Marco forced his eyes back open. Standing in front of him with her blond hair whipping in the wind was Star.

"Star?" He asked.

"Marco!" She replied, shocked that he was there. "What are you doing here?"

"Well... I guess the same thing as you. So, any idea what happens if we stay here?"

Star looked at him with teary eyes, "No... And I don't care" She lunged forward to hug him. Marco flinched unwittingly but returned the hug just the same. "Because with or without magic-"

"We belong together." Marco finished. He clung to Star as tightly as he could, ignoring the pain in his stomach. He just hoped beyond hope that they would be okay. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to stop imagining all the terrible ways this could end. Star grasped the back of Marco's hoodie. They both welded their eyelids shut as the world around them seemed to light up, growing brighter and brighter until it would have been blinding. There was a dull, eerie humming in the background, and then… Silence. Complete and utter silence. And darkness. Marco didn't even have to open his eyes to know that there wasn't anything there.

"Where-?"

"I don't know." Star cut him off. Marco shifted uncomfortably, and Star dropped her arms back to her sides. The teens stood, Marco with visible effort. Star gave him an odd look.

"Marco… Are you okay?" Marco debated telling her about the horn-shaped hole in his body, but it hurt far less than he would have thought and they already had enough to worry about.

"I'm fine Star. Great, actually. Just a little dinged up from that weird unicorn fight." Star looked skeptical but nodded her acceptance.

"I think- Marco, I think we did it. We destroyed the magic." The realization struck them both like a blow to the chest. "This is just like what happened when Toffee took over the magic!"

"What?" Marco asked, almost afraid of the answer. Star began to pace back and forth rapidly.

"When I busted Ludo's crazy wand hand, I ended up in this weird version of the magic dimension. Only, instead of the golden shimmery stuff and the pink crystals, everything was the same black-ish green color as when I recited the whispering spell. After you guys freed Toffee, I kinda passed out and woke up in a weird empty black area just like this! That time though, Glossaryck was there with his gross soup. There was some magic left in the soup and I used it to escape." Marco stood dumbfounded for a moment.

"But this time there isn't any magic to get us out of here."

"I know." Star's eyes welled up again. "I just thought we'd be okay. I thought you'd be safe on Earth and I thought that my friends would be safe at home. I thought... I don't know what I thought. And now-" She looked up at Marco, eyes streaming and nose red, "Now, what if they're all stuck like this and it's all my fault? What if I made the wrong choice?" Marco pulled the distraught girl into his arms and rested his chin on her head.

"It's okay Star. You did make the right choice. I believe that everyone is safe at home."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I don't. But I have to believe that I do because if I don't then I have no idea what I'll do." Star sniffed and stepped back.

"Marco, there's something I need to tell you."She took a deep breath. "I saw my tapestry in the Room of Queens."

"Wait, what?" Marco asked.

"It was me destroying the magic. My parents were there, and so were all the citizens of Mewni. But you weren't there. I knew Marco! I knew that we would never see each other again and I still did it!" Star saw Marco tense up for a moment, and she braced herself for some kind of negative reaction. It didn't come. Instead, he pulled her down with him to sit together.

"It's okay, Star. You did what you had to to keep everyone safe." He yawned widely.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah. Come on, I know it isn't comfortable, but we have to make do. We've gotta get some sleep." Star nodded her agreement and curled tighter into Marco's side. They released a sigh in tandem. It had been a long day.

Hi, me again. Thanks for reading, and I hoped you enjoyed this first real chapter. I've decided to keep them short in favor of posting more often, but if that doesn't suit y'all I'd be willing to switch it up. Please stay safe during this time and I wish y'all the best. I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a follow or a review. Thanks so much! ~Sayonara