While Star was still apprehensive about hanging around Mewni after the whole 'nearly dying in the garden' thing, she could still appreciate the comforts of returning home. There was no place like home, after all. And despite being in an alternate timeline, Castle Mewni felt very much like her own home. All the familiar sights were there: bustling blue flags flapping wildly in the wind, stately columns towering overhead, the salmon pink gate surrounded by an entire battalion of warriors…

Wait, what the heck?

Security this tight was rare. Not many fools were so stupid or brave as to try to storm the castle. It would take a massive amount of manpower and a sizable army, and doing so would be a considered an act of war, anyway. She'd only ever seen it this tight when they'd been hosting big gatherings with foreign dignitaries, or on days like her coronation. Considering the current state of things, she highly doubted there was any such celebration going on inside.

Marcia whistled, impressed at the sight.

"They must be expecting company. How many guards do you think there are?"

"I don't know. I'm more concerned with why," Star replied.

With as many times as Star had sneaked out through the years to go adventuring, she knew every nook and cranny of this place well. This gate was far from the only way in-and-out of the castle. There were alternative ways of entering, but Star couldn't help her growing curiosity.

"Excuse me!" She approached the squadron at the gate. "Hey, hi! Um, just wondering, could you happen to tell me what's going on? Why are there, like, a billion of you out here?"

"Miss, this is no time for a stroll. You need to get yourself home as soon as you can."

"Are we at war here or something?"

"Very nearly," he furrowed his brows. "We believe a monster uprising may be in the works. We had a rogue monster attack only a few short moments ago. You just missed it, thank heavens. However, the beast is still at large."

"Monster attack? Well, I'll be on the lookout! What did they look like?"

Another guard staggered forward. He was more messy and bedraggled than any of the other guards, and he wore an uneasy expression.

"I'll tell you what he looked like," he spat. "Like an abomination, that's what. A hybrid, even. To the untrained eye, one might've thought he was as normal as the rest of us. But once he was up close, and we saw that disgusting tentacle…"

He shuddered, and continued his tale.

"I've never seen anything like it- it wasn't natural. It slung us around like ragdolls and sent us flying. We couldn't do anything to fight back. The boy wasn't much taller or larger than yourself, and yet, it was such a display of animalistic strength…perhaps it was the delirium setting in."

Something about this story was deeply unsettling to Star.

"What do you mean by 'delirium?'"

"He was crazy, full mad even. He was demanding to see the 'princess-' ain't that a load of crock! Everybody from here to the Merfolk's Keep knows that we have no princess. But that didn't stop him. He just kept barking out to see 'Star, Star!' It was all madness to us."

Her heart froze in her chest.

"Actually, he didn't look so different from yer friend over there," he pointed to Marcia, standing behind her. "Same height, hair color, same red jacket even. If I didn't know better, I'd be suspicious."

Star was too shell-shocked to reply. She could not find the words, nor the will, to say anything.

"But I know better then that," he chuckled. "Look at her- she's obviously not one of his kind."

No, this couldn't have been possible. There was no way. No way! This was a trick, a trap, a nefarious illusion to lure her into even further chaos. And yet…

"Which way did he go?" Star begged.

"No need to be frightened, lass. Just avoid the south and you'll be fine. We didn't engage the enemy, as our duty is to protect the castle, but we're prepared to send a separate squadron out the moment he appears again."

Before letting them depart, the soldier gave her a look-over.

"Say, you're not related to the royal family, mayhaps? You wouldn't happen to be one of the Butterfly cousins, would you-"

"Thank you," Star said, face completely detached from the words lifelessly falling out of her mouth. "You've been a big help."

Marcia stepped forward, no longer willing to wait back.

"Prince Comet," she said. "Is he okay? Has he returned?"

"I'm afraid not," the man replied, head hung low. "Our Royal Highness is still missing."

He never made it back to the castle.

This was too much to bear. Her brain felt like it was about to explode. Without warning, Star turned away from the gate, fleeing from the scene.

"Hey, wait up!"

"This is all my fault, Marcia. It's all because I'm a liar and a coward and I never, ever should have let Comet out of my sight that day-"

"Slow down, what are you talking about? What's going on?"

"You tell me. I think I'm losing it here."

It couldn't have been true. This was surely some evil trick of sorts, because there was no physical way possible for Marco to be here right now. The only way in or out of this place had been Etheria's mausoleum, and she and Comet had reduced it to smoldering smithereens. The only other way to cross the timelines had been through her wand going haywire on that very first night, and that just wasn't a feasible idea either. Her wand was here, with her, and that was that.

"Marcia, I don't know how, but I think the alternate version of you- MY best friend- is here now. It might be a trap, but I have a feeling that wherever he is, we'll find Comet, too."

"What?! Wait, no, why would the other version of me be slinging guards around like ragdolls and randomly attacking castle guards? That doesn't make any sense."

"I don't know either, but for Comet not to make it back at the same time the attack happened, they have to be connected."

"Okay, but why would he take Comet?!"

"I have a hunch, and it's stupid. I mean, it's really, really stupid, but…he sort of, kind of, uh...stole Marco's dimensional scissors, and-"

"What? What the heck, Comet? Why would he do that? He has his own. scissors"

"Well, Marco didn't know about the whole timeline-travel thing and we sort of told him Comet was my boyfriend by a different name, and we couldn't let him find out what was actually going on-"

Marcia threw her arm out in front of Star, stopping them from traveling any further.

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop. Why would you tell your best friend that you were dating someone who is actually just the alternate version of yourself?"

Marcia had backed her into a wall again, although this time it was a metaphorical one. Star felt her face become hot, a warm, rosy color dusting her cheeks. Answering Marcia's question would bring up more questions, and answering THOSE questions would bring up more questions, and at the end of the horrible inquisition, it would all lead back to revealing Star's best kept secret: that she was head-over-heels for her best friend.

She shrugged, trying to weasel out of addressing it.

"Well, it didn't exactly start out like that. Jackie Lynn Thomas sort of assumed he was my boyfriend and all…"

"Okay, then why didn't you just tell Jackie the truth? I really don't understand."

"You and me both, sister," Star sighed, feeling deeply uncomfortable. "I should have never let things get this out of hand."

Overhead, the endless curtain of leaves rustled with the wind. As they made their dark descent into the forest, Star was growing more and more anxious of what lay beyond them down the shadowy path. She wasn't afraid of the possible wild warnicorn encounters, nor the 50/50 chance of acid mist, or even the carnivorous, squirrel-eating plants. None of that was a big deal. Heck, that was practically all in an afternoon's fun. But coming face-to-face with a possibly corrupted Marco and owning up to her lies? That was a terrifying prospect.

She smacked away a Mewnian saber-toothed dragonfly as it landed on her bare arm. Now would have been an excellent time for some of that Earth 'repellent' stuff Marco had used on her during their camping trip. These stupid bugs were technically a protected species here, so she couldn't use her Cataclysmic Total Extinction Death Blast without repercussions. She glanced over at Marcia, thankful that she had her hoodie sleeves to shield her from the aggressive insects as they crossed through the knee-high reed grass.

"Everything alright?" Marcia asked, noticing Star's glance.

"Sure, sure."

"So...where exactly are we headed to? This forest's pretty big. They could hypothetically be anywhere."

"True," she agreed. "But there's not many places out here to go, except for...the temple."

"The temple?"

"Up until now, I wasn't really sure if it was even out here- Marco never liked us wandering around in here for longer than really necessary. 'Forest of Certain Death,' and all."

A few low-hanging branches were obscuring the path. Star gave them a swift blast before continuing.

"There's been some discussion of an old abandoned temple or two out this way. Prince Rich Pigeon brought it up the last time I saw him at the Crystal Slipper Ball. His kingdom always finds that kind of stuff faster than anyone else does. Bird's-eye view and all."

"And you think that's where the alternate-me was headed?"

"It's worth a shot," Star nodded. "But I have no clue what he could possibly want with a crappy old shrine. I mean, Marco isn't even all that hot on going through here in the first place."

The closer they got to the center of the forest, the faster Star's heart hammered against her chest. She was having a hard time concealing how upset she was. Marco couldn't have seriously been here, right? What had happened to him? From the description the guards had given her, it sounded like the Monster Arm was back, but she'd gotten rid of that thing a long time ago. But...if it was back….was Marco okay? He didn't sound okay. The last time he'd had the arm, it had influenced him very negatively, but it had been a gradual progression. He hadn't just snapped all at once. Not only that, but at a certain point, Marco had broken free from its influence when it had wanted to do serious bodily harm to his (admittedly super irritating) karate opponent, Jeremy Birnbaum.

If the Monster Arm was back, it sounded like it was back with a vengeance.

"There's something I've been thinking about," Marcia said, interrupting Star's heavy thoughts.

"What is it?"

"You and Comet arrived at the same time, right? And...he chose to go back to the castle?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... I guess I sort of...I'm kind of...well, I'm wondering why he didn't come see me?"

Marcia's voice wavered. Star didn't have to turn around to see her expression to know she was feeling a little hurt.

"I don't know why he wouldn't come back for me first," Marcia continued, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know...it just feels sort of weird."

"You know, that's a good question. I...I don't know why he didn't."

Star hadn't considered it before. Now that she thought about it, the behavior was kind of strange. Had the situation been reversed, Star would like to imagine that she would have headed straight to Marco's house before doing anything else, but she was sure Comet had his reasons. Whatever reasons those were, one thing was for certain: he hadn't forgotten about her.

"You know...I might be the alternate-dimension version of Comet, but we're still our own people. We don't always get each other, because he's kind of a stinker. But I do know that he adores you, Marcia. There has to be a really good explanation for whatever he did. And hey, the minute we find him, you can ask him! Just say 'Hey, poop-for-brains! Where've you been this whole time? "

Marcia laughed, comforted by Star's reassurance.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll ask him. Assuming he really is out here, anyway."

They continued trekking through the forest with haste, and it wasn't long before they reached their destination.

Rising out of the marsh and moss was the temple, a strange and bewildering sight to behold.

Staircases wrapped around the crumbling building. They seemed as though they had no destination besides stretching out to the vastness of the night sky. Small, stone openings carved out a multitude of windows. Waterfalls spilled over from the proud mouth of a large monster skull, creating tiny pools. Had she been here under better circumstances, Star would have been thrilled at such a cool discovery.

Marcia motioned Star to follow her, pressing a finger to her lips in a gesture to be silent. They had no idea what awaited them inside, if anything at all, but regardless, it was always better to have the element of surprise. The pair crept their way up the first flight of the stone staircases, sneaking over to one of the many windows in the wall.

The first thing that hit Star was the musky scent hanging in the air, like an overwhelming concoction of mothballs and mildew. The aged smell definitely matched the interior. Peeking down at the auditorium-like room, she was struck with just how old this place was. The floor was spread with cracked tiles. Crackling columns and tired old arches decorated the room. Despite its decay, Star found there was something charming about the place, imagining how beautiful it must have looked in its heyday.

"Holy cats! This place is liability heaven! Talk about a lawsuit waiting to happen," Marcia whispered, gawking at the sights below.

"Shhh!" Star nudged her. "Somebody's coming."

Her spine tensed sharply as the sound of a very familiar voice echoed through the sweeping vastness of the room. Between the height and the horrible acoustics, she couldn't quite make out everything the voice was saying, but she could pick up every other word or so.

"Hey!...Where...You?...I brought the…and the…so you need...get out here…"

The owner of the voice came into view as he entered the room. Star's heart stopped.

Beneath her, in the midst of the decay and disrepair, was the best friend she'd ever known. Her heart danced. Her stomach lurched. Was this wonderful? Was this horrible? She couldn't tell. Her body was a frenzied mess, reacting with equal parts distress and delight. On one hand, she was thrilled to see him again. On the other, this was not the way she'd wanted to see him. Even from this height, she could see the monstrous appendage attached to his limb, which was a sight she'd never wanted to see again. Its return was cause for alarm, but as Marco fully entered the room, Star found an even bigger source of panic

"Comet," Marcia breathed.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Wrapped in the arm's clutch, Marco was hauling a listless Comet in tow. He unfurled his grasp on Comet, leaving him lying in the center of the room. It sounded like Marco was saying mumbling something at him, but Star couldn't make out what. Her alternate self looked to be completely out of it. His body was still resting in a motionless heap.

"What's the plan?" Marcia pressed.

"We're going down there. You take Comet and get the heck out of here."

"What? I'm not going to leave you-"

"I can handle myself. If worst comes to the worst and I don't meet you back at the castle by sunrise, then you guys can come back for a rescue mission."

Marcia glanced over at Star. Deep concern reflected in her eyes.

"But-"

"I'll be fine. I need to figure out what's going on, and you need to make sure Comet's okay. Oh, one quick thing you should know: when we crash landed in this timeline, he hit his head really hard, and-"

She stopped mid-sentence. Star had believed she'd seen the worst of her fears confirmed. However, the sight unfolding before her was far worse than she had imagined. Marco was reaching in for Comet's wand.

This was worse than anything else. It was worse than watching her beloved best friend tirelessly pursue another girl, worse than growing distant from him, and worse than being forcefully ripped from her world and launched head-first into this one. Her heart was broken.

She had learned early on in her life that you simply couldn't trust anyone. It was better off to keep everyone at a comfortable arm's length away, because sooner or later, their true ambitions would be revealed. Most people's intentions were not pure, only seeking to further their own ambitions by using her and her family. Whether it was her royal status, or her wealth, or her magic, everyone ultimately saw her as a gainful opportunity first and a person second. It was the heartbreaking reality of being in a position like hers, and her parents had spent her whole life preparing her to deal with this horrible truth. Not even love was a surefire thing standing in Star's shoes; pomp and politics had managed to find a way to taint even that, and how was she to know who would care about her as 'Star, the person' and not just 'Star, the Princess?'

But, when she'd met Marco, she had finally felt like all that had changed. After all that time protecting her family's most valuable magical asset from being used and abused, she'd finally found someone she could trust above all others. Marco's heart was always pure, always caring, sometimes compulsive, but never deceitful. It had played a big role in why she'd fallen for him- he befriended her for no other reason than because he genuinely liked her. For the first time ever, she'd made a friend not because of having mutually royal parents, or a shared sense of angry rebellion, or out of cordial formalities. She had chosen him, and he had chosen her.

Then why was he stealing magic right before her eyes?

She grabbed Marcia's side and held on tight. The girl let out a small yelp of surprise at the sudden hold as Star cast her spell.

"Flowery Gardenvine Expansion!

The pair slid through the air on the back of the massive, magical vine. They tore through the great space between the ceiling and the floor and within seconds, they had closed the divide.

Marcia didn't need to be told twice; the second her feet touched the tile, she sprinted in a mighty charge towards the boy laying in the center of the room.

Marco immediately ceased his actions, whipping his head around at the sudden noise. What he saw, he could not believe. Beside him, a portal opened, but he was completely oblivious to it. Had he noticed it, however, he still would have had no interest; there was only one thing capturing his attention now. His eyes wide and mouth agape, he was fixated on the girl approaching from the shadows.

Marcia gathered Comet into her arms and took her exit, leaving the two of them alone.

"Marco," Star said, stepping into the dim light. "We need to talk."