Marco emptied the boiling water into his water skins. He may be on a suicide mission, but he didn't need to come down with a case of Montezuma's Revenge.

"It's odd you only drink boiled water," BuffFrog said.

"On our world, we have to purify the water so parasite and bacteria don't infect us," Marco explained. Looking around the swampy forest, he was sure there was something nasty was waiting for him to ingest it.

"Ah, make sense. My grandmother once ate fish with parasite. Six weeks later, her belly burst opened and thousands of bugs covered the table." BuffFrog reminisce. "It was a great feast for our family."

"You… ate your grandmother?" Marco asked in horror. BuffFrog let out a chuckle.

"No… no… we ate the bugs. Grandmother still alive." BuffFrog said. His leaned close to Marco, showing his a rather scary face. "My grandmother… she never dies."

Marco didn't know how to take that and turned back to his pot of water.

"Marco…" BuffFrog whispered and pointed up. There was a flying eyeball with bat wings staring at them.

"Toffee watches us." He whispered.

Marco pulled a dagger from behind his cloak and threw it at the eyeball. It dodged the attack, but its wing was nicked, causing it to careen into the ground.

"Marco…" BuffFrog said with a pleading warning.

"He knows we're coming for him now, There's no turning back," Marco said, recovering the eyeball. He looked dead into its center.

"You hear me Toffee? I'm coming for you! I'll make you pay for everything you did!" Marco screamed and threw the eye on the ground. It flopped helplessly and let out a squeal as Marco's foot crushed it.

BuffFrog looked away with a solemn gaze.

"Eyebat was longtime friend." He said. "I will miss him."

Marco stopped twisting his foot and turned to BuffFrog.

"I… I'm sorry. I assumed it was just a projection or something." Marco said, regretting killing the creature.

"Was his birthday next week," he said, picking up his friend and moved to the treeline. He turned his head to look back at him. "You assume many things Marco, this war… this will happen, but… losing good friend still hurts."

Marco watched BuffFrog fade into the forest to bury his friend. Marco shook off his guilt and continued with his water replenishment task.

OoOoO

Star, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, King and Queen Butterfly sat in one of the meeting room with a newly conscious Ludo. Star looked around for Glossaryck all day, but he couldn't be found. Jackie was in her assigned room with guards outside, and Tom agreed to keep her company.

She didn't want to even think about Tom right now and the whole mess she'd made with that. Jackie was slightly apprehensive to have him hang out, but if Toffee tried another attack, she would be the most likely target, and Tom was best suited to handle something like that.

At least… the best chance of surviving.

"Are those two insane?" Ludo screeched once he was apprised of the situation.

Mrs. Diaz cried into the barrel chest of her husband. Star's parents regarded the others with a look of grave concern.

"What are we going to do?" Star asked.

"As much as I regret to say it… we should assemble the guards." King Butterfly suggested. "I'll send the word out to the other kingdoms. We'll need to assault Ludo's Castle as soon as we can.

"I'll send word to the Magic High Commission," Queen Butterfly said. "We'll need all the firepower we can get."

"I'll help," Ludo said, standing up on the table. Everyone glared at him. He cleared his throat and stood up as regally as he could. "I still have monster contacts who didn't join me or Toffee. I'm sure I can convince them to join us."

"I can call Princess Ponyhead and see if she can get her family help too," Star suggested. She thought of her other friends, but none really had the fighting power they need, and she didn't want to put them in danger.

"It's a five-day trek through the forest to get to Ludo's Castle." King Butterfly said. "We all know how sturdy Marco is, but I worry he won't survive that trip. Even in my prime… I'd have difficulty."

"He'll be fine," Ludo said with a grin. "BuffFrog is with him, and if anyone can get him there in one piece, it'll be him."

Ludo thought for a moment.

"Well… I can't really tell if that's good or bad… what's better? Dying horribly in the forest, or dying horribly by Toffee's hand?"

"No matter what," Star interrupted. "We need to move now. He's got a three days lead on us. Why can't I just scissor us to the castle and meet him there?"

"Ah..haha" Ludo chuckled. "That'd be my fault."

Star looked at the green chicken creature with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, only my scissors would let us in there. I've set up various portal traps that redirects anyone attempting to breach my borders into the bottom of a lava lake." Ludo chuckled.

"How can he do that?" Star shouted. "Mom! How can he do that?"

Queen Butterfly shrugged.

"I'll talk to Hekapoo when she gets here… see if she can figure that out."

Heckapoo is a being on the magic high council and the creator of the Interdimensional Scissors. Everyone who has a pair has met her and passed her test. Each set of scissors is designed for the owner specifically. She's a rather aloof person, but Star liked her when she met her.

"I suggest we start getting our forces together," King Butterfly said. "If Hekapoo can fix whatever Ludo's done around his castle, then we can portal there quickly, otherwise it's going to be a long and treacherous march."

"We'll get Marco back." Queen Butterfly said, reassuringly. Her expression didn't quite seem to match her confident tone.

OoOoO

Toffee watched his screen black out when Marco's foot crushed his spy. The other monsters around him seemed upset over the loss of their spy. He didn't understand why the loss of such an insignificant being was affecting morale, but it didn't matter.

Marco was coming… alone.

He grinned in delight.

He knew that the boy was going to be useful.

Even though BuffFrog survived his attack, it was inconsequential. The creature served his use. Ludo surely had succumbed to the poison, even if he didn't, It really didn't matter. Those pieces were off the board.

He has the wand. The Butterfly Army was on their way. He was sure the Magic High Commission was going to be there, along with a force from the underworld and whatever other Mewmans who were stupid enough to join them.

What was the earth term he heard?

Fish in a barrel.

He flexed his right hand, staring at his missing middle finger. Turning his gaze to the right, he smiled at the pedestal that held the wand and toasted his glass to it.

To his future rule… and revenge on Queen Butterfly

OoOoO

Jackie set down her cards with a grin.

"Full house! Aces over sevens!" she declared.

Tom grunted and threw his cards down.

"Sorry that you got stuck babysitting," Jackie said.

"Nah, it's not a problem. I get why they asked." Tom said as he shuffled the cards. Jackie piled up the poker chips on her side and took the cards as he dealt them. "If Toffee used Star's wand to control you again..."

"Yeah I'd get all possessed and my head will spin around like a pea soup sprinkler." Jackie laughed. She was terrified by the idea, but she was trying to put her situation in a better light.

"The castle is really well protected. The only reason Toffee kept control was because Marco brought you in." Tom explained. "But, I don't know much about this guy. Queen Butterfly said he's a real mastermind type… and he thinks like ten moves ahead."

Jackie passed two cards and looked at her hand. It was three of a kind. Not that strong, but from Tom's bewildered expression, she could make it work.

She added to the pot and gave him a wink.

"I get the rules to the game, but why do you keep on winning?" He said as he fumbled his cards around. He matched her bet.

"It's more about reading people," Jackie said and added more chips. "And taking risks."

Tom matched her bet and chuckled.

"You sound like Star," he said. Jackie grinned and added more to the pile. Tom raised an eyebrow at her.

"She never really talked much about your history…" Jackie said, adding another few to the pot. Tom seemed visibly agitated with the large pile of chips that had accrued. He changed his hand around a few times before matching.

"Honestly there's not much to talk about. Ponyhead, Star and I were friends since kids. We dated for about a year, that felt like a lifetime ago but was only a few years ago. She was crazy, I was hot-tempered, Ponyhead… well, she hasn't changed much." Tom laughed. "I feel so stupid how I was used in all this, too. Honestly, part of this is my fault… I just, once I found out who Toffee really was, I couldn't bring myself to really say much about it."

"Oh?" Jackie said, adding more to the pile. "Do tell?"

Tom chuckled and matched her bet.

"I can see what you're trying to do," Tom said. "When I met back up with Star, I was trying to fix my anger."

Jackie quietly listened. It seemed important, so she didn't want to instigate another bet just yet.

"I used to have a counselor who would help me out. I thought if I fix myself for Star, she'd take me back." Tom said. "It didn't help much, because I realized I was doing it for her… not for me."

"I see," Jackie said. "Self-reflection can be good."

"So, I found Toffee." He said, ashamed. "My counselor told me he couldn't do much for me and gave me his contact information."

"So… this evil mastermind… became your therapist?" Jackie said in shock. "Wow… that's a lot to take in."

"I know… I mean, he helped a lot with things. Aspects of myself I didn't want to acknowledge." Tom said, setting down his cards. "He helped me talk to Star and get close to her. Showed me how you can plant little seeds, and if you tend them gently, they will be able to grow into something powerful."

Jackie leaned back and put her feet on the table.

"Yea, I guess I can see that," Jackie said. "I mean, Marco's been trying to plant his seed in me since kindergarten… wait… that sounded really bad."

Jackie and Tom both erupted in laughter. They stopped for a moment and smiled at each other. She felt slightly guilty knowing what was going to happen to Tom once things settle down. He seemed like a really good guy.

"Are you worried about Marco?" Tom asked. He must have seen her worry and assumed it was about him.

"Yeah." She said, throwing another chip in. "Are you?"

Tom matched her bet and nodded.

"All right, I call," Jackie said and showed her three of a kind.

Tom grinned devilishly and showed a straight flush.

"What?" Jackie said astonished. "How?"

Tom whipped his hair back in a cool manner and threw on his shades.

"Well… you are playing cards with a devil." He grinned and took his winnings.

"Oh give me a break!" Jackie exclaimed with a chuckle. "And give me those!"

She snatched the sunglasses off Tom and put them on herself.

"Ohhh, I'm a devil" She mocked him.

"Hey! I don't sound like that!" He protested and tried to snatch the glasses back.

"Oh, you so totally do!"

OoOoO

Star sat in another meeting room on the other side of the castle. She wondered how many of these rooms there were, and why her ancestors decided to scatter them all over the place. Why not just make a 'meeting room wing' or tower or something.

She sat next to her mother and stared at the Magical High Commission members. She had met and even grew up with some of them.

Lekmet: the bipedal goat with bat wings who could only communicate with goat noises.

Rhombulus: A large man who wears fur underwear and a cape, with snakes for arms crystal nipples and a massive rhombus shaped crystal for a head with one eye floating inside. He seemed to be the only one who could understand Lekmet's bleats.

Omnitraxus Prime: A small floating orb with stars and galaxies swirling about inside the glass, a skull suspended in the center.

Two other chairs sat empty.

"Blaat," Lekmet replied.

"He wants to know where Glossaryck is." Rhombulus translated.

Queen Butterfly shrugged.

"Uhhhg," Rhombulus grunted. "He's always like that!"

"Where the heck is Heckapoo?" Omitraxus inquired with a small giggle at his pun.

A portal was sheared open near the door and in stepped Hekapoo

She wore a black and yellow dress. Spikes came out from the elbows of her long sleeves, flame red hair, and a golden crown with a flame on it.

"We don't need that dingbat anyway," she said with a scoff and took her seat. "Let's get this over with."

Star watched as her mother went over the events that had taken place. Once she was finished, the Magic High Commission all stared at her, mouth agape.

"That Septarian is still alive?" Hekapoo replied. "I thought we took care of him years ago!

"I'll crystalize him this time," Rhombulus said, waving his snake arms around.

"You know that won't work" Omitraxus replied. "He can absorb magic."

"I know this is a dire event… but," Queen Butterfly stammered. "I think Marco needs to be the priority. We need to stop him before he gets to the castle and attempts to take Toffee on by himself."

Queen Butterfly looked to Hekapoo.

"What? Why are you looking at me?" She asked. Queen Butterfly pulled out a birdcage with Ludo inside. "What… is that gross chicken looking thing?"

"It's Ludo, the original owner of the castle. He did something to prevent any magic teleportation to his borders. It's a two-day march from any point we can teleport." Queen Butterfly said. Hekapoo gave the chicken a weird look.

"I don't remember giving you any scissors." She said suspiciously.

"Well… I inherited them… from my great uncle's sister's cousin." he said with a nervous chuckle. She glowered at him and grunted.

"What… exactly did you do to block portals for that big of a distance?" she growled.

"Well, you know how portals have a radius. They can't be more than so much apart or they won't work?" he chuckled and fidgeted his fingers. "I found out you can connect portals to each other if you overlap them."

"YOU DID WHAT?" Hekapoo shouted.

"It took me years, but I linked the boundaries of my kingdom with portals from the scissors. They're not active and open since they're weaved together like a web." He chuckled, showing some pride in his ingenuity. "There's only one spot that's safe to go through, and my scissors are the only pair that is programmed with it."

"And… if I were to go there right now?" Hekapoo asked while brandishing her scissors.

"One of two things," Ludo said nervously. "This room fills with lava… or you'll be swimming in it."

"Do you know the spatial coordinate for your hole?" Hekapoo said while glaring at the tiny birdman.

"No… It's programmed into the scissors," he said with a whimper. Hekapoo grumbled to herself, slashed a hole in space-time and left. A few moments later she came back with a massive book and slammed it in front of Ludo.

"What one is it?" she roared. Ludo looked up at her and down to the massive book. He gingerly reached out of his cage and opened it to the first page.

"No… that's not it," he said and turned the page. "Not this one either."

"This is going to take forever." Omnitraxus bemoaned.

"Yeaj… this is volume one of three thousand. I can't fix what he did unless I know what pair of scissors his 'ancestor' bequeathed him." she said.

"Blaat." Lekmet said

"He asked; doesn't your dimension's time run differently? Like… 12 days per second?"

Hekapoo glared at the goat. Grabbed Ludo's cage and stormed off through her portal.

"Is Ludo going to be okay?" Star asked her mom. She shrugged.

An hour almost passed. Star was getting worried. The portal tore open again and the birdcage was thrown back through as Hekapoo stepped back.

"Mom… how long…?" Star was about to ask.

"A hundred and twenty years.. Give or take."

"Can Ludos live that long?" She asked, looking into the motionless figure in the cage.

"He's fine. I had to regenerate him a few times over the years." She said. "We went through all my scissors… twice."

"Snip… snip… snip..." Ludo said from the bars. "They all go snip."

"The whole trip was a waste of time. His junking up the system like that, I can't access the history of them from my main book. It's going to take weeks to clean up his mess manually." She groaned.

"Umm, Hekapoo?" Star asked, raising her hand. Everyone looked at her. She loved being the center of attention, but not the center of their attention. "From what I understood, it's like a big web or net right? Can't you focus on one part of it, and open it up enough to let us in? If it's around the borders, we can port there… walk through… and port to the castle?"

Everyone turned to Hekapoo. She closed her eyes for a moment as if mulling something over.

"Yeah… that could work. If the donk head here only did this to the borders, then inside should be fine. We just can't emergency teleport out of there until I get the original scissors back." She said and tossed a tiny fireball at his cage. He let out a small squeak and scooted back. "Yeah… that got boring after the first ten years."

"I'll go and let everyone know what the plan is and ready everyone for the first transport." Queen Butterfly said and stood up. Everyone else agreed and left the meeting room. Star looked over at Ludo's cage when she was halfway out of the room. She looked up at her mom who rolled her eyes and sighed.

She gave her mom a hug and ran over to Ludo's cage, grabbed it and followed along behind her. She hoped that she would be a strong and powerful ruler like her someday.