Star and Marco vs Evil Book 2 Chapter 7: VII, a star vs. the forces of evil fanfic

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This is a work of fiction portraying alternate universes; all similarities to beings living, dead, or undead are entirely convergent.

VII

On a large, grass-covered, training field, under a pink Mewni sky tinged orange by the morning sun, Star and Marco began their bi-weekly workout. Their warmups and training sessions varied, choosing one or more of the martial arts they needed to be proficient in. This day they were starting with Tang Soo Do warmups; Star and Marco were both dressed in matching doboks, their motions as they executed the warmups and practiced the forms almost perfectly in sync.

Once sufficiently warmed- and limbered-up, Marco asked Star, "So, sparring or teamwork practice today?"

Star pondered the question for a few moments, then answered, "I'm in an S&M kind of mood, so I say teamwork; let's dish out the pain for both our pleasures!"

Marco was certain Star had no idea what she just said, so he buried the kinky quip that leapt to mind, saying instead, "Weapons and adversaries?"

Star smiled. "Surprise me."

Marco returned the smile. "How about this time we go all-in? Go zombie-style; all weapons and all types of foes."

Star bounced with excitement. "Yes, let's do it!"

"Kill or no kill?"

Star paused, brows furrowed. She, like Marco, did not want to take a life, but understood there would be situations where they had no choice. "Facing this many armed and armored beings, I can't see it as anything other than 'kill or be killed.'"

Star faced Marco, holding his cheeks so that his focus was squarely on her eyes. "I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, but don't forget your failure with Meteora. Maybe, in that fight, you would have found a way to end it without killing, but in this fight you'll have no choice. As dad says," Star continued rhythmically, "'train like you fight, fight like you train; or surely the bear will rip you in twain.'" Marco nodded, understanding ... and amused.

The two joined hands, closing their eyes and concentrating. Domes of magic, alternating between yellow and orange, pulsed outward from them. The magic created wraith-like Monsters, including several bear-like Monsters; Mewmins; zombies, as it wouldn't be authentic "zombie-style" without a few; humans; and, oddly, vampire Jannas. The magical adversaries came in various shapes, sizes, and armament.

As the domes faded, the teens' doboks were replaced by thick, canvas, training uniforms, to minimize, but not eliminate, wounds from cutting weapons. Stingers materialized in their hands; other weapons would appear as the session wore on. Marco holstered the wond; he would use his magic as best he could without it, to keep one hand free for when physical blows were called for.

Star and Marco turned back-to-back, taking up defensive stances. "Ready?" Star asked. "Ready," Marco answered. Simultaneously, they said, "Go!" "Begin!"

The wraiths did not attack all at once; the training spell was not meant to overwhelm and defeat, but to provide a workout. In various mixes of numbers, weaponry, and martial arts, the teens would be engaged. The goals of the exercise were not only to practice the various martial arts, but also teamwork. The two teens had to communicate, both wordlessly and through verbal signals, and anticipate the actions of each other, to execute their tandem defenses and attacks.

Four wraiths moved into position in front of Star and Marco, two to each teen. They wore black, leather, uniforms, and carried short swords, similar to stingers but intended for cutting. The wraiths paused, then all four attacked at once.

Star feinted at one wraith then swung her stinger at the other.

Marco blocked a cut from one of his foes, punching it hard in the jaw with his left hand. He fluidly ducked forward at the waist, under the swing by the other wraith.

Star kicked a wraith hard in the chest, as Marco stabbed at his second opponent. Star smashed her current opponent in the face, then, using her stinger, swept the wraith's sword up to block the other wraith's downward stroke.

Marco engaged one of his wraith's blades, then, using his free hand, swung the wraith into the path of its teammate. The wraith spun to avoid striking its companion, producing angular momentum it used to worsen a kick to an off-balance Marco's jaw.

With a small blast of magic, Star pushed her two opponents away from her. She followed the blast, running behind it to attack physically, catching the wraiths still off balance. She cut one wraith's throat, then continued the strike in a fluid motion, stabbing the second wraith entirely through its midsection with her full weight and momentum behind the strike. Both wraiths disappeared in puffs of smoke.

Marco's wraiths attacked in concert, but Marco was quick enough to counter strokes from both foes. Rather than overwhelming him, the wraiths got in each other's way, until one, off balance, crossed in front of the other. Marco dispatched the first with a blow to the head, then spun out of the way of the other wraith's strike, allowing his momentum to carry him, and his stinger, into the wraith's belly. The wraiths were carried away on the wind.

And so, in similar fashion, the training continued.

Star used her stinger to penetrate a wraith's armor, as Marco punched a wraith-Monster in its gonads, located conveniently between its eyes.

As Star prepared to launch a magical assault on a 15-foot mountain-troll-like Monster, Marco became her wingman, defending her from attacks by other wraiths. To keep from being overwhelmed by numbers, Marco kept them at a distance using magic and the shuriken the magic had added to his personal weaponry. With time to prepare, Star was able to execute a devastating magical attack, quickly dismembering and defeating the wraith.

A large Mewmin wraith, holding a light sword at the ready, confronted the two. Star and Marco each stepped to their left or right, increasing their spacing, then attacked. Star stabbed at the wraith's ribs while Marco stabbed at its throat. The wraith parried Star's thrust but, unable to simultaneously block two attacks, took Marco's thrust to the throat. It was their first flawless tandem attack of the day.

"Look, Marco," Star called, pointing, "it's Jackie; tell her you have a crush on her!"

"No! It's too scary!" Marco ran away screaming, with hands in the air, from the blonde wraith with a green streak in its hair. Star blasted it to smithereens. Marco ran up to Star, grinning, saying, "You saved me! My hero!" to a similarly grinning Star. They gave each other a quick peck on the lips then turned their attention back to the mock battle.

Star grabbed an attacking human wraith, using its momentum and her own Mewmin strength to flip it over her head with a perfect Karate throw; Marco dispatched it with a thrust of his stinger while it was still in the air. It was their first flawless complementary defense of the day.

Eyes rolled back in her head, Star recited a chant to shield against the undead, as Marco used his magic to conjure a mallet and wooden stake, pounding the latter into a vampire Janna's heart. As it burned to the ground Marco grinned, finding it to be a guilty pleasure.

The magic presented a single large Monster, thinly armored but carrying multiple cutting weapons, including its claws and teeth. It was very similar to the Septarian mercenary Rasticore. After a quick glance, the two simultaneously ran toward the Monster, casting Raspberry Ribbon Lassos that ensnared the Monster around the ankles. They angled away to keep the ribbons taut, then, after passing the wraith and gaining a little distance, yanked hard on the lassos, pulling the Monster's feet out from under it. It crashed face first into the ground, followed by Star leaping into the air and driving her stinger into the base of the Monster's skull, as Marco drove his stinger into the small of its back. The defeated wraith dissolved into the ground.

Although they had their moments, Star and Marco were not in perfect sync throughout the entirety of the fight. They would miss a signal, or their choice of maneuvers were not complementary, so they took hits. They would occasionally trade cutting barbs when one made a mistake or misjudged what their partner would do. It was not in anger, however; it was part of their bonding as a team. Both understood the point of the exercise, to hone their teamwork skills to minimize mistakes and give them practice recovering from them when they inevitably occurred. Anger in training would reduce its effectiveness, while anger in battle could be a fatal distraction.

In terms of physicality, it was not a contest of kitten whispers and tickle fights. The training wraiths could not maim, and certainly not kill, but they could inflict damage. As the fight wore on, injuries mounted ... also part of the exercise, to practice continuing to fight, most likely for survival, while injured.

Star took a hard kick to the stomach, doubling over. As she straightened, she swung her stinger up, jamming the point up in between the wraith's unprotected throat and chin. As it collapsed and disappeared, Star fell to her knees, retching onto the grass. Seeing a wraith move to take advantage, Marco used Star's back like a pommel horse, slamming his boot into the wraith's teeth with a satisfying magical crunch. He fought alone with magic, sword, hands, and feet, protecting Star until she had recovered and reentered the fight.

A club hit a glancing blow across the bridge of Marco's nose and brow, with enough force to stagger him. Marco attempted to take a defensive stance, but he was viewing the world through tunnel vision and reeling from vertigo. He fell, luckily causing another serious blow to miss. As he rolled drunkenly on the ground, Star blasted the wraith away from Marco. She fought alone with magic, sword, hands, and feet, protecting Marco until he had recovered and reentered the fight.

Eventually, only three wraiths remained. They were heavily armored and armed, the spell sending them last to test the mettle of the teens when exhausted. Star and Marco grabbed each other's wrist, facing the wraiths. Now in perfect sync, no signal nor verbal spell was needed; wordlessly, they fired an apocalyptically powerful blast of magic that disintegrated the wraiths and scorched the field all the way to the far tree line.

The teens collapsed to the ground, facing each other. Their uniforms were cut, torn, and dirty, and they bled from a dozen wounds each. Both had congealed blood beneath their noses and around the corners of their mouths. Marco's nose was swollen, and his eye sockets were turning purple, while one of Star's eyes was nearly swollen shut, also turning purple. Despite the pain, the pair was ecstatic. They were not quite as in sync as they were in their Monster-fighting days, but they were improving, even from the start of that day's session. Their faces, bloody and bruised as they were, were nonetheless glowing with joy and pride, in themselves and each other. The pair laughed happily, as much as they could in their winded and bruised-rib states.

Star and Marco painfully helped each other to their feet, groaning, and reveling, in their shared pain. Faintly and briefly, at the fringe of his consciousness, Marco thought, Guess it was an S&M session after all. Before Marco's tired brain could take the thought any further, Star asked, "Heuristic Healing Hot-Tub?"

"Yeah, Heuristic Heal ... groan ... what you said."

Star opened a dimensional portal, and the two supported each other as they entered it, staggering out the other side in the royal recovery room. They could feel the heat and steam, smell the healing potions infusing the water, and feel the tingle of magic. "Oh," Marco said, "we need to get our swimsuits."

Star groaned. "I don't want to wait even that long. We never had a problem with the other being in the bathroom while we showered; why is this different?"

"It's different because we never saw each other ..."

"Hup, bup, bup; I'm too beat ... and beat up ... to care. And for the record, even if it seems like a dream, we both remember defiling and defoliating a large patch of ground in the Abs Dimension. We certainly saw each other naked then."

Neither teen blushed at the memory of their physical pair-bonding, instead filled with a warm feeling, not of lust, but of love. "Still," Marco replied, "that doesn't mean it's proper. But, I'm with you, if I don't get in the water in the next few minutes, I'm going to collapse right here on the floor. You go first."

Marco turned his back. Star disrobed, then lowered herself to her chin in the opaque, therapeutic, water, moving to the far side of the tub. She covered her eyes, saying, "Your turn, Chaste Man."

Marco tried to grin, but doing so resulted in a groan of pain instead. He disrobed, then joined Star in the tub.

Star moved next to Marco, the two leaning against each other, Marco's arm across Star's submerged shoulders, with Star turned slightly toward him so she could rest a hand on his abs. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but the embrace was so calming and pleasant that neither wanted to move. The two heard Janna's voice from down the hall, calling, "Woo hoo! Brunch and a show." For once, they didn't care that Janna was again being inappropriate and creepy; they were just too tired.

A thought crossed Marco's mind. "Um, Star," he said quietly, "why didn't we just use Radiant Shad..."

Star temporarily removed her hand from Marco's abs to press a finger to his lips, whispering, "Shhhhh! Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh! Shut up, shut up, shut up."

Marco decided it wasn't worth discussing. The two contentedly dozed off while the magical water healed their bodies, followed by Janna exclaiming a disappointed, "Darn."

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Meanwhile, Bob sat, waiting, in the royal audience chamber within Forest of Unlikely Spiderbites Castle, the capitol of the Spiderbite Kingdom. She had endured all the traditions and executed all the rituals necessary to gain the audience, and they made her feel dirty. She detested such things, and took immense pleasure when she could knock the purveyors of such piffery off their pedestals ... and grind them beneath her boots.

But, until she was all-powerful and could destroy Mewnis with a wave of her hand, Bob had to tolerate such nonsense. In particular, putting a bug in the ear of the Spiderbite royals was worth lowering herself to their level. They were also likely to respond better to her advances in person; though they stupidly overvalued tradition and perfection, those traits also resulted in a very businesslike attitude.

As the royals entered, Bob stood and bowed to the thrones. They were wooden, behind a wooden table. The audience room was well adorned with wooden frippery, and was one of the rare places that was free of spiders, solely for the comfort of guests. It paled in comparison to the other rustic Mewmin royal meeting room, in the Grand Lodge of the Johansen Clan. In Bob's opinion that was the best of all the Mewmin royal audience chambers, rustic or not, and so far that remained true across all the Mewnis where the Johansens held power.

When the royals were seated Bob straightened, then sat.

King Spiderbite squinted his eyes, appraising Bob critically. "It's not usual for a guest in our house to hide its identity."

"Forgive me," Bob answered, hiding her disdain, "but I prefer to remain anonymous. If you like, I will leave, but I beg you listen to my news."

Queen Spiderbite whispered in her husband's ear. When she finished, he nodded, then said, "Fine. But good business requires trust. Any deal you wish to make will include your identity."

"I understand, your majesty, but I give my information for free."

The Spiderbites watched Bob impassively as she stood.

"I am well aware of your history with Monsters, and know you will be appalled by the Butterflys and their treatment of Monsters as actual equals, they ..."

The king raised his hand. "You can stop. We don't have problems with Monsters; heck, our dear Princess Penelope is dating a Monster. We, especially my dear wife, have problems with a Monster."

"Yes, well, you remember what happened when the Butterfly Queen Eclipsa, Queen of Darkness, attempted to upend centuries of keeping Monsters in their place and what it cost your kingdom in general, and your family," Bob addressed the Queen, "in particular?"

The queen shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you fine with being forced to make them equals, to have no legal control over them whatsoever? What, then, is to stop another Monster-led disaster here? What is to stop the Butterflys from making them a force to take over yours and the other Mewmin kingdoms entirely, once and for all? They already have allowed Monsters into their army."

The King and Queen exchanged another glance. "Enough," the Queen said. "Your point is well taken, but we do not believe the Butterflys will employ Monsters to subjugate any Mewmins, let alone all, so the threat from Monsters comes only in their being free to cause trouble. We will consider your words, and because good business is a two-way street, we now give you information for free."

The King stood. "A rumor has come to us of a mysterious being cloaked in black sowing discord among the Monsters. Now a mysterious being cloaked in black stands before us. We have no proof it is you, playing both sides against the middle, but we're not stupid. If we do find proof, your days of freedom will be numbered."

Bob bowed, signaling the end of the meeting. "As you wish, your majesties."

The Queen stood, joining her husband, then both exited the room. Bob committed a small breach of etiquette by opening a dimensional portal within the meeting room rather than exiting first. She knew that if she didn't leave quickly the royals would hear her uproarious laughter at their threat.

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"I'm bored," Star complained a couple days later, as she and Marco lounged in her room. "But I don't feel like doing any princess stuff, or going dimension- or bar-hopping, or hanging at a mall ..."

"A mall?" Marco said, mostly to himself.

"... or pretty much anything. But I don't want to do nothing, either."

Frankly, Marco was perfectly happy doing nothing, so long as he was with Star.

"I suppose I could work some more on my speech for the Conference of Nobles, but I've already read it like a bajillion times, give or take one or two, and it's not for a couple weeks, anyway."

Star stared out the window for a minute as a heavy rain began to fall, then turned to Marco, asking, "Any new songs for me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have one."

Star bounced up and down on the window seat, squealing, like she did in her early teens. It was cute, but disturbing as well, to Marco. Nonetheless, he stood, then beckoned Star to follow him. Moving to his room, Star sat on the bed while Marco picked up a tablet from his desk. After a few swipes he handed the tablet to Star.

"I know you like to sing with me, so here's the lyrics. Join in when you like." As Star read through the lyrics, Marco pulled from his closet the keytar his parents had given him the past Christmas. He powered it up, then chose Star's song from the list in memory. He knew it was a matter of time before Star would ask for a song once she returned, so had been programming the accompaniment, and practicing, for months, since finding the song on the internet.

"This is an arrangement by Ray Stevens from the seventies," Marco explained. "It's a cover of an older song, which had been covered by several artists over the years, but this guy had a different take on it that I think you'll like."

Star was slightly flushed. The song was about a being uncertain of its feelings toward another; a song that played to Star's and Marco's history together. She was emotional, even a bit misty-eyed, just reading the lyrics, and was waiting in excited anticipation. She looked up at Marco, who smiled, cranked up the volume, then started the country song.

Percussion and a banjo began to play up tempo, joined by a fiddle, bass and steel guitar, after a few bars. Marco played the keyboard, set to sound like a piano. When the intro was finished, he began to sing.

Look at me
I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree, now

Star wiped a small fleck of drool from a corner of her mouth.

Ah, I'm walkin' on a cloud
I can't understand, Lord
I'm misty holdin' your hand

Marco took Star's hand, walking her around the room as he continued playing with the other.

Walk my way
And a thousand violins begin to play, now

The fiddle and several violins played forte.

Or it might be the sound of your "hello"
That music I hear, Lord
I'm misty the moment you're near

Marco stopped, looking Star in the eyes, their faces close. Star returned the gaze, swaying to the beat.

You can say that you're leadin' me on
But it's just what I want you to do
Don't ya notice how hopelessly I'm lost
That's why I'm followin' you

A tear escaped Star's eye. Those lyrics hit close to home, for both of them. The next lyrics hit even closer to home, given what happened over the prior eighteen months.

Ooh, on my own
Should I wander through this wonderland alone, now
Never knowin' my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove, Lord
I'm misty, and too much in love

Marco kissed Star's hand, then dropped it so he could use both hands to work the keytar during the bridge, a duet between the steel guitar and piano. Marco leaned hard into the piano part, partly because he was really enjoying himself, but also because he knew Star enjoyed hearing him play. After her torment of the last two to fifteen years, depending on the point of view, more than usual he really wanted to make Star happy.

Star danced over to the bed where she had lain the tablet, then danced back to Marco as the bridge finished. Star joined in the singing, the two facing each other, their faces again close.

You can say that you're leadin' me on
But it's just what I want you to do
Don't ya notice how hopelessly I'm lost
That's why I'm followin' you

Star sang the next part fortissimo, to show she was now speaking directly to Marco. Marco switched to singing in harmony with Star.

Ooh, on my own
Should I wander through this wonderland alone, now
Never knowin' my right foot from my left
My hat from my glove, Lord
I'm misty, and too much in love ⭐

The song ended, the two teens simply staring into each other's eyes. Star then unhooked the strap from the keytar, took the instrument from Marco and laid it gently on the floor, then softly took Marco's hands. The lovebird-icorns slowly began leaning in, their eyes beginning to close, when they realized they could hear sniffling.

Tracing the sound to the closet, Marco walked over to it and threw open the door.

"Janna?" Marco exclaimed. As piqued as he was that she was still spying on him, he couldn't help but be impressed by the fact she was so well hidden he hadn't noticed her when he retrieved the keytar.

Not to mention the fact she wasn't complaining about sugar, and sweetness, and diabetes from the witnessed activity.

Janna stepped out of the closet, cuffing a tear from her cheek. "So," Star quipped, "I guess spying does lead to crying."

Straightening her back and sticking her nose in the air, Janna said, "I'm not crying, you're crying. So shut it." She then walked out of the room.

Staring after her, the pair jumped, startled as Tom nonchalantly brushed past them, walking as if he was doing nothing more than taking a stroll through a park ... with an odd, almost imperceptible, scowl on his face. Without a word or a glance, he followed Janna out the door.

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As always, stay amazing!