do I feel...Lobster Claws?"

The duo heard someone running and turned around, ready to attack. However, they just saw Lobster Claws running to them, and they calmed down as the humanoid crustacean got to them and catched his breath before saying, "At last! I found you!"

"Why are you running around screaming?" Marco questioned. "It took us sometime to get you used to earth life, you know."

"Sorry, but I got dire news to give ya!" Lobster Claws answered while waving his arms, calming down a bit before adding, "Ludo is absorbing all of his current minions! He's planning to use the last amount of true power inside his scepter to power himself up so he can kill you both!"

"What?! How did he figure out so fast that I defeated my other self?"

"That doesn't matter!" Lobster Claws exclaimed. "You have to flee before he fully powers up!"

Hearing that, and then glancing at Marco, Star thought of a better idea. "That, or we could take him head-on and defeat him once and for all!"

Having clearly heard the girl's idea, Marco narrowed his eyes, smiled and nodded in approval. Lobster Claws, though a bit reluctant at first, also smiled and nodded in agreement as Star glanced at her wand.

"Time to end your reign, Ludo!"

(Meanwhile, at Ludo's Castle)

Ludo held his scepter high as it charged with energy into a miniature black hole-like portal and his minions gripped on various things at the throne room.

"Master Ludo, why are you doing this?!" Buff Frog shrieked.

"Emmitt failed, Marco failed, and I don't plan to waste anymore of my energy in making you stronger!" Ludo answered. "I can only use the true power of my scepter one more time, and I shall use it to get the job done and Star Butterfly killed!"

With that said, Buff Frog was finally absorbed into the scepter's orb, along with the rest of the panicking minions. Once that happened, the scepter stood still for a moment before unleashing some electricity and covering Ludo in it. The bird-like demon laughed like a maniac as he grew into a giant, a giant that was so gigantic the castle was unable to contain it, and he crashed through the ceiling as the transformation completed.

His muscles grew to the size of a bodybuilder's, and he felt an inmense increase in his power. His scepter also changed to gigantic proportions, and the head turned into a screaming skull with glowing red dots for eyes.

"It's been eons since I've felt like this!"

To Be Continued...in the next chapter.