I forgot to do the review responses last chapter, so I will do them all now:

Chapter 10:

Guest Sorta - That was the idea!

Angel Star Ninja - You know that is so true? Every fanfiction involves someone dying. Though, there is a good reason for that: in the things we like, the shows and such, they're never going to ax the main characters, but doing that is a great source of drama. Heck, just take Star vs. for example. Think about how much Marco means to Star, and Star means to him. If something happened to either of them, their worlds will fall apart. It pretty much writes itself.

Guest1 - You were on the right track, friend. There is more to these dreams than meets the eye, though.

Guest2 - Um, I'm not sure what you're saying! I guess you like how violent it got? Well, I'm glad if that's the case.

Tiberius F. Torquils - Glad you liked it! Some people just don't like graphic violence, and I know young people read this story so I didn't want to make anyone too uncomfortable. I wanted to keep the violence "tasteful" (as much as it could be anyway).

Chapter 11:

Guest Sorta - Happy to hear it was an effective scene!

Guest - Yes, in this context Janna was "gone" as well. Once again, you are on the right track in regards to Star's reply to Ludo. However, this chapter will plunge a little deeper into this rabbit hole. I think you'll like it!

Marcorn Diaz - Then prepare to be not-pissed. Glad you enjoyed it!

denecity - I was waiting until the end of this chapter anyway (you will see it) but yes, you're correct. Zehntacle's fic "Personal Touches" was the first Star vs. fanfic I remember reading, and this sequence was paying a bit of an homage to it with its message and imagery. I even originally had Lobster Claws kill Jackie in a similar way as he did to Janna, but the resemblance felt too mirrored, and so I changed it to what we have now.

Payne621 - Glad you enjoy! And now, the rating is something I myself have been wondering about. I thought if I didn't make it too violent, it could maintain the rating of "K+". However, not only has it reached the point where it should be "T," but also the themes in this story I don't think is suitable for what is rated as an all-ages story. Therefore, as of this chapter, this fic is now rated "T."

shouldercookie - The fact that you went out of your way to type that shows how much of an impact last chapter had. At least, that's what I tell myself.

Here's the last part of Chapter 7.


...Bmp-BMP...

"M-wcw!"

Bmp-BMP...

Marco willed himself to do something, but found that he couldn't.

Bmp... "-a-co!" ...BMP...

He couldn't feel much of anything - even if he still had the ability to breathe, to feel, speak.

"M-rc-!" Bmp-BMP...

Was he already dead, too?

"SOMEBODY SHUT THE BOY UP!"

...Bmp-BMP...

Something cracked him in the jaw, but Marco didn't feel it. The scratchy-feeling in his throat died into a dull ache, though.

"-awko -m so swrwy!"

His eyes still pointed at Jackie, but he wasn't looking at her, or much of anything really.

"MZRCW!"

He wasn't sure what he was seeing, and what he was hearing was a garbled mess that sounded like Star's voice.

"Don't hurt him, Ludo! PLEASE!"

She was hysterical.

Marco instinctively focused on her, where wet-warmth coated his face, a coppery smell stung his nose, and Star was screaming mercy in his name.

"And now we've got Karate Boy," Ludo announced, out of sight. Then he stepped into view, hands folded behind his back and looking at the princess. "You have the power to save him, Star Butterfly, lest he suffers a fate worse than that of his little girlfriend." Ludo hummed for a moment. He was suddenly snickering. "Three-Eyed Potato Baby's been pestering me for a new chew toy as of late!" he cackled. "I suppose he deserves a reward for all he's done today, wouldn't you agree?"

"Shut your mouth!" bellowed Star. Ludo squeezed himself as he tittered, clearly getting the warm fuzzies from all this terror and tragedy.

Marco blinked.

He knew that he should be terrified beyond measure right now, that his survival instinct should kick in and he himself start kicking whoever was currently pinning him. But Marco heard Ludo's words, he knew what they meant.

And that was all. There was nothing else he could really do.

His friends were all hurt, or worse. The Grim Reaper had its scythe pressed to his throat right now. Star was about to be alone, for she would never give her wand to Ludo. Only he himself was to blame for that, if he just didn't snap and try to save Jackie...

Oh, Jackie... I'm so, so sorry...

Jackie... she was...

Marco blinked, for the first time actually noticing Ludo before him, alive as ever, himself empty as before. Looking at Star, he too felt nothing. His eyes stilled over Jackie's body, her essence beginning to pool beneath his chin, hoodie, and staining his clothes... and he felt nothing.

Because somewhere inside, Marco was aware of this crushing reality; that even his friendship with Star was microscopic in the grand scope of the universe. He saw the cold ferocity in Star's eyes when she denied the brat his victory, even when Jackie's life was threatened, even after all their classmates had been met with similar fates.

No.

Star would never let Ludo win; she wouldn't let their friends' sacrifices be in vain.

And Marco, at the very least, felt at peace with that.

If this was to be his last feeling before... before the end, Marco figured there were probably worse ways to go out. He could go out terrified and screaming.

So he closed his eyes - it would be a lot less scary if he didn't see it coming.

"Then take it."

Marco popped his eyes open, hearing what sounded a lot like Star.

"...Just please... please don't hurt him."

He beheld Star handing Ludo her wand, trembling, her eyes damp and red. Ludo held himself just as well, except the manic grin he wore told of a different story. His sigh was of immense satisfaction once he felt his clawed, chafed hands gripping the hilt of Star's wand at long last.

"Finally," was all he said, smiling. His finger ran the missing portion of the wand, like a teasing lover.

"...Now let Marco go." Star used a tone familiar as the command she just gave.

Ludo's eyes glowered. "In a minute."

"NOW!" Star advanced a step.

She only got as far before her wand was pointed at her. "I said... in a minute." Star had to oblige, but she sent him a murderous glare Marco never thought he would see on his best friend's face.

Best friend... The phrase echoed hollowly in Marco's own ears, and some semblance of feeling returned, a stirring within.

It felt wrong though, recalling that title bestowed upon Star, yet he didn't know why.

"It's sad, isn't it?" Ludo was speaking again. The boy pinned to the ground beside him had no other choice except to listen, but he didn't realize it was he being spoken to until Ludo turned in his direction.

He spoke while still tracing the wand's cleaved half, never tearing his eyes away. "When you think you know someone you've grown so fond of, that you thought you knew, until you realize she's just as awful as you always feared... How long are you willing to wait, Karate Boy? Until something like this happens? Or worse?"

"Ludo, what are you telling him?" Star held a fist over her heart, and though Marco saw the fierceness in her gaze, he'd known her enough (or, as Ludo put it, thought he did) to sense the hurt that lied beyond, the fear that gripped her.

But Marco knew, deep inside, the cause of it all, and it wasn't because she just relinquished the most powerful artifact in the universe to a bloodthirsty brat half her height.

Marco knew what she was afraid of, and he didn't know what, but he felt a burning in his throat, a burn that made him want to scream, to howl at this awful girl until his lungs burnt to crisps.

But he didn't want to interrupt Ludo. Especially when he said to her, "Just that there is another path for him which doesn't include you."

That sounded appealing. Why, though, was a mystery to Marco.

But it definitely felt right.

He watched Ludo finally wrench his gaze away from the wand to look him in the eye. His crooked sneer was present as ever, but Marco sensed it given a weight and intention in its expression so unlike the monster they've fought time and again. Ludo held this air about him as he reached behind his back, and presented this "path" to Marco Diaz.

It was a key. Blood-red, with a head in the guise of a heart.

And Marco spoke his first words since he saw Jackie die:

"What do I do with it?"

Ludo absorbed his question, and grunted with contentment. "You will know," he said, before holding out the key, "because your heart will cry out when you do. It is your deepest desire, even if you don't realize it yet."

"How do you know my heart's desire?" Marco asked. "I don't even..." The thought went unfinished.

Ludo understood, however; he snickered, and for an instant his voice was quite sinister; clear and strong, not at all like the whiny, throaty noises the bird-like creature made when he usually spoke: "I know a lot about you, Marco," he said simply.

Ludo's typical demeanor returned as he concluded, gesturing with the key, "Only you have the power to make this happen! Your fate is in your hands."

That sounded like a good thing, and it was the first to feel truly right.

"Marco, please don't leave me..." This whole time, Star was hugging herself, weeping and watching, and Marco didn't even know. Her pleas went unrequited as he reached for the key.

His fingers stopped just short of touching it, when a familiar cry shuddered over Echo Creek High:

"DAGGER CRYSTAL HEART ATTACK!"

Everybody froze.

There was a beat before the world filled with a downpour of whistling red arrows.

With wide, stricken eyes, Marco watched the monsters suddenly erupt into movement, crying out in unholy roars as the storm fell upon them. Some tried protecting their heads, only for a heart-shaped dagger to pierce their palms and pin them to their skulls. Several bumped into one another and tumbled, falling in a tangle of limbs, whines, and piercings.

Before him, Ludo danced about, batting blindly with his newly acquired wand and screaming incomprehensibly over the sharp twang of dagger-hearts on concrete. Marco was given a start when Three-Eyed Potato Baby had suddenly thrown himself over his master. He grunted every time his hide was penetrated, until seconds passed and the attack was over as quick as it began.

Three-Eyed Potato Baby was more pin-cushion than monster, sporting at least two dozen daggers before his entire form collapsed into a cloud of thick, shadowy smoke. The master he left behind was enveloped, but his limbs could be seen flailing about, and the brat was screeching for his minions to protect him.

Marco would have taken the opportunity to retreat, had the thought occurred to him.

He noticed relief fill Ludo's face when, as the shadows started to dissipate, his hand was finally grasped. "Oh! Finally," he breathed, "took you dipsticks long..."

His eyes trailed up the arm.

Met her fierce, frigid gaze.

And the wand clutched in her hand.

"...enough." Ludo's crooked beak started trembling. At first, Marco assumed tears - he would too if in his position - until Ludo bellowed savagely, "YOU AGAIN?!"

A cry of pain tore from his throat when Star Butterfly merely squeezed his hand.

"You should have stayed in the void, Ludo. RAINBOW FIST PUNCH!" Small boulders and dust burst from the ground upon impact. Ludo's hand, twisted and bruised, clawed still at the heavens, frozen with the occasional twitch and a whimper.

Star grasped it once more. "That would have been a lot nicer." She swung the little monster's body up over her head, debris flecking off him as Ludo arced through the air, and Star slammed him so hard he cracked the concrete beneath him.

Ludo whimpered pathetically, unable to writhe in his broken body. "I'm not fighting!" he moaned, shakily. "You never hurt me if I'm not fighting!"

Star had yet to let go of his hand. "Yeah, well, you lost that privilege." She tossed him up into the air, screaming, and before he came back down she twirled her wand in one hand, "Glowworm Blast!"

The force of the spell-cast sent Ludo flying into another lecture building. Marco had half a second to even glimpse at the glowing critter stuck to his chest before he was out of sight. There was a beat before emerald-green fire burst from the hole in the wall and the whole thing was vaporized, and he felt a shivering sensation beneath his palms and knees.

His eyes snapped back to Star, bleary from shock - a disproportionate word to describe what he was currently feeling, but the first to come to mind.

She had a wand, the same that Ludo clutched so desperately before he was blown out of existence. Yet this wasn't the strangest thing Marco noticed about her, but rather the way she dressed.

Star always adopted a unique sense of fashion, but Marco had never seen her leave the house with just her nightie and socks on. Although she was without her sleeping mask, and her hair combed and groomed in typical thick, flowing sheets. So she hasn't just woken up, although Marco could tell that with just a glance to her eyes.

The defeat that clouded them before, it was as if it never existed within her at all. They were smoldering, like frostbite they were so sharp and blue - it was a focus Marco had never seen his best friend exude before, except for one other time, when she rescue him from Toffee's clutches.

They were the eyes of Mewni's heir, and when they met with his own, burned with a newfound fury. Marco wished he had the voice to speak, but she broke away before he could.

"Wooow, wow-wow, you put a-lot of work into this one!" she remarked, glancing from the demolished campus, to Jackie's body, and to the monsters picking themselves up, none of whom seemed to care of the princess's presence. Her voice was cheery and mischievous as earlier today, and it definitely sent Marco reeling.

Was this an alternate Star Butterfly? Or someone else entirely?

Star tapped her wand against her cheek, commentating as one would on a new house. "Horror and bloodshed? You're really getting desperate now. I mean, Ah geddit! Scarier the better and all that; heck, I know your game and still this is pretty creepy to me. Some weirdy-weird details, though. I don't get a lot of them. Like this guy!"

She hopped in front of the Giraffe-man's torso, who was busy yanking dagger-hearts out of his burly figure. They left behind inky-black scars.

"What the heck happened to this guy's head?!" Star gestured to his stump of a neck. "How did he lose it? 'Cause I didn't do it! And you!"

The largest monster, crocodilian Man-Arm, pointed to himself with his remaining, humanlike appendage. "Me?" he uttered dumbly in an unholy tongue.

"Yeah, you!" Star waggled her wand at him. "What happened to your other arm? Didja lose it after being blown into smithereens, I wonder? Hmmm~?" She leaned in, smiling knowingly.

Marco couldn't help but wonder what she knew, though.

Man-Arm's eyes were featureless as the rest, but an observant audience would notice them sliding from to the left, then right. "Uh..."

Star moved on before he could finish. She struck her thinking pose before Big Chicken, where she chewed on her index finger while inspecting the charred beast like he were an actual piece of meat. "I mean, I guess I get this one." She didn't sound so sure, however. "Fried chicken, and all that. A good joke! But there's still this," she gestured vaguely with her wand, "this 'problem area' right here."

"Uh, wha' 'ro'lem?"

Star did a double-take at jawless Bearicorn. She blinked, adjusting to the sight. "Oh!" she said cheerfully. "The whole 'still having a body to even reanimate' problem. No bigs!" Star shook her head, chuckling. "Silly, silly skull-demon, I swear."

"Yeah." Bearicorn laughed, his tongue flapping obscenely as he did; Star giggled at it.

All the while Marco laid on the pavement, his mind screaming to itself, What the heck is going on!? Yet confusion along with the fear of breaking this awkward tranquility kept his belly pressed against the pavement.

Star paced back and forth before the group of monsters, all of whom were now eyeing her, looking about as lost as Marco felt.

Her eyes fixed on each of their injuries, and she was murmuring to herself until she asked aloud, "How'd you guys get here, anyway?"

Her hands became a blur in front of her. "No-no, wait, no, let me guess! Hmm... did Ludo make a deal with Tom again? OR did he just suddenly gain the ability to raise the dead? 'Cuz last time I was here, I definitely thought it was the second one, but it turned out Ludo actually made some vague kinda deal with Tom or whatever?" Star gazed skyward for a spell, knocking her head around but promptly coming up with a turn of the shoulders. "Not that I really care, but I would at least hope your master or whatever was a little more creative on repeat scenarios."

A dozen eyes blinked vacantly.

"So!" Star clasped her hands behind her back, looking to the audience expectantly. "Which is it, boys?" she asked with a toothy grin.

"The second one!" legless Two-Head pointed upwards.

Star nodded, her smile that of a sweet little princess. "And of course, Marco here didn't think any of that was a little suspicious, did he?"

Her eyes rolled to a stop over him. Marco waited a beat before realizing she wasn't being rhetorical. Grimacing, he slowly pushed himself up into a kneeling position, ignoring the cloying, coppery stickiness on his face. Is that even real? he couldn't help but wonder. Or perhaps he's truly lost it.

"S-Star?" Voice low, tone uncertain, Marco asked, "What is going on?"

In typical Star fashion, she just ended up confusing him further. "Don'cha get it, Marco? None of this makes any sense! It's impossible for any of these guys to be here because the Whispering Spell vaporized them all!"

Is she saying this isn't real? None of this was? Ms. Skullnick was still fresh in his mind, and Jackie too. He saw them die! Then again, he did see a couple monsters just whisk away into shadow like they were never there at all. And now there was another Star with her own wand? So much raced through Marco's head it started to hurt.

He wrenched his gaze away, burying his face in darkness where, at the very least, things were consistent and in his control. Silence permeated for several seconds, and Marco wearily dragged his fingers down enough to peak at his best friend between two of them.

Star's attention never left him, but when he uncovered his gaze, her cheer had receded into a look that was more sympathetic. With just a look, Marco sensed something meaningful radiating from the princess's gaze, and although still hopelessly confused, he knew it to be genuine.

And Marco knew, no matter what, that he could trust Star.

He needed only to nod to convey this. Star Butterfly's compassion shone in her eyes; she bowed her head towards him.

The nightie-clad princess held this expression as she dipped her wand down, brought it up over her head, did a pirouette, and called out in a strong, clear voice, "WARNICORN STAMPEDE!"

Thunderous hoofstomps trampled the cries and howls of the monsters; a few tried to run, but the stampede of burly, grey equines consumed them all. It was even quicker than the heart-attack, and when the warnicorns dissipated into nothingness, before reaching the other end of campus, they left behind just dust and some wisps of black smoke.

But nothing more.

"Wha...?" March breathed, fixed on the space where the monsters were with eyes agape. He only broke away when a pair of socked feet came into view, and his eyes dragged up their owner to meet her eyes.

She was smiling sadly.

"Star?" He moved one hand up, quietly asking to be helped up.

It was grasped by one soft and warm, while at the same time firm and deceptively strong. Except Marco didn't feel himself hoisted up, rather Star lowered herself in front of him, keeping one hand entwined with his and the other resting softly against his shoulder.

She spoke in a tone weary, but bearing some semblance of positivity - not necessary happy, but a word Marco couldn't think of to replace it. "You're a mess," she giggled lightly. "Here." With a wordless wave of the wand, Marco felt his body awash in damp light. It left him feeling dry, and free of any... any...

"Jackie..." A sharp gasp tore through the quiet afterglow of all this horror. Marco buried his face with both hands, not wishing anybody, much less Star, from bearing witness to his confused, ugly cries.

They lessened in intensity once a pair of arms encircled him. "I'm sorry, Marco." Star adjusted herself so her face rested in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get here sooner."

Marco snuffled, a stomach-turning sound he was embarrassed of, but did not care in that instant. "I don't understand what's..." He couldn't finish.

Star, though, seemed to actually predict what he was going to say. "This isn't real," she cooed, oh so soothingly. "None of it's real, Marco. You're just having an awful, horrible nightmare. Jackie's okay. I still have my wand, and I promise you, no one is gonna get hurt while I have it."

Marco heard this, and nodded against her shoulder. He trusted Star, with his life he trusted her.

But he couldn't stop shaking. God, he couldn't. "It felt so real," he pushed himself away, looked into her eyes; he could see she shared similar fears, even as he voiced them aloud, "What if the real deal happens, Star? What then?"

There was a beat.

Star looked off at a place somewhere over his shoulder, considering her response. He could already feel what she was about to say, just from the eye contact they shared. "If we're in a situation like that? Then, well," she shrugged, beaming soft as sunlight, "we do what we always do, Marco."

"I trust in you," Marco recited, a weak smile finding its way across his face.

"Aaand...?" Star released his hand, and though he frowned at the loss of contact he felt her squeeze his other shoulder in exchange, now with a hand on both.

"You have my back," she said with finality, "and I have your's. No matter what."

She then bobbed him around lightly, and Marco couldn't help a laugh that bubbled up from his chest; there was nothing more to be said - Marco knew Star wasn't one for big speeches, but she didn't need to make any.

He just understood her.

She was still bobbing him around, clearly trying to get another laugh out of him. Marco offered one. "Okay, okay." Gently, he removed her hands from his shoulders. Both teens smiled to one another, one mightier than the other, but the feelings between them were equal in strength.

We're invincible, they said. We have each other's back, that's all that matters.

.

.

.

"...Marco..."

A garbled voice, deep and black as the darkest sea, called out his name.

He felt Star grip the sleeve of his hoodie with both hands at the sound of it, and Marco mimicked her with the hem of her nightie. In sync, both their heads whipped around to their left, where standing several feet away was Star Butterfly. Her green dress was in tatters, hair matted, herself battered and beaten. She was the one Marco had been fighting alongside - he very nearly forgotten about her, except that didn't seem strange to him.

His skin crawled at the sight of her, though.

Gone were the innocent, bright blues that were Star's eyes. Now, twin black pits roiled, liquid like tar. And when she spoke, it was no longer in the honey-sweet voice of the mewman princess.

"...You cannot run away from yourself, Marco..."

The Star beside him shot up to her feet, fists shaking at her sides. "Yeah!? Why don't you finally come here and show me what you're made of, demon?!" She threateningly beat her wand against her breast, a confident smirk on her face.

But Marco could see her other hand trembling from the corner of his eye.

The image of Star flickered and shuddered.

"...We will meet again..."

And she was gone. A cloud of shadows left in her wake.

Marco looked back at the real Star, prepared to remark and joke about the creepy vibes that creature gave off. But then he noticed her still standing, staring holes into the empty space where her duplicate once stood. Their brief exchange replayed itself in Marco's head, and it seemed like they knew each other.

He carefully asked, "Who was that?"

"...I have no idea." Star plopped back down beside him, sitting crisscross and stretching her nightie over her knees. She drew circles into the concrete with her wand. "This isn't the first time we've met, the three of us."

She met his confused gaze.

"You mean...?" He pointed where "Star" once stood.

The princess before him nodded.

Marco drank this in, then began gesturing with his hands. "We've... you've been in here before? In..." He waved at the world around him.

"Your dreams, yeah." Marco felt his jaw go slack. Star's previous meek smile faltered. "You're not gonna remember this one either. But that's okay, it's for the best."

A claw of fear gripped Marco by the heart - he grimaced in discomfort, and he realized what that meant, and what the monster-Star implied. "S-Star, what if this happens again, or worse? What happens if you're not here to save me? I'm, I'm so useless here on my own!"

Star grabbed his hand and held it in both of her's. "Don't, Marco, don't say that." She shook his hand with every word. "Whoever this creep is, I'm not gonna let one night pass while you're his victim. I won't rest until you're safe. Marco!"

He had wrenched his gaze away from her - he couldn't help but feel humiliated, having Star fight his battles for him because he was so helpless inside his own head.

But Star, with a sharp snap of his name, swiftly rose her fingers to caress his face. He flinched underneath her touch, but more from shame than anything. He soon leaned into her touch, though a little too happily. Red ravaged his cheeks, yet Star seemed to ignore this as she slowly, affectionately urged him to face her.

Her eyes were no less caring than they always were.

"He doesn't know how strong you are," she told him. "Ya hear me, Marco? And together, you and me? We can beat him."

The firmness in her voice, the steeliness in her eyes... and all for him.

God, she is such a great friend.

Marco breathed a chuckle, laying his hand over Star's, keeping it against his face. Her touch was like the brightest sun. "Sounds like you've been rehearsing this speech in your head," he quietly remarked.

Star replied in kind, "About my seventh time giving it, actually. It always gets you pumped up, I have to!"

That boggled Marco's mind. "Wow, seven?" he asked, bug-eyed. "You've done this dream-thing seven times?" Star nodded, and the two pulled away from each other, smiling. "That's... something." Marco had the grace to blush - he didn't know how to feel about that, precisely.

Something else came to mind, though - something that had yet to leave it fully, and hearing this Star has been a frequent visitor in his dreams, made him wonder all the more.

"Hey," he asked, "in the other times, was I given a key?"

Star tilted her head. "Key? What key?"

In that instant, white light filled the sky, and both teens were draped in it. They turned their eyes skyward, where a glowing tear had appeared. "What's happening!?" Marco cried.

"You're waking up!" Star called to him, smiling. "Don't worry, Little Marco! We'll talk about this next time! Sweet dreams and junk!"


Yes! This actually was not the first time Star has done the dreamscaping spell, but rather the seventh! It's been a while between chapters 6 and 7, I just thought I'd trick the readers a bit.

We return to Star's POV next chapter, where we learn more about these dreams from her eyes, and the setup for her and Marco's following day. It will be a surprise to you, I'm sure.

I have to say this about these past couple of chapters: practically every line is important.

Even though I'd said it in a review, I wanted to give kudos to Zehntacles for inspiring the skeleton of this dream sequence.

In his own fic, and the first Star vs one I've read, called 'Personal Touches' (which I highly recommend), Marco has a similar nightmare in which Ludo's monsters are attacking the school for Star's wand, and they've hurt many students and even executed Janna in front of Star. There is way more to it then that, but that is the part that served as inspiration for Marco's dream in this story.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed. Tell me what you think if you so choose, and all that good stuff.