WATCH THE SERIES FINALE OF STAR VS. BEFORE READING THIS STORY!
Chapter 26: Birds of a Feather
"Ah. Resurrection." Glossaryk spoke. "Who were you planning on bringing back? A Cousin? Grandparent?" Glossaryk stopped for a second to think. "...childhood pet hamster?" The man stood back, sneering at the magical being.
"Don't play smart with me. You will give us the spell or else-." The man told him, pointing at him.
"Or else there will be consequences. Do you really expect me to be surprised?" Glossaryk replied, rolling his eyes. "I've heard the typical evildoer negotiation in all my hundreds of years of lifetime so far. I usually hear a name too but I lack that information. Therefore, I will call you Mr. Lack-there-of, the man who lacks in detail." Glossaryk told him, smirking.
"Quiet!" Mr. Lack-there-of yelled. Glossaryk put his hands up against his ears.
"Well, there's no need to shout. I can hear you just fine. This box isn't soundproof." Glossaryk said in a snarky tone.
"May I continue?" Mr. Lack-there-of asked irritatingly. Glossaryk sighed.
"If you must." Glossaryk responded, leaning against a side of the box, wanting this all to be over. Mr. Lack-there-of cleared his throat.
"If you've heard these types of 'evil negotiations' before, then you must have been told or read of a spell to raise the dead in your 'hundreds of years of lifetime' as well, I presume." Mr. Lack-there-of replied before snapping his fingers. "I may have a little something that might help you remember it." Another gentleman came from outside the shadows, holding something very familiar in his hands.
A shoulder bag...
Skyywnne's shoulder bag full of ideal spells...
The man handed it to his leader before stepping back in the shadows once again. Glossaryk scowled at him.
"I suppose you've taken out what is in that bag." Glossaryk guessed.
"No. In fact, all the contents are still in its place. However, you can cause a lot of collateral damage with what's in this bag. It would be a shame if we kept it and used it for ourselves." Mr. Lack-there-of told him.
"You would, yes; if you had magic, which you do not, Mr. La-...you know what? Can I just call you Lacky?" Glossaryk asked. He crossed his legs in a pretzel fold before closing his eyes, placing both hands on both knees as if he was about to meditate. "I would say the full name but I don't have the work ethic right now to do that." Lacky looked at Glossaryk in anger.
"How do people deal with you…" Lacky asked. Glossaryk opened his eyes.
"Delicately." Glossaryk responded.
"Also, what makes you think we do not have magic?" Lacky asked.
"Because you don't." Glossaryk responded.
"How do you know?" Lacky asked.
"Why do you think I would tell you?" Glossaryk asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because if you don't, you'll regret it." Lacky replied.
"You sure about that?" Glossaryk asked, mocking the man's words. Lacky grumbled in annoyance.
"Look. You have two options. You tell us the spell to raise the dead or…" Lacky brought his face closer to the glass again. "We use the spells once we have the magic in our possession."
"So you don't have the magic?" Glossaryk smirked. Lacky's mouth gaped before he face-palmed. "Why couldn't you just tell me?" He asked sarcastically.
"...are you always this aggravating?" Lacky asked.
"That is up to you. Am I aggravating?" Glossaryk asked. "Or am I just clever?" He smirked again.
"Would you just tell me the spell or I'll-!" Lacky yelled before a sudden explosion blasted through one of the walls, creating a large hole. "What the heck was that?!" Lacky shouted.
"Your worst nightmare..." A short man growled from near the hole in the wall. Lacky laughed, finding it hilarious.
"I never expected my nightmare to be so...short." Lacky mocked before his fellow comrades laughed along with him. That is...until another shorter figure came from behind him.
"Make that two." The shorter figure added.
Marco was in the kitchen, making some breakfast for his family and friends. He was at the stove, frying some bacon on a skillet as another skillet cooked some pancakes. Star walked into the kitchen with wandering eyes. She began looking through all the cabinets and drawers, opening them all as she peeked her head inside them. Marco watched as she then made her way to the refrigerator.
"What are you looking for?" Marco asked.
"Glossaryk." Star told him.
"Aaaaand you need Glossaryk...why?" Marco asked.
"I don't exactly need him for anything. It's just weird that I haven't seen him at all this morning. He usually bugs me saying, 'You kept me up all night with your breathing.' or 'Sleeping on a pile of tissues is so uncomfortable! You can't be nice enough to give me a bed my size?' bla blabla blabla." Star said, using her hand to mimic Glossaryk talking.
"Ooookay. So he's not in my room?" Marco asked as he began flipping over the strips of bacon.
"Nope." Star replied. "Look. I just want to make sure nothing happened to him. You never know in this new world, you know?" She hummed, thinking of where Glossaryk might be. She walked towards Marco, taking the hood of Marco's hoodie in her hands. Marco felt a tug.
"Ah!" Marco spoke as he was pulled. Star opened up the hood, seeing no sign of Glossaryk.
"Nuh-uh." Star said as she let go of the hood. Marco took his arm and fixed it, flattening it out.
"You sure he's not out somewhere?" Marco asked.
"Marco. Come on. We have a whole month's worth of pudding stocked in the fridge. Why would Glossaryk want to leave?" Star asked, pointing to the fridge.
"Good point." Marco said, bringing his gaze back to the stove. He took the skillets and flipped them, making the bacon and pancakes go through the air. He dropped the skillets and grabbed two plates, having the bacon and pancakes land right on them. Star was pretty amazed.
"Woah. Where'd you learn how to do that?" Star asked.
"You can learn a thing or two from the cooking channel." Marco smirked. "Mom! Dad! Breakfast!" Marco called. Rafael peeked his head from behind the wall, sniffing the air.
"Honey! Marco made us bacon!" Rafael exclaimed happily to his wife, clapping his hands with glee.
"Ooo! Pancakes too! Isn't that wonderful! I don't think Mariposa's had bacon yet." Angie replied as she walked past him with Mariposa in her arms, tickling her belly. Mariposa giggled as she was tickled. Angie walked over to the dining room table, putting Mariposa in her height chair. Angie then turned her head, noticing that Star was frantically searching the house. "Lose something, Star?"
"Yeah. Glossaryk. Have you seen him?" Star asked as she looked under the dining room table.
"Sorry but...no." Angie asked.
"Has she checked the fridge?" Rafael asked his wife. Marco walked over to the dining room table with the plates of bacon and pancakes in his hand.
"She's checked all over the kitchen, dad...including my hoodie." Marco told him.
"Well, he has to be around here somewhere, Star." Angie said. "Maybe opening a cup of pudding might bring him out of hiding?" Angie predicted. Star gasped.
"You're right!" Star said before running over to the fridge, grabbing a thing of pudding. She held it high in the air as she took off the lid, making it sound off throughout the house, almost like opening a can of food for a pet. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Marco's mouth gaped.
"...I can't believe that worked." Marco said, staring dumbfoundedly at the door. Star ran over to the door, taking the knob in her hand and opening it, revealing a familiar face.
"Star!" A short man with a long blonde beard and mustache exclaimed. He had a cloth bag on his back. Star gasped with a bright smile.
"Dad! You're back!" Star exclaimed.
"Yes! My adventure in this new world of Mewn-Earth has proven to be very useful!" River told her. "I say, why have your hearts returned? How much have I missed?"
"Well...a lot. We'll fill you in." Star told him. Marco came from behind Star.
"Wait, wait, wait. Mew-what, now?" Marco asked.
"Marco, my boy!" River shouted with joy. Marco jumped, not expecting Star's father to be at the door.
"River! Woah it's been a long time since we've seen you." Marco spoke.
"Well, now I'm back...and I'm not alone." River brought his face close to Star. "He's back." River spoke quietly.
"Uuuhhh huhhhh….who's back?" Star asked.
"G-L-O-S-S-A-R-" River started to spell.
"Dad. I know how to spell. It's obviously Glossaryk….WAIT!" Star exclaimed as she jumped in shock. "You found him!?"
"Why yes!" River laughed. Glossaryk came from behind River.
"Glossaryk!" Star exclaimed.
"Yes. Hello. How are you? That's nice. Where's the pudding?" Glossaryk spoke quickly as he floated past Star. Star glared at him.
"Wow. You went through so much." Star said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "So what happened?"
"We achieved victory over his captors and freed him from their treacherous grasp!" River told her triumphantly.
"Huh? Captors? Victory? Okay, okay, okay. Now you're going to have to fill us in." Star told him. "And what do you mean by we?" Star asked.
"Oh. Well, uh...Star. You should know that I now have made an ally." River told her.
"Cool! Who is it?" Marco asked.
"...well…now, I don't know how you'll exactly feel about-." River told her.
"Oh please. A friend of yours is a friend of mine. You know that." Star said before motioning for her father to step to the side. River moved over to his left, revealing someone very unexpected, with his back turned to them.
"LUDO?!" Star and Marco gasped. Ludo screamed in terror as he jumped, turning around.
"Star Butterfly!? And uh...you! You uh…" Ludo tried to remember Marco's name.
"...Marco... it's Marco. I mean-...come on, you seriously forgot my name?" Marco asked.
"It's been a while, okay? I'm allowed to forget things! My life has been a bit chaotic in the past! I've been through a great deal of-!" Ludo spoke.
"Look, man. You got what was coming to you. Everything that happened to you was just the consequences of what you did in the past." Marco told him with his arms crossed, trying to make a point.
"Uh, hello? Can we get back to the point? My dad just called you an ally...why?!" Star asked, absolutely befuddled as she waved her hands about.
"Hey! Believe it or not, I've had a change of heart since the last time we came across each other." Ludo told the two of them. The last time Ludo saw Star, she was running past him in a hurry to get to the portal she and Marco created. "I've realized that life meant more than just stealing a wand and ruling a kingdom."
"Uh-huh. Okay. And now you're doing what with your life exactly?" Marco asked.
"Leisure, Marco; taking in the fresh air and spending time with family...a.k.a, my younger brother, Dennis." Ludo told them. He turned his eyes to Star. "You! Tell him! You ran past me not too long ago! You saw me!" Marco shifted his gaze to Star.
"Seriously?" Marco asked.
"Yeah...he was playing basketball." Star told him.
"Ha! You see!" Ludo spoke loudly.
"Huh." Marco sounded.
"Okay, okay. We get it. You now live a life of leisure, blah blabla blabla. Can you please explain how you teamed up with my dad now?" Star asked. She noticed that Ludo had a very familiar bag on his shoulder; Skywynne's bag. Star's eyes went wide. "Wait a minute…how did you get this bag?!"
"This is your bag?!" Ludo asked. Star couldn't tell him that it was Skywynne's bag. Who knows how Ludo would react.
"Uh...yeah. Yeah, it's uh...it's my bag. How did you get it?!" Star asked again.
"Well, If you let your father and I explain, we could tell you. Can you let me in now?" Ludo said as he took it off his shoulder. Star immediately took the bag from his grasp. Star and Marco got out of the way. Marco motioned for Ludo to come on through the front door. "Thank you." He said before walking into the house. Star and Marco watched as he made his way inside, giving him raised eyebrows. Star looked down at Skywynne's bag in great concern.
"Star? Does Ludo know about...you know…" Marco got close to Star to whisper to her. "...the magic?"
"I don't think so. I don't think he knows about Skywynne either." Star sighed. "Okay, I know he said that he's done with magic and all that but...I still feel like...we can't completely trust him." Star told Marco.
"You think so?" Marco asked.
"Marco! Keep up please! This is Ludo we're talking about; the bird brain who tried taking the wand from me and successfully took over Butterfly Castle at one point. He might be all 'leisure-loving' now but...if Ludo sees that we have magic and-...and knows that we have a past queen in our time, those evil thoughts might flood back. He might remember how it felt to control the power that magic contains. We can't let that happen, Marco." Star said as she watched Ludo conversing with River inside. "Whatever the case may be, we can't let him know that there is magic in this house or Skywynne OR the wand."
"Agreed. Good thing Skywynne went out early this morning for a walk." Marco said.
"Star! Marco! Are you both coming?" River asked. Star and Marco turned their heads to the sound of River's voice.
"Yeah! Uh...coming, dad!" Star said. Star took a deep breath, letting it out a second after. "Alright. You know the drill. No talk of magic, Skywynne, or any of that stuff. Okay?" She asked Marco.
"You got it." Marco replied
Star, Marco, Ludo, River, and Glossaryk all made their way to the living room, taking a seat on the couches and chairs residing in it. Marco's parents and Mariposa made their way to the second floor, giving the group some privacy to talk. River began to explain everything that happened.
"I assume your mother told you about my little expedition; traversing the wilderness and learning about its new resources." River said to Star.
"She did." Star spoke.
"So, did you find anything?" Marco asked.
"Yeees! Yes." River grabbed his heavy cloth bag from behind him, beginning to take out items from it to show to the group. "I found this!" River revealed a jar with holes poked in the lid. Something green was moving inside it. "An alien-like snake with the texture of snot!"
"Uhh...that's a slug." Marco said, pointing at it.
"Ah." River sounded, looking at the slug.
"Ooooooo. Can I touch it?" Star asked.
"That is a defenseless creature! It doesn't want to be poked!" Marco said. "Besides, why would you want to?"
"Because it looks so squishy and boopable!" Star told him.
"We also found this!" Ludo said, taking a few leaves out of his pocket.
"Ludo? Uh...that's poison ivy." Marco told him.
"What's that?" Ludo's eyes went wide. He immediately dropped it on the floor, feeling itching all over his body. Ludo began scratching everywhere. "Make it stop!" Ludo shouted before running out of the living room and into the kitchen. Marco groaned.
"Ludo! Don't touch anything!" Marco exclaimed as he stood up and ran after Ludo. River looked at the poison ivy leaves; then, at his daughter.
"Star?" River called.
"I got it." Star held her hand out towards the poison ivy, blasting it with magical energy. The leaves suddenly grew eyes.
"Touch me!" The leaves said before growing legs and running away out the door. "Give me a hug!" Star and River watched as it ran out the door.
"...I meant to disintegrate it." Star replied, biting her lip.
"Why do I smell like medicine?!" Ludo asked loudly as he came back into the room.
"Because I put caladryl on your rashes?" Marco answered as he followed behind him.
"Has this been animal-tested?!" Ludo asked, sniffing his arm.
"Oh please. It's caladryl for pets. We've used this on the laser puppies." Marco told him. "Anyway, what did we miss?" River and Star gave each other blank stares. Star turned her gaze back to Marco.
"Nothing." Star told him.
"Wait, why can't you-" Marco spoke before Star gave him a straight face. Marco got the hint immediately. "Yeah, I'm sure nothing happened that we should be too worried about." Marco said nervously. "Anyway uh...back to the story?" He said as he sat down, stiff.
"Ah. Right. It all started in the deepest part of the forest; where I came across a group of men." River said.
River was walking around the dark corners of the forest, holding a spear in his hand that he made out of wood as a weapon for means of protection. He stayed close to the ground, just in case any creature spotted him wandering about. Every time a noise was heard, he would stop and freeze, staying as stiff as stone. Suddenly, he saw a light in the distance, almost resembling the light of a fire. He squinted his eyes at it, quietly making his way towards it.
Once River was close enough to the light, he hid behind a large boulder, hidden from view. He peeked over the boulder, revealing fifteen hooded figures standing in a circle around a campfire, having a discussion.
"They have the magic in their possession now! As we speak, time is slipping away. If we don't act soon, we'll lose this one chance we have to complete our goal and to enact the revenge our ancestors entrusted to us to carry out!" A man said loudly to the group.
"We can't just storm in and take the magic. We don't know where they've hidden it. We'll be caught!" Another man spoke. "Not to mention once we have the magic, there's no way we can use it without a wand. Mina said it's been lost after the destruction of the so-called 'realm of magic'. No one knows where it is now!"
"Silence!" A man took off his hood, revealing his face. River took a guess that this man was in charge of the group. "Mina is in leagues with us. She doesn't know of our plans but no matter what the case, she will find a way to retrieve the magic. Right now, we need to fulfill the plan we are setting out to complete." The leader spoke.
"So you are speaking of multi-tasking; gathering the information we need while she finds the magic?" A man asked.
"Exactly. The more intel we can gather, the faster we achieve our plan. We just need to keep working alongside Mina." The leader responded. "In the meantime, I have a plan in mind. Since magic is now back, that means that he is back as well." The leader took out a sketch from his pocket.
It was a sketch of Glossaryk.
"If there is anyone who knows more about magic than either Mina or us, it is him. He may not tell us where the magic is. However, he could tell us some other useful information." The leader spoke.
"We take him...tonight." The leader finished.
River understood what the group was talking about. They were after the magic. They were going to capture Glossaryk and get as much information about magic as they could from him. Suddenly, he saw something moving nearby, hiding behind a bush. River, suspecting that it wasn't with the men, quickly, but quietly, made his way over there. He got his weapon ready just in case it decided to attack him. Once he was ready, River jumped out in front of it and pointed his spear at the figure. River was in shock. It was Ludo.
"Ludo…" River sneered.
"King River? What are you doing here?!" Ludo asked.
"I could ask you the same question." River said, pointing his weapon back at Ludo. After dealing with Ludo taking over the kingdom and being 'levitatoed' into the sky, he wasn't going to take any chances.
"Could you...could you drop the stick, please?" Ludo exclaimed in a whisper. River peered at Ludo before slowly dropping his weapon. "Thank you."
"Now talk." River commanded. "You're after the magic, aren't you?"
"What? No! No why would...okay now that I think about it, you have good reason to believe I would want the magic but no! No, no, no." Ludo spoke.
"You're babbling. It's the tell-tale sign of a liar." River spoke, about to bring his spear up into position again.
"I'm being serious!" Ludo spoke with his hands in the air. "I'm done with magic. I've found more valuable things in life like family...and-...and basketball...and trash!"
"Trash...why would you like trash?" River asked, confused.
"My last home was made of tra-...you know what? Nevermind! Those men are plotting something that would affect absolutely everything; not just you or your family. It will affect the good and the bad! I'm good now but...still! If they are after magic and Glossaryk, then something bad is about to happen and they have something to do with it!" Ludo said, pointing to the group of men. River and Ludo peeked back over the bush, watching the men converse with each other.
"You may not believe me after everything I've done in the past but you cannot deny the fact that they're up to something." Ludo said.
"Alright. You may just be right." River replied. They could hear the leader of the group talking again.
"Before we make our move, let's grab some supplies at the site." The leader said. The group began to make their way away from the campsite. River and Ludo started following the group from far behind, making sure they didn't notice the two of them being close behind them. As they were in pursuit, River looked over to his side with a raised eyebrow, seeing Ludo walking right next to him. Ludo then looked over at River with the same look. Once they both noticed they were glancing at each other, they immediately turned their heads straight ahead awkwardly, back on course. River cleared his throat as Ludo whistled.
"So...you're following them too?" Ludo asked, breaking the silence.
"Mmmm...yes. It appears that you are as well." River spoke.
"Uh...yes?" Ludo said awkwardly. The silence between them returned. River couldn't take it anymore. "Alright! We are on the same course! Let's face the facts!"
"I suppose. Are you proposing we form...an alliance?" River asked, a little hesitant.
"I know that it's far from what you are thinking but hear me out! We are after the same thing; keeping our new world safe from these...what would you call them? Magic stealers?"
"Hmm...I will accept your terms. After they leave their site, we'll hide out there and wait until they come back. But listen here." River stopped in his tracks and scowled at Ludo. Ludo stopped along with him. "If you dare turn against me or join forces with them…" River pointed to the men. "...you're done for...and you will have to go through me." River told them. River held out his hand to shake Ludo's. "Deal?" Ludo looked at his hand before hesitantly taking it.
"Deal." Ludo said.
"And that is how we are now allies; fighting evil and bringing justice to those who want to cause harm to our new home." River told them as he laughed triumphantly.
"After a few hours, we discovered that the men were right. Magic was back which meant Glossaryk was back as well." Ludo added.
"So what did they want from you, Glossaryk?" Marco asked Glossaryk, who was eating a pudding cup.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing much. Just a spell to raise the dead. Nothing important." Glossaryk told them.
"Not important? Glossaryk! That's really important!" Star exclaimed.
"Why would they want to raise the dead?" Marco asked.
"No, Marco. The question is...who do they want to raise from the dead." Star said, thinking to herself.
"Good question. What we are both trying to figure out is who has the magic and who they're seeking revenge on. Your mother told me that the magic was destroyed." River spoke.
"She did?" Star asked. "Is that why you're here then?"
"Well, yes but it was also because Glossaryk told us that he was last with you." River spoke.
"What we do need to figure out is where the magic is hidden. We don't exactly know where it is but-..." Ludo stopped, suddenly thought of what River just said. He glanced over at Star.
"Uh...hello?" Star spoke. Last time Ludo saw Star, she had no hearts on her cheeks. He wondered why that was the case until he learned that magic was destroyed. No magic meant no cheekmarks. However, thoughts began to race through Ludo's head. If magic was destroyed...
…then why does Star have her hearts on her cheeks?
The only way she could have her cheekmarks back was if...she had magic herself.
Suddenly, the front door opened.
"I'm back!" An energized Skywynne with her hourglass cheekmarks said coming in…with the magic wand in her hand.
Ludo turned his head to her, gasping, knowing exactly who she was.
"Oh, um...is this a bad time, Star?" She asked.
CHAPTER 27 COMING SOON!
