A/N: Hey, 'member when I changed this to M? 'Member? You 'member!

This wasn't the reason why, but it sure is up there. Wew lad.

How painful it must be for them all to live forever in unending stasis, where their main activities include staying in place and acting as unwilling, unknowing spectators to the daily lives of Lekmet and Rhombulus. All day, every day. One has to wonder how the two could possibly live comfortably with all these crystallized bodies strewn about their home. In fact, it was less of a home and more of a prison for inmates who were unfortunate enough to get in the path of Time-out guy's trigger-happy tantrums. Inmates from different dimensions all over the universe, of different races, species, shapes, sizes, and alignments whose lives and ages were preserved by Rhombulus' Crystal Magic. Their consciousness put on hold until the day they are set free.

And that day has come for one particular convict.

"I must say, this is some impressive work you put in," Toffee admired, knocking a knuckle against one of the crystal prisons. It held some sort of bloated, red crab creature in blue clothing whose pincers were pointed upwards and his slender, pointy tongue stuck out.

"Aw shucks, thanks Master Toffee," Beamed Rhombulus, who waved a snake hand in bashfulness.

"Reminds me of such potent magic by a certain Scaleless dragon from a legend I've heard." The lizard began as he and his companion walked among the sea of crystal containers. "His name escapes me, though I recall him being a scholarly sort who partook in quite a number of questionable experiments. In addition to the discovery of powerful sorceries, he also discovered the secret to immortality. However, his hubris resulted in the tragic loss of said secret and was afterwards felled by an unnamed warrior. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Err... No I don't think so. Do you guys know?"

The two snake hands immediately perked up as the familiar tale was brought to light.

"You talkin' bout the bitch?" Spoke up the right snake.

"Aww snap, I think he's talkin' bout the bitch," Replied the left one.

"Excuse me?" Toffee was taken aback and confused as to why a dragon of such esteem was being regarded in such a crass and derogatory fashion.

"Yeah, because he had no scales. Or legs."

"And he betrayed his own kind because of his insecurities."

"Wow, he sounds like a real loser." Rhombulus commented, oblivious to the irony of his statement.

"Nah, he wasn't a loser. He gained quite a lot, actually. But he was still a bitch,"

"He was also a pervert, too."

"Ah, yes he had relations with some fire god's daughter or something." Toffee recalled. "Then they ended up sealing their resulting child away in some other dimension."

"I dunno, that part was always kinda murky. Like it was never clear how that child came to be."

"She was cute though."

"Totally."

"'Abomination', my nonexistent ass, if I had hands I'd pet that fluffy tail all day,"

"Hell yeah!"

"We found her," Toffee raised a hand to signal a ceasing of any further actions.

The two (or four) came upon a wide. circular clearing that seemed to be presenting the imprisoned Eclipsa to all those who arrived. It would've been unwise to just haphazardly place her among the common prisoners considering how much weight and impact she holds to the Universe at large. That being a former Queen of Mewni and a member of the God Hand.

"Yeesh, even frozen and seemingly unconscious, she gives me the chills." Right Snake shuddered.

"But we were the ones that froze her, dude." Left Snake replied. "'Member that?"

"I 'member!" Rhombulus added as he raised Right Snake and waved him around. "I was such a hero that day."

"Well, you should feel like a bigger hero for all the change you're going to help bring to this nation," Toffee said. He bowed and extended his arm to present Eclipsa's prison to his gem-headed comrade. "Would you do the honors, Sir Rhombulus?"

"Oh, with pleasure, Master Toffee."

"Woah, woah, woah hold on!" Right Snake said with great apprehension. "Did she freakin' move!?"

"Aw snap, she did!" Left Snake affirmed. "She got her glove off and moved her arm somehow!"

"I mean, you two do realize she's currently a reality-warping being that's a few steps short of godhood, right?" Toffee reminded, not seeing what their deal was.

"Yeah and there was a Fritz goin' on," Rhombulus reminded his living appendages. "At some point my crystals became like rock candy. And like Master said, she bends reality and stuff."

"Big guy, didja forget everything we did right after we imprisoned her?" Right asked.

"Yeah after all that, there's no way she'd somehow wake up. And even if she did she can't just move through solid matter like that,"

Toffee blatantly ignored the concerns of the reptilian limbs. "Heh heh, all the more reason to let her out then. Shall we?"

"You bet!"

Much to the snakes' reluctance, Rhombulus pointed their gaping mouths straight towards Eclipsa's position, and began to engulf some magical essence out of her crystal. As this went on, the crystal began melting from the top, slowly unveiling the Dark Queen's form to the outside world.

Once the massive gem was completely dissipated, Eclipsa's body and glove slowly floated to the floor as if the gravity surrounding her was low. Reality and consciousness returned to her as she stood on all fours upon the cold, hard ground, allowing her bodily functions to catch up and adjust to her long-awaited freedom. After some time passed to recover, she put her loose glove back on and arose. She adjusted her eyes and took in the sight of a few familiar faces.

"Lady Eclipsa, it is an honor to stand within your presence." Toffee took a knee in reverence to the one Mewman he admired. Rhombulus immediately followed suit.

"Curious," Thus was her first word upon being freed after so many decades. Thus was also her first emotion. "My last encounter with you resulted in your magical crippling. Yet you stand here before me, partly responsible for my freedom."

"I cannot bear animosity towards one who's bound by obligations beyond their control." The kneeling lizard respectfully retorted, still trying to maintain a tone of reverence.

"Our philosophies and ambitions are also synonymous." Eclipsa perceptively added. "And I take it you seek my power to assist in accomplishing your goals, correct?"

"I must concede to this claim, yes,"

Eclipsa turned her intrigued attention towards the muscular, gem-headed gentleman behind the lizard. She noticed the small green flame that lied within his translucent cranium.

"Hmm, and you were the one who freed me, despite also being the one who incarcerated me in the first place. And that flame..."

The former queen was stirred with a hefty blend of pride and fascination. This Septarian that knelt before her was capable of such prowess, which allowed him to achieve feats that nearly rivaled hers during her mortal, mundane days. A warm, almost frighteningly gentle smile creeped into her face as it stretched from spade to spade.

"Arise, if you both will,"

They did as requested. Toffee professionally held his hands in front of his waist, with his left clasping over his right. Rhombulus' hands began whispering to one another, possibly about how anxious they must be to encounter the Sixth God Hand member in the flesh.

"Toffee was your name, correct?" She asked, pointing a gloved hand towards him.

"It is not, but you may refer to me as such if it pleases you,"

"Fair enough. May I see your right hand?"

Without resistance or another word, he fulfilled her request, presenting the glowing green half-crystal that adhered to the flat of his palm.

"Ah, so that's how you were able to heal yourself." Eclipsa observed, her interest growing ever higher as she thought about all the leaps and bounds he must have taken to get to this point. "I can only imagine the methods you've used and the strategies you've executed to get this far. Having a piece of the wand. Coercing the Magic High Commission into cooperating with you. With a collusion of your magic and mine, no less. I must say, I am quite amazed, Toffee. Quite amazed indeed. Never has a mortal had such a poignant effect on me. Well, not since my former lover, but I was amazed for different reasons."

"Please, my lady, you are too kind." Toffee calmly replied, trying to be modest, but deep within, he's hopping up and down like a kid in a candy store. "They are but small steps towards a brighter future for Mewni,"

"Ah exquisite. Another soul who grasps the true meaning of sacrifice in order to reach seemingly insurmountable heights," Eclipsa remarked, treating the lizard as somewhat of an equal. "How would you feel about making another sacrifice? One that greatly advances both you and myself?"

Toffee couldn't help but slightly break composure as a sinister smile slashed across his alligator maw. Not only was a hero of the monsters praising him, but she was also willing to collaborate with him. Oh, if only he could let himself dance in unbridled giddy. Maybe when no one's around. He has to keep up appearances after all.

"What do you have in mind?"

Eclipsa reached into her petticoat and rummage through her interior pockets. After a moment, she pulled out a rather familiar object. An object that acted as Moon's gift, which turned out to be a blessing and a curse. That which brought Eclipsa back into this plane of existence and indirectly trapped her in it. That which is now being bestowed to Toffee

"A Behelit?" He curiously raised an eyebrow, taking the purple egg in his claw with a slight degree of hesitation. Even after not seeing it for so long, it still disturbed him just a tad. He could swear he saw an eye peer up at him. He honestly didn't think his interaction with Eclipsa would end up like this. He thought it would be much simpler.

After that whole debacle with his former best friend, he fled the moment the "Interstice" faded back to the real world upon Eclipsa's capture by the Commission. He dwelled in the shadows and in isolation for years, researching and planning his due vengeance against the Butterfly kingdom. During that lapse in time, he failed to find any inkling of information about the group that called themselves the God Hand, or anything about Behelits, much less finding another one. Everything and anything he knew associated with any of those all came from his last meeting with Eclipsa.

However, he did discover the existence of a universe that goes beyond the Physical Plane. The Realm Beyond, they called it, which was an endless space that surpasses the bounds of the Multiverse. That where various, countless, unidentified ethereal beings made their abode. He also learned that the Interstice was a small pocket dimension that acts as a bridge between the physical and the astral realm. Though how one could possibly access the Interstice or even the Realm Beyond was never specified in the tome Toffee had thoroughly read through.

"Hold on, what am I going to sacrifice with this?" He reflexively questioned, remembering how it worked from his last experience being on the recieving end.

"I understand your doubts in utilizing it, but I assure you it will be of great of benefit to you, Toffee," Eclipsa assured, sounding as warm and friendly as she could. "Tell me, what is most valuable to you at this very moment?"

He immediately thought of his primary target. He would have set his sights upon it after his deal with Eclipsa was done. Speaking of which...

"So that's what I'm sacrificing, huh?" Toffee asked, assuming Eclipsa knew what he was insinuating. With her near omniscience, of course she did.

"It holds great importance to you, does it not?"

"Certainly, but I don't see how it would 'advance' you in any way. I would assume you've already reached your peak as a God Hand member."

"Perhaps your confidant would like to elaborate on that." Eclipsa shifted her darkened gaze towards Rhombulus and his snakes, whose huddled whispers broke off with a cowardly yelp from all three as soon as they were addressed.

"Er, well, you see, uhhh..." Rhombulus nervously spoke, but couldn't find it in him to continue coherently.

"We were kinda siphoning mana as we kept her here," Right spoke on his host's behalf.

"Yeah, so she doesn't transform and mess things up again if she ever broke free." Left added. "Though I guess that plan's a bust now."

"Oh I see," It all dawned on Toffee right away.

"Yes, so now you understand your next plan of action," Eclipsa solemnly stated. "Remember when I said that causality will deliver justice to those who deserve it?"

Oh he remembered it alright. Justice. That was a word he kept on his tongue and in his mind and heart for as long as he could remember. It was a concept he couldn't wait to serve to those he spite and bring to those who suffered. A cure he couldn't wait to inject into the veins of Mewni in order to exterminate every cell of the disease that infected its inhabitants for eons.

Indeed its karmic light will shine upon the Kingdom, immediately resonating throughout the rest of the nation, and then the Multiverse.

It will all be brought forth by a Black Sun.

"How could you be so thoughtless!? I trusted you! I poured my heart and soul out to you and for what!? When were you going to tell me it was all hopeless, Moon? Huh?"

"I'm sorry, Toffee... I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. I didn't want you to find out... like this."

"Don't call me that. You've no right to refer to me as such anymore. You're just like them. A slave to your society. What's even worse is that you're doing this for ideals you don't even personally follow. I thought you were different..."

"But I..."

"I wouldn't have minded if you'd have told me it was futile a long time ago. We wouldn't even be having this conversation and we'd interact in secret just like always. I'd have accepted that. What I cannot allow, is being led on and having my hopes and dreams used... to fulfill someone's sick desires. You're disgustng."

"...You know it wasn't like that... "

"Oh? So the moment we shared the night of your birthday with you telling me how we had the same dream afterwards wasn't just a thinly veiled solicitation for more? How could you even sleep soundly with this in mind whenever we..."

"Stop it! Please!"

"No, Moon I will not stop it. I-"

"Oi! Whas goin' on here!?"

"Wha- Oof!"

"Whaddya doin' near the Princess ya filthy beast!?"

"Urrgh... let...go of me! I'm friends with her, dammit!"

"Likely story, lizard. Yer Highness, d'you know this thing?"

"Moon, tell these two to unhand me! Please!"

"Well, yer majesty? You friends with this foul creature er wha?"

"N-no..."

"What!? Moon, what are you doing!?"

"Whatcha want us to do with it, then?"

"We can get ridda it on the spot, right 'ere, Yer Majesty."

"Don't... just... get him out of here. Out of the kingdom."

"Alright then. You heard the Princess. Let's get goin' ya filthy monster!"

"What? No. NO! Stop!"

"Ugh, shut up!"

"Agh... Moon! MOOOON!"

"What'd he tell ya!? He said, 'shut up'! And don't you dare speak the Princess's name in vain again!"

"Juss knock 'im out already,"

"Right then,"

"..."

"Yeh, das better,"

"Off with ya, then.

...

...

...

"I'm sorry... Toffee... I have to do this... For both of us... For everyone..."

...

...

...

"Good evenin', my Queen. Fancy yerself an evening stroll?"

"Quite. I see you've apprehended a horrid beast on the premises. Heaven only knows how it got here."

"Aye. We're just takin' out the trash, Yer Highness. Off the Lands it goes."

"You know, I have a more specific place in mind you can toss him off to. A locale befitting bloodline-tainting scum such as that. It's quite a journey from here, but rest assured, you'll be more than compensated for your efforts."

"Your Majesty, you're not talking about-"

"With that nutter?"

"Exactly. In fact, I'll pay you even more to keep this secret from my daughter."

Snap. The stinging crack of a whip. His limp, emaciated form hung off the damp stone wall with his wrists bound by tight, rusty chains. Visibility was limited. The only source of light was the lantern that loosely hung and swung in front of him. Even then, the rest of the room was absolute black and only his bleeding, mangled body was illuminated. He forgot what life was like outside of this putrid, isolated room.

"Hee hee hee, a whole year an' I neverr get tchired of dissh!"

Snap. Another one. Couldn't feel a thing. It stopped hurting a long time ago. It's just routine now. It's part of his life now. Morning, noon, and night. Barely any breaks in between. Constantly covered in scars, scabs, and blood. He gets washed regularly, though.

But then it started back up again, negating the half-hearted bathing. Until it came time to go to sleep. That fleeting reprieve was used to rest his mind and let his body rejuvenate. Then, once again, it all became meaningless the next day. Over and over again. He stopped hoping someone would come down here and put an end to it all. Nothing would change. He ended the self-inflicted insanity as soon as he lost all feeling in his body.

"Why don't ya shcream anymo' bud? Got nuffin left in ya? Dassh not ash fun."

Snap. One more. It didn't even knock him out cold anymore. A long time ago (Who knows how long?) he used to black out from all the excruciating pain and anguish. Then he was abruptly awakened with freezing water and it all resumed again.

Whipping, lacerating, fracturing, flaying, scalding, bludgeoning. It all blurred in his mind. Regardless of what method, it all led to one constant. Pain. So much needless pain that eventually numbed over time.

Sometimes, he could get a little too touchy. He put his tools down and removed his...

No, no, no. Happy place. Think of the dream. Think of her. All the good times he had with her. The trauma quickly melted away. Better thoughts took its place as they were the only things keeping him occupied in order to distance himself from the excruciating reality he faced every waking moment.

"Ohh, but yer shkin comesh back. Dassh my favorite part. I'll never run out of schkin to flay. And itsh sho shmoove, chtoo. Even with all the shcars and blood. When I open up dat beautchiful body... the meaty, ssshhiny mushcle that peeksh through the wound... yer shkin and flesh are one in a thoushand. No... One in a million...Yer my favorite."

Snap. Snap. Snap. He just wanted to see his skin peel off and stick itself back on. He loved it. At least one of them was happy with the current circumstances.

"Nyee hee heeee. The Queen gave me da besht job everrr! I'm sho glad they kept chu alive!"

A longer barrage of whip cracks. His green skin flayed and the dent on his body immediately closed as his regeneration worked itself. He didn't know why he bothered anymore. He barely ate or drank nowadays. Brief thoughts of his dream and memories of her were the only things keeping him alive.

Ker-chunk. Followed by a piercing, elongated creak.

Wait, the door is opening? But he's still here. No one else has come here since he was first brought in.

"Huh?" The torturer turned around. Just as confused as his victim. "Who'sh there?"

Without warning, his head was instantly split open by a battle axe, down to the lower jaw. He tried to gurgle something in distress, but once his body realized it was dead, the bloated, sweaty pile of flesh fell to the floor with a resounding smack.

His heart skipped a beat as someone surprisingly came to his rescue. The hope he thought he'd lost long ago was reinvigorated from the last additional piece of hope he didn't know he still had.

"Oh my goodness!" A mortified voice cried out. The worried, caring tone of someone he knew. Someone he used to care about. Used to trust. "Toffee... I'm so sorry... I didn't want this..."

Her.

She grabbed the jailer's key and undid his cuffs. He fell to the ground, his weakened, emaciated form sliding down the wall and folded itself onto the sickeningly moist floor. He could barely move a muscle. A coherent word could barely escape his lips. He could only make low, gutteral moans in response.

"Toffee... I'm... I had no idea this was happening. I just overheard some guards talking about a lizard being tortured at the Tower of Rebirth for a year straight. If I'd have realized it sooner..."

With a dismal sob escaping her lips, she embraced him. Closely and tightly, like her life depended on it. Her tears slid from her cheeks to his neck. It caused him a great deal of pain. Not physically, but emotionally and mentally. It was like a kick directly to his heart.

In response, he made a feeble attempt to strangle her. His first thought was to kill her for the daily physical and mental torment he had to endure for a full year. He wanted to make her pay. Make them all pay. He couldn't do it, though. His severe debilitating injuries deterred him from successfully wringing her neck no matter how hard he tried. She didn't notice.

After a few minutes, her body parted from his. She raised her wand, a soft, blue hue surrounding its glimmering crystal heart.

"Shining justice burning in me." She began reciting those familiar words. It felt like ages ago since he last heard them, but they remained fresh in his mind. "Good as new will this body be. Unbreakable can we only aspire. Let the voice of love take us higher!"

In the thick darkness, it illuminated brighter and so did he. How familiar.

His body steadily returned to how it was a year ago. Before the perpetual persecution and the unending agony began. Before he was dragged a few miles underground against his will. Before he was stopped by the Queen and his fate changed course.

Now that his body was back to its smoother, muscular self, he didn't feel any more hostility towards Moon. All violent intentions were instantly superseded by the refreshing, relaxing feeling that washed over his entire being.

"Thank you..." He meekly said. His gratefulness belied the betrayal and anger that burned in his soul.

"You're very welcome. Now let's get out of here, shall we?" She announced as she brandished a pair of dimensional scissors. She cut into the air and tore open a teal and white rift in space. With no time to spare, she hurriedly immersed herself in the portal.

He went to grab his clothes from a corner of the room. They haven't been washed or tended to for a year, but he slipped into them anyways. He entered the portal once he was properly dressed.

As they reached the other side, they both ended up in front of a Cherry Blossom tree surrounded by an expansive field of pink flowers and unused swords that stuck blade-first into the ground. The Flower Fields of Fallen Fighters.

Toffee went momentarily blind as his eyes touched sunlight for the first time after months and months of empty darkness. As his sight adjusted to the vibrant, colorful environment, his heart fluttered as he vividly remembered this very place. He remembered all the lazy, silent afternoons he spent here with her on this very spot. A spot that promised everlasting love and peace.

Without another word, Moon walked to the bark of the tree and sat herself down, basking in the cool, relaxing shade. The free lizard followed behind, sitting closely adjacent to her with their arms just a hair's short of making contact. For once, he felt relaxed. He had nothing to worry about. No daily torture to look forward to any longer. He could turn off his brain without it having to be a coping mechanism.

Stillness. Silence. Neither of the two budged the slightest inch nor stirred a single sound. There weren't any birds that day. There wasn't any wind either. Just... nothing. The two merely sat there, letting the days events and everything that led up to that moment settle uncomfortably in their minds. Neither of them had any idea what to do from then on. Do they continue like normal and just meet in secret on a regular basis again? Do they agree to part ways from there and never cross paths with one another again?

For Toffee, neither of those options were a choice he was willing to make. He couldn't simply disregard everything that occured in the past year or so like none of it ever happened. The discovery of the cruel, cruel truth brought him to the cusp. The needless imprisonment was what finally pushed him over the edge.

"Toffee..." Moon finally spoke up. Her voice was low and held a tinge of juvenile longing.

"Hmm." The response sounded firm and lacked the usual friendliness whenever he replied that way. He couldn't bring himself to face her, either.

"Let's run away." The princess boldly decided. "We can live the rest of our lives at your home. Just the two of us. We can be together without anyone saying otherwise."

An acidic compound of emotions pooled and bubbled within Toffee's being upon hearing this. She wanted to run away from her kingdom and abandon everything just for him? Abandon everything she ever gained through sheer effort, endurance and strong suppression of her core self? After everything that unfolded? Just like that?

No. He couldn't allow this. No matter how sweet and brave it was that she was willing to give everything up for him, he couldn't continue to spend time with her and look her in the eye after all that occured. Not after the betrayal of his trust and the exploitation of his need for validation of his dreams and intimate companionship. While his prior unnecessary, cruel and unusual punishment wasn't entirely her fault, he still couldn't forget about it. He couldn't let that go. Not one bit.

Instead, he'll work to make them pay. All of them. He refused to preserve the lives of the family and people that made him suffer for a year and made his people suffer for even longer. Although he won't specifically target Moon, he won't hesitate to confront her should she make any attempts to impede his vengeful path.

"No," He firmly answered.

And thus her heart was split in two. Tears welled up within her and her voice broke apart. "W-why...?"

"I... I couldn't..." Now it was Toffee's turn to maintain a facade. His sincerity and care for her well-being betrayed the vengeance and scorn that burned in his heart. "I can't let you abandon everything for my sake."

"I don't care about anything anymore!" She shouted, tears flooding her face unabated. "You're the only one that matters to me above all else!"

"Moon..." He was a tad exasperated, but he did well to sustain his calm, comforting demeanor. "Please, just... let me go... for the time being."

"No! I can't! The year I spent without you was nothing but absolute pain and misery!"

That comment cut deep and hard into Toffee's being. Deeper and more painful than anything that torturer could've possibly dished out. What did she know about misery? Or of pain? She was never trapped underground and had a year of her life taken away, never to be returned. She was never constantly brutalized to the point where all feeling in her body and all hope in her mind were lost. She was nowhere but the safety and luxury of her own castle, free from such traumatizing horrors. The worst she's probably ever had to experience was her tea being too hot or her tax collections being too low.

"Moon," He called out again, more seriously this time. He held her by the shoulders firmly, but not enough for his claws to dig into her flesh. "You need to stay strong. You need to endure all the emotional and mental strain that comes to you. Just like always."

"But... but I..."

"Look," His soft, narrowed eyes locked with hers. "Your people. They need a leader when the time comes, alright? Everyone would be counting on you to be a keeper of peace and prosperity. It'd be a great disservice to them if you just abandoned everything you worked your fingers to the bone for. Would you want to be another Eclipsa?"

"No! I will not end up like her!" Moon yelled, the comment offending her just as much as Toffee's rejection. "I won't even be half as worse as her!"

"Perhaps not. But regardless, it would still result in the same detrimental effects to your kingdom at large. Especially since you still possess the Royal Wand."

"Then I'll throw it away! I don't need this dumb thing!" She was being irrational at this point. The wand was chucked to the ground with the intention to break. It landed upon the flowers, still as whole as it was before it left her hand."

"Moon please, you're nineteen years old, yet you're acting like you're nine years younger."

"Why won't you let me do this for you, Toffee!?"

He couldn't take it anymore. With a flaming storm erupting within, he effortlessly tossed her several feet away, illiciting a frightful shriek from the princess. She landed just out of reach of the tree's shadow.

She could only stare mortified at her beloved, who held such a wild, feral look in his eyes. Something that she couldn't say that she's ever seen before. At least, not from him. Such eyes would be seen on predatory beasts like starving wolves. At the same time, she could feel the familiar, ruthless aura he exuded whenever he was dead set on a goal.

And she seemed to be in his path.

"I'm not going to ask you again." His voice was low and void of any perceivable emotion. His fists were tightly clenching, much so that the cracking of his bones and the stretching of his flesh were almost audible. "Leave. Now. Live your life the way you always have. Within the safety of your kingdom and away from me and my ilk."

He deftly lifted the wand off the flowery ground with his foot, then tossed it towards the still-shaken Moon.

"If you set foot anywhere beneath this tree, I will not be responsible for whatever happens to you," He coldly threatened. "However, I have given you the chance to defend yourself should anything happen."

Her jaw was still agape as she failed to find any words to respond with. What could she possibly say? Whatever happened in that horrible place apparently changed him dramatically. No longer did she see the gentle, charismatic, methodical, caring friend that cherished her and made her forget all of the problems and pressures of her royal duties. She was staring at an entirely different person. A living, breathing embodiment of suffering and hatred.

Or perhaps this was what dwelled within him the whole time. The rage and contempt he held for the Mewman race was a layer beneath his skin that bared before her as his normally calm and caring guise was worn down by the days, weeks, and months of constant, unbearable torture. All ideas of affection, hope, and happiness have long departed his soul, replaced by awful, negative emotions that constantly festered and beat against the walls of the hollow shell that was his body.

He just needed a hug, that was all. A display of affection that signifies that he is not alone. To tell him that everything will be all right and nothing else can hurt him as long as they had each other.

"Goodbye." He simply said, breaking the long silence that loomed between them. He turned around and began walking away. She couldn't accept this.

Without another word, she broke off into a brisk sprint in his direction, her arms outstretched, hoping to quell the rage that boiled within him.

She only got within an arm's length from him before he instantly turned around and sent an unrelenting fist to her face, stopping any further advancements. A sickening crack echoed throughout the fields of flowers and swords, which faded into a tangible, unbearable silence.

Normally, a punch with that amount of force behind it would surely knock one off their feet and even pop a jaw off its hinges.

However, Moon stood firm as Toffee's scaly knuckles were embedded in her delicate cheeks. Her arms were held firmly to her sides as she gazed upon him with unbridled dejection. Tears lined the edges of her eyes as they threatened to further flood the rest of her face. It wasn't the physical strike itself that was painful. It was the fact that he did it without holding anything back and likely without any regret.

"Why?" Was what her despaired visage asked. She silently begged and pleaded for an answer to his behavior and her Toffee back. She wanted to go back to the way things were. Where there was nothing but friendship and smiles regularly shared between the two. Before all this.

But it wouldn't.

In the blink of an eye, Moon found herself with her back to the ground, straddled by what she used to to call a friend as two sets of claws tightly wound themselves around her neck. He bore and clenched his sharpened teeth as he did what he intended to do the instant her form vexed his eyesight after his imprisonment.

She choked and gagged as her lungs gutturally begged for air. Her vision flickered in and out as consciousness threatened to leave her and her body threatened to shut down. Permanently.

With as much strength as she could muster while in this position that compromised her life, she extended both arms to his face. Her gloved hands gently glided from his cheek down the length of his maw, as if she was contently accepting her demise by the hands of her former lover.

The image of the pristine, blue sky and the bloodlusted, seething gaze that attempted to burn holes into her being began to blur. Spots of black emerged and expanded in the distorted sight as it soon filled her entire vision with nothing but blank, black darkness. The oxygen from her lungs, and simultaneously, her brain, faded away, leaving behind a limp, lone body that seemed to blend seemlessly with the rest of the landscape.

"Another day, perhaps. But not today," Toffee nearly whispered as his grasp upon her neck released as did her grasp on reality. He walked away from her comatose body, numb to the severity of his own actions. Never to see her again for a long time. If he could, he'd do it a thousand times over it if meant keeping her away from him. But it wasn't her time. Not yet.

After some time passed, Moon awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and a brisk wind lightly brushing against her face. Her body shot bolt upright as she resoundedly called out his name, with no response other than the echoing of her cry being carried off to the winds and falling on deaf ears. He wasn't coming back. No matter how many times and how loudly she'd scream his name, he wouldn't come back. Not by her demand anyways.

As hopelessness crawled into her very being, she dragged her legs to her chest and quietly wept into her knees, comforted only by the pink flowers and discarded blades that surrounded her.

Contrary to what Toffee declared earlier, something within Moon still ended up dying that day. It burned away into an unrecognizable pile of soot, with no recovery in sight.

And from the ashes of her scorched hope, birthed a new life to be led for the remainder of her existence.

Sure, she eventually moved on and became queen. Presided over a nation with a firm, yet fair rule. Overcame ardous ordeals that laid the foundations for her individual progress as a person and a leader. She even met someone else and bore a wonderful, yet tiresome daughter.

Despite all this, the current Queen of Mewni remained eternally haunted by a past undaunted.