Star vs The Forces of Evil

The Ballad of Earth-Mewni

Disclaimer: Star vs The Forces of Evil was created by Daron Nefcy and is owned by Disney. I own no part of Star vs.

Episode 23: Reverse Rebuild

Episode Summary: The first day of the long-awaited "Mewman-Human-Monster Integrated Playground Build" has finally arrived!

Original Release Date: July 18, 2020

It was almost finally here: in just one more day, the long-anticipated "Mewman-Human-Monster Integrated Playground Build" would begin. For Star & the Butterflies, there was a lot riding on this. It was one of the most significant mandates imposed by the Earthni shadow council: Mewmans, Monsters, and Humans working together to build something that all three could enjoy together. If it went well, the future of Earthni looked incredibly promising. If it didn't, it was up in the air.

And so, one day before the build was set to commence, Marco Diaz found himself sitting in the office of Cassandra Cher. Following the revelation that Marco was intending to have a statue of Star built in her honor, Star suggested to"She him that he sit down with Cassandra to hash out his lingering issues between them.

"This design is lovely..." Cassandra remarked, looking over the blueprints on Marco's phone of the statue he had been contemplating having commissioned.

"Nothing but the best for my...princess..." Marco replied rather nervously, barely able to look Cassandra in the eye.

"How did she react when she found out about this?"

"She, uh...wasn't totally thrilled." He shuffled his feet & twiddled his thumbs.

"Did that surprise you?"

After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "No, not at all." Outside the room Star was waiting in the lobby, overhearing their talk while holding a bouquet of flowers in hand, a bouquet she was going to give to him as soon as he was done as a sign of affection. She was silently pulling for him to air out his grievances so he could get past this & feel better. "She always loves how I don't see her as the princess and how I only saw the "real" Star Butterfly when we spent time together. But that's not true...I always saw the princess in her. I just hid it well because I didn't want to disappoint her."

It was always a big sticking point with Star; when she was on Earth for the first time, she only wanted to be seen as Star Butterfly: magic wielder. Not Star Butterfly: magical princess. Because Marco did it so easily, she was able to easily gravitate to him. But as time passed - especially once Star had to return to Mewni full time - that started to change. Not helping was that he was beginning to fall for her romantically. It only complicated matters. But he continued to put on a front of only seeing her as a regular person and not a magical princess worthy of special treatment. But by the time Star's fists smashed through her mirror & nearly killed her, that front was gone. It was a constant, never-ending struggle internally to stop that interpretation; Star was still the same Star that she was before, even if she was more fragile now. But he couldn't help it. Now he was dedicated to putting her on an imaginary pedestal & giving her the accolades that a princess & queen deserved. If he could only stop himself from feeling this way, things would be astronomically better.

"I always felt like she got jibbed out of what she rightfully earned."

"You mean her reprieve from the political game?"

He shook his head and looked at Cassandra straight on. "...No...the throne." His answer came as a surprise to Cassandra, but not to Star. "Yeah I know she's always said she didn't think she had what it takes to be queen, she didn't want to be queen...but dammit she still deserved it! She worked her butt off to prove herself, and for what?!"

"You...want her to receive the adulation...without putting in any of the work."

"Well, she already put in so much work and got literally nothing for her efforts. Don't you think she deserves more?"

"I think the better question is...why are you so focused on how much she "deserves?" Why do you believe she should be the only one to relish in her success?"

Her question confused the boy. "I don't-"

"She credits you a lot for where she is today, for everything that she accomplished."

It was true; Star credited Marco for a lot of the successes she had in mending the bridges between monsters and mewmans. While he wasn't politically instrumental like Star was, that he was constantly there to offer a strong shoulder to lean on was more than enough for Star. Not so much for Marco, though. "I guess I just...keep feeling like she belongs up on that pedestal. You know, for all of us...for me...to cherish her..." It was such a frustrating wall; both for Marco to break down, and for Star to be helpless watching him try to break it down. "I just...I just don't compare to her at all."

"Who's asking you to?"

Leave it to Marco to not ask himself the obvious questions. "...nobody." He relented. The battle to end the demons seemed like an endless road, but step by step, they were moving in the right direction. Marco stood up & shook Cassandra's hands as the session was winding down.

"Every time your subconscious tells you you're inadequate for her in any way - just because you're not royalty - it's wrong. Your worth isn't determined by your social status, but by how you treat the people around you. Nobody recognizes that better than she does."

He nodded, accepting her train of logic. "Will we see you at the build tomorrow?"

"Of course. I've been anticipating this all summer. I only hope everyone behaves themselves. I imagine tensions with Star's former subjects are quite high after that tragic excuse for a trial..."

"I think we're worried about it more than Star is."

"When she has her head on straight, she's the most logical & level-headed out of all of us." She nodded as Marco turned the knob to the door & prepared to leave. "Take care, son."

He nodded back. "Thanks." And opened the door; he saw Star standing there with a warm smile on her face and the flowers in hand. The two embraced as the door closed behind them, leaving Cassandra in the room alone with her thoughts...not all of them good ones.

The following day came. Everyone was up very early...right at the crack of dawn. It was way too early for any of them to truly be effective for the grueling endeavor the day promised to provide, but such is life. Practically everyone that was important to the Butterflies and the Diazes - and several who were not - showed up to take part in the build. Many of them were there for different reasons. Some wanted sincerely to be a put of this new era of change. Others wanted to just get paid what they were promised for offering their assistance. Some wanted to show their support for Star. Others just wanted an excuse to get out of other prior commitments. Whatever their reasons were, today, several hundred people - from all walks of life, Earth or Mewni - were gathered in the park for what was expected to be a long, exhausting day of hard labor.

"Thank you all for coming out!" The mayor shouted into a megaphone to the crowd of volunteers. Behind him stood Moon, River, Eclipsa, Globgor, Star, and Marco, the latter two holding hands. "We're all very excited to have you here with us today! This is a terrific day in Echo Creek's history!" He handed the megaphone to Moon.

"All of the supplies and the blueprints for today's events are over here with us. Don't be shy in using them! There's plenty to go around! If there are any questions, please don't hesitate to ask any of us here today. We'll be happy to assist to the best of our abilities." Moon handed the megaphone off to Eclipsa.

"We'll have loads of refreshments & beverages for you throughout the day. Remember to stay hydrated, it's supposed to be extra hot today!" Eclipsa noted, wiping her brow of forming sweat. "Now, before we begin, are there any questions?"

One of the volunteers - a mewman that was on Star's side - raised her hand. "I thought we were doing everything from the ground up today. Why does it look like someone started without us?"

Eclipsa handed the megaphone off to Marco. "Because someone did." He directed everyone's attention to Star, who couldn't help but stand there, looking away from everyone & rubbing her arm in discomfort. Her sleepwalking escapades continued to embarrass her.

"Well who told her to do that?!" Another mewman spoke up; this one was also on Star's side but spoke a tad more bluntly than the first one.

"She was sleepwalking! She couldn't help it. And she nearly keeled over doing it, heart attack and stuff." While Marco was exaggerating while talking about the damage Star did to her body with her three straight days of sleep-helping, he was only just barely. "So I think you guys could show my girlfriend a little bit more respect here."

Momentary silence passed before it was broken by the sound of faint clapping; specifically clapping by toddler hands. They all looked in the direction of the noise and saw that it was indeed toddlers - the toddlers from the orphanage - who were applauding, with baby Miles leading the charge and Reggie & Greta standing behind them in support. Star's tired eyes instantly lit up.

"Baaaaabies..." She droned in excitement, slowly making her way towards the children. Marco followed her while returning the megaphone to Eclipsa. "Hi my little angels!" She opened her arms & awaited for the children to swarm her with love. "What're you all doing here?"

"They wanted to help." Greta said to her, admiring the children's affection for the girl.

"Help?"

"With the build."

Star looked down at the children, who all began cheering again when Great mentioned the build. "Aww, you guys...but..." She corralled them & got their attention. "There's a lot of dangerous equipment here. I can't let you help with this...you might get seriously hurt if you do..." She was right, of course but that didn't stop the guilt from creeping in once she saw them lower their heads & sulk. "Oh but wait! There is something you can do to help." They perked up as she directed their attention to her family, where surrounding them were dozens of crates filled with ice cold water bottles. "See those water bottles?" They all nodded; Star led them over to one and took out a bunch of bottles handing one to each toddler. "Your job is going to be to hand these out to people when they're thirsty. It's going to be a long day and this heat's going to take its toll on everyone. They'll need your help. Can you do that?"

The children stayed temporarily quiet, trying to process the information that was provided to them. Miles stepped forward and took a water bottle from Star's hands, giggling as he did so. After a brief examination of the bottle, he turned to the other toddlers and started nodding his head rapidly, which was apparently a cue for them to accept the offers, as they all began cheering and jumping immediately, lifting Star's spirits. "I'm taking that as a yes."

"How do you do it, Miss Butterfly?" Marco flirted, wrapping an arm around her.

"I guess I just have a way with kids."

She sure did, and she continued to prove it day in and day out. "Thinking about motherhood again?"

"Don't get worked up. I'm not ready to be a mom...yet."

"But you want to, don't you?"

She shrugged her shoulders, peering over to her family and the mayor going over instructions with the volunteers. "Really, more than anything...I think I just want to be someone people look to. You know...for motivation, inspiration, strength..."

"Some people do." Marco said rather solemnly to himself, looking away. He didn't realize that his girlfriend had heard that remark. "I mean..."

"You mean yourself?"

He knew he couldn't get anything past her. "Maybe a little too much..."

She gently patted his shoulders...and then his tush. "More like way too much, sweetie." She sweetly kissed his cheek. "I'd rather be in a ditch with you than on a pedestal by myself." He nodded in agreement as the two shared a kiss. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we split up-" The poor word choice dawned on her immediately as she saw her boyfriend grimace. "Not that, ya stupid." She playfully smacked the upside of his head. "I meant why don't we split up and help out different people for a while? Look!" She pointed over to a spot out in the distance, one that featured Marco's friends Ferguson & Alfonzo going with a group of volunteers. "There's Alfonzo & Ferguson. Why don't you go talk to them?"

"...I-I don't know. I haven't talked to them since that whole you-as-Dungeon-Master incident. They were pretty mad about you being a good DM."

"I don't think that was it." She explained. "I think that was just an excuse for what they were really upset about."

"...You mean me being your squire. Me having to "clean up your messes?" While you were...dating Tom."

"I guess they thought that when you left for Mewni on that exchange program thing you were just gonna get together with me, and when we came back to Earth & we weren't together, they felt...ripped off, in a way."

Marco had a large frown cross his face. While Alfonzo & Ferguson weren't what one would consider...great friends, he had known them for a long time before Star came into the picture. Slowly, his adventures with Star began to overtake his friendship with the two of them, leaving to him spending less and less time with them until ultimately he shuttered off to Mewni to try and be with Star. "I haven't exactly been the best friend to them lately, have I?"

The girl hugged the somber boy. "It's not too late to fix it, though. You guys taught me that."

"I guess that's true." He couldn't argue with her brand of logic. They shared another kiss. "So what about you?"

"Hmm..." Star surveyed the area again and took note of Jackie, Chloe, Janna, and Tom all running off together to another part of the park. "I guess I could go hang with the others for a while."

"You sure you're up for that?"

"Marco, I'll be fine. I think I'm getting better at keeping myself under control around Jackie. I'm sure the work will distract me from thinking about her or Janna-"

"That's...not what I meant." He interrupted her before giving her a side-eye look. Her sexual attraction to Jackie took the forefront of her attention, so much so that Marco was almost completely unaware of her emotional crush on Janna. "Um..."

"Don't ask." She answered with a strong blush.

"Riiiiight...no I meant, you know...are you sure you won't push yourself too hard? We know how you get..."

"Oh, right..." Her propensity to commit to a task until it was finished, sleep or rest be damned - no matter how menial or daunting the task - was a recipe for complete disaster for her. "I...I think I'll be fine. I know they'll hold me in check if something goes wrong."

"You know I trust you, hon. I just worry..."

"I promise one day I'm gonna stop doing stupid things that make you worry like that. For now, all I can do is just...keep moving forward."

"Darn tootin'."

He couldn't go one minute without doing or saying something innocent that brightened her spirits. "Darn tootin'?" She teased with a snicker. "What are you? A cowboy?"

He playfully rolled his eyes. "...maybe..." They shared one more kiss before parting & heading off in their own directions.

Marco, for his part, decided to go with Alfonzo & Ferguson, meeting up with them at their designated spot, where they were going to help build a large ball pit. The two took notice of the red-hoodied boy racing towards them. "Hey look it's Marco!" Alfonzo yelled awkwardly as Marco approached them waving hello.

"Yo, buddy...s'up, dude?" Ferguson awkwardly followed up. There was still an uncomfortable vibe surrounding them ever since the "Star Butterfly is a good dungeon master" debacle.

"Mind if I join ya over here?"

The two nerds exchanged silent glances before agreeing. "Sure." And so it had begun. The three - along with their group of other volunteers - got to work building the set. It started out peacefully enough; everyone got along with each other well, there was a solid comradery that formed within the group, and the actual construction of the ball pit seemed to fly right by. Smooth sailing! Or at least it was at the beginning. But as time continued to tick by and fatigue started to set it with the whole group, Marco decided the smart play would be to strike up a conversation with his two friends, hoping it would help to melt the ice.

"So...how's it been?" Marco asked in about as unwieldy a manner as one could. "Haven't seen you guys in...in a few weeks."

"Yeah, long time no see, dude..." Ferguson responded in a fiddly manner. "Not since, erm..."

"Since you said Star couldn't be a good dungeon master? Which was also...when you laid into her about...that whole me-going-to-Mewni thing..."

Ferguson gulped & tugged at his shirt, sweating almost profusely before turning to the nerd standing next to him & trying to hold some planks of board. "I told you he was still mad about that!"

"No no no, I'm not mad!" He urgently said back. "I-I'm just..." He loudly sighed. "Bummed out, I guess."

"Bummed? But why?"

"I don't know. How about the cheap shot you took at my girlfriend before Tom nearly fried your faces?"

They knew that was coming. It didn't make it any easier for the two of them to swallow it. "We were out of line with that, bro. We're sorry..."

"I appreciate that, but I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

"Well did she ever apologize to you for leading you on?"

"She's still in pretty rough shape and her mind loves to screw with..." He turned sharply towards them & stared them down. "You did not just say that."

"Look us in the eye, man, and tell us that's not what happened."

The hooded boy stammered incoherently. Is this really the hill his two nerd friends were going to die on? Apparently it was. "It wasn't like that at all! Y-You guys, really don't know what you're talking about. I didn't..."

"You don't remember, do you?" Alfonzo interrupted, taking Marco aback. "When you got back the first time, you wore that silly cape and talked about Mewni this, Star that all the time. You were always happy to talk about that girl."

"No, that I remember..."

"We all kinda expected you'd try to go back and see her again." Ferguson continued. "We just thought that when you came back, you guys would be...you know...together. And when you weren't, it was...kind of a slap in the face."

"A slap in the face?"

"And then you told us all about your "adventures" with her and...well, they sounded nothing like any of the adventures you had with her while she was here. It was a lot of-"

"Busy work. Yeah...I know." Alfonzo & Ferguson being right didn't make it hurt any less. "Trust me I know how you feel. B-But it's not like she was trying to hurt me. She had a lot of responsibility just thrust onto her and she had to grow up fast. And my unexpected drop back into Mewni didn't really help matters."

"Yeah but that was after she told you she was crushing on you. In front of Jackie, man!" Alfonzo chipped in again. "And then she blew you off like it was nothing and only kept you around because you were gonna do anything to make her see you, man. And then you guys came back and you weren't dating and she was, like, completely oblivious and-"

"Guys!" Marco yelled sternly to get their attention. "Slow down, bros..." He face-palmed himself and momentarily kept himself silent, formulating the sequence of words that needed to come out to straight all of this out. "Look...she dealt with a lot of crap when she had to step up as princess & then royal advisor. She basically had to stop her entire life just to help a kingdom filled with ignorant & ungrateful people that didn't care about the direction the kingdom needed to go in to thrive. She didn't have the time or the luxury to focus on her personal life."

"That didn't stop her from getting back together with that demon guy that she said was an angry hot head!"

"She had her reasons! Besides, Tom's actually really cool if you get to know him!

"That's not the point, dude!"

"Then what is the point!?" Marco was quickly losing his patience. "Guys, why are you getting so angry about this? It's done, it's over, Star and I are together."

"Yeah, but did she, like, ever apologize for leading you on?" Ferguson asked him, which only served to further upset Marco.

"You don't think she ever apologized?" He crossed his arms and scowled at the two. "First of all, she never owed me an apology. I'm not entitled to her like you guys seemed to be implying. Second of all, she did. And she hasn't stopped apologizing since!"

At no point prior to this very moment did it occur to either Alfonzo or Ferguson that Star would actually be overly regretful for how she handled things in her life before now. What a mistake that was. "She hasn't?"

"The other day I woke up in the middle of the night...Star was in her rage room wailing on everything in there that had her face on it. Glass vases, picture frames, pillows, you name it. It was probably the angriest I'd seen her since her...you know..." Nobody said it would be easy. "I keep telling her - she keeps telling herself - that everything that happened needed to happen for us to have the happiness we have now. But she just...can't accept it. And those snide little comments you made at her the last time you were at my house don't help matters either."

The two nerds exchanged looks with each other. They knew exactly what Marco was referring to. Those rude, nasty outbursts they had, calling out Star making Marco a squire instead of a boyfriend upon his return to Mewni, all guised under a faux "outrage" over Star being a good dungeon master. "...We were out of line." Alfonzo admitted. No duh.

"It was never about the game, was it?" They shook their heads. "You guys were just mad because you thought she was being a crappy friend to me." He looked over and caught a glimpse of Star with Jackie, Chloe, Janna, and Tom. The former princess caught a view of Marco eyeing her and happily waved to him, Marco following suit. "Kind of like I've been a bit of a crappy friend to you two..." He turned back to the nerds.

"We just miss you, dude. Things were a lot more simple before she came around..." Ferguson covered his mouth & temporarily halted his speech. "...that didn't come out right."

Marco couldn't help but chuckle. "I know what you meant, a-and you're not wrong. But...what's done is done. We can't change what happened, even if we wanted to. All we can do is move forward and enjoy what we have now. So...can we bury the hatchet? Start over?" Marco held his out hand for a handshake. He didn't want to lose his friendship with them, just like they didn't want to lose their friendship with him. Ultimately, the two decided to accept, reaching out their hands slowly to grab his. But before they connected, a tiny water bottle popped up out of nowhere and got in the middle of their three-way handshake. They looked down and saw three adorable toddlers - a young 2-year old black girl, a 2 1/2-year old white boy, and a 2-year old black boy - standing there, giggling and holding up their water bottles to them. "Oh, hi you three! Is that for us?"

"Are these the kids from that orphanage Star's working at now?" Alfonzo asked as the three of them took their respective bottles & began gulping them down.

"Sure are. They're helping passing out the refreshments." Marco knelled down & ruffled each of their heads, eliciting giggles. "And they're doing a great job! Yes you are!" Ferguson & Alfonzo joined Marco on the ground briefly playing with the kids, who did their job of spreading refreshments and joy brilliantly.

That was the same conclusion that Star drew, as she, over by the see-saw section with Jackie, Chloe, Tom, and Janna, observed the kids getting their kudos from Marco, Alfonzo, & Ferguson. "Man I love kids..." Star said to nobody in particularly, though the other four easily overheard her.

"Don't tell us you're already decorating a nursery in that castle of yours." Janna lovingly teased.

"Oh heck no. No need to worry about that. We're a long ways from that."

"Really? I thought you'd be in a hurry to make a big family? How many did you guys say you wanted in the Realm of Magic? A thousand babies?"

Yes, Janna did indeed remember that little snippet from Marco. As did Star, evidenced by her face immediately turning a newly-discovered shade of red. The others couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassment. "O-Okay, yes I love babies but c'mon, I spent a year killing myself over unwanted responsibility thrust onto me. Why would I give myself more just as soon as I get a break of sorts?"

"Says the girl that spends every night having a round under the blankets with the safe kid." Janna retorted back, thinking foolishly that she had the upper hand.

"Oh, innocent Janna..." Star placed a hand on Janna's shoulder and chuckled. "You think we only go one round."

"...That's hardly the point."

"You made it the point." Her logic was sound; the two shared a laugh. "No, but seriously, I'm not looking to be a mother. We used triple protection every time. Parenthood is, like, years and years down the line."

"Heh, so what are you gonna do in the interim?"

Star chuckled along for a moment before it gradually died down, the question hitting her like a thousand pounds of bricks. "You mean, like, with my jobs o-or the political stuff, o-or..." Before now, Star felt like she was mostly in control of what her life had in store for her. Perhaps it was just that she was distracted enough to avoid a truly perilous look into what the future potentially offered her. "Uh..."

"Hey, chill, girl, it's just a question..." Janna said, returning the comforting hand-on-shoulder.

"I...I don't think I know."

"I thought you liked where you were." Tom interjected. "You got two really neat part-time jobs and you're not bound by political obligations like you used to be."

"Yeah, I guess, but..." She shrugged as she put into place the board she was holding & started hammering away. "I don't know I feel like I should be farther along than I am. You know, at life."

"You're the same age as we are." Jackie pointed out.

"I mean technically I am, but...you guys had a year's head start on figuring out where your lives are going to go while I was busy cleaning up my kingdom."

The four of them exchanged looks with each other. "...You do remember we're in high school, don't you?"

"Everyone except Chloe. She stays at home, the lucky tyke..."

"No, I said I am homeschooled." Chloe corrected her. "My family feeds me a regular curriculum n the comfort of home. I never have to set foot in a classroom."

Star's eyes shot open in bewilderment. "...Oh."

"What's high school?" Tom whispered to Janna, but the girl brushed him off & kept her focus on Star.

"Where is this even coming from, anyway?! Is Diaz giving you a hard time all of a sudden-"

"No, no no no, it's not Marco. It's...it's me. Surprise surprise, huh?" A brief awkward silence followed as the group focused momentarily on actually building the see-saw. "I don't know, I guess I just look at you guys and Marco and I think 'They have it all figured out already."

"Have what figured out?"

"The rest of your lives. What you guys want to make of yourselves. Meanwhile it feels like I'm still searching for my purpose..."

Janna walked over to the sober girl and patted her shoulder. "Girl...again...high school."

"I don't-"

"Do you really think we have everything figured out by the time we're done with high school? Because whoever told you that straight-up lied to your face. Heck, some adults don't even have their lives figured out."

That innocent comment made Star think back to her own parents; now that they were no longer royalty, they had to scramble to find some sort of new role in the cleaved world. Sure, they had a place on the shadow council installed by the mayor of Echo Creek, but that was hardly the same thing. Of course, they were delighted to no longer have the unmitigated burdens of running an entire kingdom, but beyond the shadow council, they needed a new purpose. "Yeah, I can relate. Still, I'm...I've never been like you guys. I had my life planned out for me...until I didn't. And now that I have the free reign to do whatever I want, I guess I'm just not completely sure what that is...besides being with Marco."

"And what makes you think we do?"

"Because you guys had a head start." Star pointed out. "And now look at you..." She turned to Jackie & Chloe. "You two are gonna go pro with your skating, aren't you?"

"Y-Yeah, that's the plan..." Jackie answered hesitantly. "Doesn't mean it'll pan out, though."

"Oh don't give me that, Jackie. You and Chloe are way too good to not make it." Both Jackie & Chloe couldn't help but blush at the compliment as Star turned to Janna & Tom. "And Janna, you're...you're probably going to be queen of the underworld or however that works..."

Turns out that was something that hadn't even been discussed between Tom & Janna yet. The girl shot a look over to her demon boyfriend. "What's she talking about, Lucitor?" It didn't occur to Star until that exact moment that this hadn't previously come up in conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you would've mentioned that already."

"Did you think we're like you and Diaz-dork, planning our wedding & stuff already? We've only been dating for, what, a few weeks?"

"Yeah, we're going sl-" Tom's eyes shot open this time, as he turned quickly to face Janna. "Oh my god, I think that's the first time you've acknowledged us dating in public!"

Janna looked at him like he had six heads. "Oh my god you are such a weeb."

Jackie ignored the two dorks & continued the talk with Star. "Girl, do you really think Marco has everything in his life figured out too?"

Star shrugged. "What makes you think he doesn't?"

"What makes you think he does?"

Stupid logic. "I guess you have a point. But look, he's planning to go to college in the Spring, so obviously he has some things figured out. Me? I just...I guess I just feel a little lost. I feel like I should feel fulfilled what with my two part time jobs, helping make up that new Cornball league, my relationship with Marco, but..."

"You don't and you feel like you should."

"...I guess so. But that's silly, isn't it?"

They all seemed to murmur in agreement. "Star, look," Tom said, taking his turn to offer support to his ex. "Just because you don't think you have everything figured out yet doesn't mean you never will. You can't compare yourself to everyone around you. No two lives are exactly the same. You gotta follow your own path & find your way through life. And if it takes time, then it takes time."

Star hammered in the board she was holding before dropping the hammer she was holding on the ground & wiping her brow. "I know you're right. I guess I just feel like I should be doing bigger things with my life. That was always the plan when I was royalty. But I like the smaller scale stuff. I like just being able to make an impact with people I'm close with in my life instead of feeling obligated to cater to everyone, you know? But the smaller stuff...it's a lot more fulfilling...and a lot less physically taxing." She gently took a seat on the ground, already feeling fatigued from the work they had been doing for the past couple of hours. "Is it me or is the world spinning right now?"

"Let's take five." Janna insisted, with the others easily agreeing & taking a seat next to her to comfort her. While this happened, a group of five toddlers - three boys and two girls, Miles among them - came storming up to them, each of them holding a water bottle & giggling. "We got company!"

Star's eyes lit up upon seeing the children pitter-pattering towards them. "Babiiiiies..." She swooned, reaching her arms out with whatever energy she had left. The children gravitated right towards Star as she hugged them all.

"Are these the kids from that orphan place Star works at?" Tom asked Janna, who silently nodded.

"Aww, they're so cute..." Jackie squeaked as the kids all got out of Star's grip.

"And look, they have water for us." Star pointed out the water bottles in their hands. "Would you like to meet my friends?" She asked the toddlers who all babbled in delight. "Okay!" She went through her friends one-by-one. "This is Tom, my ex. This is Janna, his girlfriend & my buddy..." Everyone took note of the light blush on Star's face when she mentioned Janna. "This is Jackie..." And then of the aggressive blush on her face when she mentioned Jackie. "...and her girlfriend Chloe!" And now it was time for her to introduce her friends to the children. "Guys, this is Makenzie..." Each children babbled and/or clapped upon being roll-called. "This is Lilly...this is Koli...this is Olivia..." She saved Miles for last, having a special bond with the little tyke. She gently wrapped her arms around the boy. "And this little guy is Miles. He's my little buddy."

The little tyke reached his arms out and happily babbled. Jackie was the first to reach out to him & hold him. "He's adorable." She said sweetly, gently kissing his forehead and squishing his face, causing him to laugh. The other three grabbed a child & hugged them too. Even Janna, despite her reservations. They frequently switched kids so that everyone got a turn with each kid.

"I may not be the great "political mastermind" that this world needs right now, but I can be a good influence to young minds that need pointing in the right direction." Star said as they finally put the babies down and took a big chug of their respective water bottles. "And these little angels are worth the effort. Okay kids, go get more water & go help some others, okay?"

Four of the five kids ran off laughing. Miles, however, stayed behind, staring intently at Star's friends. "Miles?" She knelled down & hugged the boy. "What's the matter?"

The boy looked at Star, then back at the group, carefully pointing at the latter. "S-Squishy." The boy managed to eek out, which made Janna playfully roll her eyes, Tom smile, and Chloe & Jackie blush. Star began to laugh.

"Yes, they are all very cute & squishy." She replied with a chuckle.

"Um...he never said "cute." Jackie interjected with a flirty wink.

"W-Yes he did!" He turned Miles to face her; the boy was still widely grinning & laughing. "You said they were cute, didn't you? Didn't you!?" But the boy paid no mind to her question and instead proceeded to peck her face lightly with kisses, which the other four found simply delightful. "Stop being so cute! Stop being so cute, sweetie!"

Over in another part of the park, Ludo & Dennis found themselves with a group tasked with building a monkey-bars/swing/slide attraction. "Didn't we use to have one of these contraptions back at our old place?" Ludo asked his brother as he hammered in the pieces of board he was holding.

"Yeah, too bad Dad never let us play on it." Dennis remarked. "Always had this linchpin about anything "fun." Always such a brow-beater!"

"Well, thankfully for you and I that's all over now. We have our castle, and nothing can take that away from us!"

"You know it-" While carrying some boards & bolts, Dennis tripped over himself, spilling everything in his hands. But he also spilled something from one of his pockets. It was an opened envelope containing a letter. Ludo dashed to his brother.

"Brother! Are y-" But as he was helping his brother up, he took notice of the letter that had fallen out of his pocket. "What's this?"

"Oh that, t-that's nothing. Nothing!" Dennis quickly stammered, which only further rose Ludo's suspicious. Ludo took the letter out of the envelope and examined it. As it turned out, it was a letter written by none other than their father. He silently read it over and over to himself. In short, the letter served as a plea of appeal from him for their attention. It contained the usual suspect lines: "I've changed." "I'm not the person I used to be." "I miss you and I want you to come home." The whole spiel. But as Ludo continued reading, it became obvious to Dennis that Ludo wasn't buying it.

"I see the old man is up to his old tricks again!" As it turned out, this was not the first time their father had tried to play this card on them. "Cant stand that miserable toad!" He crumbled up the letter angrily & threw it onto the ground. "Everything will be far better once he finally-" He looked up at his brother to see that the seething fury he was feeling for his father was not reciprocated by Dennis. At least not outwardly. "Oh don't tell me you're buying it!"

Dennis rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous manner. Ludo was not going to like what was about to come out. "...what if he means it?"

"Oh for heaven's sake, Dennis! He does this every time!" He marched up to his brother and - despite his significantly shorter stature - looked him square in the eye. "You remember what happened the last time, don't you?" Ludo took a deep breath, preparing to reminisce a painful time in his life. "It was right after Eclipsa's coronation. He somehow finds out where we're residing, he crashes into our house uninvited! And then he has the gall to lash out and wonder why we never tried to reach him! Oh, I don't know, old man: how about 'because you're nothing but an abusive, egotistical, neglectful, pathetic excuse for a father!" He gritted his teeth as he panted hard. "You remember what he was life? The violent outbursts! The distasteful insults! He always put us down! He always made us feel worthless!"

"But you know how it was! He said it was to "toughen us up!"

"And that makes it okay!? Just because he was trying to "toughen me up" that makes it okay for him to grab me by delicate little head and throw me across the room!?" By this point he had turned his back to Dennis; he didn't want his brother to see him cry. "He always thought I was a mistake. Never hesitated to spit that at me."

Dennis's jaw almost hit the ground. He couldn't fathom what he was hearing. "Is...is that why you started wearing that weird skull helmet?"

Ludo nodded. "It was supposed to cover up the bruise. But then I got carried away & forgot why I started wearing it..."

"And is that why you seized control of the castle & kicked us all out?"

Finally, after a moment of internal clarity, Ludo turned to face his crestfallen brother. "He always said that if I told anyone what he did to me, his incoming fist would be the last thing my eyes ever saw. I couldn't tell anyone what happened...I feared nobody would believe me. And I suppose he never said anything either, lest he give the game away..."

"So you never...actually wanted the wand?"

"Well...no, I did. I thought I could use it to take my revenge on that blasted excuse for a father. I suppose I just got caught up in all of the hubbub."

"Ludo, you could've told me! I didn't know!"

"I didn't want you to know! I was terrified! I didn't know what to think, w-whether he was singling me out or he did the same to everyone or-"

A single tear fell down Dennis's face. "I mean h-he berated & insulted us. But...he never...threw his fists at us."

"So I was special."

Dennis took the letter back from Ludo. "This changes everything."

Ludo understandably raised an eyebrow. "Does it?"

"Of course it does!" Dennis lashed out angrily, which took Ludo by surprise. "Look i-it's one thing when you're someone that has a fowl mouth and you spew garbage without regard for others around you. It's a whole other thing when you start physically violating someone! If I had known any of this had happened before I never would've even given him a second thought."

"No, wait!" Ludo pleaded, a sudden wave of guilt overwhelming him. "I-I mean, don't...don't let me stop you."

"What?!"

"Your experience with Father was far different from mine. What kind of animal would I be if I were to stand in the way of what could be a beautiful relationship with one of our parental figures?"

But Dennis would hear none of it. He ripped up the letter on the spot and put the pieces in one of his pockets. "Not as bad as the kind I would be if I were to enable someone who hurt someone close to me."

Now tears were swelling up in both of their eyes. Years of misery & suffering were seemingly melting away as the two took yet another step towards burying the past once and for all & moving forward with their lives. The two were about to embrace each other only to find themselves interrupted by the sound of little toddlers running their way. They looked over in another direction & saw two toddlers - as well as Buff Frog & his children & several other human toddlers - running towards them, all of them holding a water bottle.

The two closest toddlers approached them, laughing their heads off, and handed Ludo & Dennis a bottle. "Look! It is tiny delivery service!" Buff Frog shouted, noting the toddlers passing out water bottles to the workers. "Greatest invention since the light bulb!"

Ludo's eyes lit up; it had been ages since he and Buff Frog had properly interacted with one another. He lifted his arm up to wave. "Nice to see you too, old friend!" But his wave was cut short when the other toddlers arrived & began playfully climbing on Dennis & Ludo. "No, get off me! I'm ticklish!"

It was too late: the children had infected them all with the disease known as innocent laughter.

The rest of the day went mostly well. Work continued well into the evening until the sun was starting to set, where more of the volunteers chose to retire for the day. It got to the point where the only ones still left at the park were the Butterfly family, Marco & his parents, and their friends. Star was sitting on the ground, completely exhausted from the manual labor but in a good mood. There was still plenty of work to be done to complete the build, but hey, it was only one day.

"I'd say this first day of the community build has been a rousing success!" Globgor exclaimed, with everyone agreeing.

"I am toast..." Star slurred, barely keeping herself awake. "Think I pushed myself a little too hard there...but man we got a lot done."

"We had a lot of good help." Marco noted.

"And there wasn't any trouble from our people!" Eclipsa also noted. "Quite surprising. I expected there to be a lot more pushback."

"Perhaps they're saving it for when we're nearing completion." Moon suggested. "Whatever the case, I agree. Today has been immensely successful! We're actually ahead of schedule!"

"Whoopie...!" Star cheered, holding up both arms with thumbs up. "That's great..." Her boyfriend approached her and sat down next to her, gently kissing her cheek.

"I think we should all go home now, and get you to bed." He commented, stroking her hair.

"Whaaaaat? No, no no no...I'm...I'm not tired..." She slurred badly as she was basically on the edge of sleep. "W-Where are we again...?"

In the distance, Marco caught sight of Reggie, Greta, and the toddlers from the orphanage heading their way. They were all in a great mood & eager to see Star again. "I'll tell you where you are..." Marco said to his girlfriend. "Heaven."

"Heaven?" The sound of the toddlers happily babbling finally reached her ears, and in an instant, she shot up and got a good look at them. "Baaaabies..." She stuck her arms out for a hug. "Hi babies!" She shouted as the all ambushed her carefully & smothered her with hugs. "You guys were so good today, weren't you? Passing out water and making sure we were all hydrated today. Oh, you were so cute out there!"

"They wanted to know if they did a good job." Reggie commented as the majority of the babies pulled off of Star and looked at her in the eyes, smiles as wide as they could be.

"Oh you guys did an amazing job. We're so proud of you! In fact..." Star looked up at her folks. "Mom, Dad, I think these little guys have earned a little reward, don't you think?"

Moon and River nodded as they reached into the crate behind them and pulled out packages of individually wrapped chocolate chip cookies. There was enough for each toddler to receive exactly one. The kids all ran towards them as they dangled the cookies for them. Each toddler took one and carefully examined it. To everyone's surprise, they didn't immediately begin devouring them. In fact, they looked over at Star, almost as if they wanted to ask her permission.

"Guys, it's okay...you've earned those. Go ahead." She urged them. But they didn't take the bait. No, it wasn't the cookies that they wanted. It was Star. Every single toddler dropped the cookies onto the ground and dashed right back to Star, smothering her with even more affection as they happily babbled & played on her like she was a statue. Overwhelmed with love, Star began tearing up. "My babies..." She said before completely melting down due to the cuteness. "MY BABIES! THEY LOVE ME!" She was in full blown sob mode, but it was a sob filled with utter joy as the babies expressed their own love for the girl.

On the sidelines, none of them could help but gush at the sight before them. "I love that girl so much." Marco lamented, wiping a tear from his own eye.

"You still worried about her?" Janna sincerely asked him. He took a moment to contemplating before responding.

"A little. But only a little."

End of Episode 23!

So fun fact...we're approaching the 1 year anniversary of the first chapter of "When Dimensions Cleave," the story that started this ginormous project I've been working on ever since! :D

I apologize that this took a bit longer to get out than what you've gotten used to: as I mentioned in the past, things are picking up here in terms of packing the house and moving, so I expect that this slower schedule will become the new norm, if not now, then eventually. But I have no intention of stopping. Especially since things are going to heat up...

In the interim, please feel free to read & leave feedback! I appreciate all the support & criticism I've gotten this story. Thank you everyone! :D