Hey, hey, everybody! How the hell are ya! Welcome back to 'Ace of Spades'! It's good to be back on this fanfic. To all of you who are fans of my fanfic 'Something More', I left with a hell of a cliffhanger, but I am putting the story on hold for now. If you haven't already read the fanfic, please give it a read. Also, if you already haven't, give my Steven Universe story 'An Odyssey to Remember' a read while you're at it as well.
Anyway, please enjoy the chapter. And as all of you are probably well aware, I do not own 'Star vs. the Forces of Evil'.
(Chapter 9)
"Okay, run it through for me one more time."
Marco rubbed the back of his head anxiously, hesitant to even look Star in the eyes. "It's like I said: I fell into a magic well back on Earth, traveled through the Realm of Magic where, due to the prolonged exposure to the Realm, I gained magical powers, and then when I picked up your wand back at St. Olga's, the wand unleashed the magic within me and, with the Blood Moon's blessing of dark magic, I defeated Toffee, thus cementing my...uh...condition."
Star, in response, closed her eyes and folded her hands together before taking a long inhale and exhale of air. She then stood up off of her bed, which she and Marco were sitting on, and began pacing back and forth in front of Marco.
Marco waited for Star to say something. When she didn't, he decided to say something. "Look, Star. I know this is...shocking, to say the least, but-"
"Shocking?!" Star was suddenly facing Marco with an irate look on her face. "I am not shocked, Marco, I am...I am…" she struggled to find the right word.
"...Pissed?" Marco suggested.
"Among other things, yes!" Star shouted. "Marco, the fact that you have magic alone is one thing, but dark magic? I mean...what the...how could this even happen?! You're not evil!"
"A common misconception, Princess." said Glossaryck. The little genie was casually filing his nails while floating in the air. "Magic is not inherently evil, and that includes dark magic. Scary and dangerous? Sure, absolutely. But, evil? Well, that would depend on the user, as is the case with any kind of power."
"Well, what about Queen Eclipsa?" Star asked. "Didn't the dark magic make her evil?"
"No, no it did not." Glossaryck responded. Marco tried to keep his cool at the mention of the dark Queen.
"But what about the stories?" Star demanded. "The Queen of Darkness and the fearsome King Globgor terrorizing Mewni?"
"That's all they are, Star. Stories." said Glossaryck. "Come now, Princess. Do you really think this guy is gonna start causing mayhem and wreaking havoc on Mewni?"
Star looked at Marco, who looked back with a guilty look on his face.
"...Can you give us the room, Glossaryck?" Star asked.
"As you wish," Glossaryck said with a bow before ghosting through the floor.
Star crossed her arms and walked up to Marco, who sat on the bed and began to sweat under the Princess's stern gaze. She actually sort of looked like Queen Moon right then and there.
"Star. I swear to you-"
"Zip it." Star interrupted with a raised hand. "Marco, do you understand how big of a deal this is?!"
"I am aware of the severity of the situation, yes," Marco replied.
"If my mom or the Magic High Commission find out you have magic, they'll trap you in a crystal for all eternity. If they find out you have dark magic, they might just cut out the middleman and kill you!"
"I know, Star. believe me, I know." Marco stood up off the bed and looked Star in the eyes. "And believe me when I tell you that...I'm scared."
Star threw arms in the air. "Well, so am I!" Star shouted. "I'm scared for you! If you were to be found out, they'll either lock you up for life or kill you! Marco, I don't want either of those things to happen to you."
Marco his heart did a front flip and his cheeks blushed a bit. "S-So, just to clarify...you don't think I'm evil?"
"Of course not, Marco," Star replied, her voice now gentle and supportive. "I know you. Dark magic or not, I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I trust you."
Marco was able to avoid flinching at that. He wasn't proud of it, but he had left out a single major detail in telling Star about what happened to him. Marco didn't mention his encounter with Eclipsa at all. He wasn't sure how Star would react to the dark queen's involvement in all of this, so he decided not to tell Star. Besides, it wasn't like Eclipsa was up to no good or anything. She was in hiding, hoping Marco would find out what happened to her daughter. He felt like a jerk for not actually looking into that, but what was he supposed to do?
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Marco said. "This has just been...a seriously hard adjustment for me."
"Don't worry, I get it." Star sympathized. "It's been a difficult enough adjustment for you here in Mewni without finding out that you all of a sudden have dark magic. Speaking of, can I see your marks again?"
Marco concentrated for a second, then the red crescent moons reappeared on his cheeks. They glowed brightly at first, like they normally did when they appeared, as if they were happy that Marco finally let them appear again.
"Red crescent moons." Star marveled.
"The symbol of the Blood Moon," Marco confirmed. "That's where the dark magic came from; straight from the source."
"I thought the Blood Moon was a demon thing, where a couple gets soul bonded under the light of the moon, blah blah blah?" said Star.
"Nah, the demons just adopted the Blood Moon into their culture and stuck with the soulbond thing because of how similar its power was to demonic magic," Marco explained. "How do you know about the Blood Moon-soul bond-thing?"
"I know more than I care to admit about demons," Star replied flatly. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"Uh, okay." said Marco, deciding not to press her for details.
"So, you can make them disappear and reappear at will?" Star asked.
Marco concentrated for another second, and the crescent moons disappeared. "It beats the hell out of having to cover them with makeup, I'll tell ya that much."
"So you can keep them hidden, that's good." Star stated.
"I can hide my cheek marks, but I still don't know how to control my magic," said Marco. "Which is why I came to you."
Star blinked at Marco.
"Star, you're the only person who I can trust that can help me learn how to control this," said Marco. "I understand that you'd be breaking a hundred different rules, but I need your help. If you're not going to help me, then I totally understand. It'd be the smart thing to do. But I can't do this on my own. I need your help, Star. I need you to teach me how to use magic."
"You want me to teach you how?" Star asked. "Marco, I'm flattered, but I'm still trying to work out all of the kinks in my own magic."
"Look, I didn't say you were the ideal choice for a teacher,"
Star crossed her arms and frowned at Marco.
"Sorry. Sorry. Let me rephrase that. You're pretty much all I've got to work with so I guess beggars can't be choosers."
Star's brow knitted together in irritation.
"That was significantly worse-I'm trying to say I need your help and you're the only one who can help me!" Marco exclaimed. "...Please."
Star's face softened at the sight of Marco's desperate expression. She then brought her hand to her chin in thought.
"Hmmmmmm…" she pondered aloud. "So you, my tutor, want me to be your tutor?"
"Yes." Marco replied.
"I would be your teacher."
"...Yes."
Star smiled. "Okay. I think I can get behind that."
"So, you'll teach me how to use my magic?" Marco asked.
"Sure, sounds like it could be fun," said Star. "I'll be your tutor for magic, and you'll be my tutor for...what was it again you're tutoring me in?"
"I think I'm supposed to tutor you in everything you're falling behind on," said Marco. "which is everything."
"Watch it." Star warned.
"Sorry." Marco apologized.
Star clasped her hands together excitedly. "Alright, then! Ready to begin your training, my dear student?"
Marco blinked. "What, like, right now?"
"No time like the present," said Star. "But first, let me see your scissors. If I'm gonna teach you how to use your magic, then we'll need to go somewhere secluded and away from prying eyes."
"Good idea." Marco said as he pulled out his dimensional scissors and handed them to Star. The Princess used the pair of scissors to cut open a portal.
"Follow me, apprentice! By the way, if I'm gonna be your teacher, I insist you refer to me as 'master' or 'Oh great teacher'."
"I'd sooner be crystalized before I call you either of those things," said Marco.
"You're no fun, you know that?" Star asked before she walked through the portal and Marco followed behind her.
Glossaryck ghosted back into the room at that moment. "I should probably go with them," he said to no one in particular before floating through the portal after the two teens.
On the other side of the portal, Star and Marco found themselves in a vast, empty desert. Dunes of sand and not much else surrounded the two of them. The sun was bright above them in the sky, but despite the expected temperature, It really wasn't that hot. Marco didn't even feel the need to take off his hoodie.
"Where are we?" Marco asked. "This place is like a nicer but still more boring version of Tatooine."
"This is the Sandy Dimension," Glossaryck said as he emerged from the portal, which disappeared after he was through. "I started taking Star here to practice magic after she burned down the town."
"So it's nothing but sand here?" Marco asked. "Hence the name?"
"Actually, there used to be a nice little oasis here, with a freshwater pond and palm trees," said Glossaryck.
"Yeah, what happened to it?" Marco asked.
"She happened to it." Glossaryck said as he stuck his thumb at Star.
"She made a whole oasis disappear?" Marco marveled.
"Oh, yeah. This kid is destructive with a capital 'D'."
"Alright, already!" Star shouted. She pulled out her pink, angel-winged wand and offered it to Marco. "Alright, Diaz, let's see whatcha got."
Marco took a nervous step back. "You...Y-you want me to use that thing?"
"Uh, yeah. It's how all of the Queens of Mewni started off with their magic and it's probably the best way to start you off with yours." said Star.
Marco gulped and sweated as he stared at the relic he was being offered. "Star, I'm not sure I should-"
"Catch!"
Star quickly tossed the wand to Marco, who instinctively caught it. He barely had enough time to say "Goddammit" before the wand and his cheek marks began to glow. The effect wasn't nearly as dramatic as the last time Marco held the wand when he killed Toffee. In a burst of light, the wand transformed into the teal, bat-winged, ominous form that favored Marco.
"Woah. Dig the look of your wand, man," said Star. "A little eerie for my taste, but I guess it makes sense since you're a dark magic user."
Marco held on tightly to the wand with both hands, as if he expected the thing to fly out of his grip. "So… now what do I do?"
Star shrugged. "Whatever you want."
"I know most kids would love to hear that from their teacher, but I prefer to learn something," said Marco. "Now tell me what to do."
"We've been over this, Marco." Glossaryck lectured. "There's no rule book for this kind of thing. It's all instinct, intuition, and creativity."
"Just do stuff," Star said. "Like...I don't know, summon a sword or something."
"A sword, huh?" Marco stared at the wand in thought. '...I wonder if…'
Marco concentrated, and three bars of bright, red energy extended from the wand, turning it into a Kylo Ren edition lightsaber.
"...Oh, hell yeah."
"Holy corn on the cob!" Star exclaimed. "Marco, that's awesome! How did you do that?"
Marco swung his wand-lightsaber around with eyes filled with wonder. He then concentrated once more, and the red lasers vanished. "What else can I do?" He asked eagerly.
"Okay, this is gonna be a heavily 'Star Wars' themed ordeal, so I guess I might as well just go with it." Glossaryck snapped his fingers and a house-sized boulder erupted out of the sand. "See that boulder? Lift it into the air, you will."
Marco looked over at the boulder, uncertainty evident in his eyes. He raised a hand at the giant rock.
"With the wand, jackass."
Marco scowled at Glossaryck before gripping the wand in both hands and aiming it at the boulder. He concentrated as hard as he could to the point where sweat began to flow down his forehead.
"Use the force, Marco." said Glossaryck, who was now wearing a brown, hooded robe.
"I wish I knew what the hell the two of them were referencing," Star said to herself. "Try saying Leviato, 's a basic levitating spell that-"
A beam of red energy suddenly shot from the wand. The energy encased the boulder and continued to hum with power. Marco strained to lift the wand, and as he did, the boulder lifted up off the sand. The boulder hovered about ten feet above the ground for a couple of seconds before Marco lost his grip and the energy disappeared and the boulder fell back to the ground with a loud 'boom' sound.
The strain had apparently been hard on Marco. The dark magician in training slumped over, panting for breath. "That took a lot out of me," he said.
Star stared at Marco in astonishment. "How did you do that?" she asked. "When I first tried to levitate something, several holes ended up in the floors and ceilings of the castle!"
"It was just an apple." Glossaryck recalled.
"Star, I'm a nerd with no social life. I understand the fundamentals of magic as well as I understand algebra." Marco explained. "It's a tough life, but it pays off in the end."
"But...but...you're not even saying anything." Star pointed. Something seemed to be bothering the princess. Marco noticed she looked almost distressed. "You have to shout out spells to do magic!"
"Not necessarily," said Glossaryck. "Spells are like a bookmark for one's magic. Or, to be more specific for Marco's sake, a URL. If you want to perform a specific feat of magic, then you create and speak a spell that does as it is intended by the magic user's specifications. Once you have the right spell, you can use that spell whenever you wish to perform that particular feat of magic."
"He didn't speak a spell when he summoned that glowing sword thing." Star pointed out.
"He didn't have to." the genie replied. "There's no need for a bookmark if you can memorize the page numbers. That's what Marco is doing, essentially. He's creating spells, but he's also memorizing the magic pattern, even if he doesn't realize it. He's memorious. And therefore, so is the case with him and his magic."
Marco looked down at his wand. "...Sweet."
"Alright then, try something else." Star said. "Try summoning something."
"Like what?" Marco asked.
"I don't know. A unicorn." Star replied a little impatiently.
"Could I just summon a horse instead?" Marco asked. "Those are a little more common in my world."
"Fine, whatever," said Star. "Make with the magic."
Marco looked over at Glossaryck.
"Go for it." the genie said.
Marco hesitated for a second before bringing his wand up again. He aimed his wand away from Star and Glossaryck.
"...Horse."
Nothing happened.
"...Steed."
Nothing happened.
"...Giddyup."
It worked that time… Just kidding, nothing happened.
"Try speaking a spell." Star urged. "Put the image into words."
"What's the spell to summon a horse?" Marco asked.
"It's like Glossaryck said, you gotta make one." Star replied. "Just shout out what you want, that normally works for me."
"Don't you normally blow stuff up, or at the very least, light things on fire?"
"...Shut up."
Marco thought of what to say. It was easier with the lightsaber and lifting the stone. As a Star Wars fan, he understood that. This was different though, this would take a little more of his imagination. 'Time for years of being the dungeon master to finally pay off', Marco thought to himself.
Marco looked down at the sandy grounds. An idea suddenly popped into his head.
Marco raised his wand and the relic began to glow, as did his cheek marks. "I summon a steed of sand, to traverse this desert land."
The sand began to rise and take shape. To the astonishment of both of the magic teens, a horse made entirely of sand now stood before them. It was incredibly life-like, like an award-winning sand sculpture. The sand horse neighed and stomped the ground with its hoof.
Marco beamed with pride. "Not bad, right, Star?"
"That doesn't count!" said Star. "You didn't summon anything, you just made a horse out of sand."
'Geez, I thought she'd be a more cheery teacher than this.' "Hey, you asked for a horse, and so here's a horse," Marco argued. "Sorry it wasn't a unicorn. Do you really want me to give it a horn?"
"I can summon a stampede of warnicorns with the wand," Star said. "And I make them out of nothing. No sand needed."
"That doesn't make any sense," Marco argued. "You can't make something out of nothing."
"Sure you can, it's called magic." Star replied. "Try summoning another horse."
"What's wrong with this horse?" Marco asked. He mounted his sandy steed and the horse reared back with a whinny, then it burst apart in a puff of sand and Marco fell onto the ground with a startled yelp, sand all over him.
"See? If you had summoned a real horse, that wouldn't have happened." Star pointed out.
"But at least the sand horse made sense," Marco said as he picked himself up and wiped the sand off of him. "'Matter cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can change form'. That's what I did to the sand; changed it into the form of a horse."
"Ugh. Don't try to apply your nerd science to magic, Marco." Star complained. "Magic has nothing to do with science."
"Now hold on, Star, that's not entirely true." said Glossaryck. The little genie had created his own Barbie Doll-sized oasis and was sitting in a lounge chair under a palm tree and drinking from a coconut through a silly straw. "Mewman magic has never had any association of any kind with Human science before, but that's simply because no Human has ever even attempted Mewman magic."
"So just because Marco's doing it now, his science suddenly applies?" Star asked dubiously.
"Yup." Glossaryck took another drink out of his coconut. Marco had the sneaking suspicion that there was pudding in that coconut. "What the two of you need to understand is that magic is, essentially, whatever you want it to be. Or to be more precise, whatever your mind tells you it is."
"I don't follow." said Star.
"You, Princess, are a hyper, destructive, young girl with an active, wild imagination who fully believes in the illogical capabilities of magic." The genie began. "And therefore, your magic is a cluster of wild, imaginative, unicorns-and-rainbows themed spells capable of blowing up buildings. You don't put much thought into your magic, you just go for it. Which isn't necessarily bad, mind you, it's just how you do your magic."
Glossaryck gestured at Marco with his coconut. "Marco, on the other hand, is putting a lot more thought into it than you normally do. He's used to magic only existing in fiction, and therefore holding no actual sway in the real world. What he does understand is how the laws of science apply to the real world. His mentality is constantly trying to piece together the formulae and theorems for what he's doing. If Marco doesn't truly believe that he can make a horse out of thin air, then he never will. A horse made out of sand is just as good though, and it suits his methods."
"So, what you're saying is I have to apply science to my magic?" Marco asked.
"Ah, this is getting frustrating," Glossaryck muttered. "You don't have to do anything. To put it as simply as I possibly can; you have to believe in your magic. You're not applying science to your magic, Marco, you're applying yourself."
Marco blinked down at the wand in his hands. "...My magic...is my magic. Just like you said."
"Finally!" Glossaryck shouted. He floated off of his lounge chair and with a snap of his fingers, the whole oasis vanished. "Alright now that we got that out of the way, let's try to focus your magic on something else you're familiar with: Combat."
Marco's eyes widened. "Say what now?"
Glossaryck snapped his fingers and a large ax fell into Star's hands. "Alright, Princess." said the genie. "Have at him!"
"Okay!" Star answered without the slightest amount of hesitation and rushed at Marco with a hardy, Johansen-approved battle cry. She leaped in the air and brought the ax down on Marco.
Marco yelled in a very unmanly fashion as he shrunk down and aimed the wand at Star, eyes shut closed and teeth gritted together.
A translucent, ruby-red, dodecahedral barrier suddenly surrounded Marco. And when Star's ax hit the barrier, an invisible force with the strength of a troll punch tossed Star back a couple of yards. Star landed painfully in the desert sand and the ax stuck into the ground about a foot from her head.
"Not bad," said Glossaryck. "Seems like the most logical response when a crazy, blonde chick comes at you with an ax."
Marco opened his eyes and looked around at the barrier he had made. His eyes went wide with wonder. "Woah, cool," he said. "I like the color."
"The guy who wears a red hoodie every day and was blessed by the Blood Moon likes the color red." Glossaryck commented. "Gee, who would have thought."
Marco was about to respond when Star came at him again with her ax, screaming her battle cry. Marco yelped and aimed his wand at the Princess. The wand glowed, and so did the barrier. When the ax came down, Star was thrown back about twenty feet and the ax was sent flying through the air about twenty miles.
"Sorry, Star!" said Marco. "You okay?"
Star stood up off the ground and cracked her neck, staring intently at Marco. "Okay, Diaz. No more messing around," she said, her eyes filled with battle-lust. "Get out of that thing and show me what you got!"
"I don't wanna fight you," Marco complained. "My mom would never speak to me again if I hit a girl."
"How 'bout this then?" Glossaryck pulled a big, bugle-horn out of nowhere and blew on it. The deep sound of the horn echoed throughout the desert with the power of a trumpet of war. Then all around Marco, the desert sands took shape. Tall knights in sand armor, cavalrymen wielding long, sand lances, small goblins, and giant trolls made of sand, all of these things now surrounded the boy in red. Perfect sand sculptures given sentience like Marco's sand steed.
Marco gulped anxiously and the red barrier around him popped like a balloon.
"This seems a bit excessive, don't ya think?" Marco asked nervously.
"Come now, is this worse than anything you faced in the Neverzone?" Glossaryck asked.
"I never used magic in the Neverzone." Marco replied. "I just used magical items from time to time."
Star looked excited to see this fight go down, like an eager football fan before the kickoff. "Well, it should be easier now that you have magic." she said.
"That's what I'm afraid of." Marco murmured under his breath.
Glossaryck raised his hand in the air. "Ready, Marco?"
"No."
"Well, too bad." Glossaryck swung his arm down. "GO!"
The sand-creatures all rushed at Marco. Reacting on instinct, Marco summoned a long whip of red electricity from the wand and swung it around him with expert skill. The crackling whip tore through several of the sand knights and goblins, and Marco managed to wrap the whip around one of the sand troll's necks and pop its head clean off.
The sand cavalry reared their steeds and charged at Marco. The dark magician dispersed his whip and shot a boomerang of red energy out of the wand, which spun in a deadly arc as it cleaved through the front legs of the sand stallions. The horses along with their riders fell to the ground and burst into a large cloud of sand.
"Not too different from Solaria," Glossaryck commented to himself as he watched Marco battle the sand-beings.
Star walked up next to Glossaryck, a look of worry beginning to form on her face. "He's really laying into to them, isn't he?"
"He's an intelligent dark magic user who survived fifteen years in the Neverzone." said Glossaryck. "A little bit of savagery is to be expected from him."
"Savagery isn't really Marco's style, though." Star replied. "I mean, look at him."
Marco had already out nearly all of the sand creatures. One of the sand trolls lumbered towards Marco, but the boy shot a torrent of fire straight through the troll's chest. The troll flayed his arms around in despair as he was superheated into an immobile statue of glass, which Marco shattered into pieces with a shockwave of energy. The remaining sand creatures must have figured they were going out one way or the other, so they all decided to dogpile Marco in a last-ditch attempt. Marco was suddenly under more sand than any seashell.
"Marco!" Star shouted. "He'll suffocate under there!"
"Wait for it." said Glossaryck.
"Wait for wha-"
Star was cut off when an explosion suddenly blew the sand-beings into pieces. Chunks of sand knights and monsters rained down around the red mage. Pure energy radiated off of him like an electric heater. Sparks of crimson lightning danced here and there on Marco's body. His hood was up, hiding his face from sight.
Star walked towards Marco, but stopped a safe distance away from him. She tried to tell herself that it was Marco and she had no reason to be afraid, but couldn't bring herself to come any closer to Marco.
"...M...Marco?" Star asked. "You, uh...you doing okay th-"
Marco shot a blast of red lightning at Star's feet. The Princess jumped back just in time to avoid losing her legs.
"The hell?!" Star shouted. She stared at Marco with terror and shock, a hint of betrayal and hurt also showed on her face. "What's wrong with-"
Marco turned his head and Star looked into his eyes.
Star immediately tensed up in fright, her words dying in her throat as if they had the plague. Marco's eyes were blood-red and glowing like a pair of luminescent rubies. Those eyes showed no emotion; no malice or kindness, no sorrow or joy, no anger or satisfaction, only fierce, cold intelligence. The Terminator had nothing on Marco right now.
Star gulped, but she forced herself to keep eye contact. "Marco...please...it's me, Star." she pleaded. "This isn't you, I know it isn't."
Marco blinked his eyes and they suddenly went from being a pair of glowing, red rubies to being a pair of glowing, purple amethysts.
"You're stronger than this, my dear."
To Star's confusion, the voice coming out of Marco's mouth wasn't his own. It sounded a bit like her mother's voice with the accent.
"This can happen to those who gain this amount of power, and you were right to fear it." the voice continued. "But I know you're better than this, and so do you. Your mind is sharp and your heart is pure. Focus both your mind and your heart, Marco. Focus on what's important."
Marco then shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times. To Star's great relief, his eyes returned to their normal brown color. Marco lowered the wand and met Star's gaze with a large amount of guilt. He then looked down at the wand before tossing it away from him as if it were covered with maggots.
Star walked over and picked up the wand. The Butterfly heirloom transformed back into the form it took when Star wielded it, a much more pleasant-looking figure than Marco's wand. Star looked at Marco with a frown of worry.
"Are you okay, Marco?" she asked tenderly.
Marco closed his eyes and let his cheeks marks fade away. The marks didn't go away at first. They blinked a few times, as if fighting to keep from being pushed back, but they vanished off of Marco's face.
"...This was a mistake." Marco finally said. He refused to even look at Star. "Let's just go and...and forget this ever happened."
Star opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. So without a word, she took out Marco's scissors and cut open a portal back to Mewni. Marco wasted no time walking through the portal. Star let out a sigh before following Marco through.
The portal led to Star's bedroom, the same place where Star had opened the portal to the Sandy Dimension. As soon as Star was through the portal, she attempted to comfort her friend. "Listen, Marco. I know you might be-"
Star was interrupted when Marco was sent flying over her head and crashing into a wall. He fell to the floor, unconscious.
Star's eyes widened in panic. "Marco!" she turned around and saw the problem. There was a Monster in her room. A Septarian, by the looks of it. Big, tall, and buff, with a long purple cape and crystal, left eye. His left arm was a metal prosthetic and held a chainsaw of all things.
His right arm had the Book of Spells tucked under it.
Star gasped. "Give that back!" she demanded. The Princess aimed her wand at the intimidating Monster. "Put the book down or so help me, I'll make myself a new pair of 'gator skin boots!"
"It'll be me who does the skinning." The Monster replied. "Gimme that wand!"
"You want this wand, you'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands!" Star shouted.
"Works for me."
A beam of energy shot out of the Monster's crystal eye and blasted the wand out of Star's hands. Star didn't have enough time to recover from the shock before the Monster rushed her and pinned her to the ground with his metal arm. Star struggled to free herself, but the Septarian was too strong.
"Nothing personal, Princess." The Monster said. " you should know it was just a job."
"A job? Who sent you?!" Star demanded.
"A long-lost relative." the lizard answered with a knowing grin.
Star's look of confusion earned an eye roll from the Monster.
"It hardly matters now, anyway,"
The assassin's crystal eye began to glow with energy.
."Goodbye, Princ-"
The Monster's body suddenly arched and jerked upwards as red electricity ran across his body.
Even though the Septarian still had his grip on Star, the electricity didn't harm her, as if the lightning was entirely focused on the Monster and paid the Princess no mind. The hired thug screamed in pain as he was electrocuted. Star looked over and saw the source. Marco had his hands extended towards the assassin and red lightning shot from his fingers. His eyes were normal, but his cheek marks glowed vigorously. With a flick of Marco's wrists, the Monster flew off of his feet and smashed into the wall. The lizard left a large, reptile-shaped indention in the wall before he fell to the floor with a painful grunt.
The mercenary lifted himself up by his arms and stared at Marco with newfound fear. "That's impossible," he said in disbelief. "What are you?"
Marco raised his fist in front of him and it glowed with red energy.
"I am all the Sith."
A red glow lit up underneath the Septarian's chin and the lizard gagged as he was lifted up off of the floor and choked by Marco's magic.
"I would have preferred to say 'I am all the Jedi', but what with the dark magic and all, well," Marco shrugged. "The 'dark side of the force' theme I'm doing is reluctantly more appropriate. So,"
Marco waved his hand and the Septarian was sent flying across the room, smashing into another wall.
"Just call me Darth Marco...or Darth Diaz, whichever one sounds cooler… Maybe Darth Ubaldo. Yeah, that one sounds good."
The Monster picked himself up and growled at Marco, baring his sharp teeth. "I don't know who or what you are, but I swear to you you're making a more dangerous enemy than you realize."
"You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that to intimidate me, man." said Marco. "I've faced down a lot more scary and bizarre creatures than you. An ogre with diamond nipples and snakes for hands wants to put me in a crystal for all of eternity."
The Monster growled in irritation and pulled out his chainsaw. He yanked on the cord and revved it up.
"Star, toss me my scissors, would you?" Marco asked.
Star blinked, then did as Marco asked and tossed him his dimensional scissors. Marco caught them by the handle and faced the Monster. He then pulled them apart and the scissor blades lit up with blue fire before growing into a pair of thin, short swords.
"Alright, Leatherface, bring it on!" Marco chuckled. "Get it? Not only do you have a chainsaw, but you're a reptile, too, with a leathery face."
The Septarian roared and charged Marco.
Marco jumped into the air just as the Monster took a swing at him, spinning over the chainsaw and bringing his blades down while he was above the lizard's head, slicing off both of the assassin's arms at the shoulders.
The Monster cried out in pain as Marco landed behind him. The Monster cried out again as Marco sliced off his legs as well. The limbless reptile somehow managed to stand upright with no limbs, but he was rendered immobile.
"You dick!" the Monster shouted. He tried to turn his head and shoot Marco with his crystal eye laser, but even if he could have turned his head far enough to shoot him, it wouldn't have mattered, because Star had picked her wand back up and blasted out the Monster's crystal eye with a ray of pink energy.
Star lowered her wand and walked up to the assassin with an angry look on her.
"You wanna finish him off, Star?" Marco asked.
"Ho-ho-ho, you bet your ass I do." Star's eyes and cheek marks glowed as she charged up energy into her wand.
The Monster gulped and began to sweat. "W-w-wait a minute, you wanna know who sent me, don't you?" he stammered. "I-I-I can tell you. You heard me say that a long-lost relative sent me, right? If you wanna know more, then you gotta let me g-"
Star blasted the Monster straight out of her bedroom window with a rainbow explosion. He was sent flying and screaming all the way across Mewni.
"Wait, didn't you want to hear what he had to say?" Marco asked. "That sounded like ominous foreshadowing."
"Dude, I honestly don't care." said Star with a tired look on her face. "It's already been a long day, and whatever it is, we can deal with it some other time."
Marco still looked skeptical. "Still, I think-"
Marco and Star suddenly heard the thundering sound of a squadron of armored footsteps. Marco barely had enough time to put his scissor swords away and make his cheek marks vanish before a bunch of knights burst through the bedroom door, led by King River himself, wielding a double-bladed ax.
"What's going on in here?!" The King demanded. "We heard loud noises coming from this room!"
The King's eyes then darted back and forth between Star and Marco, who both looked a little winded.
Star stepped between Marco and her dad before River could charge the poor boy. "There was a Monster in here!" in shouted.
The King and his men gasped. "A Monster?!" River cried. "How did it get into the castle?! What did it want?!"
"He wanted the wand and the Book of Spells," Star explained. "He would've gotten them both and killed me too, but Marco sliced off his arms and legs," the Princess gestured to the severed limbs on the ground.
The King and the Knights stared at the limbs in shock, then their shocked gaze focused on Marco. "Is this true?" King River asked.
Marco nodded, a little uneasy with so many eyes on him. "Yes, sir. The Monster came at me with a chainsaw, and so I disarmed him, so to speak."
This earned a good laugh from the River and the knights. "Good work, my boy, good work! For a second there, I thought I was going to have to skin you alive." River stroked his beard in thought. "Say, where is the Monster now?"
"Oh, he's gone," said Star. "Marco let me finish him off by blasting him out the window to the other side of Mewni."
"Ha! That's my girl!" replied the King. "But next time, let me take a whack at him first, would ya? Gotta let me have a little fun at least."
"What's going on in here?!"
The knights immediately made way for the Queen as she entered the bedroom. Just as River's had, Queen Moon's gaze first fell on Marco, with both suspicion and warning in her eyes.
"Moonpie, there you are!" said River. "There was a Monster in here trying to steal the wand and the Book of Spells."
"What?!" the Queen cried.
"Yes, and the creature was about to kill Star, but Marco here cut off his limbs before letting Star blast him to the far reaches of Mewni."
Moon's narrowed eyes focused once more on Marco, and then on Star. "Tell me everything." she ordered.
"Well, me and Marco were hanging out in my room, platonically, FYI," said Star. "When the Monster showed up out of nowhere."
"A big, lizard man with green skin," said Marco. "Deep voice, spikes on his shoulders, purple cape, wielded a chainsaw even though it's actually a really inconvenient weapon of choice."
"That sounds like Rasticore," said Moon, a little bit of fear showed in her eyes. "He was one of Toffee's lieutenants. I think he's a hitman now."
"He said he was sent by a long-lost relative." said Marco.
Moon's eyes widened, then they narrowed dangerously.
"Eclipsa." she muttered.
Marco had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything. He had no idea who sent Rasticore, but he highly doubted it was Eclipsa. It wasn't like Marco could tell the Queen that, though. Not without raising even more questions.
"I need to look into this." Queen Moon declared. "The Monster failed to steal the wand and the book, yes?"
Star held up the wand and nudged the big book with her foot. "Accounted for."
"Good. Stay in your room until further notice." Moon waved her hand and it glowed with blue magic. The walls and the window magically repaired themselves and the window got an upgrade of metal bars.
"What? Are you locking me in here?!" Star cried in dismay.
"For now, yes." Moon replied. She then pointed at three of the knights. "You, you, and you will guard the door."
"Yes your highness." the knights replied in unison.
"Where's Glossaryck?" the Queen demanded. "Glossaryck!"
"Yeah?"
The Queen flinched at Glossaryck suddenly appearing by her side. She grunted in frustration at the genie. "Stay by the Princess's side." she ordered.
Glossaryck saluted. "Aye-aye."
Marco coughed into his fist. "I guess I'll show myself out." he said before heading towards the door.
"Not so fast." the Queen commanded.
Marco felt his forehead sweat a little as he turned to face the Queen.
Queen Moon smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you for once again saving my daughter." she bowed her head in respect. "Consider the life debt this family already owes you enhanced, eternal friend of House Butterfly."
"Hear, hear!" shouted the King, and the knights shouted so as well.
Marco felt his face flush from the praise and Star smiled proudly at him.
"Alright, everyone out." said the Queen.
Star made for the door.
"Not you."
"Ah, dangit." Star grumbled before going over to sit on her bed.
The King and Queen, followed by the Knights and Marco, emptied out of the room, leaving Star alone with Glossaryck.
Star looked down at the still-twitching, reptilian arms and legs. "So I'm the one who has to get rid of these?" Star complained. "Marco's the one who left them here."
"Guys saves your life yet again, and you just complain that he forgot to clean up his mess." Glossaryck commented.
"I'm royalty and I just got grounded, I'm allowed to complain."
"Sorry again for getting you grounded, Star." Marco said.
"Oh, don't worry about it." said Star. The two of them were in their respective rooms communicating through their mirrors. Marco had his open mirror sitting on his desk with Star showing on the screen. "It's not so bad. I got all of my stuff here."
"How long do you think you'll be stuck in your room?"
"Oh, just until Mom thinks it's safe for me to come out." Star answered. "Which might take, I dunno, about fifty years or so."
"Oof." Marco replied. "Well, hey. Thanks for...you know...helping me out with my magic. I think I learned a lot."
"Hey, no problem, bud," said Star. "You can always count on me when it comes to magic and such!"
"Star, can I ask you something?" Marco asked.
"Shoot."
"Is it me, or were you acting...a little weird bad in the Sandy Dimension?"
Star blinked in surprise, then looked away guiltily. "Well...yeah. Maybe I was acting a little weird back there."
"What was wrong?" Marco asked.
"It's just that...you were doing so well for your first time with magic, and I felt a little threatened," Star confessed.
"Threatened?" Marco asked in confusion.
"Well, yeah. I nearly burned down the town square when I first started learning magic, and there you were, wielding a magic wand like a boss."
"Wielding a magic wand like a boss." Marco echoed. "Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd ever hear."
"Magic is supposed to be my thing," Star continued. "When I saw that you were getting better at it than me, I…" on the screen, Star rubbed her shoulder anxiously. "might've gotten a little jealous, is all."
"Jealous?" said Marco. "Star, you are way better at magic than I am."
The statement seemed to surprise Star. She stared at Marco in bewilderment. "I am?"
"Yeah! Star, you saw me in there. I went nuts and nearly zapped you!" said Marco. "You're the one who knows how to control your magic. And on top of that, you have a way more vivid and creative imagination for your magic. Doesn't matter how good I get, you'll always be better at magic."
Star stared at Marco for a second before smiling and blushing. "Thank's, Marco."
"Hey, I'm just speaking the truth," Marco replied. "You did send that Rasticore guy flying through the skies."
"Only after you sliced his arms and legs off," said Star. "Kudos on that, by the way."
"Oh yeah, about that." said Marco. "Were you trying to make me sound like the hero of the day or something? You barely gave yourself any credit for that takedown."
"I figured you needed a reminder of what kind of person you are, Marco." Star smiled through the screen. "You're the hero, the savior, the most awesome friend I've ever had. No amount of magic, dark or otherwise, will ever change that."
Marco's face flushed. "...Thank you, Star." he said. "Still kinda wish you hadn't, though. Your dad insisted that I drink a few rounds with him as thanks for saving you." Marco stuck his tongue out and shuddered. "Mewnian ale tastes like gasoline that was over-fermented with corn."
"You can never have too much corn, Marco."
"Yes. Yes you can." said Marco. "Hey, can I ask you something else?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"I still don't get it; Why are you helping me?" Marco asked. "You have every right to just blow the whistle on me. You're technically committing treason by helping me out with the dark magic I'm not supposed to have. Do I really matter that much to you?"
"You kinda do, yeah." Star replied almost immediately. "Listen, Marco. I know you and I don't exactly go way back, but...well," Star cheek marks brightened a little bit. "You're my friend. Don't tell Pony Head, but to be perfectly honest...you're my best friend."
Marco blinked. "...I-I am?"
"Of course you are. I'm the Princess of Mewni, you know how hard it is for me to make real friends?"
"What about Pony Head and Kelly?" Marco asked.
"I've known Pony since we were old enough to see each other at royal gatherings, and I hid my identity from Kelly when we first met," said Star. "But you? You know exactly who I am, and you treat me like an actual person. You help me when I need your help, and you know how to. You, Marco, are my best friend."
Marco nearly choked. He remembered how Janna had praised him when he tutored her in the cemetery and even kissed him. He was feeling a similar sense of overwhelming with Star calling him her best friend.
The shy boy cleared his throat. "Gee...thank's, Star." he began. "I'm...not that great at making friends either. And I know I complain a lot, but I'm still glad I met you, Star. You being my best friend has been...a real life changer, to say the least."
Star's eyes sparkled with joy. "Awwwwwwwwwwww." she said. "Thank's, Marco. I'd hug you, but we're talking through mirrors."
"And I'd hug you, but I'm hoping to avoid any physical contact with you. Nothing personal, I just want to make sure your parents understand that I'm not trying to make a move on you."
Star covered her mouth with her hand and laughed. Her eyes then widened like she just got an idea. "Oh, hey. One more thing."
Marco tilted his head. "Yeah?"
"When we were in the Sandy Dimension, and you had the wand aimed at me." Star began. "Your eyes went from red to purple, and you started talking with a woman's voice. What was that all about? Was the spirit of the Blood Moon talking to you or something?"
Marco's eyes widened in panic. "Oh...that...yeah, uh, I...It was-"
"Princess! Are you okay?!" Marco heard a voice shout from Star's side.
Star rolled her eyes. "Uuuuuugh. I'm fine!" she shouted.
"Just checking!"
Star grumbled something rather offensive under her breath before turning back to look at Marco through the mirror. "Know what? Never mind." Star smiled. "I trust you, Marco. I'm sure whatever it was, it was nothing to worry about."
Marco smiled uneasily back.
"Princess! Are you still okay?!"
"For the love of the Stump." Star said through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna go have a chat with the guards. Talk to you later, okay?"
"Alright, see you later, Star." said Marco.
"Byyyyyyyyyyye!" Star said before hanging up. The screen now only showed Marco's guilty reflection.
Marco sighed, then folded the compact mirror shut before walking over to the window. He opened it and looked over the town of Mewni. His room was high up in the castle, so Marco looked down and watched as the Mewmans walked about the town. After watching them for a bit, Marco then looked up into the sky. He concentrated and let his red, crescent moon cheek marks reveal themselves.
"...I'm not sure whether or not you can hear me." Marco said. "But I know it was you that helped me get my magic under control. I'm… I'm not entirely sure how to feel about you, really. I don't hate you, I don't think you're evil, but you're really not making things easy for me, that's for sure. Still, though, I hope you're safe and sound, wherever you are. Speaking of which, I may have accidentally blamed you for an attempted assassination on the Princess. Sorry about that."
Marco took a breath. "I didn't ask for any of this. But then again, neither did you, huh? And I really shouldn't complain, because what happened to you was far worse than anything that's ever happened to me. I have two parents who are the nicest people on Earth and the cutest baby sister in California. I have great friends, an awesome girlfriend, whatever Janna is at this point, and I won't lie, being friends with Star has been pretty great. Everything that was great in your life was taken from you. It wasn't fair, it wasn't right, but it happened. I guess what I'm trying to say is…"
Marco gave the sky a small smile. "Thank you… and… and, I'm sorry… Good luck, Eclisse."
A tear ran down Eclipsa's face. "...Thank you, Marco."
"Mawco?"
Eclipsa blinked as she remembered what it was she was doing. She was in Mariposa's room. The infant was peaking through the bars of her crib, reacting to the sound of Marco's name.
"Mawco?" Mariposa said again.
The makeup she wore might've hidden Eclipsa's cheek marks, but they couldn't conceal their glow. The former Dark Queen of Mewni let the glow fade away before walking up to Mariposa's crib. Eclipsa peered down at the baby with a smile on her face.
"You miss Marco?" Eclipsa asked.
"Mawco."
"Well, take a look at what I made you." The nanny pulled out the item she had hidden behind her back and showed it to Mariposa. "Ta-da!"
It was Mariposa's teddy bear, but Eclipsa had dressed it in a red hoodie and gave it a mole under its right eye.
Mariposa took one look at the thing and instantly fell in love. Her eyes sparkled as she grabbed the air and babbled excitedly.
Eclipsa grinned as she gave the bear to the baby, who grabbed it and squeezed it in a big hug. The notorious Queen of Darkness chuckled. "You are just too adorable."
"Remember Bup-Bup?"
Eclipsa jumped from being startled like that. She looked over and saw a familiar, small, blue troll sitting on the dresser, smiling at her.
"Bup-Bup the Bunny, remember?" asked Glossaryck. "The stuffed bunny you slept with until you were seven? That was when you realized it was an actual stuffed rabbit that your mother killed and turned into a limp taxidermy."
"Glossaryck." Eclispa greeted flatly. "How nice of you to drop in."
The genie shrugged. "Figured I'd stop by and see how you were doing."
"Oh, so now you suddenly care about my well-being?" Eclipsa asked.
"You may not believe me, but I have always cared about your well-being." Glossaryck floated down into Mariposa's crib. The baby stared at him with wide, curious eyes.
So you're Mariposa Diaz, eh?" Glossaryck asked. "Heh. You are a cute little-"
Mariposa reached up and pulled Glossaryck's beard right off of his face.
"...Ow." Glossaryck whimpered.
Eclipsa's lip momentarily curled up in a small smile, but that was it. "What do you want, Glossaryck?"
Glossaryck took his beard back from the giggling infant and put it back onto his face. He then floated back up to meet Eclipsa at eye level. "What I've always wanted, my dear: to help you."
"A little late for that, don't you think?!" Eclipsa hissed. "Where were you when I was promised and wed to Shastican? Where were you when my mother was killed?"
Eclipsa narrowed her eyes. "Where were you...when my daughter, and the love of my life...was taken from me? Were you at least there for Festivia?!"
"Festivia the Fun may not have been a very influential Queen, but she was well-liked by her peers and allies." said Glossaryck. "The people of Mewni loved her for her kindness and consideration. She was always the life of the parties she hosted, and her charm and beauty earned her many friends and even a king, who, mind you, loved her and treated her well."
This seemed to relieve Eclipsa, but only momentarily. "And Meteora?" she asked. "Are you going to tell me what happened to her?"
Glossaryck shook her head sadly. "I can't do that, Eclipsa."
"Of course not." said Eclipsa. "You were no help back then, and you continue to be no help now."
The former queen turned around with her back facing the genie, her arms held behind her.
"For the short time I had her in my life, my mother made my life a living hell, attempting to force me to see things through her perspective. I had to bed a grotesque pig for the sake of alliance and bear him a child. At least no rule said I had ever had to touch him again after our wedding night. For the sake of the Kingdom, I had to be something I wasn't and hated to be. And when Globgor came into my life, the one thing in my life that brought me joy aside from Festivia, he was taken from me...and I received no help from you...or anybody, for that matter."
The room hung in heavy silence for a full minute. Mariposa looked back and forth between Glossaryck and her nanny, a look of confusion on her infant face.
"Marco is progressing quite well with his magic." Glossaryck finally said.
Eclipsa turned her head slightly. "Yes, I know. His dark magic is less concentrated than mine, but far more focused." she rubbed her forearms. "The dark magic hasn't...stained him, has it? I know it came close."
"Indeed it did." Glossaryck replied. "Rest assured, the dark magic has left no such marks on the boy. Remember, his power came straight from the Blood Moon itself. And let's be honest, Marco is far more cautious than you ever were."
"He's smart with his magic, yes." Eclipsa agreed. "I pray nobody discovers his secret." the former queen turned back around and faced the genie. "Glossaryck, I think we should get him out of Mewni. Convince him to quit or get him fired. What if Marco gets caught?"
"He won't." Glossaryck assured her. "He knows how to keep it hidden, and he has the Princess watching his back."
The mention of Star brought a smile on Eclipsa's face. "She's going to make a great Queen someday, even if all of Mewni despises her." she said. "Glossaryck, I must know; is Marco going to someday be-"
"It's a possibility," said Glossaryck. "One of many."
"Well, at least tell me this," Eclipsa begged. "Will Marco find out what happened to Meteora?"
Glossaryck was silent for a little while. He finally nodded, but there was something grave about the nod.
I know I might've milked the 'Stars Wars' theme dry, but I still had fun writing this chapter. By the way, I based Marco's barrier off of Daruk's Protection from 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'. Curious how many of you caught that.
Also, please tell me which one you all think sounds better in your comments; Darth Marco, Darth Diaz, or Darth Ubaldo. Personally, I like the last one the most.
Till next time!
Actually, one more thing. I was thinking about doing an 'Owl House' fanfic sometime in the future where Luz is Eda's adopted daughter. You guys think I could pull that off, or has the 'Luz is Eda's daughter' story arc already been juiced for all it was worth by fanfic writers? Cuz I already have a dramatic opening scene in mind. I appreciate your thoughts, assuming you decide to give them.