Flowers and Stars 14

In Another's Shoes

A/N: Hey Hope you are all still enjoying the story :) We are coming to the end and this is one of the chapters I've been looking forward to writing. War breaks out and we get to see more into the dark past that drives Darkco.

Kerbolius: You always seem to comment on the stuff I'm planning for the next chapter X'D Most of this chapter is written from the perspective of Darkco and following him. It'll have a description in it but if you want something visual then look at ' 7953/f/2009/023/a/1/shukaku_gaara_collage_by_rouge_ ' It's Gaara from Naruto changing into the One tailed beast. it's sorta like that but more reptile like. Also I noticed that, I was gonna mention it but wasn't sure why it didn't show so left it out :) i noticed the change tho and thank you for your support.

Useful76: Thank you and i feel like Season 3 TomStar is a lot more natural. He wasn't pursing her just trying to better himself and she saw the good in him and fell naturally for him. Not as two royals pushed together but as two people who like each other. I felt like it went well with the fic and since it follows on from the end of S3 it'd be weird if they weren't together XD and Hoping you enjoy the start of the crazy finish.

Gold Testament: In regards to your reviews on Chapters 2 and 3: Dox A. Par sounded so much more fun to me and I liked it so went with it. I feel like maybe the other would be too simple and not as fun. And yep Glossaryck broke big rules by creating the paradox that is Dox A. Par but funnily enough since he died before Marco was saved he isn't actually a paradox till he is confirmed to survive.

"I am the herald.

I am the coming storm.

I am the flood, the purge and the might of powers far beyond their understanding.

I am no longer just a boy.. Just a man.. I am a God!

And as is my right I shall rain hell upon the unworthy and deliver unto them the cleansing fire of war." Darkco sat on his throne delivering his speech to the audience of his mind. The ones he lost. The ones he loved and the ones who abandoned him selfishly. In rage he tore the throne from the ground and went to throw it only to calm down and put the throne back laughing as he did so. He pushed his hands to his face wincing as the claw dug into his flesh. His blood began to bubble as the wound sealed itself up.

"Soon i will stand again in a field of their dead bodies. Watching their life end. However I am better than Meteora as when I end their lives I'll do so with a smile and when it comes to Marco i will let him die with them by my hand!" Laughter echoed in the empty throne room as he sat back in the throne.

Thanks to the energy of the rift between the two dimensions time had been distorted. Marco, Star and Tom were still trapped outside of Mewni unaware of the threat they were facing. For the other 3 six weeks had passed while the war for Mewni raged on.

During the first week Darkco watched the foolish insects below panic. He was surprised to see both Mewmans and Monsters living together but it mattered not. Once the rioting and panic set in it was every creature for themselves. At first he'd got so much enjoyment from it watching as they tried to escape the kingdom only to realise that the moment they tried to escape they'd be stuck in a wall of rift energy freezing them in time. They'd be trapped in that moment till their dying breath. After the first hundred or so people were trapped the residents of the Butterfly Kingdom stopped trying to flee and instead rushed to their King and Queen. He watched as they tried fruitlessly to calm their citizens. After a few days even this grew boring so he stopped watching. He came back at the end of the first week to see no panic. He searched the kingdom below to find the people organised in an effort to build some sort of circular object. They were being led by three of the inner circle.

"Heckapoo.. She protected me when Meteora tried to kill me by stomping on me.. She tried to dive through the portal and had her magic sucked from her." Everything in the dark dimension had happened similar to the light dimension.. It used to be the inverted dimension where things were just opposite. It all changed when Eclipsa hesitated to strike down Meteora and in the fury of her mothers betrayal she absorbed her magic and stole the wand. She lined up all of the people who she considered her enemies and used the wand to restore them and one by one she enacted "Judgement" upon them.

"Heckapoo.. You and your fellow MHC goons robbed me of my future and my right. You tried to stop me from taking back what is mine and for that. Death" She had forced the girl halfway through a portal and then cut the magic from the portal. It slices the poor girl in half as Darkco had been forced to watch the movement stop in her lower half before her body turned to ash.

"Kelly.. You let Tad distract you and hold you back all your life and it cost you exactly that." Meteora had told the girl that if she could win a fight against her she'd spare her and one other. Kelly fought with all her strength and all of her weapons. Her swords couldn't even cut the creatures arms anymore and her other weapons just shattered. Eventually the girl was on knees in a pile of her broken weapons.. Years of memories gathering them rendered empty as they couldn't help their master. Meteora had laughed at her broken spirit before putting Kelly out of her misery using her last sword to slice her head off. Darkco couldn't even scream it hurt so much. The rest died in similar ways each with a sadistic twist. The only two left alive were Darkco and Eclipsa. She kept her mother with no magic floating by her side. A child and her balloon. She freed Darkco and left him there. He ran after her trying to attack her with everything he had but it was useless. She laughed and told him as he lay on the ground defeated.

"You know you were right Princess Turdina, it is not criminal to be an individual... Enjoy being the only individual left." And with that she left him. Alone in the broken shell of a castle. He moved all the bodies to Stars cupboard before running from the castle into the forest. It was there that he saw it. The other dimension where everything worked out perfect and where this whole plan was birthed.

"And last but not least... Janna.." Once he'd realised his plan he'd gone back to earth to get help. He'd tried to recruit Janna to his cause but the girl had refused him. She tried to make him stay on earth and forget about it all but he wouldn't. After she tried to steal his scissors to prevent him from going back he'd lashed out at the girl hurting her physically and as she lay there broken on the floor crying for him to stop he broke her emotionally and mentally too.. "Maybe that poem needs an end Janna.. Because its a real shame you never died before you could become the burden and nuisance i see before me.. No one wants or loves you Janna why don't you realise that!.. Here ill do you a favour." He placed a knife in front of her and left never looking back. To him these 3 were just annoying shadows of his weak past. They were already dead to him.

His annoyance grew the longer he looked down at the trio. He wanted them gone, out of his eye sight especially Kelly. Not only had he failed to somehow kill her, a fact that confused him to this day, but she was now the other Marco's lover. He could feel it himself coming off the pair. The love they shared and how happy they were. Why did they get that happiness when he was denied it so? Why with Star so close to him had he rejected her love.. Their blessing together? Darkco scowled at the girls as each look at them made him sick.

He decided in the second week to try and do something about them. At the time the rift wasn't disrupted enough to send through physical bodies but he should be able to send magical bodies through. He stood at the top of the dark abandoned castle and focused his magic. Upon the unaware Mewni below he forced dark bolts of lightning to rain down. He watched as his bolts tore across the kingdom splitting houses in two and fires erupted everywhere. He laughed as he focused the majority of his blasts at the girls construction and watched as they disappeared behind a wall of flames and smoke. The fires raged for days causing him much joy as he waited in his castle. He thought of the pleasure he would feel witnessing Marco's face as he held their cold burnt husks.

This joy was robbed from him as once the smoke vanished he saw what had actually happened. The houses of the lower classes were no more than smouldering ash however the centre of the kingdom as well as the castle were virtually untouched. Large branches had grown from the ground and encased the remaining whole of the kingdom. He watched them seal over hiding the rest of it from his view. On top of the now forest like dome was Janna. She stood waving at him with a big smile on her face. She waved her arms as more branches appeared and strengthened the shield. Anger flooded Darkco and in retaliation he threw a large array of black lightning at the girl only for her to hold up her arm and use a magic shield to block it. She raised her middle finger to him before disappearing back into Mewni.

The next two weeks were a game of cat and mouse. As time ticked by his strength grew and his ability to affect Mewni got much worse. His lightning and flames increased in both quantity and intensity however every time he made head way into damaging their shield he would witness Janna rise from the smoke and repair all damage. Each time his hatred for the girl rose and rose. On the last attempt at around the 4th week something changed. The rift energy had grown considerably and the barrier was much weaker. He had thrown his power down only to find that the barrier no longer weakened his attacks. He waited till Janna came to repair then unleashed his fury on her. Her shield shattered under the pressure sending her flying across the dome in pain. He send wave after wave of power at her as she desperately defended against him. She put up much resistance but with maintaining the dome and trying to protect herself she was drained. He was sure she would be done as he fired everything he had.

"Look at that.. I caused the death of not just one Janna but two" he cackled to himself. He was so busy gloating that he didn't notice his power being returned to him as it cut through his stomach. He body started to heal itself as he was choking on his blood. He looked down to see Janna being carried by Heckapoo and a series of black portals surrounding them. Kelly slashed at the air causing flaming waves to bombard his castle. He was forced to erect his own shield. If he was close enough to hurt them then they were close enough to hurt him.

He moaned in agony as the monsterfication of his body continued. Less and less of him resembled the human flesh he was born with and instead replaced with the dark green scales of the monster he had consumed. He bit down on his lip only to flinch in pain. Putting his human hand to his lip to see blood on his fingers. He felt his teeth on his right side and realised they had turned razor sharp. He'd have to be careful not to slice his own tongue off. He returned to his room and gathered the last of Glossaryck's magic blood. He drank it down using its magic to stop his body rejecting the monster half. After straining his magic to stop the bleeding around his body he collapsed to the bed.

Another week passed with no attacks from either side. He knew if he tried long range attacks he would lose he didn't have the power to fight all three from a distance but he no longer had to. He climbed to the top of the castle once more and called out to them.

"Heckapoo, Janna and Kelly! I Just want to talk!" His distorted voice barley showing any remaining similarity to Marco's. He waited and sure enough the three girls appeared on top of the dome. He smiled at them. The moment they looked at them he could see the disgust on their faces at his new form. They just could not see the beauty in it.

On his left side was still the body of Marco wearing his blue hoodie and white trousers. His face however was cracked and covered in blue lines. Claw marks and scratches also littered his left side. The right side couldn't be more different. His right leg now looked more like it belonged to a dinosaur with dark green scales and spikes filling it out. His right trouser was basically non-existent and his shoe was no more as sharp talon like claws dug into the ground. His hoodie was ripped all over and through the holes you could see that the scales covered his chest and heart covering more of him than his flesh did. His face was no longer symmetrical as three horns poked out of his cheek bone. Instead of hair on his right side he had scaled horns poking out of his head. The teeth on his right side would look more natural in a shark and due to them being larger he couldn't close his mouth leaving them on show. His eyes were yellow now and around his eyes the scales were black. The three girls could see that it had worsened. He clung to the castle with his right hand. They looked at it to see sharp claws adorned on each finger. They knew full well that those claws could do serious harm. The deranged boy no longer resembled Marco and instead was closer to resembling a black goo Toffee or a vicious Meteora. No longer human but not quite a monster. A creature unlike any other.

"What!? Don't like what you see! You can not see that this is what godhood looks like!" He yelled at them. Janna wasted no time in reputing his words.

"Oh.. No don't get me wrong its not like i don't like what i see.. I mean who doesn't want to see what happens when their best friend starts to turn into a post apocalyptic mutant freak. I mean i totes dig the horns and the crocodile thing you got going on. I mean if you wanted to be god of snakes or reptiles you should have said I'm sure we could have found plenty of Zoo's who want to look at the half man half Dino freak" She high fived Kelly and Heckapoo as the three laughed at her words.

"Laugh all you want you little bitch but ill be the last one laughing. You have all died once. One dismembered. One beheaded. And one committing suicide after I beat her bloody and made her realise no one will ever love her." He smiled back at the human girl.

"Oi Toothless wannabe! Shut your disgusting mouth and get it through your head that we aren't like your friends. We are our own people and won't die like you want us to. Also her name is WITCH! Get it right!" Heckapoo spat back at him. He snarled at her as Janna had to hold onto her to not fall over laughing.

"Yeah what she said! You couldn't even kill me properly let alone anyone else. You will fail and we'll be the ones to stop you!" Kelly turned to Heckapoo. "Hey you watched that movie too?"

"Yeah with Marco, he cried like a girl at the sad bits" Heckapoo chuckled.

"You should see him watch some actually sad films. Honestly he gives meaning to the phrase cry me a river" Janna added as all three laughed. As the last 5 weeks had ticked on they had bonded greatly over their love for their Human friend and the fact that they were all strong woman who wouldn't take crap from anyone.

"SHUT UP YOU FOOLISH WOMEN! BEFORE I SHUT YOUR MOUTHS FOR YOU!" Darkco screamed at the three. They stopped laughing and turned to him.

"You what?" Janna spat at him.

"You think you can shut us up?" Heckapoo continued.

"You and what army?" Kelly added drawing her sword from her hair. Darkco smiled at the comment as if he was waiting for it. He raised his claw and suddenly loads of dark shadows jumped from the castle and fell onto the dome. The three looked around to see creatures twice their size surrounding them each with a variety of sharp teeth and claws. They could see where Darkco had got his looks from.

"What are they?" Janna asked the others as she sent a wave of green fire at the nearest creature sending it howling in pain.

"I have no idea... There's no creatures or monsters accounted for in Mewni that look like that" Heckapoo replied. She jumped up slashing one in half only to sigh as its blue blood quickly bubbled and melted it back together.

"Oi Toothless what are these things?" Kelly called up to Darkco. They could see the anger flash on his face but he kept his calm. The other two chuckled but didn't let their focus slip.

"Not sure what point there is in telling dead people but i have nothing better to do. After Meteora had destroyed all of Mewman kind she turned her attention to the monsters. Since monsters don't naturally have magic inside them she couldn't suck magic from them. Instead she poured her dark tainted magic into them forcing them to change into the creatures you see before you. What you see are what's left of monster kind after it went cannibal and turned itself to near extinction." He laughed again as the three were forced back against each other. They wouldn't usually have this much trouble but a mix of unfamiliar enemies and the worry that Darkco would attack them if they moved too much meant they could only put up a defence. Darkco clearly thought he was winning when a shrill voice filled the air.

"Sword girl, Witch girl and Lady Heckapoo, we'll create an opening retreat back to the portal grounds" Ludo yelled from on top of his brother Dennis. Ludo jumped off and cannon balled into the nearest monster. He hit it square in the head before turning to kick the next one. The two beasts fell opening a hole that all three ladies ran through. They noticed that there was rope tied around the creatures feet which had caused the small blow from Ludo to knock them over. They saw Buff-frog's babies run back to a hole in the dome and jump into his arms. They slid into the hole before seeing Dennis grab Ludo and fly back into it. Janna sealed it after her. Darkco looked on aghast, he had known there were monsters in the kingdom but he never imagined they would be working together least of all Ludo and Buff Frog. He screamed loudly sending an array of lightning and flames down at the place they disappeared but it had no effect. He ordered his creatures to dig into the dome and retreated back into his castle.

Inside the dome they all headed back down the branch ladder that Janna had made. The kingdom would have been pitch black under the forest that protected it but flowers littered the roof each glowing brightly. It looked like something out of the 'Avatar' film Janna had said as she had performed the magic. To get around the kingdom long bridges made out of branches and trees were erected. They headed down to the portal grounds as Ludo had taken to calling it. All the residents of the kingdom had worked day after day taking parts of the castle and houses to build this giant portal. At first they thought they might starve but with Janna's magic to make plant life and Kelly's 3 months worth of rations that Dox and Marco insisted on packing they had kept the kingdom fed. They realised in their first week that due to the rifts effects the others wouldn't be able to get back in without help so had followed Heckapoo's plans to build a dimensional gate. Unlike her scissors these were fixed and the moment it was ready the others could return.

"Unfortunately it looks like its going to be another 5 days before this works my lady" proclaimed one of the monsters who had been working on the calculations. The owl looking monster hooted flapping its wings as he looked over the portal. Apparently one of Ludo's cousins who had found a Mewman who wasn't as discriminatory had learnt from him. He was the chief engineer and science officer on the project. His Mewman assistant walked over. She pushed up her glasses and looked at the three girls.

"What Professor Barnus was trying to say is that we don't have enough power. We're channelling all we can from Queen Moon, she offered to help speed up the process but we're cutting it close. As long as it doesn't get interrupted with her help so far 5 days is the best we can do." She admitted checking some things off of her clipboard.

"Well phrased young one, you would make a fine hatchling for any one to be proud of. Before you three even suggest it no we can't speed it up. Anymore power added recklessly will cause it to self destruct we are dealing with unstable elements here with rushed work." The three thanked the pair before leaving to meet up with Moon and River.

"How you doing My Queen?" Kelly knelt before the pair.

"Oh Kelly I've told you to stop bowing to me and I'm fine just tired. I don't think I'll be able to help you at all if it comes to a fight."

"And this time i won't be leaving her side. Don't worry I'll protect my Moonpie!" River beat his fist against his chest. Moon smiled as her husband thankful for his support.

"We wouldn't expect you to fight your majesty. Just please rest up. Star would never forgive us if something happened to you on our watch." Janna winked at her.

"Thank you sweetie. Honestly I don't know what god i have to thank for having you three here. Heckapoo i know you think your just doing your job but you have done more than that already. Kelly, i know you are conscious of the fact that you are a subject of this kingdom but you have done enough to help our people that you do not have to bow to me and Janna this isn't even your world yet its your shield defending us and your flowers giving us light. Thank you.. All three of you" Moon felt a tear drip down her cheek wiping it off.

"Now now there's a sight you don't see everyday.. Moon the clearly daunted." They all turned to see Glossaryck float towards them.

"Glossaryck! Do you have good news!" Heckapoo jumped running over to him.

"I have news, good or bad are subjective views." Everyone groaned at his usual vague speak.

"But I'd say good news. Odds are that the time flow problem won't have affected the outside. Marco, Star and Tom may have only experienced a few moments on earth meaning when we can finally call them here they won't have been affected by the release of the dark energy flowing from the dark dimension above. The other good thing is that i think I've found a way to protect Marco from a curse. It should rebound onto the caster. He just has to wear this necklace. He should be fine" Glossaryck held up a small circular pendant showing the group.

"Wow.. Ermm.. Did you just actually give a good answer for once G-man!?"

"Sure did J-dog. Now me and you have to go. We'll keep the barrier up around the kingdom for the 5 days but when we open that portal the shield we have up will fall letting them... Creatures in. Be ready" With that Janna skipped after Glossaryck trying to catch him. The rest nodded to each other before heading off to their assigned jobs.

Heckapoo was clearing out the dungeons of the castle with small range portals so they could keep the citizens safe when war erupted.

Kelly was arming the knights, squires and those who chose to fight with her magic gear. She assured them all they could pay her back after the 'field test' and trained them to use their new weapons.

/

The time had come. Standing around the portal were only those who would fight and the science team.

Professor Barnus signalled his assistant Ruby and she flipped the switch on the machine. The portal sent out sparks that slashed across the shield tearing it apart and when fully charged it shattered the shield and send a beam of light up into the dark Mewni. Creatures came falling from the skies hurtling towards the armies below.

"Fire!" Kelly yelled at her forces as they swung their weapons sending elemental waves flying into the air. Flames, Ice, Lightning and Water blades went flying into the air hitting the falling beasts. It killed some but there were many left. The flying monsters of Mewni kingdom lifted archers into the air circling the beasts firing down upon them. Some beasts merely swatted the blows away and others had different extendable limbs that tried to down their flying opponents. Large monsters threw magic rocks at the creatures causing explosions that downed a few more. Just when the Mewman/Monster alliance thought they were winning a fresh horde of the twisted creatures dropped from the castle above. These ones were bigger and more ferocious. Kelly raised her blade in front of her and addressed her army.

"Mewmans and Monsters alike before me, I speak to you as a fellow resident of Mewni and a Warrior who refuses to die today. Our Princess brought our two peoples together so we could live in peace and that peace is now threatened. We could bow and let them walk all over us but I say Nay! No Way! We are the people of Mewni, the residents of the Butterfly kingdom and as our rebel Princess would say... No Surrender!" She was met with a mix of cheers and yells as she ran into the fray followed by her army. She slashed into the air as she ran causing a wave of flames to flow in front of her as she ran at the enemy.

Janna watched her run into the battle and turned to Heckapoo.

"Marco sure knows how to pick them. I'm going to go join my division. Send the message through to them as I'm not sure how long this portal will hold or how long we can keep them away. Good luck Matchstick.." Janna ran up to Heckapoo hugging her catching the fiery girl off guard. She pulled back before materialising a broom stick and flying into the air. She fired a variety of magic down at the creatures and helped the flying division of the army. They looked up to see a swarm of flying creatures come through the hole towards them. She chuckled before standing on her broom with two whips made of green vines as she whacked the creatures from the sky. The moment her whips cracked on them they burst into flames and fell to the ground to be finished off by Kelly and her ground division.

Heckapoo turned back to the portal and channelled her power through it.

"Calling all members of the Marcnificient Seven 2.0, Mewni is at war and needs your help. Come quickly". The portal seemed stable when a giant bolt of lightning came crashing into it causing it to surge. Heckapoo looked through the hole in the sky to see Darkco preparing another strike.

"Lady Heckapoo the portal will not survive another blow!" The owl like professor called over. A smaller creature went to leap on him only to be kicked away by his red headed assistant as she cried "Leave the birdy alone!".

Darkco unleashed another bolt straight towards it but Heckapoo dove in front and took the full force of the magic. She felt every part of her ache as lightning coursed through her body. He struck again. And again. Only to be blocked by the girl. She staggered to her feet to stare at him. She could barley stand as the science team grabbed an arm each, putting her arms over their shoulders supporting her.

"Wha.. What are you.. you two doing?" She managed to say. The words burnt her throat to say.

"Well my lady, it has been the greatest honour to serve in your division and as my comrades fight under each their own leader i find it odd how you would even question that i would stand by my leader in her time of need" The beaked monster smiled before pushing his falling spectacles back up.

"And you know I would follow this bird brain to the ends of the earth My lady. You know he finally decided to go on a date with me! Turns out it wasn't that I was Mewman but because he thought i might find him too much an old man. Silly fool." Ruby chuckled looking lovingly at her mentor. Heckapoo felt the corner of the lip rise as she felt the two support her. Even in times of strife and conflict like this love and happiness blossom.

"Well Science Division, Job well done." The three closed their eyes waiting as the final bolt flew towards them. The sound of a motorbike caused their eyes open as before them on Nachos the dragon cycle sat Marco. The sword on his back deflected the lightning all around as he smiled back at the three below him. He nodded before flying off into the battle to fight. The three stood paralysed until they heard a joyful voice behind them.

"Ya know Tom I see what you mean, he lets the team name get to his head."

"Told ya, its like he feels like he must turn into the best leader and dive into combat the moment he gets here. I mean he could have waited for us but instead he went and got his bike!" The three turned to see Tom holding his hand out to pull Star through the portal. As he lifted her to the ground she turned to meet them.

"We're back".

A/N: This was actually a blast to write X'D I got to write from the bad guys view on how he sees this as his reckoning. Got to do a bit more with the girls and let them have their moments and got to add a little side story of Prof. Barnus and Ruby the assistant.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know what you think and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.