Hi everyone! This is Mario and BFDI Bros back for my second full chapter! This one is based on School Spirit, but this time it's not Star causing all the problems. There's quite a few twists added to differentiate it from the original; you'll find it similar to my last chapter.


It was another boring math class with the newly trollified Miss Skullnick. On Star's right, Amalia was snoozing, her head on her desk. On her left, of course, Marco was as attentive as always, maybe even more so. That was how you knew the class was really boring.

Unfortunately, Star had too much energy to fall asleep like Amalia. She tapped her foot. She doodled all over her paper until there was no room left. Unbeknownst to her teacher, she magically changed some of the problems Miss Skullnick left on the board. "8 X 4 = 32" became "8 X 4 = -352." "5/2 = 2.5" became "5643/1649 = 74." "7 + 81 = 88" became "Unicorn + Warrior = Warnicorn."

The class started to laugh, and Miss Skullnick turned around, shouting, "What's so funny?" Then she turned back and saw what Star had done to the blackboard. Usually Star and Amalia could get away with things like that since there were two of them , so Miss Skullnick wouldn't know who to blame. But this time, she saw Amalia asleep and therefore knew who to blame. "Star Butterfly, this is your first and only warning before it's a trip to the principal's office!"

Star shuddered. She'd heard bad things about the fabled Principal's Office. "Yes, Miss Skullnick. I'll stop," she agreed.

As the minutes dragged on, Star became increasingly bored. Finally, she remembered a trick the girl named Janna had told her. She raised her hand. After a moment, she tried getting her teacher's attention by shouting, "Excuse me Miss Skullnick, could I ask you a question? Please? Miss Skullnick? Can I ask you a question?" Miss Skullnick slowly turned around, groaning. "What. Is. It."

"I was wondering if I could go to the bathroom?"

Her teacher let out a relieved sigh. "Thank the heavens. Please go."

"Thanks!" Star said, skipping out of the room.


It was about this time that Amalia was rudely awoken by an announcement over the intercom: "At this time, all classes please report to the football field for the assembly."

Amalia saw Star gone and leaned over to Marco. "What do I do?"

"Just ah… follow me."

"Okay."

As the class lined up at the door, Amalia made sure she was right behind Marco. She followed him out of the classroom, through a few hallways, and outside. She finally found herself in a sort of stadium. She took a seat on a bleacher the near the top, right next to Marco. She made sure to save a seat for Star. "What happened to Star?" she asked. "Is she coming?"

"She went to the bathroom," Marco replied, holding up both hands and bending then straightening his index and middle fingers in a strange gesture. (A/N: That's air quotes. :D) "She should be able to find her way here. Keep a look out for her, and we can wave her over."

"Okay. I'll watch."

But the girl soon got distracted by Principal Skeeves, who held a megaphone and announced, "I now present Brittney Wong, Head Cheerleader, a position that she definitely earned on her own and that her family's… generous donations had nothing to do with."

"Ah, a snobby, get-everything-I-want rich girl. Reminds me of Opaline," she said, her words laced with distaste.

Marco scratched his head. "I thought you two were friends at one point. Now you seem like nemeses. What happened?"

Amalia sighed. "I don't know, honestly. Opa's family was always wealthy, but she was just really cool about it. I mean, we're princesses; we know that we all have some money. But then, she just… changed." Her voice went down at the end as she shrugged.

"Yeah. People do that. I'm sorry you got the bad end of it."

Amalia laughed weakly. "Again, it's fine, really. It's how life goes. Like they always say, you can't spell 'friend' without an 'end.'"

Marco cocked his head. "No one says that here."

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, no one says that where I come from either."

There was an awkward pause.

"So what are we here for anyway?" Amalia said, quickly changing the subject and losing her previous contemplativeness, returning to her usual upbeat state.

"This is called a pep rally. It's supposed to get us… ah, excited for our match with the Warriors," he explained unenthusiastically.

"So you're not actually excited?"

"Well… not really. Those Warriors slaughter our guys every year."

Amalia jumped when she heard Mrs. Skullnick's voice next to her: "It'll be a bloodbath!" She munched on a whole chicken breast, picking the skeleton back out of her mouth afterward.

"They're really… gonna kill us?"

"Yep, they do it every year."

Amalia's shocked expression turned into a smirk. "I might be able to do something about that."

Marco shrugged. "Maybe you should try joining the Spirit Committee. Those kids are relentless."

A beat passed.

"Amalia?" Marco turned to Amalia, but all he saw was a portal closing behind her. "Oh."

Who knew where she'd gone? Most likely some sign-making dimension to go make a Go Opossums! sign. Funny how something so bizarre would be more likely than her taking a shortcut to the bathroom.

Now that he had nothing to do, he began to think about his conversation with Amalia. She seemed like a genuinely happy and optimistic girl, but she must've had a few ill experiences in friendship. She didn't trust it. For some reason Marco couldn't understand, he had this need to convince her to trust in friendships again. He would do it, whatever it took. As long as it didn't involve broken glass, jaywalking, fallen sewing needles, or anything else just as dangerous.

He turned back to the field when he heard Brittney announce the mascot, the Awesome Opossum and, instead of seeing the real opossum, saw a person dressed as one. "Let's go! Opossums, whoo! Whoo hoo!"

"Wait, what happened to the real opossum? Did he get stolen by the Warriors again?" he wondered aloud.

Alfonzo, on Marco's right, responded, "Sadly, the real opossum wasn't playing possum last week. There was a funeral for him the other day. Weren't you there?"

"I… um… might've been busy," he said, remembering that crazy day he'd had with Star, Amalia, and Pony Head. And the battle with Amalia and Star before that. He barely had time for anything he used to. But it was kind of a good thing. He really enjoyed being with both of those girls. But it was in a different way from being with Jackie. With Jackie he was nervous, timid, and jumpy. With Star and Amalia, he could just have fun and be himself.

The hood of the costume pulled down to reveal Ferguson. "Is that… Ferguson!?" Marco exclaimed.

"Yep," Alfonzo confirmed, "he's our new mascot."

"Oh no! Now they're going to steal Ferguson! We've gotta stop them!"

"Oh, yeah."

"We can recruit Star and Amal—just Star, I guess."

Alfonzo frowned. "Where is she? She's usually pretty… distinguishable."

"Right, she hasn't shown up since she went to the bathroom. She's probably lost."

Finally, the final bell rang signifying the end of the school day. Instead of everyone going home, a few left the school, some stayed in the bleachers, and some milled about the campus. Marco Diaz, on the other hand, was on a mission. He peered around a corner before quickly fattening himself back against the wall. "The hallway's clear. Move! Move! Move!" Marco rolled across the hallway, flattening himself against new wall. Looking back, he saw Alfonzo pushing Ferguson in full costume. He turned back around and ran smack into Star.

"Oh hey, Star."

"Hey Marco! Where were you?"

"Where were you?"

"Well, in my kingdom, when we have an assembly, the townspeople gather in the court area that looks like a throne room, but it didn't have a throne, so I made one! Unfortunately, no one came." Star pointed down the hallway that Marco and the others had just passed, which lead into the cafeteria, where Marco could spot a giant wooden throne at least ten feet tall. Star followed his gaze. "I figured the bigger, the better, right? Oh, hey Alfonzo! Hey Ferguson! Love that opossum outfit. Jealous!"

Ferguson grinned widely and pumped his fist. Marco just stared at Star in confusion. "So… anyway, our rival football team called the Warriors is after Ferg, so we're trying to keep him safe. Wanna help?"

"Oh cool! A Ferguson-protection mission! I'm totally in! Also, where's Amalia?"

"I don't know. She kind of dimension-jumped without explanation. She was just gone."

"Hmm," Star replied, "sometimes us dimension-hoppers do that real quickly. She didn't come right back?"

"Nope."

"Maybe she ran into trouble."

"Should we help her?"

"We wouldn't be able to find her."

"Right."

"If I know Amalia, which I do, she'll be fine. On the other hand, we're gonna need to protect Ferguson here from all the girls. Oh, and those Warrior guys. I say we start with a recon mission; see what we're up against. Do any of you know what weapons they'll be using? Just infantry, or will there be some cavalry? Oh, and what about artillery? We'll have to look out for that."

"Star, they're not actual warriors. That's just the name of their football team and school mascot. Just like we're not real opossums."

"Oh. That makes more sense. But how are they stealing Ferguson, then?"

Marco shrugged. "They're just normal kids like us. They'll probably just throw a sack over his head or something, then drag him off."

"Well, it won't be that easy!"

"Yeah!" shouted Ferguson. "Wait, why won't it be that easy?"

"Because we have something I like to call A Kitty-Cat Offense!"

"Wait, Star, do you even know what that me—"

Five orange cats appeared before them, purring and licking their paws. Then they scurried off in all different directions. "They're doing the recon for us!" Star explained excitedly

"How did you… do that?"

"I just made a few changes to the Cutie Kitten Clutter Cleaners spell."

No wonder she can clean her and Amalia's room so fast. Too bad she almost never cleans it, Marco thought.

The kittens returned one by one, purring to each other. Marco, Alfonzo, and Ferguson jumped as one spoke: "Hostiles detected near rooms 102 A, 118 A, 221 B, 312 D, and 407 E."

"Thank you cute little kittens!" She cut a portal, and the cats walked through.

"Where did they go?" asked Alfonzo in amazement.

"They're in the Cats with Human Faces Dimension. Those guys are really creepy, but the cats don't mind."

Alfonzo looked to Marco questioningly. Marco just shrugged, saying, "After a while you just get used to it."

"Team! Don't get distracted by their cuteness! We have a mission!"

"Right," said Marco, "where did those cats say those opossum-nappers are?"

"Hostiles detected near rooms 102 A, 118 A, 221 B, 312 D, and 407 E!" Star recited.

"Were in building A, first of all. And that room is…" He checked. "...110, which means that there's one down that hallway"—he pointed ahead of them and to the left—"and one down that one." He pointed at the hallway across from the first.

"So I'm assuming we run that way," Ferguson said rhetorically, pointing in the direction they'd come.

"Nope!" Star said, surprising them. "We need to run past them. If we leave something here, like a trail, they'll think we went the other way! And if I remember right, those doors at the end lead to the big space of those car things that's black with white lines."

"Yeah, a parking lot. And how did you come up with all this?"

"Battle Strategy," she sang in response, "I was babysat by the royal guards. That's where I got it from."

Marco had a disturbing thought of one of the guards mutilating a teddy bear and Star laughing and jumping in joy. "Wait, your parents, the queen and king, needed a babysitter? I know it's a lot of work, but if I remember you said the kings don't really do anything?"

Star shrugged. "Mom was always out doing queenly duties, and when she did, Dad usually felt like going hunting, so I that's how I ended up being babysat by the royal guards."

"Your dad hunted?"

Star laughed a bit. "Yeah, he's strange like that. Anyway, if we wait any longer, the plan won't work." She made a little puddle of paint on the floor. "Okay Ferguson, walk through that paint, going back the way you came." He did so, leaving opossum-prints on the floor.

"Wait," Marco started, "now when he walks the other way, they'll see exactly where he's going."

"Which is why we carry him!"

In theory, it was a good idea. In practice, it was quite an effort. The three of them tried to drag Ferguson along the ground, gaining only inches.

Finally, Ferguson provided, "Why don't I just take off my opossum feet? They aren't attached."

"That would've been useful earlier," Marco grumbled.

Ferguson took off the feet of his costume and ran with them in his hands. They all ran out the doors into the parking lot.


Meanwhile, the "hostiles" were scampering around and barking as Amalia tried to round them up. "Argh, this is what I get for letting Dog Dimension dogs run around without a leash. They're never well-trained." She ran around waving dog biscuits and shouting "Here, doggies! Have a treat!"

After a while, she had them all surrounding her as she held the treat high in the air. "Okay, okay I've got this. Battle Canine Training Spell!"

The dogs stopped yapping, instead taking up snarling threateningly at pieces of dust on the ground. "Great! Those Warriors won't know what hit them!"

After a pause, she thought of something. "Actually, these are just dogs, so they would know. Maybe I could try something…."


Out in the parking lot, Marco found a whistle on the ground and shoved it at Ferguson. "Here's your stranger-danger whistle. You need to blow it if anyone's trying to kidnap you. Here, try it to see if it works."

"No way, I'm not putting that in my mouth!"

"Do it!"

"Never!"

"Blow it!"

"That's disgusting!"

"Guys! Guys!" Star intervened. "Here's a completely new, un-dirty, unsuspicious, whistle." She waved her wand, and a sparkling red whistle appeared in her hand.

Ferguson glanced at it and back at the one Marco had picked up. "Sorry dude, but I like Star's whistle better. I'm still not gonna blow it, but I guess I'll hold onto it just to make you happy."

"Yay!" shouted Star.

"I am mentally scarred," said Alfonzo.

"Can I go home now?" begged Ferguson.

Marco ignored the first two remarks and answered the third: "Of course not! That's the first place they'll look for you."

"Aw, but it's Taco Wednesday! That's when we eat all the leftovers from Taco Wednesday."

Star immediately began pulling Marco in the opposite direction. "Taco Wednesday? We have to go! Come on, Marco, please, please, please?"

"Not to undermine your… ehm, questionable authority," Alfonzo interrupted, covering the word questionable with a cough, "but the Warriors couldn't possibly know who Ferguson is, much less where he lives."

Marco began to retort, but Star gave him puppy-dog eyes. "Fine," he relented, "but it is not my fault if you get taken. And if you do, make sure you—"

"Blow on that accursed whistle, I know," Ferguson finished. "Now let's have some reheated tacos!"

"Yeah!" chanted Star and Alfonzo.

"You three go ahead and get yourselves kidnapped, but I'm not going in there."

"Suit yourself," responded Alfonzo.

Star and Ferguson we're already inside. "Hey Mom," said the latter, "I have some friends for Taco Wednesday!"

"Oh, hello, Ferguson's friends!" said an overweight woman in a pink blouse and jeans. "You can call me Mrs. O'Durguson. Today's the big game, right? Oh Ferguson, I'm so proud that my little boy's going out as the mascot! I'm so excited for all you…"

The rest of her rambling was lost to Star as she noticed that Marco wasn't there. "Where's Marco?" she whispered to Alfonzo.

"Outside."

"Hm." She frowned, then excused herself from the table and walked outside. (Not that Mrs. O'Durguson noticed anyway.)

She found Marco sitting on the curb, watching his phone intently. She sat down next to him without him noticing. "Hey, whatcha doing?"

Marco jumped, quickly covering his phone, but not before Star saw his text to Amalia:

Me: Where are you? Can you meet me outside Ferguson's house?

Not read

Star looked at Marco with suspicion. "Were you trying to ditch us with Amalia again?"

Marco shook his head vigorously. "Um, I was just a little worried about her. I haven't seen her since she jumped through the portal."

"Right."

A car came toward them. In retrospect, they were a safe distance away, but Star, not entirely trusting of cars yet, zapped them somewhere else on instinct. They found themselves on a bench near the beach, not far from Ferguson's house. Without all the houses in the way, Star had a perfect view of the sunset over the water. Half the disc of the sun rested upon the rippling water. Bright oranges and deep reds fanned out from it on a canvas of purple and magenta masterfully swirled in with blue. The water reflected it, blending together all the colors on its surface like an artist's palette after the completion of a painting.

"Whoa," she breathed. "You know, Earth sunsets are so beautiful, don't you think?"

Marco nodded back thoughtfully. "Yeah, they are. What about the ones back on your dimension?"

"Those ones are pretty, too, but sometimes things are better when they're new and different. I've seen the Mewni sunsets my whole life, but these Earth ones I'd never seen before a few days ago. That makes it all the more awesome!"

Marco nodded thoughtfully again. "If you could go back to Mewni right now, would you, or would you stay here?"

"Of course I'd stay! This place is so cool and exciting! Mewni is just boring old Mewni. Also, two of my best friends are here."

Marco stared off into the sunset, watching as the sun slowly sunk into the horizon. Star followed his gaze, but once the sun had completely set, she looked back at her friend. "Are you all right?"

Marco snapped his gaze back to Star. "Yeah, I'm just… yeah." He sighed.

"You look like you need a hug." She wrapped her arms around Marco and brought him in for a hug.

Marco smiled into her shoulder, comforted. "Thank you, Star. That helped."

"That's what I'm here for."

They watched together as the colorful sky faded into inky blackness.


Her newly-remodeled dogs trailing behind her, Amalia snuck about the field, planting the explosives from the pile of them she was carrying. As soon as that was done, she looked back and surveyed the area. Something was missing. Some finishing touches.

Aha! A wyvern. A small one. That would be sure to rock those Warriors. The were Earth humans, after all. She jumped to Draclord.

As soon as her portal closed, she remembered that she wasn't exactly supposed to be in her home dimension. It was a good thing she'd picked a grassy hill somewhere instead. Actually, she wasn't quite sure where she was. Well, the one thing she did know she was in her realm, The Realm of the Blade. But was she? She had explored nearly every bit of her realm, but none of this looked familiar. There were hardly any trees, which seemed wrong, because most of the outskirts of The Blade Realm was dense forest area.

She turned and walked the other way until she crested the hill. Below her spread a kingdom: a pristine white castle studded with gemstones and larger than her own, a sprawling town of commoner houses, and several other identifiable buildings such as hospitals, schools, and training grounds.

She knew this kingdom the moment she saw the gemstones embedded in the white palace. Any Draconoid would; it was the kingdom of the Bijous, the Anahite Kingdom, largest kingdom in the Realm of the Spear. And the owner of that spear was Opaline "Opa" Bijou. Her former friend. Her nemesis, as Marco put it.

As she realized all of this, a plan started to form, and a devilish smirk overtook her face. Opa had a pet Wyvern, too, a baby Gold Rathian, a rare, fire-breathing wyvern, about four feet long. Exactly what she was looking for. She'd "borrow" it for a few hours then bring back. Opa might not even notice. Or she might. Either way, she'd never know it was Amalia, because she had the passcode to form a portal straight into the castle.

Of course, castles had security against opening portals into them to prevent unauthorized entrance. But back when Opa and she were friends, Opa had told her the passcode. The name of the first Queen of the Anahite Kingdom, and her age when she became queen.

"Sapphire38!" she shouted, then made a portal into her favorite hiding place when she and Opa used to play hide-and-seek (which was a very long game in a castle such as hers). She found herself crouched in a secret passage that had partially caved in long ago behind a tapestry in the throne room.

"Not as small as I used to be," Amalia grunted, worming her way toward the tapestry at the exit. Before pulling aside the tapestry, she listened for footfalls. Just as she determined the coast was clear, she heard heavy footsteps from her right. She waited until they receded, then quickly crawled out of the opening. Then she scampered over to the other side of the room on the balls of her feet, toward a cage with a yellow wyvern named Amber inside.

Amalia had never liked how Opaline kept Amber in a cage, but whenever she had tried to get Opa to let her be free, she and her parents had all agreed that she'd cause too much havoc if they let her loose.

Which was fine by Amalia. Havoc was just what she needed. She opened the cage, and Amber sprang out. She stepped through a portal, and the curious Rathian followed her through.


Marco checked his watch. "We should be getting back for the game now."

"Okay. Let's meet up with Ferguson and Alfonzo."

"Oh," Marco said, realizing something, "You never got to have tacos."

She shrugged in response. "There's always nachos."

Marco chuckled, opening the door of Ferguson's house. "Hey Marco! Hey Star!" he said from inside, still in full costume. "Too bad you missed all the tacos. But I saved two for you!"

"Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Star as she and Marco each took one.

Before either could take a bite, Marco wondered aloud, "Where's Alfonzo?"

"Oh he's in the bathroom," replied Ferguson.

On cue, Alfonzo walked out of the bathroom, his tan skin now a shade of green Marco had thought impossible. "Um, Alfonzo, are you all right?"

"I'm okay," he replied, "turns out Taco Wednesday is the leftovers from last week's Taco Tuesday."

"Two weeks, actually," Ferguson corrected.

Marco carefully put his taco down and motioned for Star to do the same. "Anyway… we should get going if we're going to make it to the game in time."

"Right…" Alfonzo said, gripping the table, "give me just a minute. You go on ahead and get Ferguson ready to do his mascot thing."

"Okay, see ya there!" said Star. The three left the house and started toward the school.

What they found on the field could only be described as chaos. Dogs with wings—yes, wings!—lurked among the sidelines, several explosive-looking objects were embedded in the turf, and what looked like a baby dragon—wyvern, that is—slinking around and snorting smoke at a anyone who came near it.

To top it off, Amalia stood in the endzone covered in bluish armor, which she later explained was reforged mythril, some sort of magic metal, and wielding her sword high in the air.

The crowd just sat there expectantly, probably thinking they were all part of some pre-game show. Marco knew better. "Oh no, this is bad, this is really bad." He started to shout "Amalia! Amalia!" But with all the commotion, Amalia couldn't hear him.

The referee, one Warrior, and one Opossum went out to the center of the field, miraculously not setting off any traps, bombs, or the like. "Warriors call heads!" the referee announced. He then flipped the coin. "Let's see, it seems to be h—"

Before he could give the result, an explosion blew all three of them backward. Where the coin had landed was now a charred hole in the grass where some sort of touch-sensitive explosive must have lain. The coin flew back up into the air, this time landing tails. The referee, startled, announced, "Tails it is." He consulted the Opossums representative. "The Opossums choose to receive." He then tiptoed off the field warily, luckily for him not setting off any traps.

The Warriors' kicker got ready for his kick. He took a few steps forward and swung his leg, but just before he made contact, a flying dog hit him straight in the face, causing him to miss the center of the football. It unceremoniously rolled five yards and stopped. More flying dogs battered the Warriors' offense. The wyvern also wanting in on the skirmish, singeing uniforms and climbing all over the players. Seeing an opportunity, the nearest Opossum sprinted for the ball and scooped it up. He weaved through the flying dogs and the distracted Warriors, running straight into the goal. The crowd erupted into huge applause and cheering. Marco couldn't help but grin widely.

While he was distracted, Ferguson had slipped away and was now behind the endzone, facing the crowd. "Let's go Opossums! Whoo!" he shouted. He turned and tripped over his own tail, but Star saved him from his embarrassment just in time, sending him floating through the air in a bubble. Ferguson went with it, shouting, "This is your mascot, the Awesome Opossum, with birds-eye-view coverage! Here comes the kick! Aaaand it's good!"

Marco and Star shared a look and grinned. "Now let's go ask Amalia what's going on," said the former.

The latter created a rainbow bridge over the entire field. "Let's go!"

They both raced over the bridge, coming to a stop next to Amalia. "Amalia! What's going on?"

"Oh," she said casually, just noticing them, "I was trying to turn the odds in our favor by rigging the battlefield. Like my winged dogs?"

"Amalia, that's cheating."

"There are no rules in war! We have to do whatever it takes to protect our people's lives!"

Marco let out a long moan. "This is not a war. No one is slaughtering anyone. Their team is just going to beat… er, win against us in football, which is a sport. A game. No one's lives are in danger here, except maybe Ferguson's—"

Star looked at him. "I think you can stop worrying about that."

Marco took a breath. "Right. But that spell you did, didn't it say there were kids coming after us?"

Star frowned and shook her head. "I was just having fun with it. The spell wasn't designed to seek out people coming after your opossum. I think the cats probably picked up Amailia's dogs running around and reported them as the hostiles."

"Yep," Amalia agreed, "cats will always think of dogs as hostiles, no matter what dimension you're in." The girls laughed.

Marco just looked back and forth between them in confusion. Then another thought struck him.

This was what he'd been mulling over earlier. Star and Amalia were completely new and different to him. Which was fine. They were really good friends. But recently he'd started getting this… fear, sort of, of "leaving his old world behind." He would have to pick, eventually, between staying on Earth and traveling the dimensions, being normal and being different, his old friends and his new ones. He had to pick whether to continue with his old life or jump into this new one. That was why he'd asked Star if she'd rather be on Mewni or Earth. Embracing this new path had seemed like an appealing option, but now with everything that just happened, he was reconsidering. Maybe they were too different. Marco knew nothing about magic, and the girls knew nothing about Earth. It screamed incompatibility.

But then again, if he never took the leap from where he was now, he would never tell Jackie about his crush on her. He would never get his red belt. Star was right. New things were so cool and exciting.

Maybe he should ask the girls what to do. That always seemed to help. "Have you ever been hit with something entirely new, all of a sudden, and you're kind of afraid to leave everything else behind? I kind of feel like that."

Amalia contemplated her answer. "You can't be afraid of change, because then you'll never get anywhere. But at the same time, maybe you don't have to let go of everything else just yet."

"Yeah. But do you ever think that maybe we're too… different from each other? Like I don't understand a bit of your magic stuff."

Star shrugged. "We'll have to get used to it, and a few bumps might come along the way, like what happened here, but honestly I think it's more funny than anything else! You don't have to worry about it like you always do, Safe Kid."

I almost got mad because she used that name, but she was right. He needed to worry less about things. And like Amalia said, he didn't need to choose now. But he did feel a sense of comfort and belonging around those two, even though he wasn't in tune with the same world of magic and wyvern and monsters they were in. Around them, it seemed like none of that mattered.

"Okay, let's get this fixed up, watch the game, and celebrate our first touchdown on a kickoff ever with some nachos!"

The two girls stared at him blindly. "Yeah, whatever that third thing is," said Amalia.

"You had me at 'nachos,'" said Star.

The rest of the game went scoreless, since they hadn't been able to remove the numerous traps and explosives, but the crowd had so much energy anyway because, for once, their team was winning. Marco, Star, and Amalia were just as excited. It was hard to describe, but there was a pervading feeling of energy and joy. That feel-good underdog moment. Everyone, even grumpy Brittney, had wide smiles plastered on their faces.

"Well… I never thought I'd say this, but… let's celebrate our victory!"

"A plate of nachos?" Star exclaimed with an excited glint in her eyes.

Marco smiled. "Better than a plate of nachos. Two plates of nachos!"


A portal opened up in Illya's room as she was getting ready for bed. Five flying dogs, a full suit of mythril armor, and an golden-colored Rathian tumbled out. It carried a note in its mouth.

"Dear my awesome sister Illya," she read, "I borrowed a few things… would you mind greatly if I asked you to return them? The Rathian belongs to Opaline—just don't let her see you. The armor goes in my closet, third from the right. I'm not sure what to do with the dogs, just try figuring something out. Thank so much! I owe you one! Your dear sister, Amalia."

Illya sighed, scooping up everything and slipping out the window. (She had asked for a ground-floor room specifically for that reason.) "The things I do for my older sister," she muttered, then disappeared into the night.


Looking forward to my next chapter with you (chapter 9)! Until then!