X-x-X-x-X

Inside a hospital room

The room was barren. It had a hospital bed, three chairs, some medical equipment, and a counter. In the chairs were the family of Marco. There was Angie, Rafael, and his best friend/unofficial girlfriend. They sat around an uncomfortable Marco. He had new bandages all over his body. According to the doctor, Marco had broken 3 ribs. It was only one of many serious injuries that Marco had obtained yesterday. The least of which was a contusion on his cheek from the nails of Jackie sliding across his face.

Star, who was deep in thought contemplating what she would do about Tom. He was going to get what was coming for him one way or another. He had gone too far many times before but this was different. Not only did he attack Marco, her Marco, likely unprovoked. But he had also attacked him while he was hardly able to walk. And once he was down, he kept up his attack, completely ignoring herself, who was attacking him. What could have possibly drove Tom to do such a thing? Did he somehow convince himself that Marco had stolen her from him? Did someone put him up to this? Who would want to hurt her Marco?

The question didn't have much time to float around in her mind because the doctor came back into the white room. He held a clipboard with papers on it. He looked up at the parents, with a bland look on his face. The doctor's expression was impossible to read because every time he walked into the room, he wore none. He spoke, "Good afternoon everybody, I have both good news and bad news." There was a mix of hope and worry that fell into the room. Angie being the worrier and Star and Rafael being hopeful.

The doctor continued, "Well Marco here is going to be alright in the long run, I have NO idea how he got messed up this bad, but he is lucky that things didn't get worse. The bad news is that he is going to have to rest in bed for at least two weeks." Everyone was excited. The good news was great and the bad news wasn't all that bad. Everyone was happy except for Star, did that mean that Tom purposely was making things slow? If she ever saw him again, he would receive the same fate that he planned on giving to Marco. She also didn't love the idea of Marco being stuck in bed for so long, but there was a silver lining. At the very least, Marco and Star could relax for a little while without the risk of attack. The thought then dawned on her, she was supposed to be on Mewni. With Toffee being defeated, surely she would be allowed to stay at home right? Well Star didn't care about her parents' opinions anymore. If they wanted to pawn her off with some 'suiter' then they could go swallow some warnicorn shit.

Marco was silent through the diagnosis. He simply laid silently on his bed, staring at the ceiling as the doctor was telling his parents about the painkillers he would have to take. He was very concerned with what was happening over the past few days. Only a day or so ago, he '"fought" Toffee, not like it was much of a fight, it was more of a beating. And not even a full day later, he was attacked by an angry demon. The last time that he saw Tom, they were rather friendly. He had anger issues, but they hadn't even interacted with one another, so why was he so mad?

It was unknown to them that Moon and River, mostly Moon, had sold off Star as a token to the Lucitor boy. All that the Mewman leaders asked for in return was peace. Sure, peace is great, but she was their DAUGHTER! Star was always someone to go against tradition, even her terrible parents knew that. If they truly loved Star, they would never do such a thing. But that would have to wait until Star or Marco figured it out.

For now, Marco wanted to go home. Now that he didn't have a breakup to get over with, he and Star could finally talk things out. So Marco slowly tried to make his way out of bed when everybody got out of their seat to help. Rafael took the boy and carried him in his massive arms. Marco appeared embarrassed, but what choice did he have. So the family walked out of the hospital and into the car. The ride to the hospital was dead silent, so the parents needed an explanation now. Angie looked into the back of the car and demanded, "Alright you two, you know we trust you, but Marco got hurt really bad. What happened?"

Star was going to fess up and fully explain the circumstances, but Marco saved her. He interjected just before she could talk, "Don't worry mom, it was just someone from Mewni. It could have been much worse, but Star showed up and saved me." Star was happy that Marco managed to leave the detail of Tom being Star's ex out of the explanation, but the two were not out of trouble yet. Rafael then asked, "Star, we never got to ask… How did you know Marco was in trouble?"

Star didn't even know herself, it was a voice in her mind. It was as if they were connected, or bound. Star's response was vague, due to lack of knowing on her own side, "It was just intuition I guess." It was a very cliche answer, and Angie and Rafael didn't want to believe it. They didn't really have any leverage to get a better answer though, so it was just going to have to work for now.

The drive home was short. There was a fairly direct route from the hospital to the Diaz house and vice-versa. The buildings that passed were a blur. Nobody spoke after the short lived conversation ended. The family was home after long. Instead of Rafael helping Marco out, Star took the job. She grabbed his arm over her shoulder and led him inside. He was able to do some of the walking on his own, but Star's immense strength was a great help to Marco. She led him into the house and onto the couch. He sat down and let out a grunt of pain. Star rushed to his aid, but Marco reassured her, "No, No. I'm fine, just need to sit down for a while."

Star was still worried, she felt as if she was somehow at fault for Tom's attack, so seeing Marco in such pain hurt her beyond reason. She then decided to try her best to cheer him up. She knew just what to do. The saying was 'the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach'.

She quickly made her way to the kitchen. She was the only one inside. Marco laid on the couch in the next room over and she had to make things better. She got out her ingredients. She wasn't a great cook, not even a good one, but she had seen Marco make the nachos a hundred times by now. Surely she could do it.

The process was simple enough. All she had to do was cook some cheese, add some toppings, and throw it on some chips, simple enough. Star got out the metal cooking supplies and some cheese out of the cabinets. There was a comically large amount of cheese in the cabinets. It made sense because nachos were a very common dish for the couple. It was nearly daily before song day. She was hoping that by some miracle, she could make it on her own and maybe cheer Marco up a little in the process.

She put the cheese into a pan over the stove. Oftentimes when Marco made them, he would give her minor details of how to cook it. He told her, "Once the cheese starts to bubble, you know that it is ready." So she waited until just that happened. She stopped the stove and let it cool down a bit. She prepared the toppings, Marco always used jalapenos, tomatoes, and other various things. Star looked at the impressive array of toppings and nearly drooled, but she was on a mission.

She then started to create the absurdly tall stack of chips. This was one of her biggest problems. She repeatedly tried to make a tower, but it fell every time. Unfortunately, this was one of the few things that Marco never explained to her. She didn't want to ruin the meal, so she needed to find a solution. That was when she spotted Angie walking across the living room. She bolted in and passed a napping Marco. She grabbed the woman and lifted her above her head. Angie only muttered in panic as she was lifted. As the two entered the kitchen, Angie noticed the reason for Star's panic. She was making nachos for Marco. At the realisation, she awed at Star and walked toward the collapsed tower.

Angie looked at the disaster and joked, "After all this time he never taught you the Diaz family secret?" Star tilted her head and looked at the woman confused. Angie giggled and walked to the plate, grabbing Star's hands. "All you have to do is place them one by one. You need to stack each one in consideration of the next. Just use them as building blocks." Star looked at the ground. It was so simple and it yet gave her so much trouble.

So she got started, now with Angie watching. Chip by chip, she stacked up a tower that looked just like how Marco always made them. As she finally made it to the top, she smiled to herself and then Angie. So with the cheese now done, the chips stacked, and her toppings ready, she moved on to the next step. Whenever Marco made the nachos, he would put some toppings on before the cheese and some after. So she put some jalapenos on the chips and prepared the cheese.

Angie watched proudly as the girl who was practically her daughter poured the cheese carefully over the nachos. After she finished that, she put the remainder of the toppings onto the nachos and, remarkably, they looked just like they would if Marco made them. She wore pink mittens with embroidered red hearts on them and she lifted the hot plate. She gracefully carried the nachos into the living room and set them down on the coffee table in front of Marco.

As she set them down, she noticed Marco's nostrils flaring. He smelt her creation. He slowly rose from his slumber and looked around quickly. He noticed Star standing cutely and he sighed and laid back down. That was until Star stood over him and said "Hey loverboy, I know I'm pretty, but that's not what you were smelling." he then looked at her quizzically. He sat back up and looked behind Star. He noticed the nachos and smiled at Star. They looked just like how he would make them. Then he realised that Star was never good at cooking, so he looked to the kitchen and noticed his mother, who was simply pointing back to Star. He then sat up and held out his arms for a hug.

Star was happy to oblige and they hugged tightly. Star picked up the nachos and sat next to Marco, holding them in between Marco and herself. Marco was the first to take a bite, and to his surprise, they were fantastic. After he swallowed, he looked at Star again and spoke "All this time and I never made YOU make the nachos." Star laughed.

X-x-X-x-X

Somewhere on Mewni - at some point the night before

There was a dark room. It was a very cavernous room with a pit as a ground. There was a small rock bridge that led to a large crystal. The crystal was riddled with cracks from top to bottom. There was something inside the giant crystal. It was a woman that wore a purple dress and a feathered hat. Her hand was pressed against the wall of the crystal, but every part of her was frozen.

A breeze came through the cave, causing some snow to enter the cave. It was a cold night, which was common on Mewni. It had been only one night since the defeat of Toffee, and almost every waking hour, the cracks would deepen and Moon would come into the cave and worry. Her promise with the queen long ago would come to fruition.

As the hour stroked midnight, the crystal shook violently. The cracks deepened and a hole began to form. A hand emerged from the hole as it deepened. Surely before morning, the person inside would be able to exit. Her hand was out of the crystal first. Her fingers flexed and twirled in the newfound freedom. The freedom would spread up her arm and to her torso. Eventually, the crystal left the area around her head with a loud crack. She loudly screamed at her lack of air. She gasped and gasped until she filled her lungs for the first time since Moon left her here so long ago. The freedom reached her other arm and she held both hands in front of her. All that was covered was her bottom half.

A smile dawned on her face when she finally came to. She realised what was happening. Surely Moon must have defeated Toffee just days after talking to her last. She felt as hungry as ever though, so she couldn't wait for her bottom half to be free. As soon as she could, she would sprint to the vending machine and select B4. She noticed her legs beginning to regain feeling slowly. After only a minute of waiting, her legs were freed. She collapsed to the ground, finally she was free. It had been 300 years since she last had her freedom.

As the blood finally made it to her legs, she made it to her knees and she began to get up. As more and more strength returned to her legs, she walked faster toward the vending machine. She had her purse with her when she was frozen, so she bought as many Snookers bars as she could and began to attack each one with her mouth. Once she finally felt replenished, she got back to her feet and left the cave. It was dark outside and everything was peaceful. In short distance was the Butterfly castle, and further away was the Monster kingdom. Unsure of how she would be received in the Mewman kingdom, she chose to walk to the monster kingdom. Last time she heard of the Mewman opinion of her was when Moon told her that her chapter was called "the evil chapter", so she had the understanding that she was unliked.

Eclipsa started her walk. She went in the direction of the monster kingdom and disappeared into the darkness.

…

…

…

Mere minutes later, a worried Moon sprinted toward the mountain that housed Eclipsa's prison. As she reached the entrance, she turned, hoping to see the imprisoned former queen. To her dismay, the cave was empty, save for the giant crystal, which was cracked from top to bottom with a growing hole in the middle. She dropped to her knees and stared at the crystal. She noticed some empty wrappers on the floor that must have been recent.

"We're doomed" was all that Moon could say. She got up from her knees and began to tremble. She ran back into the direction she came and headed for the castle. She ran as fast as she could and was there in no time.

Once she arrived, she sprinted to the throne room and spoke to Manfred, "I need the magical high commission here as soon as possible." Manfred nodded with a worried expression and Moon sunk into her throne. River entered the room and spotted her.

"Why hello Moonpie! What is going-" River said, being interrupted by the aforementioned Moonpie, "The Queen of Darkness has broken free of her prison." River recoiled. He then sat down wordlessly on his throne with a face of extreme worry. River had never met the former queen, so all he knew were the legends. Eclipsa was known to be evil. All of the records in the royal archives suggested so at least. Things were terrible for Mewni when she was queen. She left her husband for a monster and her daughter Festivia was queen by the age of 16. Only then was Mewni returned to its former glory.

X-x-X-x-X

In the Monster Village - past midnight

Eclipsa walked through the streets with confidence. The reason she was so disliked was due to her respect for monsters, so hopefully the Monsters would appreciate her as well. There was nobody outside though, so she headed for the castle that she was familiar with.

X-x-X-x-X

At the Diaz House - 2 hours after Star finished the nachos

The two still sat on the couch, they didn't talk much, they just sat under a blanket and watched tv as if it was a Thursday. Marco and Star hadn't spoken much about their relationship since the events of the last two days. As yet another episode of their tv show ended, Marco chose to pause it. He simply looked at the girl who at the very least was his best friend. He looked at her in all of her beauty. He saw her cheek marks, which perfectly reflected her bubbly and loving personality. He looked at her luscious soft hair. Above anything else though, he looked at the person who changed him for the better over a year of life together.

He looked at her in the most loving way he could, they had kissed earlier that day, but that wasn't enough. He wanted more than anything to be with her finally. He wanted to speak first, as Star stared deeply into him. She looked at him lovingly, yet curious. She was probing him as if she could read the very thoughts in his head. Which made it sensible when she spoke before Marco could, "Do you really want to do this right now?" she asked it sincerely, there was no tone of sarcasm or dread. She really didn't know if he could handle even more drama that day. She was right, but it wouldn't be drama, it would be a deterrent of drama. It would be something to get them through the infinite problems that seemed to probe them wherever they went.

In response, the wounded boy responded, "Yes, I don't want to avoid my feelings anymore Star. I want to be with you Star, more than anyone or anything. I don't ever want to leave your side." Star stared at Marco in awe as he delivered his response. She ultimately felt the same way about him, but until now, her feelings appeared to be unreciprocated. Of course, Marco called her beautiful on the night of the Blood Moon and he told her that she was the coolest girl he knew, but then he continued going for Jackie. So she felt the need for clarity, "What do you mean avoid your feelings?"

Marco realised his mistake. He never explained to her how he felt. It never felt right to do so, but now was a different time. He needed to explain himself, "Star, I am stupid. I didn't understand how I felt for a long time, but now I do. I know that I hurt you by dating Jackie and I hope you can forgive me but I have liked you since the day I met you. I mean you were terrifying at first, but you have done so much to make me a better person and no matter what you were by my side, no matter how badly I hurt you." Star looked at Marco with a conflicted expression. She remembered the times that he hurt her, it was the worst hurt she had ever experienced. It gave her agony every time she had to see them hold hands and when they kissed, every time her heart broke. There were other memories as well though. She remembered everything else that they had been through. The good heavily outweighed the bad. They always made it through things together and in part, her agony was her own doing. She brought Marco and Jackie together to be fair.

"Marco, things were really bad for me when you and Jackie were together. It hurt to see her hold your hand. It's not your fault though. I told you to go get her and it's my fault too. So, I guess I forgive you. More importantly though, I still like you, just as much as before, maybe even more actually." As she finished, she intertwined her hand with Marco's and gazed into his eyes once more. Marco felt guilty for hurting her so badly over the time he was with Jackie, but even still, Star showed kindness and even went as far as to forgive him. Marco continued the conversation, "Star, I know that it's probably a bad time, but with us, there never is a good time, so I need to ask. Star, will you be my-" before he could finish, Star buried her head into Marco's shoulder and softly answered, "Yes, Marco. I can't lose you remember?" Marco initially winced in pain from Star's quick movement, but when she spoke, the pain melted away. He leaned into her in return and gave her the remote. She didn't continue the tv though. She instead peeled away from Marco's shoulder and cupped his cheek. It was only now that the two could share their first kiss as an official couple. She was his and he was her's.

Star leaned in and despite his pain, he leaned in as well. The two met in the middle and at the touch of their lover, each person's worries vanished. They were in heaven. Maybe they were right, being together might be all they need to get through the oncoming drama. With the sun down and the stars overhead, the moon shone a bright red. The two spoke in unison, "I love you." To anyone outside of the room, it may have seemed too soon for the two to say such a thing, but to Star and Marco, formally known as Starco from now on, they knew they loved each other long ago. Neither person would move from the couch for the remainder of the night. Marco laid across Star's lap. As always, she was soft. Through the night, Star ran her fingers through Marco's hair as the two were locked in by their eyes. As they stared at one another, they reminisced on everything they had been through, the good and the bad, and there was only one constant, they were always together. Only now, they were going to be together in an even deeper capacity.

X-x-X-x-X

In the magic dimension - time unknown

In every direction there was a bright gold hue. The dimension was untainted and the stain of Toffee had been scrubbed from it completely. There were hundreds of spouts of magic leading straight into the sky. The land was covered in crystal rocks and mountains. Atop one of the mountains was a fantastic creature. It stands majestically over the land of the magic dimension.

The creature eyed Tom closely as he fell through a portal into the dimension. She was all powerful in the dimension, but she was not all knowing. From what she could gather, the demon child looked furious. Had he just been thrown from a battle?

She left her perch and walked toward the boy. It was only when she spoke that the boy noticed her presence. He jumped at the sound of her voice behind him. His instincts were clearly at work, thus confirming her theory about him coming from battle. The boy was a demon to be sure, she could tell by the horns, the eyes, and the unrivaled anger, but he looked different than the ones that were implanted in her memory by Star. Traditional demons were typically much more intimidating. They usually had red skin and would wear a much more terrifying face. Instead, the boy had dark grey skin and looked a lot like a Mewman, save for the third eye and horns.

The unicorn then spoke, "What are you doing here?" in an angelic voice. The boy looked both shocked, confused, and some residual anger clearly remained. He had no ill will toward the unicorn and also he had time to portal out whenever he wanted, so he explained, "Well I was.. I...I was… wait who am I?"

It happened much more quickly than usually. Tom lost his mind within only a minute of being in the dimension. The unicorn looked at Tom with confusion. Nobody had been in the dimension besides Star, so she didn't know about its effects yet. The unicorn then asked, "Are you here to destroy me?"

Tom, totally lost now, spoke softly, with a noticeable lack of anger, "No no no no, I think I was born here…" The unicorn, knowing he just arrived for the first time through a portal studied the boy with her magic. She invaded his mind in hopes to find any ill intentions. She could find none. It was as if he had just been born. Only muscle memories like speaking remained. His mind was a clean slate and he had no intentions at all. He truly had no idea what he was doing. So the unicorn walked away. Tom was left on his own. He studied his environment.

If he had his memories, he would know to make a portal and escape, but he didn't even know that he had three eyes, so how could he remember that he had demon powers. He simply plopped down into the magic and laid down in it. He stared up at the sky and marveled as purple clouds moved by at fairly fast speeds.

The unicorn returned to her perch. She still watched Tom from a distance. She had no idea why he was there, but she had no reason to banish him or to deal with him in any way for the time being. For now, he simply laid in the magic and gazed at the clouds.

After about fifteen minutes, the boy sat up and got to his feet. He knew nothing about his environment or the circumstances of his appearance. All he knew was that right now, he was there. All he could do is live and maybe he would figure things out eventually.

The unicorn remained watching Tom, but now she was probing him once more. She read his thoughts and read that he was confused. She spoke in his mind, "Who are you?" Tom was confused. He didn't answer. The unicorn asked another question, "Do you know your name?" Tom didn't respond again. The unicorn noticed a frustration growing. She asked again, "Where is your home?" The frustration grew once again. It grew faster than she expected, but it was still only frustration. She asked a final question. This one set him off, "Is there someone you love?"

Anger began to bubble in Tom. He exploded in fire and flew toward the unicorn, seething with fury. The unicorn was unmoved by his anger. Tom's memories began to flood him. He remembered Star. The anger of being stuck in wherever he was began to surface. He charged directly at the unicorn and was thrown to the side. The unicorn's horn glowed blue. Tom got up and flew toward her once more, this time the unicorn allowed the charge. The second he made contact, he vanished. Tom was removed from the magical dimension. Following Tom, he appeared in his bedroom. He looked around and gathered his surroundings. He exploded once more. The whole room caught aflame. Suddenly, his door opened, revealing his father, Dave.

"My son, what are you doing at home? You are supposed to be courting the Butterfly princess?" Dave spoke with a calm tone.

"You lied to me…" was Tom's response. He had since realised that Star didn't love him, she still loved the Marco boy. So was his father lying?

"Don't you DARE accuse me of lying, my son! I told you that her parents have arranged for you to be married, did I not?" Dave spoke with a fury beyond that of Tom.

"YOU TOLD ME SHE LOVED ME!" Tom yelled, matching and exceeding the anger of his father.

"You poor little fool." Dave spoke calmly. Tom settled down a bit and fell to his knees. Even after lying to his son, Dave still had the gaul to be so cruel to him.

"Tom, you are a PRINCE! It is your job and your RIGHT to marry Star!" Dave exclaimed to his son. Tom was not one to take advantage of such a situation. He did love Star, he knew that for sure, but could he allow himself to take her against her own will? He was driven mad by the conflict that flowed through him.

His father sensed the fact that Tom was considering it even still, so he handed Tom a binding contract. "Tom, this is a contract. It is signed by myself, your mother, King Butterfly, and Queen Moon. If you sign it, all you have to do is have Star touch it and she will be yours. The action is irrevocable and totally final. My son, if you wish to be the Prince that we raised you to be, you have to do this. Now take it. You know what you have to do." He handed the contract to his son, who took it and examined it.

His father then spoke once more, "There is only one caveat to this my son. If she is betrothed before you get her to touch the contract, it will lose its effect." Tom took the contract and opened it. Dave noticed Tom's intrigue and walked out of the room, leaving Tom alone with his thoughts.

Tom then spoke to himself, "I WILL have Star."

X-x-X-x-X

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. To those of you who have read many SVTFOE fics, I am borrowing the idea of the contract from another story. The idea was super cool and I really thought it fit this story. If I find out who made it, I will give credit… I'm pretty sure it was blackwolfwrites in the story: The Sign of the Moon. Anyways, feel free to leave a review to help me make this story as best as possible. Leave a follow and a favorite as well if you want to stay up to date on my story/stories.

~ Chimp Enthusiast