Hello everyone, here's chapter three for you. This one's the longest chapter so far, but Star and Marco finally meet.

Enjoy! And I do not own 'Star vs the Forces of Evil'.

(Chapter 3)

Toffee stared at the school in the distance with his regular blank face. St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses was the dreariest building Toffee had ever seen. It looked more like a warlock's manor than a reform school. Tall, dark stone towers and a black iron gate. The school bore a close resemblance to a prison, although some princesses wouldn't have claimed there was a difference. It even had barbed wire lining the brick wall surrounding it. The large clocktower was the only school-like quality the castle had.

'She's in there.' Toffee thought to himself. 'The future Queen of Mewni is in there.'

"AAAAGH! Why are we still just waiting around?!"

Toffee cringed ever so slightly. Ludo was the only being in the multiverse that really managed to get under the Septarian's skin. Toffee turned around to see Ludo marching up to him. "This is what I get for listening to a lizard named after a bad candy!" the tiny bird man shrieked. "NOTHING!"

"Look around you, Ludo." Toffee gestured at the small army of monsters gathered behind them. "With our forces combined, we have this well in the bag. But we must plan accordingly, St. Olga's is one of the most fortified locations in the multiverse."

"So we need to rush in and smash down the gate!" Ludo shouted. "We aren't accomplishing anything by standing around like a bunch of idiots!"

'Don't kill him, don't kill him, you need his Monsters, don't kill him'. "That will only result in getting everyone here killed." Toffee explained. "We just need to wait a few more minutes, then a large group of Monsters will cause a distraction at the front gates while a smaller group sneaks in the school. We already went over this, Ludo."

"Your plan is too slow!" Ludo complained. "The princesses will have already been sent to the emergency bunker by the time we get in!"

"I'm counting on it." Toffee replied. "Why scrounge around to find the princesses when we can have them all stowed away in one spot?"

Ludo growled and tightened his grip on his iron staff. "I do not like your methods, Toffee."

'That is merely because they require too much thinking for you.'

"But I've come too far to quit now. I will have that wand. And with it, the Avarius legacy will rise from the ashes. I shall be a phoenix reborn in the-"

"Alright, alright. Save the theatrics for when I'm not around." Toffee said. He then turned to his Monsters and called out "Golo! To me!" Shortly after, a large elephant monster wearing ratty clothes came stomping towards Toffee. The monster looked quite formidable, with his sharp tusks, large build, and angry eyes. He was talking on a compact mirror as he lumbered towards his boss, a look of concern in his beady eyes.

"...So you ran straight home, right?" he was saying. "Okay, stay indoors until I get back. I'll be home late again. There's some cornbread in the cabinets, share it with your sister for dinner… Love you too, son. See you soon."

Toffee raised an eyebrow as Golo hung up. "Trouble at home, Golo?"

"Yeah, my son and one of his friends ran into some trouble in the forest." Golo said. "They were caught by a pair of Mewnian knights."

"Oh, dear. Well, it sounds like your son is safe at least." Toffee said.

"Well, it's the strangest thing," said Golo. "But my son told me that he and his friend were actually saved by a Mewman."

"What? That's ridiculous!" Ludo explained. "No Mewman would ever do that for a Monster!"

"My son is no liar." Golo declared. "He said a Mewman boy wearing a strange, red, hooded tunic came and freed them from the knights."

"A Mewman boy in a hooded red tunic?" Toffee asked.

Golo nodded.

"Hmm. Well, Mewman boys in red were not what I wished to discuss." Toffee said. "Are the monsters ready?"

Golo saluted. "Yes, Toffee. Both Ludo's and our monsters are ready to begin."

"Good." Toffee turned to Ludo. "Okay my little flightless friend, the moment you've been waiting for is now ready to commence."

Ludo gave an evil smile. "Perfect."

Toffee gave the stump where his finger had once been a rub. "Very soon, we will get what we came for."

(In the school)

"Disgraceful, all of you!" Miss Heinous shouted. "You are the sorriest group of princesses I have ever seen!" The headmistress of St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses had the princesses lined up in front of her giving them each an evil look. Although, to be perfectly honest, an evil look was really the only look she had. Miss Heinous was a tall, pale woman with light purple, bunched up hair. Her long face had a seemingly permanent scowl and was covered with enough makeup to cover a tennis course. The violet dress she wore fitted to her exact dimensions but did nothing to make her look any less… well, heinous. Miss Heinous had been the headmistress of St. Olga's for as long as anybody bothered to remember. Some even said she had been raised at the school. The headmistress paced back and forth in front of the nervous princesses with her white gloved hands folded behind her. Her back was as straight as an arrow and her posture was flawless.

Miss Heinous stopped in front of a thin princess with a pointy nose and buck teeth. Her large blonde hair looked like a giant sponge cake and her purple dress was fitted for her four arms. The princess began to sweat under the headmistress's stern gaze.

"Princess Arms." Heinous began. "Your dress is wrinkled and your hair looks like an overgrown rat's nest. You would think someone with four arms could be a little more proficient."

"Contrary to popular belief, having four arms is actually kind of a hassle." Princess Arms said. "Especially when you're trying to put on a tight fitting dress."

"I want results, not excuses." Miss Heinous continued her walk until she came upon a princess who looked like a living shadow. Her ink black skin almost blended in with her obsidian colored dress. Her long hair was a stunning silver though, and the eye that wasn't hidden behind her bangs was a startling, electric blue.

"Princess Schatten." said Heinous. "As a princess, you must learn to express an air of warmth and safety. I swear, it always feels cold next to you."

"I keep telling you, I can't help that." the princess said in a soft, whisper voice. "I come from a land of darkness, where there is no sun and fire doesn't even exist."

"Silence!" Miss Heinous ordered. "Don't pretend you do not belong here. You were sent to St. Olga's for indecent exposure."

"In my kingdom, that just means I refused to wear a hat outdoors. I never understood that law. We don't even have sunlight or rain, what purpose do hats serve us?"

"I don't care." Miss Heinous replied. She walked down the line until she came to a small pixie girl who was only a half a foot tall. She hovered in the air at shoulder height with her clear wings. She wore a light red dress over her blue skin, her ears were pointed, and her turquoise hair was trimmed at the neck.

"Princess Priscilla. I've confiscated over a dozen men's catalogue magazines from your room and you've tried to sneak a boy in here eight times, one of whom, you…" Miss Heinous shuddered. "Well… for someone so small, you seem to have a rather large appetite."

"I'm from a line of empresses who literally eat their husbands. Honestly, what did you expect?"

"I would rather not quote out loud what I expected." Miss Heinous continued down the line until she came to the last two princesses. These were the most troublesome students she had ever had the displeasure of accepting into her school. Princess Lilacia Pony Head and Princess Star Butterfly. The two of them had been a royal pain since they were little. Princess Pony Head was, as her name implied, a floating, baby blue unicorn head with a pink mane and turquoise horn. A pink heart decorated her neck like a tattoo and her pupils were yellow stars. Since she didn't have a body, she was the only princess exempt from wearing a dress. She was Princess Butterfly's best friend and partner in crime, much too Heinous's annoyance.

"You two have been a continuous thorn in my side this entire semester." Miss Heinous said. "Multiple accounts of attempted escapes, theft, graffiti, and talking back to your instructors. It's a good thing I took away your wand soon after you got here, Princess Butterfly. Otherwise, you just might have burned down this institution like you almost burned down your kingdom."

Star glared at the headmistress. She wore a pink dress that she didn't seem happy about wearing and her hair had been put in a single braid that was definitely not her style. "You had no right to take my wand!" Star shouted.

"I am the headmistress of this school, so anything I say is law." Miss Heinous stated coldly. "Perhaps it is high time I put you two in the Solitary Conform-ment Chamber."

"But like, it wouldn't be solitary if you put both of us in there." Princess Pony Head pointed out in a sassy, nasally voice. "Dang Heinous, who taught you how to count?"

"You bring up a good point, Princess Lilacia." the headmistress said. "You may go first, then Princess Butterfly may go once you have finished." the two princesses watched in horror as Miss Heinous raised her hand to snap her fingers and have the guards carry them away.

But before she could, the whole castle shook, like a small, three second earthquake had just occurred. Everyone looked around in confusion and fear. A small troll with purple skin in a dark uniform came hobbling as fast as he could on his lame leg up to his Miss Heinous. He only had one, glowing, yellow mechanical eye but it looked to be filled with panic. "Miss Heinous! Miss Heinous!" he cried.

"Gemini! What is going on? Was that an explosion?!" Miss Heinous demanded.

Gemini limped closer to the headmistress who leaned down to let the small, bald troll whisper into her ear. When he was finished, Miss Heinous developed a panicked look of her own. She stood up abruptly and turned to her robotic guards. "Round up all of the princesses and take them to the emergency bunker! Now!"

"What's going on?" Star asked.

"Are we in danger?!" Princess Arms cried.

"I would welcome death at this point." Princess Schatten whispered.

"Everything is fine, no need to worry." Miss Heinous replied. "Now hurry to the emergency bunker room and stay there until further notice."

"It sounds like we should indeed be worried, and everything is not in fact, fine." Princess Schatten remarked.

"GO!" Heinous shouted. The princesses ran like a herd of spooked horses, knowing all too well what an angry Miss Heinous would do to them. Star was about to leave with the other princesses but Miss Heinous grabbed her shoulder before she could go. "Not you, Princess Star." the headmistress smiled evilly at the young royal. 'Such a pretty little thing.' I have something… special, in mind for you. It shouldn't take very long."

Star gulped. "Oooooh boy."

(On Earth)

"You did the right thing calling us, Mrs. Diaz." Officer Bloom said. She pulled out a pencil and notepad from out of her pocket. Officer Bloom was a short, pretty woman with dark skin and brown hair. She didn't look like somebody tough enough to be a cop, but Jenny Bloom had been proving the contrary to every jerk she came across. Normally, by knocking out their teeth. "We don't usually begin an investigation so early in the event of the victims disappearance, but in a small town like Echo Creek, it's indeed strange that no one's even seen your son. So we'll begin right away."

"Thank you." Replied Angie. She, Raphael, Officer Bloom and Officer Davis were seated in the Diaz family's living room. Angie and Raphael sat side by side across from the two police officers. Mariposa was on the living room carpet playing with her toys, completely unaware that anything was amiss.

"Now, is there anything else you haven't already told us that might help." Officer Davis asked. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with a PD approved mustache. "Anything at all could help find your boy."

"We already told you everything." Raphael said. "He went to work, and nobody has seen him since. Don't you guys have any leads?"

"Well, we checked out Britta's Tacos where your son works, and found that he left the basement storage door open." said Officer Davis. "So he must have gone down there."

"Maybe he's still down there." Angie suggested hopefully. "He could have slipped and hurt himself, but nobody was able to find him." Angie grabbed a hold of her husband's arm to steady herself and keep from losing it.

"We checked every inch of the basement, Mrs. Diaz." Officer Bloom pointed out. "No sign of your son. There was what looked like an old water well down there, and we thought at first he could've fell in. But that thing was shut tighter than a drum, he couldn't have gone in there."

"So as of now, the trail is cold." Officer Davis picked up. "None of the security cameras in Echo Creek got any feed on him, no witnesses claimed to have seen a Hispanic teen in a red hoodie anytime after his presumed disappearance, we can't even find his location from his phone's GPS. It's almost as if the kid disappeared off of the face of the Earth."

Angie's grip on Raphael's arm tightened. "So you have nothing?"

"Currently, no. But don't worry," Officer Bloom reached over and placed a comforting hand on Angie's leg. "We'll find him soon enough. Your boy sounds like a smart, resourceful kid."

"Might even have a future in the police academy." Officer Davis added.

"He probably just got turned around somewhere. I'm sure he'll be back before you know it."

This seemed to calm Angie down a bit. She loosened her grip on Raphael and took a grip. "I hope you're right, Officer."

The policeman and policewoman stood up to leave. "We'll keep in contact in case we get any new leads." said Officer Davis. "Until then, you just need to stay calm and have faith. Have a good rest of your day." with that said, Officer Bloom and Officer Davis headed out the door.

Angie let out a heavy sigh. "Do you think he's okay?" she asked.

"Of course he is, Angie." Raphael replied. "It's just like Officer Davis said, we need to have faith."

There was a knock on the door. Raphael got up to answer it, thinking it was the police again. But instead, it was Janna and Jackie. Behind them was Echo Creek's version of the short, fat guy and tall, lanky guy duo you find in a lot of cartoons. The oddly named Ferguson O'durguson was a tubby, ginger haired boy about a foot shorter than most guys and Alfonso Dolittle was a thin, four eyed, curly, brown haired boy about a foot taller than most guys.

"Oh thank god, they're gone." Janna remarked. "They've been questioning me nonstop about Marco's disappearance. They think I'm hiding him away to use him for one of my rituals."

"Haven't you actually done that before?" Alfonso asked.

"Well I mean, yeah. But come on, we were like, seven. I was a novice. I didn't even have goat wax candles. I had to use a bunch of birthday candles."

"I am starting to think Marco needs new friends." Raphael muttered under his breath. Out loud though, he said "Hello you four, what brings you here?"

"Well, we heard Marco pulled a vanishing act and thought we'd stop by to see how things were holding up here." Ferguson answered.

"Also, I'll use any excuse to come over and see Mariposa." Jackie added.

Angie walked up to the door. "Well that's very nice of you kids." Angie said with a smile. "Mari's in the living room if you want to see her." she leaned in a little closer. "And try no to say Marco's name out loud." she whispered. "She doesn't understand what's happening, but I think she's starting to wonder where Marco is."

Jackie gave a kind smile. "No problem." she said before heading inside.

"So there's really no sign of him?" Alfonso asked. "It's not like Marco to just pull a houdini out of nowhere."

"Yeah. Even I can't find him, and I'm normally pretty good at tracking down Marco." Janna added. "I'm a top level trickster."

"More like a top level creepster." Ferguson muttered. When Janna gave him one of her infamous I'll get you for that looks, he gulped and said "You know what, I think I know a few spots Marco might be hiding. If he's hiding, that is. I'll go check them out." Ferguson ran off as fast as his weight would let him.

"I'll go with him." Alfonzo said before chasing after Ferguson.

Janna watched them leave with a slightly satisfied expression, then looked back at the Diaz's. "So, how are things here without the Safe Kid?"

"Oh, not too good." Angie answered. "It was difficult putting Mariposa to bed last night. Normally Marco puts her to bed with a bedtime story and this little finger pocket she loves." Mrs. Diaz developed a loving but sad look on her face. "He already skipped Mariposa's bedtime when he was tutoring you, so it wasn't very easy getting her to fall asleep. How did your test go, by the way?"

"Passed by the hairs on my teeth." Janna replied. "I'm gonna have a schoolwork bonfire tonight to celebrate not having to go to summer school."

"Well that's great, dear." Angie said. "Would you like to come in for a minute?"

"Sure." Janna replied, not about to turn down the famed Diaz hospitality. Janna walked inside and into the living room area, where she saw Jackie playing with Mariposa. Jackie had the baby held up in the air as she laid her back on the carpeted floor. Janna sat down next to Jackie as Angie and Raphael went to the kitchen. Jackie brought the giggling Mariposa down and sat up off the floor. "Oh my god, could this baby be any more adorable?" she asked. Jackie gave Mariposa's belly a tickle.

Janna smiled. "Yeah. She's a cutie." The spooky girl looked over to make sure the Diaz's were still in the kitchen, then looked back at Jackie. "Do you have any idea where M-" Janna glanced at Mariposa. "-where our friend in red might be?"

Jackie shrugged reluctantly. "I have no idea. But I do know he wouldn't have just ran off."

Janna raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"

Jackie brought her hand up and pushed her hair back. "We… kinda had a date."

Janna blinked. "Say what now?"

Jackie grinned. "Yeah. The cute dork finally managed to sum up the courage to ask me out on a quote on quote, date. Granted, he seemed a little out of it when he did. Talking to himself and whatnot. But still, he's been crushing on me since freaking kindergarten."

"It was pretty obvious, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Jackie gave her macabre loving friend a smile. "I hope that doesn't… cause any tension between us."

Janna tilted her head. "Why would it?"

"Come on, Janna. You hang around him even more than Alfonzo and Ferguson. You're seriously gonna tell me you don't have even the smallest crush on him?"

Janna cheeks reddened ever so slightly. "It… it hardly matters how I feel." she said casually. "He's into you, not me. I'm just a creepy friend who annoys the hell out of him, you're the hot beach babe he can't stop ogling."

This caused Jackie to blush a bit. "Regardless, you oughta tell him how you feel when he gets back."

"If he gets back." said Janna. "And besides, you know how he is. He'll probably think he has something to apologize about and end up feeling guilty."

Jackie chuckled. "Yeah, Marco really is a sweet guy."

"Mawco?"

Jackie and Janna's eyes shot open. They both looked down at Mariposa, who was now looking around like she was starting to wonder why she hadn't seen her big brother in a while. Mariposa looked up at Jackie. "Mawco?"

Jackie and Janna shared a look of panic, then looked back down at the baby. "Uh… Marco's on his way home. Don't worry." Jackie said in a soothing voice.

Mariposa just blinked at Jackie. She did one more search around the house.

Then her bottom lip began to quiver.

"Oh no." Jackie said.

Mariposa began to cry. Tears flowed down the infant's face as she wailed. Almost instantly, Angie ran into the living room area. "What's wrong?"

Jackie tried to quiet down Mariposa and rock her into a state of calm, but nothing worked. With a sigh, Angie walked over and took her baby out of Jackie's arms. Although Angie didn't seem to be having any more luck at calming the baby down than Jackie did. "Marco, where are you?"

(Back in whatever dimension St. Olga's is in)

"I am in another dimension walking through a cold desert in the middle of the night." Marco complained aloud. "Following the guidance of a foot tall genie gremlin who led me into one dimension, threw me in another, and guilt tripped me into following him into this one."

"Do you ever stop complaining?" Glossaryck asked as he floated ahead of Marco. "And for the record, I didn't lead you into Mewni. You just happened to stumble into the only entrance to multidimensional travel on Earth."

Marco felt his hand inch towards the sword on his back, which he had named Rebanador. Marco restrained himself though and brought his hand back down to his side. "Why are we walking all the way to… what did you call it? St. Olga's? We could've cut open a portal tothe school."

"What, don't you enjoy a walk through the desert?"

"No one enjoys a walk through the desert."

"Well, too bad. St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses has the most top notch security money can buy. This includes a tramorfidian crystal placed in the center of the school that prevents anybody from using dimensional scissors on school grounds nor can anyone use dimensional scissors to cut a portal onto school grounds."

"Oh. Still though, we could have portaled a little closer to the school." Marco argued. "Or maybe I could've went back to the Neverzone and got my dragoncycle so we could at least ride there."

"That would've just attracted some unneeded attention from the army of monsters surrounding the castle." Glossaryck said. "We need to keep the element of surprise. No one knows we're coming."

"Hold up, did you say an army of monsters?" Marco asked. "I thought it was just one monster? Taffy or whatever?"

"Toffee. And don't worry, it's not a very big army."

"Oh, yeah. That makes me feel so much better."

Glossaryck sighed. "My kids don't even complain this much, and I left them time frozen in a meeting room with the king and queen."

"And another thing," Marco continued. "Why can't I just pop in real quick and tell my family I'm okay? I'd only be gone for a minute."

"You would be gone longer than a minute. You might not even come back at all. It'll be easier to just wait and be patient. I promise, you'll see your family again soon."

Marco sighed in defeat, realizing that you just couldn't win with this guy. "So, what's the deal with Toffee and Queen Moon?" Marco asked. "She seemed really afraid of him back in the meeting room."

"I'd imagine she is." Glossaryck replied. "After all, Toffee killed her mother in cold blood when she was your age."

Marco didn't respond right away, he just stared at Glossaryck in shock. "Oh… that… wow."

The small genie nodded. "Yes, indeed. Queen Comet the Chef was a good queen and a great mother. She was one of the only Queens of Mewni who was against the abuse of monster kind and did all she could to create peace between Mewmans and Monsters. She nearly succeeded too. But then," Glossaryck paused and closed his eyes. "Then, during a peace treaty signing between Queen Comet and the Monster King Archduke Batwin, the Queen was murdered by one of Batwin's generals. A Septarian who thought that the only way to get peace from the Mewmans was to take it from them."

"Toffee." Marco confirmed.

Glossaryck nodded. "Not everybody wants peace, Marco. Some cling to the idea that only blood can repay blood, but all Toffee managed to accomplish that day was making a bad situation even worse. Everyone loved Queen Comet, and everyone was heartbroken and enraged by her untimely demise."

"Queen Moon especially, huh?"

"Indeed. But in the end, she held strong and chased off Toffee and his monsters before they could do any more damage. Earning her the name Queen Moon the Undaunted."

"Cool name." Marco commented. "So, wait. You said the treaty was between Queen Comet and the Monster King? Do the Monsters have their own separate monarchy?"

"Well, yes and no. After Archduke Batwin died, the title of Monster King went to a Monster named Albacudo Avarius. The thing with the Monster King title is that it's less about lineage and more about social position. All the greatest Monster Kings were trusted and well respected Monsters who made his people feel safe. Albacudo Avarius, Archduke Batwin, and Globgor the Size-Shifter were given the title because the other Monsters felt safer under their rule."

"Who's the current Monster King then?" Marco asked.

"Well, it depends on who you ask. Albacudo's grandson Ludo Avarius has taken command among the Monsters as a self proclaimed king. And of course, a lot of Monsters still rally behind Toffee. But there's no official Monster King, though a lot of local Monsters are considering your friend Yvgeny Bulgolyubov for the position."

"Buff Frog?" Marco asked. "Huh. I'd vote for him if I was sure my vote would matter."

"I'm glad to see you are taking such an interest in Mewni's history." Glossaryck remarked. "If all goes as I plan, you will be an essential part of that history."

"What… do you mean?" Marco asked curiously.

"All in good time, Mr. Diaz. All in good time." Glossaryck halted. "We're here."

Marco looked up at the grim, Victorian style castle looming over him. He had been so engrossed by Glossaryck's lecture that he hadn't even noticed how close they had gotten. Up close, the school looked like a retirement home for supervillains.

Marco let out a nervous groan. "I'm about to head into a dark, scary castle to save a magical princess. I feel like I'm in a bad Legend of Zelda spoof. I've even got the magic sword and obnoxious floating companion who's supposed to give me helpful advice but doesn't really."

"Hey. Look. Listen."

"Don't you start with me. And so help me God, if you start doing a Fi impression, I'm gonna-"

"I'm being serious, Marco." Glossaryck pointed. "Look. Listen."

Marco looked to where Glossaryck was pointing. Down at the base of the castle, closer to the buildings rear, were a pair of Monsters guarding what looked like a big water tunnel. The Monsters were looking into the water tunnel, like they were more worried about someone coming out rather than getting in.

"A way in." Glossarcyk said. "Sneak up behind them and take them out."

Marco nodded and began to creep up behind the monsters. When he got close enough, he could hear what they were talking about.

"Man, how did we get stuck guarding the freaking sewer pipe?" complained a bear Monster with a unicorn horn wearing a red tunic. "No princess is going to go through here. I know I wouldn't."

"Toffee said we had to guard this exit just in case." replied the big and buff, green Monster with antlers wearing a white, wife beater and blue trousers. He scratched his bruise-purple beard. "Still though, I get what you're saying. This stinks. Literally."

"I can't believe the boss let this happen to us." the bearicorn said.

The beard deer just shrugged. "It wasn't easy for him to partner up with Toffee. I personally wouldn't have done it. That lizard gives me the chills."

Marco was now right behind them. He jumped on the beard deer and put him in an expert choke hold. The Monster gave a startled cry before Marco began choking him. Beard Deer thrashed around, trying to throw Marco off of him to no avail. Bearicorn, upon noticing his friend's distress, tried to help him. He tried to grab a hold of Marco but Beard Deer kept spinning and moving around. Marco managed to plant a kick to Bearicorn's face during one spin around, causing the Monster to fall on his back. Beard Deer backed up and slammed Marco into the school's stone wall. Marco cringed in pain, but held on. Beard Deer continued to struggle for breath. When his struggling began to cease, Marco released him. Beard Deer fell to the ground with a mighty thud, unconscious but alive.

Bearicorn picked himself off of the ground and stared at his fallen friend in disbelief. He then let out an angry roar and charged at Marco, who swept the Monster's leg causing him to fall face first into the dirt. Bearicorn rolled onto his back and moaned painfully. Marco walked up and stood over the downed Monster. "Curse you, boy in red!" the Monster blinked, as if remembering something. "Boy in red? Wait… you're-"

Marco punched his lights out before he could finish.

"-tired of getting crap for my hoodie." he finished.

Glossaryck floated up next to him. "Well done, my boy. The Neverzone taught you well." He complimented. "Now before we head in, I should probably remind you that we are entering a school full of teenage girls… so…"

Marco felt his face heat up. "I'll… I'll be a gentleman about this, don't worry."

"Oh no, that's not what worries me. I meant that a lot of those girls haven't seen a boy in years. So when they see you, they may very well try to rip off a piece of you for themselves."

Marco's face turned the same color as his hoodie. Before he could reply, a loud siren sounded off. Marco covered his ears. "What is that?!" he shouted over the noise.

"The Monsters have gotten into the school!" Glossaryck shouted. "Hurry! Into the sewer!"

Marco wasn't thrilled about going in a sewer, but he held his breath and entered. After about a few minutes of wading through filth and cursing the day he was born, Marco came to a ladder that led up to the surface. He climbed the ladder and lifted the manhole, he crawled into some kind of pipe room. The room was filled with pipes, water heaters, and other things.

"We're in." Marco said.

Glossaryck, who had been hiding in Marco's hood to avoid the stink, flew out and hovered next to Marco. "Yup. Now to-" Glossaryck's eyes bulged and he grabbed his nose. "By corn, you reek!" Glossaryck turned green and puked down the sewer hole.

"You're the one who made me wade through the sewer." Marco reminded him, turning a little green himself just from mentioning it. "What the hell did you expect me to smell like?"

"Bad, but not this bad." Glossaryck replied while pinching his nose. "Good grief, what do they feed those princesses? I can't take it anymore, magic time!" Glossaryck snapped his fingers and Marco suddenly caught a whiff of cinnamon sticks. Glossaryck released his nose and breathed in happily. "Ahhhh, that's much better. Cinnamon scented too. My own personal touch."

"Dang, I wish I had magic." said Marco.

"You do, but that's a discussion for another time."

"Wait, what-"

"Another time. Come along." Glossaryck floated toward the door. Marco watched him float away curiously, then followed.

They exited into a narrow stone hallway. Marco had no idea where to go, but Glossaryck went left so Marco followed. After a bit of walking, Glossaryck abruptly stopped. "There are guards coming." he said.

Marco's eyes widened in alarm. "What do we do? I'm a boy in a school for girls, they'll toss me out the window!"

"I have an idea." Glossaryck said. "Do you trust me, Marco?"

"No."

"Well, regardless. You have no choice but to do as I say. I'm gonna magic you up a disguise. Go along with everything the guards say and you'll be fine."

"You're gonna disguise me as one of the guards?" Marco asked.

"I could, but that wouldn't be any fun." Glossaryck snapped his fingers and a pink cloud enveloped Marco. "Now this is worth a chuckle or two."

When the pink fog cleared, Marco looked down and nearly had a panic attack. He was wearing a stunning pink dress that fitted him perfectly and a pair of snow-white high heels. His hair had grown into a long, luxurious ponytail and the outfit was completed with full makeup.

"You look quite lovely." said Glossaryck. "Pink is definitely your color."

"I hate you with every fiber of my being." Marco hissed through his teeth.

"I'm sure you do. Don't worry, the outfit peels off cartoon superhero style. Play your part and the guards should take you to where the princesses are being held. I'm going to take care of the tramorfidian crystal. Use your scissors to get the princesses out of here. Good luck, kid." with that said, Glossaryck ghosted through the wall, leaving Marco alone.

As soon as Glossaryck was gone, a pair of guards came across Marco. They were tall and broad shouldered and wore grey suits like two expensive bodyguards. Marco realized that they were robots, they had no mouths but they did have two menacing red eyes on their metal heads.

They stopped in front of Marco and gave a robot's version of a confused look. "What are you doing here? You should be in the bunker with the rest of the princesses." the one of the right said.

"I-" Marco cleared his voice and spoke in an award winning falsetto. "I apologize, good sirs. I seem to have strayed from the group. Could you please escort me to the bunker?"

The guard on the left leaned in a little closer to Marco. "What is your name, princess?"

Marco tried not to gulp. "I am Princess… Leia… of the Alderaan Kingdom… I'm new."

The guards looked at each other and shrugged. "Let's get you to the bunker, Princess Leia." the guard on the right said. "We must insist you stay close to us."

"Oh, thank you." Marco replied. The guards then led Marco through the castle. They moved at a fast pace, and Marco at first had trouble keeping up in his new heels. But he quickly managed to get the hang of it, although Marco wasn't sure whether or not to be proud of that. The alarm was still blaring, although not a single monster had been seen in the castle. Marco wasn't complaining though. After a bit of traversing the castle, the guards looked back at Marco, who was following behind them. "Almost there, your highness." said the guard on the right. "It's just around the corner."

"Wonderful." Marco replied.

They turned the corner, but the three of them stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was in front of them. A group of five Monsters were pounding away at a large metal, vault door. Four of the monsters, a large pig monster, a big wolf man, a four armed gorilla, and a tiger man were using a battering ram to break down the vault. The vault looked like it was made of pure steel, but the tip of the ram had some kind of purple crystal tip. Every time the crystal struck the door, a wave of purple energy would vibrate across the door, causing it to shake.

The fifth Monster was even bigger than the other four. He was some kind of badger beast with a thick red beard under his snout and a pair of stag antlers on his head. He wore a large pair of overalls and nothing else redneck style. "Put yer backs into it, ya lazy dogs!" the badger Monster barked in a thick Scottish accent. "We ain't got all day! Me nanny can tear down a door better than you lot!"

"Stop!" the guards shouted. They each both pulled out a high powered stun rob that sparked at the tip and advanced the Monsters.

The badger beast just raised an eyebrow. "Keep at it, men. I got this." he stepped up to meet the two guards. The robots attacked, but in one fluid motion, the badger beast ripped off their heads and tossed them aside. They headless guards fell to the floor with sparks flying out of their necks.

The badger beast looked a little disappointed. "That's it? Goes to show ya can't find good help nowhere these days." the Monster then noticed Marco and grinned evilly. "Well well, looks like I've caught meself a stray." The badger lumbered a little closer to Marco. "If you were lookin' for safety, dearie, I'm afraid there ain't none no more."

Marco narrowed his eyes, then grabbed his hair and dress and tore them away, makeup and all. Marco was back to his normal appearance, with Rebanador strapped to his back.

The badger beast's yellow eyes widened in shock. "Now I've seen everything." he muttered.

Marco drew his katana, it gleamed with a silver light like a miniature crescent moon.

"Ha! Ya call that a sword?" the badger beast drew a man-sized, double edged sword from his back. "This is a sword."

Marco got in a fighting stance with the blade aimed at the badger. The badger beast just smiled even wider. "Ho-oh, I like this one. He's got fire in his belly. Oy! Take a breather and watch me pummel this puny boy inta mulch!" The Monsters that were breaking down the door put the ram down and flanked their boss. The door looked ready to break, so it didn't seem like a breather would hurt. The Monsters smiled with malice at Marco.

"So, you think you can play with the big boys, eh boy?" the badger beast goaded. "Well then, let's see what ya got."

(Inside the vault about five minutes ago)

The princesses hung back as far from the door as they could, trembling in fear as something pounded against the door with enough force to begin to bend the metal. Some of them clung to each other in fear, others were on their knees praying, some were just rocking back and forth hugging their knees in a crazed state of panic, some even were just crying into the pillows of the various beds here and there, waiting for the worst to come. There was no way out of the bunker except the front door, which continued to shake and bend with every loud boom. The princesses were all terrified. One princess though, was trying to rally them.

"Come on girls, we gotta fight back!" Princess Pony Head shouted. "We can take them, no sweat!"

None of them listened to her. Princess Arms stood up and glared at Pony Head. "Give it a rest, would you?!" she cried. "We're doomed! In a few seconds, we're all gonna be at the mercy of those Monsters!"

"I am afraid Patty is right." said Princess Schatten in her usual whisper voice. "Even if we do band together, we are no match for whatever is breaking down a three foot thick, steel door."

Pony Head snorted in disgust. "So, what? You guys are just gonna like, stand around shivering in your high heels and wait for a dang miracle?!"

As soon as she said, the banging on the door suddenly stopped. The princesses looked at the door curiously, wondering what happened. Some of the braver princesses crept closer to the door. One of which was Pony Head. She tilted her head at the vault. "Maybe they quit?"

Then the sound of fighting erupted.

The princesses were startled by the sudden sound of combat. They could hear the roars of Monsters as they fought against… something. The unmistakable sound of punches and kicks as well as the sound of metal cutting flesh could be heard on the other side of the door. The Monsters kept crying out in pain and anguish. Whatever they were fighting was winning by the sound of it.

The princesses listened to this for a straight half an hour. Suddenly, the sound of fighting stopped. The princesses inched their way a little closer to the door.

Then the banging on the door continued.

The princesses backed away quickly in fright. The door was being forced open, dust fell from the ceiling as the door continued to bend. The young royals cowered in fear, no hope left in their hearts.

Then with a sound like a small cannon, the door was busted open and dust flew up in the air. But to the confusion of the princesses, a large badger Monster was thrown into the bunker. He landed on his back with a painful thud. He groaned miserably, the Monster was covered head to toe with cuts and bruises. But he managed to find the strength to stand back up, causing the princesses to back away fearfully. But the monster's attention wasn't on the princesses, it was on the figure walking through the now busted open door.

The princesses and the badger beast watched as a boy walked through the dust. He had emerged from the fight unscathed, dressed in red and black and a silver sword was clutched in his hand. A lot of the princesses developed stars in their eyes at the sight of their savior. One dramatic princess even fainted.

The badger beast spat out a bloody tooth. "I've never seen anyone fight like that before." He marveled.

"Fifteen years in the Neverzone." Marco replied. "You pick up a thing or two."

The Monster growled. He no longer had his sword, so he raised his fists in challenge. "Put the sword away, boy. Let's finish this man to monster!"

Marco sheathed his sword in obligation, then raised his hands in a defensive karate pose. The badger beast just laughed.

"What's that supposed to be? You think you can best me with a queer little sword hand dance?!"

"It's not a sword hand dance! It's a defensive martial art stance that ensures the preparation for an attack-you know what, forget it. I'm just gonna kick your ass now."

And he did. Marco ran right at the badger beast and fired off a firm jab to the sternum. The beast stumbled back a bit, but recovered quickly. He let out a roar and swiped at Marco with his razor sharp claws. Marco in return ducked out of the way and planted another jab to the Monster's side. The Monster let out another roar and tried to grab Marco, but the agile boy backflipped out of the way and leapt forward, delivering a palm strike to the badger beast's snout. The Monster howled in pain and arched backwards with his hand on his broken snout. Marco took advantage of the opportunity and landed a powerful flying kick right into the beast's exposed belly. The Monster doubled over as the wind was knocked out of him. Marco finished the job with a roundhouse kick straight into the beast's temple. The Monster fell face first into the floor and moaned miserably. He pushed himself off the floor but didn't have the strength left to stand back up. The Monster snarled up at Marco with blood on his teeth and murder in his eyes.

"This doesn't change anythin'." the badger beast said weakly. "You can't stop what's ta come. You might've saved these royal wenches, but yer entire world is about to come crashin' down on ya. Master Toffee's got a plan, and his plans never fail." the Monster seemed to lose the energy to stay awake. He slumped back down and slipped into unconsciousness.

Marco rubbed his sore knuckles. The fight had taken a lot out of him, he felt like he had run a ten miles. Marco turned to the princesses staring wide eyed at him. He had to admit to himself, they were a bizarre looking group. They all wore fancy dresses and makeup, but no two of them looked alike. Some looked more human than others. None of them looked particularly ugly to Marco. They were just, by every definition of the word, alien. "Is everyone o-"

The princesses rushed him.

Marco let a yelp as he was swept up in a flood of princesses. All Marco could hear was the screams of 'thank you', 'you're hot', and 'please marry me', and all he could feel was the princesses grabbing and kissing him. Marco thought he was about to literally suffocate to death in a sea of silk dresses and teen girl lust when they were all pushed back by an invisible force.

"Back, you hormonal harpies, back!" Glossaryck shouted as he floated down from the ceiling. "I need this one alive still."

Marco dizzily got to his feet. His face covered with various colors of lipstick kiss marks and his hoodie had been put on backwards somehow. Marco gave Glossaryck a thankful look. "Thanks for the assistance."

"Who would have thought that the princesses would prove to be more dangerous than the Monsters?" Glossaryck remarked. "The tramorfidian crystal is destroyed by the way, so your scissors will work now."

Marco pulled out his dimensional scissors and cut open a portal to Butterfly Castle. "Alright, listen everyone." Marco addressed the princesses. "This portal will take you to Mewni, let's all head there where it's safe and we can focus on getting you all home once we unfreeze the Queen… long story."

All the princesses made a mad, high heeled dash to the portal, but a floating unicorn head that sparkled out the neck flew in front of the portal. "Hold it!" she shouted. "We ain't leaving without B-Fly!"

"Oh good god, you're just a head!" Marco cried. "I mean, uh… nice to meet you."

"Yeah, of course it is. Now close your portal, 'cause we ain't leaving without my girl, B-Fly!"

"B-Fly?"

The head rolled her eyes. She was one of few princesses who didn't rush Marco. She didn't even seem impressed by him coming to their aid. "Uh, yeah ya idiot. B-Fly! More commonly known as Star Butterfly! Like, the freakin' princess of Mewni!"

"Wait, Princess Star's not here?" Marco asked.

"What did I like, just say?" the head answered. "No, she ain't here! Now let's go find her, then we can leave!"

Marco pinched his brow. 'Of course it's not over.' "Okay, look, princess horse head,"

"Pony Head."

Marco blinked. "Come again?"

"It's Princess Pony Head! Not! Horse! Head!" the princess angrily stated.

"...Uh, okay, fine. Princess Pony Head. Take the princesses and go to Mewni where it's safe. I'll go find Princess Star, and me and her will portal to Mewni."

"Uh, yeah, like, there's just one problem with that." Pony Head replied. "I'm going with you."

"No, you're not." Marco felt his eye twitch at the mere sound of this princess' voice. "You're leaving with the rest of the princesses."

"Excuuuse me?" Pony Head replied. "I am a princess. You are a turd. You do not give me orders, I give you orders. I have the authority."

"I'm not a denizen of your kingdom, nor am I even a denizen of whatever dimension you're from. Your title means nothing to me." Marco stated.

Princess Pony Head just blinked at Marco. "Aren't you like, a Mewman or whatever?"

"No, I'm a human from Earth."

"Yeah, both those things sound totally fake."

Marco took a deep breath. "Glossaryck, help me out here."

The genie just shrugged. "Don't look at me. She's a Pony Head, she comes from a long line of annoyingly stubborn brats."

"Hey! You're that magic troll guy that lives in B-Fly's book!" Pony Head shouted. "Good, you can come too." she turned to Marco, "And I am coming, so don't think you can get rid of me, Earth Turd!"

"First off, please don't call me that. Second," Marco sighed. "Fine, you can come. But the others are leaving."

"Pssh. Fine, sure, whatever, like they would have been any help any way." said Pony Head.

Upon hearing this, the princesses ran to the portal. One by one, they hopped through the portal. But not before giving Marco a kiss, adding one more mark to his already impressive collection. A skinny princess with four arms gave Marco a double hug and didn't seem to want to let go before she went through the portal. Another one with silver hair and ink black skin gave Marco a sweet smile that chilled him to the bone. Her intense, blue eye not hidden by her hair studied him almost hungrily before she disappeared into the portal. A small fairy princess flew up and gave Marco a kiss on the nose, then whispered insanely dirty things into his ear before flying into the portal.

Once all of the princesses were gone, Marco wiped the lipstick off of his face and turned to Glossaryck. "Do you know where the princess is?"

"I'm glad you asked. Follow me. And try to keep up, we need to hurry." Glossaryck flew off through the castle and Marco and Pony Head chased after him.

"Let's get one thing straight, Earth Turd,"

"It's Marco."

"Yeah, no one cares. I'm B-Fly's bestie, so I'm rescuing her. You can just like, stand off to the side and shout encouraging things."

"I can promise you, I'll have nothing encouraging or even remotely nice to shout at you."

"Stupidsaywhat?"

"What?"

"Ha! Gotcha!"

(Somewhere else in the castle)

Star thrashed around like a wild animal against her restraints. The large machine she was strapped to hummed menacingly. Miss Heinous walked back and forth flipping switches and checking dials, while ignoring Star's insults and foul language. The headmistress muttered to herself like a madwoman while she worked. Gemini and the two guards flanking the door dared not say a word. They knew how the headmistress got when she went through the procedure.

"Beauty must be preserved." Miss Heinous mumbled to herself. "I must preserve my beauty. I can't ever be flawed."

"Oh you're flawed. Flawed right in the head!" Star shouted. "What the corn do you think you're doing to me?!"

Miss Heinous looked over at the enraged princess. "You are such a lovely young girl." she said. "But your youthful beauty is wasted on such a frivolous screw up of a princess. I tried to teach you to be a proper princess, but all you did was cause trouble."

The 'screw up' part seemed to get to Star. She kept on her angry and defiant look but stopped thrashing against her bonds. "So, what? Is this supposed to be solitary conform-ment?"

"Actually, this is something a little different." replied Heinous. "You see, my dear. I have been the headmistress of this institution for a very long time. Two hundred and fifty three years, to be exact."

Star raised an eyebrow. "You don't look that old."

"Why, thank you. I put a lot of work into looking this good." Miss Heinous patted the side of the machine. "Like stealing the youth of a princess every so often."

Star's eyes widened. "Say whaaaaaat?"

"Every year or so, I drain the youth of the prettiest princess in my school." Heinous explained. "It keeps me from turning into a wrinkly, useless bag and the princess always leaves unscathed but a little drained. A win-win, really."

"I think you greatly misunderstand the meaning of 'win-win'." Star commented angrily. "Now I'm flattered you think I'm the prettiest girl in school, but I am not giving you my youth, you vile, ugly, corn damn BITCH!"

"You won't give me your youth, no. So I'm just going to take it." Heinous flipped a large switch and the machine came to life. Star began to feel a strange tingling sensation through her body. Heinous walked over to a large helmet that was attached to the machine by a long, thick cord. "This may be very unpleasant for you, princess. But don't worry." the headmistress smiled evilly. "It will be over quickly. And afterwards, you won't remember a thing." Star thrashed against her bonds as Miss Heinous raised the helmet above her head.

Suddenly, the door burst open, throwing the guards onto the floor. Glossaryck and Pony Head flew in through the door, much to Star's delight.

"Glossaryck! Pony Head!" Star cried out happily.

Pony Head flew over to Star. "Don't worry B-Fly, I'll get you out of here!" she began pulling on Star's leather restraints with her teeth.

"No! Guards, STOP HER!" Miss Heinous screamed.

The guards stood back up and were about to charge Pony Head, but there was a sudden blur of silver and the guards froze. Then their heads slid off their shoulders and fell on the floor. Their bodies fell to the floor as well, revealing a sword wielding boy Star had never seen before. He wore a red hooded shirt and black pants. His tanned face had a cute mole under his right eye and his hair was the color of chocolate.

"Who's that?" Star asked.

"No one. Come on girl, we gotta get you out of here!" Pony Head shouted. She pulled with all of her might against the straps holding Star in place.

Heinous let out a frustrated cry and threw the helmet down. "Am I the only competent individual in this school?!" she advanced towards Pony Head.

The boy in red ran up and put himself between Pony and Heinous. He drew his silver sword and aimed it at the headmistress' throat. "No, I'm pretty competent too," he said. "Now get out, or I'll show you just how competent."

'Damn.' Star thought to herself.

Heinous shot the boy a look of pure hatred. "I will remember this, boy. And you are going to regret making me your enemy." she turned around and left through the exit, with Gemini hobbling after her.

The boy watched her leave, then turned and looked at Star. He studied her with his focused, alert brown eyes. Star felt another tingling sensation through her body, but it wasn't from the machine this time.

"We need to leave!" the boy said. "I think more monsters are getting in the school!"

"Yeah, in a minute!" Pony shouted. "I just need to get B-Fly out of this-"

In a blink of an eye, the boy slashed at Star's bonds, freeing her instantly. The boy sheathed his sword. "Can we go now?"

Pony recovered from her shock before Star did. "Hey! I said I was going to free her! You're supposed to just-"

"Pony Head, it's fine." Star stepped away from the machine and up to Marco. "Thanks for your help. I'm Star, by the way. Star Butterfly."

The boy returned her smile and reached out for a handshake. "Marco Diaz. It's nice to-"

Star tackled Marco with a hug. "Thank you soooooo much for getting me out of there! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

Marco's face flushed red. "Don't mention it."

From the other side of the room, Glossaryck smiled at the sight. "And so it begins." he muttered under his breath.

Pony Head just snorted. "I came too, ya know. Like, where's my hug and thank you?"

Star let go of Marco and wrapped her arms around Pony Head. "Thanks, bestie!"

"Aw, don't mention it, girl." said Pony Head. She shot Marco a smug look, who in return gave a look that said 'what do I care?'

Star let go Pony Head. "Okay. Now that the hugs have been given, we need to get out of here."

"On it." Marco pulled out his scissors and gave them a twirl. "One portal to Mewni coming right up."

Star stared at the scissors in wonder. "Woah, how did you get those?"

"Passed one of Hekapoo's trials." Marco responded. "I was in her dimension for fifteen years. I'm technically thirty."

"No way." Star marveled. "That is so cool!"

"Yeah, big deal." said Pony Head. "My horn can play rave music." her horn lit up in multiple colors and began to play music. The princess bobbed her head to the beat.

"Would you turn that off?!" Marco shouted over the music. "The trick to being in a castle under siege by monsters is to not draw attention to yourself!"

Pony Head shut off her horn and gave Marco the stink eye. "Has anyone ever told you you're no fun, Earth Turd?"

"Multiple times. And my name is-"

"Yeah, still don't care. Now open a portal and take us home. Chop chop."

"Before you do that." Glossaryck floated up to the three teens. "Star, where is the wand?"

Star let out a loud gasp. "Oh my corn, my wand! Heinous took my wand! I need to get it back!"

"Oh, come on!" Marco complained. "Can't you get another one? You're a princess! You're rich!"

"Money can't buy a wand like my wand, it's one of a kind!" Star grabbed Marco's shoulders and looked into his eyes with panic and desperation. "If I lose that wand, I am dead!"

"It's a family heirloom." Glossaryck explained. "A magic relic that was given to the first Queen of Mewni by a rather handsome fellow."

Marco, for like, the fifth time in two days, pinched his brow in frustration. "Why me? It could have been any other idiot, so why me?"

"It was either you, or an italian and/or jewish version of you named Shmarmo who's into robots." Glossaryck replied. "And I mean really into robots. I believe I made the right choice choosing you."

"...I don't really know how to respond to that, so let's just go grab her wand and get the hell out of here."

"Sounds good." Glossaryck flew out of the room. "Follow meeeeeeeee!"

"I hate that guy." Marco muttered.

"You learn to get used to him." Star said. "Now let's go!" She ran after Glossaryck and Marco and Pony followed.

(In the headmistress' office)

"Cursed princess!" Heinous growled to herself as she packed her things. "Cursed boy! Who even was that kid?! He cost me a good source of youth!" Heinous reached up to her face. "I think my crow's feet are coming back."

"You know, stress is the worst face wrinkler there is." Gemini commented. "You should calm yourself, Miss Heinous. Otherwise, it may-"

"Oh, stuff a sock in it!" Heinous shouted. She tossed her bags to Gemini. "Now be a good servant without free will and carry my things!"

Gemini struggled to hold all of the heavy bags. "Yes, ma'am." he strained.

"My my, a natural ruler and commander."

Heinous looked to the door and gasped in fear. Standing in the doorway was a smartly dressed lizard man. His face was emotionless but his eyes studied her like he had just found a chest full of gold. He stood with his back straight and his hands folded behind his back.

"Greetings. I am Toffee of the Septarians." The lizard moved towards Miss Heinous, who backed up behind her desk and threw her hand out.

"Keep away from me!" she shouted.

Toffee immediately stopped. "As you wish."

Heinous stared at Toffee in confusion and fear. "What… what do you want from me?"

"What I want is for you, not from you." said Toffee. "I aim to help you acquire what is yours by right."

Heinous just blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Toffee stared at the headmistress for a few seconds. "You really have no idea, do you?" he said. "But that's to be expected, I suppose. You were dumped into this school when you were only a baby who hadn't even learned to walk yet."

Toffee had caught Heinous' curiosity. She leaned closer to the lizard but didn't move from behind her desk. "What do you know about me?" she demanded.

"More than you do." Toffee replied. "Most importantly, I know what was taken from you." Toffee took a single step forward. "A mother, a father," Heinous' expression softened into disbelief as the lizard spoke. "an inheritance. You were robbed of all of this because of your tail and the cheek marks concealed behind your makeup."

Heinous covered her cheeks protectively. She stared at Toffee utterly flabbergasted. Very slowly, she moved out from behind her desk and approached Toffee. Heinous looked into the Septarian's eyes and surprisingly enough, found sympathy, and even respect. "Tell me what you know." Heinous demanded.

"It would be better to show you instead." Toffee replied. "When you are able to, meet me at the Monster Temple in Mewni. But before you do anything, seek out another Septarian named Rasticore." Toffee reached into his suit and pulled out a grey business card and a white envelope. "He's a sellsword and assassin for hire nowadays, you should be able to contact him with this." Toffee handed Heinous the card. The card read 'Rasticore Chaosus Disastervaine. Assassin. If you want someone dead, I will kill them.'

Heinous looked at Toffee questioningly.

"He's always been rather straightforward and unimaginative. He does come as advertised though. And if you give him this," Toffee handed her the envelope. "He will obey you without question."

Heinous stared at Toffee with eyes wide with curiosity and even a touch of desperation, like she knew she was close to answers and needed to know them.

"Why are you doing this?" Heinous asked, thinking this may in fact, be some kind of trick. "What do you gain by helping me find answers?"

"You will set things right." Toffee answered. "You have both the authority to do so, and the power. You just don't know it yet." with that said, Toffee turned around to leave.

"Where are you going?" Heinous asked.

"To remove a potential threat." Toffee answered before he disappeared through the door.

Heinous looked down at the card and envelope in her hands. A hundred questions running through her head.

"What just happened?" Gemini asked. "I can't see anything through all of this luggage."

(Somewhere else… yes, in the school)

"Stupid Miss Heinous!" Star complained as she ran after Glossaryck. "Locking up my stuff. I'll lock up her stuff! See how she likes it!"

"So, what's so important about your wand?" Marco asked as he ran alongside Star. "I get that it's a family heirloom, but you said it was one of a kind or something?"

"Uh, yeah! It's the most powerful relic in the known multiverse!" Star responded. "If it falls into the wrong hands, I am so grounded!... Oh, and it will probably be pretty bad for everyone else, I guess."

Pony Head floated in between Star and Marco. "Don't worry, B-Fly, we'll get your wand back!" she said encouragingly.

Glossaryck led the three of them to a locked iron door. The sign above the door read 'Confiscated'.

"Yo, I got this." Pony Head flew up and stuck her horn into the door's keyhole. After a minute of careful twists and turns, the lock clicked. "Score one for the horn!"

Star walked up and pulled the door open. Inside was a variety of different belonging; magazines, foods and drinks, what looked suspiciously to Marco like bongs, and other things. The princess' eyes lit up when she saw the item in the back, sitting on top of a crate. Star ran up and picked it up. She then walked out of the confiscated room triumphantly. "Behold, Marco Diaz, the most powerful magic item in known existence."

Marco wasn't really all that impressed. It looked like a toy you'd give your six year old daughter for her birthday. The wand had a circular, blue and purple head with a bright star-shaped jewel in the center, two little red horns on its top, and was flanked by a pair of white, elegant butterfly wings. The handle was a swirl of two shades of purple, with a little red heart where the neck met the head, and a small pink gem stuck out the bottom. It looked pretty, but not entirely powerful.

"Uh… cool." said Marco. "I think my baby sister would really like it." He pulled out his scissors. "Can we go now?"

"No."

The three teens spun around and gasped. A tall lizard Monster in a business suit had followed them, he stood a few feet away with his hands folded behind his back. His reptilian face gave nothing away, but his eyes shone with hatred at Star. "Good evening." he greeted. "My name is Toffee, and I am here for you, Star Butterfly."

Star raised her wand at the lizard. "How about I give you some of this instead?!" her wand began to glow.

Then, for whatever reason of misfortune, a bolt of pink lightning shot from the wand and struck Marco's scissors, turning them into a red winged butterfly that flew out the nearest window. Marco just stared mouth agape as his dimensional scissors flew away. He then slowly turned to Star with that same expression.

Star gave a nervous chuckle. "Whoops… my bad. I'm a little out of practice… sorry."

"I officially give up on life." said Marco.

Toffee raised an eyebrow at Marco, as if just now noticing him. "The boy in red." he muttered.

Glossaryck sighed. "Okay, plan B." A giant purple fist shot out of the genie's head and struck Toffee, sending him flying back a couple yards. "Run!" Glossaryck ordered. The Human, Mewman, and unicorn head took off in the opposite direction.

Star took the lead, running down the corridors of the school. "We gotta get out of here!" she explained.

"How very observant!" Marco commented bitterly. "Do you know how to get out of here?!"

"I sure hope so."

"Dios, dame fuerzas."

Refocusing on Glossaryck and Toffee, the lizard got back on his feet and glared at Glossaryck. He attempted to rush the small genie, but ran headfirst into an invisible wall. He tried to back up, but hit another invisible wall. Toffee's eyes widened as he realized he had been mimed into an invisible cage. He felt around for an opening but found none.

Glossaryck floated up to the imprisoned lizard. "You know, Toffee, you have always struck me as more of a coward than anything." he commented. "You stabbed Queen Comet in the back, quite literally, you gathered up a group of enraged and bitter monsters to kill Queen Moon for you, you then run off with your tail between your legs with the rest of your frightened Monsters, and to top it all of, you try that same trick to kill Queen Moon's daughter." Glossaryck tsked. "I bet that missing finger hurts your pride more than anything, hmm?"

Toffee narrowed his eyes at Glossaryck and rubbed the stump of his missing finger. "The Butterfly family will pay for their crimes."

"Rather hypocritical, considering how you plan to help a Butterfly to the throne."

Toffee's eyes widened in faint surprise, but it ended quickly and he resumed his hateful glare. "Release me."

Glossaryck shrugged. "Okay." he snapped his fingers. Toffee tried to put a hand on the invisible wall, but it was no longer there. He stared at Glossaryck in confusion. "What, just like that?" the lizard asked. "You know I'm going to kill the princess, right?"

"Oh, you'll fail. And the best part is, I don't even have to do a thing." a lounge chair appeared under Glossaryck and he sat down. He raised his hand and a pudding cup with a silly straw appeared in his hand. "Let someone else take care of you, I could use a break."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are quite insufferable?" Toffee asked.

"I have five kids. So yes, of course."

Toffee looked at Glossaryck suspiciously, but decided the opportunity to kill the princess was too great to pass up. So he ran down the corridor after Star.

Glossaryck watched as Toffee ran off. He took a sip of his pudding cup and sighed with content. "This is nice, I should take a vacation one of these days. Goodness knows I've earned one."

Refocusing on Star, Marco and Pony Head. Star led the group through the various twists and turns of the school. They eventually made it to the grassy courtyard of the school. The night time sky was so full of ominous clouds you couldn't even see the stars.

"I think you made a wrong turn, your highness." Marco commented.

"I don't see you helping out with our escape!" Star shot back.

"I could've gotten us all out of here in a few seconds, but someone turned my dimensional scissors into a freaking butterfly!"

"It's probably for the best if I kill her."

The three teens spun around and saw Toffee had caught up to them. He faced the group with his usual casual posture. "Do not resist the inevitable, Star Butterfly. Your family has a lot to answer for. You're just the tip of the iceberg."

"Speaking of," Star pointed her wand at Toffee. "Iceberg blast!" a giant icicle shot out of the wand and sped toward Toffee, who simply leaned to one side as the bottom of the ice went over his shoulder and broke down a wall.

"You are talented at destroying things, but not much else." Toffee stated dryly. "Don't put too much blame on yourself, it runs in your family."

"Hey! No one talks to B-Fly like that and gets away with it!" Pony Head flew at Toffee with her horn aimed at his heart. Toffee just grabbed her by the horn and threw her to the ground, breaking off her horn and knocking her out in the process.

"PONY!" Star cried.

Toffee reached down and picked up the sharp unicorn horn. He then rushed at Star and Marco. But before he could get to them, Star raised her wand and a large pink bubble enclosed the two of them. Toffee stabbed at the bubble with all of his might but it wouldn't burst.

Marco drew his sword. "Keep the shield up. If I see an opening I can take, I'll…"

He noticed that Star was crying.

Tears were falling from the princess' eyes as she held up the barrier that kept Toffee at bay. Toffee kept on stabbing and pounding away at the bubble, and it just seemed to increase the tears. As if it hurt to keep the bubble intact.

"Woah, hey." Marco said softly. "Look, we're gonna be okay. You just-"

"We're not going to be okay." Star said. "You wanna know why?" Star looked into Marco's eyes. The pain and guilt in her sad, blue eyes was so intense, Marco almost felt like breaking into tears himself. Even her heart cheek marks were fading from a bright red to a faint pink. "Because this is all I can do. Destroy things, then hide away from my problems. I'm a disappointment and everyone knows it; my people, my family, my own mom. They all knew I wasn't worth the trouble, so they sent me away to this school for failures. And now, I'm going to die, and take you and my life long best friend with me, because I can't do anything right!"

Toffee landed a powerful strike on the bubble and it began to crack. Toffee smiled as he continued to stab away at the weak spot.

Marco stared at Star in disbelief. He had never heard anyone speak that badly about themselves in such an overwhelming manner. Marco let a sigh. "Look, I know you think it's hopeless. But if you quit now, you're just proving to everyone that you are a failure."

Star blinked at him.

"You can't blame yourself for everything that's gone wrong. Don't let the doubt eat away at you. Sure, you've made mistakes. Sure, you ended up in a reform school. But your mistakes don't have to define you, you can let this moment, right now, define you. And if that doesn't work, then so what? Do you really need to be defined? Why should you care what a bunch of rubes and royals think of you? Don't try to apologize for being you. Just be the best you that you can be. And for what it's worth," Marco smiled. "I think you're pretty amazing."

The hearts on Star's cheeks began to glow their normal red hue. Maybe even a little brighter than usual. The princess seemed genuinely surprised by Marco's kindness. She smiled at the human boy. "Thanks."

Marco looked at Toffee, who was creating a larger spider web of cracks on the barrier with every strike. "You wanna take this guy down now?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty tired of him."

Star thrust her wand upward, causing the bubble to expand like a pufferfish. It threw a startled Toffee back, sending him crashing into a wall.

"Narwhal Blast!" Star shouted. About a hundred narwhals shot out of the wand and rammed into Toffee. When the narwhals subsided, Toffee looked like an angry hunk of swiss cheese with all the holes in him. But he recovered quickly, his flesh mending itself almost instantly. Toffee ran at Star, who did a twirl and another spell. "Shooting Star Explosion!" a trio of shooting stars flew at Toffee, which exploded on impact. Toffee was thrown back into the wall. His suit was peppered with holes and tears and his right arm was gone. His arm grew back though, and he continued to glare at Star with malicious intent. Marco just stared at Star with his eyes and mouth wide open. The wand was clearly the farthest thing from a toy.

"I am getting sick of this." Toffee said. "You can't defeat me. Your mother didn't have the nerve to kill me, and your grandmother was my easiest kill. You truly think you have any hope of killing me?"

Star snarled at Toffee. "Mega Mushroom Destruction B-"

Toffee ran up and struck Star with a well aimed blow to the head. The princess was sent rolling on the ground, the wand slipped from her grasp and she didn't get back up.

"Star!" Marco planted himself between Toffee and the Princess and aimed his sword at the lizard.

"She really should make her spells shorter." Toffee stared at Marco, as if he were an interesting specimen. "I know of you." he said. "Word travels quickly among the Monsters. I heard how you saved those two Monster children from the Mewman knights."

Marco didn't respond. He just stayed posed and ready.

"You saved them from either death or imprisonment." Toffee continued. "May I ask what drove you to aid them?"

"It was the right thing to do." said Marco. "And so is protecting the princess."

"Is it? Do you have any idea how long the Monsters have lived in fear and despair under the tyranny of her family?"

"Since the beginning."

"So you know of our plight. Yet you still would protect this brat?"

"I don't take sides. I fight for what's right." Marco responded stoically.

Toffee looked partly impressed, and partly annoyed. "I will give you a choice boy, as a show of good faith for saving those children. Get out of my way and leave, and pray we never cross paths again. Or, die with the princess."

"Go to hell." said Marco.

"All Monsters know of hell." Toffee responded. "And now, so shall you."

Marco charged at Toffee and attacked. Toffee in return extended his claws and returned Marco's attacks. They were both quick and strong, coordinated in their attacks and planned their strategies carefully. As Toffee fought Marco, he couldn't help but admire the boy's capabilities. 'Such wasted potential.' he thought to himself. Marco swung and dodged with everything he learned from the Neverzone keeping him alive. The lizard was quick, so Marco had to stay on his toes.

Toffee's tail sweeped Marco off his feet and a well placed kick sent Marco flying. He landed painfully next to Star's unconscious form.

Marco had dropped his sword when he had been struck and Toffee picked it up. "Nice blade," he said. "I always found it poetic to kill someone with their own weapon." Marco looked around desperately for a weapon, anything that he could use.

He saw Star's wand. He knew nothing of how to use it, but it was all he had. So he grabbed the wand and got back to his feet. He aimed the wand at Toffee, who just raised an eyebrow at Marco.

"The princess could barely use that thing. What makes you think you can-"

Marco lurched into a fetal position as unbearable pain took over his body. It felt like something in his blood had been ignited and was burning him up from inside. Toffee stared at Marco in bewilderment, wondering if the wand would kill the boy for him.

Then the wand changed. It morphed into a wand with a teal colored head with a compass-like design. A tiny spike pointing in the four cardinal directions on the inside and four spikes on the outside pointing in the other four in between. A larger sharp point sat on the top of the wand's head and a perfect symmetrically diamond-cut amethyst sat in the center of the wand's compass. The handle was blue-grey with a pointed tip and a pair of small bat wings on the head completed it's more or less evil look.

With a lot of effort, Marco got to his feet. The clouds parted as he did, revealing a crescent moon in the sky. Marco glared at an utterly surprised Toffee. Marco raised the wand at the lizard. As he did, a pair of red, crescent moons appeared on Marco's cheeks. They glowed with a bright red light.

Toffee took a step back, unsure of how to proceed. "What are you?"

Marco's eyes began to glow purple. When he spoke, it sounded like someone else was speaking with him. "Your end."

A beam of black energy shot out of the wand and struck Toffee through the heart, leaving a fist sized hole in his chest. The circumference of the hole had an ugly black glow. Toffee waited for it to heal, but it did the opposite. The hole got bigger, eating away at Toffee's flesh, slowly turning him to ash. Toffee's eyes widened with panic. He looked back at Marco in perplexity. Then, to Marco's confusion, he laughed.

"Oh, well. I guess it doesn't really matter if I live or die." said Toffee. "The pieces are in place and I have already set my plan into motion. Soon, Mewni shall be under the rule of it's one true heir."

Toffee the Septarian closed his eyes as he was turned to ash.

Marco felt his energy drain away like a spent adrenaline rush. He fell to his knees, the wand slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground. Then he fell to the dirt and blacked out.

Moments later, Glossaryck appeared. He flew over to Marco and examined his cheek marks. "The Blood Moon sigil." he said. "Hmmmmmm." he then floated over the wand and picked it up. He examined the wand's design and even sniffed it. The genie gave an understanding nod.

"Ah, I see. Dark magic." Glossaryck checked Marco's arms. "No stains though. Not even a mark." he looked back at Marco's cheeks and watched as the red crescent moons faded away, returning his cheeks to their normal appearance. Glossaryck floated over to Star and slipped the wand into her hand, causing the wand to turn back into its previous, more cheerful form.

"It's best to keep this hidden." Glossaryck said to himself. "Although, I may have to give Marco a little training."

An orange portal appearing in the courtyard pulled Glossaryck out of his train of thought. "Oh, right. I time froze my kids and the king and queen. Boy, am I about to get an earful."

I hope this chapter answered a couple of your questions. Or perhaps it just raised a few more? As always, I look forward to your reviews.