Heather's POV
War again, yeah? My armor has been polished, refurbished, and hardened. My sword has been reforged into the hardest of materials, and my horse was once again armed with its armor. We don't have the time to do anything but get ready for the fight for the kingdom. According to the drive, we have an hour left before my father's army begins to knock on our doorstep. Tom's battle tactics were simple. He wanted to make the fight quick and didn't want to turn it into a siege, and so had developed a machine based from a blueprint of a "wrecking ball" that Marco had brought years earlier. The walls wouldn't help, we'd have to face them on the field.
And at this time, I find myself wanting nachos. Marco might just be a necessity in this war, and everyone seemed to know that, from the newly freed Heckapoo to my mother herself. I looked at her, and she was deep in thought. I wonder what she saw in my father that she didn't see in Marco. She had no reason not to like Marco, and every reason to break up with my father. Maybe if she thought this much before she started dating my father then things wouldn't have turned out this way. Of course, she had no need to, since Marco did all the thinking for her.
I wonder if he's even alive. He might be tough, but he's still a human, and not even from Mewni, where Mewmans evolved to survive slightly harsher conditions. But to be fair, he's survived torture before.
I looked over at Sarah, er no, Laura, who was right next to me. My new "aunt." It was sort of awkward to think of it that way. My attention turned to the field, and my eyes focused as the first portal opened, and the first person out was my father with a black eye.
"How did he even get that?" Laura asked.
"So his eye wasn't like that when you were there?"
"No, maybe he punched himself on accident."
"That's… possible. But unlikely." I bit my lip. "Maybe, just maybe Marco could have dealt that after you left. Hey Laura?" She winced at the name, but didn't say anything. "What happened in your past?"
Marco's POV
I didn't have the time to figure out where to go, so I instantly teleported to somewhere random on Mewni. It was a house with the lights turned off, and nobody seemed to be home. My old self would have gone straight to Butterfly Kingdom, not caring whether or not I was injured, but this time I felt conflicted on whether to go, or whether to lock myself on Earth. Besides, in the end, it's not like the monarchy will change. The monarchy will go from the hands of Queen Butterfly, formerly a Lucitor in fact, and into the hands of Tom Lucitor. The heir would still be Heather, who I mildly cared about, and Sarah, no. Laura. That was who I was worried about.
Tom wouldn't even think of letting her live if he won, which is quite probable. She's not cheerful like Star, nor too serious like Heather. She's just… someone who's normal. Tom would see no use in her. She doesn't have influence like Star, she isn't an heir or a general like Heather, to him, she's just someone who's a threat to Tom. Someone who could possibly be a pest.
"Marco?"
I was so deep in thought that I screamed out like I did when Star first spawned in a killer butterfly. I didn't have my sword, since Tom took it as a trophy, so I only had my hidden knife and a shuriken I'd found on the floor while escaping. I readied the shuriken for a throw and put the knife on backup, waiting for whoever had called out my name.
Someone came out of the shadows. He was short, with light skin and blond hair, similar to Star. He seemed like I remembered, but he was missing a crown. It was the previous king. It was River.
I put down my weapons. "River?"
"This kingdom has wronged you, m'boy. And… I don't think anyone can make it up to you." He looked at the ground, reminding me of the time he tried to pass his crown to me. "I don't say this to even try and help you. I ask a favor of you. I know that you want to go home, but as a request, please consider helping my daughter."
Tom's POV
It was a win, but now it's a wager. I lost the element of surprise, and I also let Marco go. I made it so I could ensure victory, but I couldn't do that anymore. Marco hasn't shown up yet. If he doesn't come, I'm going to let him go, so long as he never bothers me again. Because if he doesn't appear, that means he's actually learned a lesson.
Unfortunately for Laura though, she's not going to be fine, no matter what she does. As the only one who can possibly beat me in a fire duel, I can't let her go. She has to die. She has the highest potential of fire magic I've ever seen, and she was even born with yellow fire, signifying her fire was naturally hotter than mine.
The reason I'd made my attack one single assault was because Butterfly Kingdom possessed a much better battle strategy, but if I could negate that advantage, then it would increase my chances of winning. This meticulous planning took years, but a couple of those years had been cut off thanks to Laura. This was my only chance. If I lost, then I would be put into constant war with the other kingdoms, seeing me as the aggressor, but if I won, then it would just be a show of strength. Even Ponyhead would be unable to launch a campaign against me, since she'd be the only one to want it.
"General, commence the assault."
I update when I have time. Don't question my schedule.