Star walked onto the balcony and was met with a hate filled glare from the small avarian. Ludo gritted his teeth at her sight and let out "Oh, well if it isn't the princess of destroying everything in her path." Star didn't care what Ludo had to say, she had to just get right into it.

"Ludo, I'm not here to listen to your stupid insults. You can either leave or die." Star said with a fury comparable to that of Ludo. This was the first time that River or Marco saw her this mad. She was ready to kill the bird now. Marco gulped and stepped forward to be at Star's side. Star smiled at Marco and then reverted her glare back to Ludo.

"Alright I've had enough waiting. Prepare to die!" Ludo spat. He shot a burst of green and black beams of magic at the duo, who promptly dodged each shot. Star knew that her wand would be no good here, so she would just have to dodge and stay alive until an opportunity presented itself. Marco and Star were in sync. They dodged each blow with speed and stayed side by side the whole time. If Ludo hadn't wanted them dead, he would surely admire their grace.

Moon and River were done watching their daughter struggle to dodge these dangerous attacks, so they had to help. River jumped off the balcony in a dive and was intercepted midair by the eagle. Moon on the other hand, carefully climbed down the wall, punching the spider that attempted to attack her as the bird had with her husband.

Once on the ground, Moon jumped to Star's other side, "Got any ideas?" Moon asked. Star knew she didn't, but her mother wouldn't accept that, so she chose to lie, "Yeah, just have to find a good chance to put it to use." That statement wouldn't remain a lie for long though, because Star thought of something. If Toffee wanted the magic gone, maybe she should oblige. If he didn't have magic either, he could never win a fight versus the four standing before him. She had to use the whispering spell on Ludo's hand.

Ludo continued pelting the three with magic as River continued wrestling the bird in the sky. The blasts from the wand were starting to overwhelm the group, but just as she noticed Ludo's defense falter, she dove in and kicked him in the head. He laid on the ground, stunned for a short time. In that moment, Star began the spell, "Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic-." She could only get one verse of it in, but it was enough to send a web of cracks from the top of the gem to the middle.

It wasn't enough though. The wand was still working and it was evident when Ludo hit Star directly with a blast of magic, sending her flying into a stone wall. "NO!" Marco screamed. He came to Star's aid, but she was unconscious. He would have to just protect her. Moon noticed what Star was trying to do and knew that she would have to continue her plan. But how could she? Ludo now only had to focus on one enemy, so she wouldn't have the same opportunity that Star did.

For a while longer, Moon had to dodge the oncoming blasts. There was a loud thud that could be heard from behind Ludo. There was an unconscious eagle, standing behind it was River. River then dove on Ludo from behind, landing on his back. Now was Moon's chance. She took it and began speaking much faster than Star had, "Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic.

Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic." Ludo was screaming under the weight of the Johanson King, but as hard as he tried, he couldn't hit anyone. He was helpless as his wand started to crack rapidly. This time the wand had sustained too much damage.

The want burst in Ludo's hand and exploded. Suddenly, Star disappeared from behind Marco and Moon took cover in the ground. Ludo sat floating idly. His eyes were black voids, completely absent of life.

Marco noticed Star's absence and looked around frantically in hopes that she had awoken and was standing somewhere. Much to his dismay, he couldn't find her. "Where. IS. STAR?" Marco thundered at the floating avarian, but was met with no response. He loaded up to punch the bird, but Moon grabbed his arm and told him to "Stop. Killing him will do nothing to help us find her."

Marco was furious, but he knew that she was right. If he acted too rash, it could be Star's downfall. The floating birdman gained life again, if only a little. His mouth was moving and his eyes were being overtaken by a brilliant pink. Ludo began to speak in Star's voice, "Mom? Marco? Where am I?". Marco and Moon were horrified by the sight. Moon was the one to respond to her question, "Star? Is that really you?"

"Yes mom, it's really dark in here." Star said, clearly terrified by her surroundings. Inside of Ludo was the Magic dimension. Everything was dark and goopy like the sludge she saw at the sanctuary. There were powerful waves of sludge violently crashing around her. She was staring into the sky, where she saw two pink portals. She saw Moon and Marco through them, telling her "You are inside of Ludo. Is there any way out?"

"If I knew that I would be out by now." Star spoke sarcastically. Just as she was going to ask another question, the portals vanished and a massive wave was rising behind her. Just as it was about to hit, it stopped. A giant eye popped out from under the sludge and soon another followed. The eyes began to rise and from underneath them came a massive snout. It was Toffee. "Surprise!" was the only word that came from the sludge monster.

"You've lost Toffee… The magic is gone and now you don't have a wand." Star said confidently in the monster's direction. Toffee laughed maniacally at her confidence and told her, "You never learn do you. I make the rules. Not you." As he finished those last words, two more portals began to open in the sky. These ones were black and green.

From outside of the realm, the eyes began to be infested with an ugly green. A voice that was all too familiar began to speak to the group of three, "Hey Moon," Toffee spoke. Marco was infuriated by the sound of Toffee's voice, he demanded, "Give me STAR!". The avarian spoke again, "Nuh uh uh… You have something that belongs to me, Moon.". Moon gasped. She knew exactly what Toffee meant. He wanted his finger. Knowing that Star was stuck inside of Ludo at this point, Moon was forced to oblige. She pulled a bottle out of her satchel which contained a single severed finger. Ludo's floating form let out a sinister smile.

Once given the finger, Ludo began to change. His skin changed to a color that was grayer than his own, skin began forming and stitching up his body as bones were formed and slowly, the lizard stood before the trio. Moon had a tear in her eye upon seeing the same man that had killed her mother standing before her in his truest form.

"That's better." Toffee spoke.

"Where. Is. STAR?" Marco yelled for the third time. Toffee didn't care though, he just smiled again and began walking in the other direction. Moon, on the other side of Toffee, grabbed the wand that Star had left behind and tried in vain to recite the spell that Eclipsa had given her that worked so well before. "I call the darkness unto me, from deepest depths of Earth and Sea. From ancient evils unawoken, break the one that can't be broken. To blackest night I pledge my soul and crush my heart to burning coal. To summon forth the deathly power to see my hated foe devoured!" She finished the spell, but the dead wand didn't release any magic. Instead, the soul of the dead millhorse that powered the wand floated out of the wand.

Toffee smiled at the failed attempt at using magic and as he was about to taunt Moon, he felt something. Marco had punched a hole through Toffee, right where his heart should be. Marco had a tear in his eye as he pulled his fist out of Toffee. The wound healed almost instantly and, with his tail, Toffee flung Marco across the crater that the whispering spell had made. A loud crack could be heard, whether it was his spine or the rock was a mystery.

From inside of Toffee, Star was being attacked by the vicious waves of sludge and eventually she was overcome. She tried to swim up, but it was in vain. After mere seconds of struggle, a final bit of air left her lungs and she drowned. All was dark, only for a second because when Star opened her eyes, she saw something that filled her with hope. It was Glossaryck!

He was sitting over a cauldron of stew, boiling hot and filled with several different ingredients. "Wha-" Star tried to ask, but was interrupted by Glossaryck himself, "Star, what are you doing here?"

"I didn't have any choice… Toffee was going to kill everyone..I had to.. Why are you here?" Star asked. Glossaryck was surprised to have his own question used against him, but chose to be helpful, "Well, it looks like we're dead. And this looks like hobo stew… So I don't know…" Glossaryck responded.

"Why did you say it like that?" Star asked. Glossaryck, confused, responded "Whatever do you mean Star?". Glossaryck had a habit of being the opposite of helpful, so the fact that he was doing it now didn't surprise Star, but it certainly did annoy her. Then it came to her, there was a time that he said 'Hobo Stew' before. "Alright… I get it." Star said.

"There's nothing to get Star… What are you-" Glossaryck made to ask what she was doing, but was interrupted, "I'm dipping DOWN." At that, Star stuck her arms into the boiling stew and screamed in pain, but she would not be deterred. Seconds passed and Star was still dipping. Her hair started to float and her eyes and cheeks began to glow a blinding white. Star pulled her arms out of the Stew, holding a golden ball. Inside the ball was a unicorn. It had a butterfly mark on it's leg and it was golden.

The ball started to float out of Star's hands and it coated everything around with a golden coat, Star included. She then glowed with the gold hue and stepped through a portal, summoning her wand out of midair. She returned to Mewni and was still glowing gold. She began to feel wings growing on her back, her clothes change to a brilliant yellow, and the horns on her head grew. She floated into the air and asked one question, "Where's Toffee?" Moon pointed in a direction and as Star turned her head, she saw him. He turned to face her and sighed at her in her current form, "You know, I'm really starting to get tired of your bullsh-" As he was going to finish his taunt, he was blasted with a wide beam of brilliant gold. The beam tore the skin from Toffee's bones where he stood and he began to melt into the same dark sludge that he was when he was in the magic. "You really think that you can win? I make the rules remember?" Just as he finished his question, River pushed over a pillar on top of Toffee, killing him. All that was left of him was a puddle of sludge.

Star then slowly began floating down to the ground. The second that her feet touched down, she collapsed. She had never expended so much energy at once, let alone dipping down for the first time. Her mother and father rushed over to her side and helped her to her feet. Once she came to, she scanned her surroundings. It was then that she noticed Marco lying unconscious next to a cracked wall.

She rushed over to her best friend with extreme urgency and hugged him. She heard his heartbeat in his chest and that was all that mattered. She then gestured for her father to pick him up and she went over to the remains of Toffee and spat in them.

X-x-X-x-X

Medical Wing of the Castle - Hours later.

It was still early in the morning relatively speaking, the fight took place at 4:00 am, so it was likely still before noon. Marco opened his eyes slowly to reveal that he was in a dimly lit room. The walls were made of stone, so he knew that he was in the castle. He lacked the strength to sit up, so he instead called out in the room, "Hello?".

It turns out he wasn't alone in the room. In fact Star was resting against his medical bed, probably waiting for him to wake up. After hearing his call, Star did so herself. She jolted up from her rest. She saw Marco awake and jumped on him. She hugged him tight and he did his best to reciprocate. Star, in an effort to express her worry, said "Marco, I was so worried...I thought you might have...you know…" Marco then spoke back "Don't worry, I'm a little hurt but I'm not going anywhere." His words soothed Star, who let out a tear.

Now, Marco was more conflicted than ever. He knew that he had feelings for Star, one way or another, but he was dating Jackie and Star was still his best friend. Then it dawned on him, "How did you know what I said last night?" Marco asked Star. Star was flustered, but she had to answer. She said "Well...I...was...maybe...just a tiny bit….checking on you…" Marco sensed her panic and chose to not push that any further, instead, he wanted to ask her about something else.

"So, weird question, did you have an interesting dream last night by any chance?" Marco asked.

Star, with her theory now proven, answered "So you had it too?"

Marco wasn't as sure as Star was, but there was no denying it now, the two shared a dream last night and Star was being very...forward. "Star, I wish that last night went differently…" Marco admitted to Star.

"Which part exactly?" Star asked. To be fair, much had happened that night, so it made sense that Star wasn't sure what he meant. Marco then said "The party, everything before it, I wish that I had done things differently...I dunno...I just...I want to be-" Marco couldn't form the words, so Star finished them for him, "together." It wasn't really a question, she knew Marco well enough to know what he was thinking. Marco, speechless, nodded in affirmation.

"But you're with...Jackie" Star let out with a disappointed sigh. Marco knew what he wanted now, but she was right. There was another person in the equation. She hadn't done anything wrong, but Star was his soulmate. It was really unfortunate, but Marco knew what had to be done. One way or another he knew he needed to be with Star.

After saying 'together', Marco grabbed Star's hand and she allowed it. She grabbed his in return and their fingers intertwined. They had never had a moment like this before. The Blood Moon Ball was the most romantically involved that they had been before now. So when Star leaned into Marco for a kiss, it took him by surprise.

He couldn't deny her though. He wanted that kiss more than anything in the world, so he gave in. He leaned into her as well and their noses hit each other. "Ouch" the two said in unison before locking eyes again. Both of them had plenty of experience kissing, so it was odd that they managed to mess it up, but all they could do to react is burst out laughing. Marco laughed a little too hard and he winced in pain for a moment. Star, more flirtatious than ever, leaned in again and whispered directly into his ear "I know what'll make you feel better." Marco blushed but he dorkishly nodded at Star, who giggled at him.

She leaned in once more, this time, their lips touched this time. Marco was shocked to discover the unbelievable softness of Star's lips. It was nothing like anything he had felt before. Just before their embrace could deepen, the door to the room swung open. Star quickly pulled away, pulling Marco out of his trance and she looked toward the door. It was her parents, luckily Star had pulled back fast enough to hide the fact from her parents. What she hadn't done as good of a job of hiding however, was her hand, intertwined with Marco's.

"Why hello dear," Moon said to her daughter before noticing Marco was awake. "Ah hello my boy!" River said toward Marco. Marco then said "Hey guys...is Toffee…"

"Yes, Marco. Toffee is gone. Forever." Moon said.

"Yes yes, and if you wouldn't mind, could you unhand my daughter?" River asked commandingly. Marco then pulled his hand from Star's and shed a terrified look at River.

Before Marco could be knocked out for the second time of the morning, Moon changed the subject, "Marco, you hit that wall very hard. Are you quite alright?". Marco was relieved to notice River's glare soften a tiny bit and he responded, "I think so. I can't really move, but I think I'll be okay in the long run." Marco hoped that he wasn't wrong about being okay. Truthfully he hadn't paid much thought to the injuries that he had sustained up to this point.

He tried to get up once more, but his body fought his every move. Eventually, after a loud grunt, Marco managed to sit up. "See, right as rain." Marco said. "Star, we need to talk to you alone if at all possible." Moon said. Star nodded and followed her parents into the hallway that they had come from.

"Star, first of all, how are you back?" Moon asked. Star hadn't really explained what happened on her end yet, but she was kind of annoyed at her parents for making her leave Marco alone. "I died, saw Glossaryck, dipped down, fixed the magic, and now I'm here." Star said in an annoyed tone.

"Okay, we will talk about all of that again at a later date, but there is another point." Moon mentioned.

Star then gestured for Moon to go on, which she did, "Star, I respect Marco about as much as I possibly could, but you need to understand that you are a royal and he… is not…"

"Are you KIDDING ME?" Star yelled at her mother. She wasn't going to allow someone to talk about her best friend like that. Marco was worth more than any royal that Star had ever met, so her mother taking anything away from that infuriated her.

"Star! What are your intentions with this boy?" Moon yelled in return. From Moon's point of view, the future was up to Star and if she was going to marry some peasant, the entire kingdom could be in jeopardy.

"My intentions are none of your business mom! Marco has never left my side, I can't say the same for you." Star thundered at her mother. The words hit her like daggers. Admittedly, it probably wasn't the best time for her to bring up marriage, but Moon always thought ahead.

"Star, if you want to become a Queen some day, you must put your kingdom first!" Moon exclaimed.

"What? Like you? I've heard your story, it would have been better for the kingdom if you married Count Mildrew, but you picked dad because he was with you when you needed it most. I won't have my future laid out for me like I'm not my own person. I love Marco and he loves me, so if you don't mind, I am going to go help him feel better after he got hurt earlier for being there for me." Star spat. She spoke with absolute confidence, her mother was being a hypocrite and it wasn't right.

She walked back into the room where Marco laid and returned to his bedside. Marco had reverted back to simply laying down. "Everything alright?" Marco asked. Star was happy to hear his caring words, "Yeah, as long as we are-". Marco knew where she was going with this, so he interrupted her, "together."

Star nodded and held his hand once more and laid her head into his side. The two needed some rest.

X-x-X-x-X

Hours later

Marco had woken up again, he felt a little better now, he could get up and walk with help, so he would do just that. He woke up Star and suggested that the two go back to Earth for the day. Marco had a lot of things he had to get done. He needed to break things off with Jackie, talk to his parents, and sleep on his own bed.

Star agreed to the idea because she wanted to get away from her parents. So the Star helped Marco stand as he opened a portal. Once it was made, the two walked through and entered the Diaz household. They were in the living room and Marco's parents were in the kitchen. Once the portal closed, Angie and Rafael turned around and spotted their son. On first instinct, they hugged their son tight, but when they heard his reaction, they backed off.

"Are you alright my son?" Rafael asked. They hadn't paid any mind to the fact that Star was here and was holding up Marco, but they couldn't ignore her when she spoke for him, "He took a fall, but we think he is just sore."

"Well, it's just nice to see you guys back in one piece." Angie said. The last time they had seen Star, she was professing her love for their son in front of their entire school, so as awkward as that was, Angie's statement rang true.

"So, mom, dad, there is a lot to talk about." Marco said. He wasn't wrong. He intended on moving to Mewni to be with Star, so it would be a tough conversation.

"Yes there is." Rafael agreed.

"Well to start, me and Star fixed things. After I followed her to Mewni, we fought some guy and now we are much better." Marco started.

"How do you mean? I'm just asking because a day ago, Star told you and everyone that you know that she is into you, so how could you have fixed...oh...really?" Angie asked. She did most of the explaining for Marco.

"Yeah, we fixed things." Star agreed, with a gleeful smile across her face.

"Oh, that's bad. What are you going to do about Jackie?" Angie asked.

Rafael was oblivious about what was going on, but he was starting to put things together, "What do you mean mi amor?"

"I'll tell you when you're older." Angie joked.

"Yeah, I was gonna deal with that today, but I'm not sure I really can." Marco explained. He wasn't the kind of person to break up with someone over the phone, and he was in no shape to walk, so that might have to wait until the morning.

"I get it. If you need to talk about it, I'm here, but we are just happy to see you again." Angie said. Marco really wanted to bring up the matter of staying on Mewni, but now wasn't a good time for that either.

By now, it was around 5:00 pm and although Marco had done plenty of 'resting' on the terrible Mewni beds, he needed a good night's sleep on his own bed. The world's problems could wait until the next morning.

The two made their way to the stairs and climbed up. Star's room didn't exist anymore, so she would have to sleep in the guest room. For now though, she could spend some more time with Marco. Or so she thought.

As Marco sat down on his bed, Star got a call on her compact mirror. Star went into the hallway to take the call, it was her mother and father.

"Hello? Where are you my dear?" Moon asked.

"I'm away, what do you need." Star responded impatiently.

"Star, we need to talk. I know you don't like it, but you must consider what we were telling you earlier." Moon demanded.

"See that's just it. I don't like it, so I won't do it. Thank you bye!" Star said, closing her phone. She had had just about enough from her mother for the day, she wanted to wind down, so she sat down on Marco's bed, "Since when was your bed this comfortable?" Star asked Marco.

"It's always been this comfortable. Beds on Mewni just suck, so it's nice to be back here for now." Marco responded with a giggle.

"Maybe you're right. I wish I didn't need to go back to Mewni, everything sucks there." Star started with a melancholy tone.

"Well you're not going to be alone, so that won't suck hopefully." Marco said to reassure Star. He always knew what to say to ease her nerves. Now it wasn't any different. Star's frown faltered considerably as she turned to Marco. His attempts worked, she knew he wasn't going to let her go back alone, so the thought eased her mind, if only slightly.

The remainder of the night was spent by the two sharing experiences of the last day. Star told about her experience and how she was dead for a minute. Marco was a little concerned by hearing that she was literally dead, even for just a moment. Marco then told about her experience consoling her father and the two joked about how Ludo talked.

The topic of Ludo had been absent for too long, was he dead as well? If he was Toffee, then surely he was gone right? The only way that he could fathomably survive would be with the aid of magic.

The most interesting topic that the two had to talk about was that of their dream. They had shared a dream. Why? How? Neither knew, but they knew that they enjoyed it. There was no reasonable explanation for that either. No matter why it happened though, neither would complain because the sight of each other is what drove them to fight.

They fought for each other's sake and it is likely why they won. Star then told Marco about her butterfly form. Unfortunately, Marco was unconscious when she was in the form, so he was yet to bear witness to it. Her description was enough to draw Marco in though. He imagined her with longer horns, huge wings, and a bright outfit. The image in his mind was one that he enjoyed. He had always admired Star's looks, but her literally transforming into a godly figure was something different entirely.

It was Marco's turn to tell of an experience, so he told the only one that he hadn't yet. It was about when he punched Toffee. He punched directly through Toffee's chest and then watched hmi shrug it off as if it didn't even phase him. That last part didn't bother Star though. The fact that Marco punched through him in anger because he thought she was gone was enough to give her goosebumps.

After roughly half an hour of storytelling, Star left Marco's room and headed for the guest room. She was exhausted from everything that happened today, so a good night's sleep on a bed made from something other than cornstock was her new deepest desire.

As Star turned off the lights and fell asleep, Marco did as well. Everything fell silent. There was no sinister force under the shroud of night. The two could finally rest. They had earned it.

X-x-X-x-X

Lucitor Castle

"Yes, Wrathmelior, we understand. Our children will make a great royal couple. They will bring peace to our kingdoms." said Moon.

"You better be right, I am going to tell my son that Star wants to be with him once again. There will be no going back after that." Dave said in return.

"If she denies, we will be forced to use force, but it is for the best. Our dimension needs us to be at peace, now more than ever." Moon said.

"Then we have a deal. Your daughter will marry my son and our respective kingdoms will live in peace." Dave said, extending a hand for Moon to shake.

Moon turned to River, who looked very uncertain, but Moon was determined, so she shook the man's hand, making the promise irrevocable. The two then turned and walked into the hellevator. The door shut finally and the elevator rose to the surface.

Now that Moon and River were gone, it was time to deliver the news. So Dave got up from his chair, with a devilish smirk on his face and walked down the hall and knocked on a door.

KNOCK KNOCK

X-x-X-x-X

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, I'm really happy with this story so far, I am hoping that you guys are as well. If you are, please leave a review and a favorite. I really would like to hear from you guys in any capacity. Thank you for reading and look out for the next chapter, coming soon!

~Chimp Enthusiast