Greetings once again
This chapter will be getting into the bigger problems now that a certain object has been found
I should also point out there it's been a long time since I've updated the story, so apologies for being late.
Anyways, let's get going, please enjoy ^^
Chapter 8 - A Perfect Day for Fun/The Hollow has Awakened
Star opened her eyes
She looked all around to see that she was somehow within an unfamiliar world filled with dark green ooze, and she was waist deep in it. "W-Where am I…?" She said to herself, beginning to get a little nervous despite her calm manner. "Marco? Mom? Kelly? Tom? Anybody…?" She then called out, trying to see if any of her family or friends were out there. It was then that the young princess heard a deep chuckle coming from behind her. She then turned around to see a huge wave of the ooze emerging along with a gigantic eyeball too.
"Hello, Star." Toffee's voice spoke evilly, as another two patches of ooze arose and formed a pair of gigantic claws. "Toffee…? H-How is this possible?!" Star exclaimed in horror as she tried backing away after seeing the ooze formed what looked to be Toffee's upper body from what she could remember of the septarian. "You once believed that you defeated me, but you were wrong. Only I know how this all ends for you and your family." Toffee spoke, really making Star freak out to the max.
Star tried to get to blast him with her want, but found that she didn't have it on her at all. "You may as well give up on magic, because it's futile to stop my plans. And like I said, only I know how it will end." Toffee mocked with a grin as he turned patches of golden ooze into the dark green ooze that he was. "Wait…that's magic?" Star asked in confusion after seeing what her enemy did. "Oh it was…until I came here, that is." Toffee responded with pride.
Star would have gone after the golden ooze, but she suddenly heard a faint echo-like scream coming from beneath the dark green ooze. Looking down, she saw her friends, trapped in a golden glowing light, trying to get out as they panicked. "Guys! Don't worry, I'm coming!" Star then yelped in fright, taking a deep breath and diving into the ooze to save her friends. "Go ahead, try…you'll only fail miserably." Toffee said, cackling aloud as Star dove down towards the glowing light to save her friends.
She swam deep beneath the surface of the dark oozey abyss to try and save her friends, but was pushed back whenever she tried getting near the golden light, what was worse was that the screams got even worse from where she was until suddenly, the light faded along with the remaining echoes of those screams haunting her very mind. Horrified by this, Star attempted to swim back to the surface, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't reach it.
Looking down, Star saw Toffee's oozing claw dragging her further into the abyss of this dark ooze. She tried getting free, but his grip was too powerful for her to get out of, and she got a fright when she realised that she was that she began running out of air. Star tried keeping her breath inside her mouth, but it was no use. She was forced to exhale and thus, she screamed as hard as she could under all the ooze, hoping that someone would hear her, but nobody was coming. Star, on the verge of drowning, gave out one last scream before she was dragged into the darkness…
Only to find herself waking up with a gasp of fright, back in bed and even tangled up in her bedsheets. She then looked around to see her hotel room, dark with the only source of light coming from the bathroom. Then, after getting untangled from her bedsheets and looking at Pony, Janna, Jackie and Tom, Star put her hand over her heart, trying to calm down with her breathing ragged after realizing that it was all a bad dream. She then stopped briefly before noticing her wand, glowing a bright green light before it dimmed all together.
She assumed that her own wand was giving her nightmares for some reason and would have looked at it, but then turned around to her left to see Marco, also awake and looked panicky too as he had his hand on his forehead along with Kelly, who had just come out of the bathroom after washing her face out of sheer panic. "M-Marco? Kelly?" She whispered in confusion, gaining her two friends' attention. "S-Star? Uh, W-What are you doing up this late?" Marco asked in surprise, though he immediately saw his friend's expression and figured out what the problem with her was the same as his and even Kelly's too.
"Lemme guess, you had a nightmare too?" Marco asked, figuring that Star had just woken up from a nightmare. The young princess was honestly very hesitant to answer, but eventually she nodded in agreement. "Y-Yeah…I-It felt so real." Star said, still unable to forget what she had seen in the nightmare she just had. "Dreams are never real, but I have to ask…what was it about?" Marco then asked, feeling stupid for asking that question, but felt like he needed to know just to calm his friend down.
"I was in this crazy place filled with dark green ooze, then Toffee was there and…he was destroying what I thought was magic, I tried to save it and save you guys, but then I ended up drowning. The worst part of it was that I was all alone without you guys." She explained, on the verge of crying her eyes out. Thankfully, Marco comforted the young princess with a hug, feeling like she needed it now more than ever. "Hey, we're not gonna leave your side. Even if you end up in some dark abyss kind of world, I'll be with you if you need me." He said, giving Star a lot of comfort before she gave him a warm smile in return.
"W-What was your dream about?" Star then asked. Marco was hesitant to ask, but since Star brought it up, he decided to tell her either way. "Well…mine involved the night when Ludo took your book of spells. Only this time, I wasn't able to save you and…Jackie prevented me from getting anywhere near you and you got sucked through that wormhole. Everyone kept blaming me for her death afterwards, man it was horrifying, and Jackie ended up getting away with what she did, scot free." He explained, sure he knew Jackie wouldn't do something like that, but it didn't help that it was in his mind.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Marco, it's like you said, Jackie would never do anything like that. Besides, she cares about the two of us so much, right?" Star pointed out. And she was right, Jackie would never abandon Star or Marco. Yeah…Star had spied on them when they were on their date, but other than that, and accidently tripping them up, she still liked Jackie. "Yeah, I suppose that's about right." Marco responded with a smile. The two then turned their attention to Kelly, who was lying back down after a few breaths.
"And what was your dream about, Kelly?" Star then asked with worry, gaining Kelly's attention immediately. Kelly was reluctant to speak about her dream, but Star kept insisting and wore the young Woolett down. "It was about…losing my grandpa." Kelly finally admitted, trying not to tear up as hard as she could. But it was hard with the memories suddenly flooding her mind. "Your grandpa?" Star asked, cocking her head to one side. "Yeah…he was one of the best things that ever happened in my life, but he was gone before I turned six." Kelly spoke, allowing only a few tears to flow free.
Star gasped with sympathy. Losing a loved one was sad enough, but the way the memories could even come back to sting her heart was even more sadder. "Kelly…it's just a dream. In fact, maybe your grandpa is still out there somewhere, alive and doing well for himself." She then spoke, placing her hand on Kelly's shoulder, calming her down a little. "You really think so…?" The teenage Woolett asked as she dried her eyes gently. "You bet." Star said with a hopefully smile. Marco assumed that she was lying, but then again…she could have been right.
He would have asked Kelly about her grandfather, but decided not to just in case he got insensitive. "I guess the three of us had similar nightmares. It's bizarre, no denying, but they're just nightmares. We'll be alright in the morning if we sleep on it." Marco then said, deciding that getting some rest would help them forget about the nightmares and go back to sleep. "Yeah, I guess you're absolutely right, Marco." Star said in agreement, followed by Kelly's nod of approval. "Yeah…besides, Earth really wasn't the same without you, Star." Marco then mentioned, making Star blush slightly.
"There's the Marco I know, always looking out for me and coming back to Mewni to get me because he missed me." Star said, embarrassing Marco a little until he shrugged it off. "Also, since my dad's organising a day of fun for us tomorrow, how about we have a day of fun, just us, tomorrow? That'll help us forget those nightmares." Star suggested, and to her delight, Marco agreed with her. Maybe this was what the trio needed in order to help forget about the nightmares.
"Well, it's late already. I think we'd better get some sleep." Star pointed out, saying the late hour before getting back into bed. After Star and Marco fell asleep hugging, Kelly was about to get some shuteye herself, but she suddenly noticed a pair of glowing yellow crescent moon-like cheek marks on his face. She would have woken up Marco, but felt like this wasn't important for the time being. Despite the fact that she just heard noises from the hallway outside the room, she assumed that she was hearing things and went back to bed.
Out in the hallway
Shadow figures walked past Star's room, one revealing to be Glacia, who looked at the door with a cold expression. She, along with Al Gator, SmashHog, Carrot, Florona and Three-eyed Potato Baby had snuck into the Hotel in attempts to find something that she was told, thanks to Toffee's sources, had been snuck into London secretly, courtesy of her uncle Krampus. "Are we there yet? I'm getting tired already." Three-Eyed Potato Baby groaned, barely trying to keep himself away after tonight.
"Shut it! And keep your voices down, do you wanna wake the whole place up?" Glacia then whispered viciously, hushing her allies up instantly. "He's just saying…also, do you know which room the item is in, Glacia?" Carrot then asked in confusion. "I'm told it's in one of the students' bags in…this room." She spoke, pointing to one of the students' rooms after following her senses. "It's in a room? But I thought it was gonna be in a laundry basket or somewhere easy. How are we gonna get in there without waking anyone up?" Three-eyed Potato Baby asked nervously, not wrong about that fact.
"How about a little bit of slaughter?" SmashHog suggested, preparing to open the door brutishly, only to be cut off when Glacia froze him in place. "Not like that, you blithering idiot." She spoke as she gently opened the door with her magic. It was the room that Sabrina was staying in with Brittney, Chantel and Megan, all who were sleeping without waking to the noises outside their hotel room.
Then quietly, but firmly, Glacia and her minions snuck into the girls' room and searched their bags one by one. However, Carrot ended up searching through all of Brittney's bags, which was honestly both shocking and annoying for him. The cold aura that Glacia was emitting from her body would have woken the girls, but it wasn't strong enough to wake them. "Mmm…Sabrina, can you please turn on the heater? I'm freezing…" Brittney mumbled in her sleep before Sabrina groaned and turned around.
The monsters froze briefly, believing that they would have been exposed, but thankfully, none of the girls woke. Sighing in relief, they then kept searching for a few moments until finally, Al Gator found the item, glowing long enough to attract the rest of his cohorts. "Finally, we've got it." He said quietly in triumph, picking up the item with his bare claws. "Nice work. I knew that source wouldn't lie to us." Glacia spoke with an impressed tone.
"So…we're gonna take that thing?" Carrot asked, attempting to reach for the item, only to have his hand slapped away. "Not yet. I've got my orders…to bring back the Butterfly curse. So that's exactly what we're going to do…" Glacia spoke, before briefly tapping on the item within the bag and stepping back from it with a wicked smirk. Sabrina then opened one eye before seeing what was happening. She then saw the item glowing a dark purple aura before it lit up the room, thus lighting up the room. It was so bright from it's window, it was almost like a lighthouse along the coast.
The next morning…
Star and Marco were the first to wake up before Kelly and the rest of the gang, and found that they had somehow snuggled into each other last night without realising it. Looking at each other with embarrassment, the two suddenly let go of each other sheepishly before getting up. "Are you feeling ok since last night, Star?" Marco then asked, deciding to know if Star had been ok since she woke up from her nightmare. "I-I'm fine, but thanks for asking. Sure, I won't be able to get out of my mind for a while, but yeah, I'll survive." Star said, glad to hear that Marco was caring for her.
"Well don't worry, maybe a day as tourists in London will help take your mind off it." Marco said, placing his hand gently on Star's shoulder, making her blush a little. "I'll say." Kelly then spoke, having just woken up and overhearing the conversation between Star and Marco. "Speaking of which, what do you fancy doing today? We can see all the sights and maybe gain a few-" While speaking, Marco was immediately cut off by a Ponyhead, who had just woken up. "And get bored out of our lives? No thank you, Earth Turd." She said, right around the time when the others began waking up.
"Alright then, Pony, what would you suggest for a day of fun?" Marco then asked with a cross tone in his voice. "Oh, oh, oh, can we go somewhere like the Amethyst Arcade or at least somewhere to party?" Pony suggested with excitement. "Well uh…" Marco then began, but was cut off when the others woke up. "Oh, after my skateboard practice, can I meet you guys at the Aquarium?" Jackie then asked after thinking about what Pony said. "Why don't we visit Buckingham Palace? I heard there's a tour going on there." Janna mischievously suggested immediately afterwards.
"How about we catch a movie today, if we can, I mean." Tom asked nervously. "Hey, is it cool if we go to a mall sometime today so I can chill with Kelly?" Tad asked with excitement. With all these requests from his friends coming at him, except from Kelly, Marco felt like his head was going to blow up at any minute. "Hey, hey, settle down you guys. You're gonna put Marco under pressure, and not the good kind if you know what I mean." Star exclaimed playfully, getting everyone to calm down slightly.
"Yeah, come on, Pony. Just take it easy, we've got about 12 more days to do all that stuff before we head back home." Kelly insisted in agreement, standing up for Marco as well. "Well what about you, Gurl?" Pony then said to Kelly, who was taken back a little by the question. "What do you mean?" The teenage woolett asked in confusion. "I mean, whaddya wanna do in London today?" Pony then asked, seeing as how Kelly was the only one who didn't suggest something to Marco. "I honestly don't mind what I wanna do, really." Kelly insisted firmly.
It was then that Marco turned towards Star sheepishly. "And…what about you, Star? What'd you wanna do today?" He asked her, unsure if he was being gentle with asking. "Well, let's just say…I wanna have all the fun with my friends, and best friend too. And possibly see the whole city if it's not too much?" Star answered with puppy dog eyes. Marco couldn't blame her, being in London meant that she was more curious than she ever was in Echo Creek. "Well then, I guess it's settled, it's a day of fun for us all." Marco replied with a chuckle, but still thought when the right time to give Star the gift would be.
After the others cheered loudly, and with everything for the day planned out, the gang began to start the day by heading downstairs for breakfast. But while they were walking downstairs, Star suddenly began to realise something. "Marco, I've just thought of this…we still need to come up with an idea for Andante." She then asked with worry. "Don't worry about it, Star. I'm sure we'll figure something out by the time the trip ends." Marco then said, reassuring her even when Kelly appeared beside her. "Yeah. Besides, we can figure something out by tomorrow and then work on it, sound like a plan?" Kelly then responded with confidence, oblivious to the fact that her own boyfriend, Tad, was writing a few ideas in his own journal.
"Hey Tad, you wigging out back there? C'mon, let's go already." Kelly said, calling to the short Woolett before he jumped onto her shoulder. The gang then got their breakfast, which Tom really seemed to enjoy, before they all headed out for a day of fun.
As soon as they met up with the other students
Principal Skeeves had just announced to them and his own staff that he was paid by someone to let everyone have the day off. Star immediately knew that her father had something to do with this much to her own excitement and was even glad to have him as a father, and Marco was even impressed that River was actually true to his word too. Immediately afterwards, the gang walked on towards the city, deciding to take the route along the Thames for a start, near the tower of London.
"Right, so I've gotta meet up with Syklar and the others for now, but I'll see you guys later." Jackie said, saying farewell to her friends for now before skating off to the Regent's Park to find her team of Skateboarders. "See you later…" Marco said with a heavy sigh before walking towards the Tower of London with the rest of his friends. Star saw how pretty agitated he was, assumingly about Jackie, and decided to talk to him.
"Marco…are you ok…? You and Jackie don't…seem as close as when I left for Mewni." She asked gently with concern. "It's nothing…really." Marco insisted, trying not to let the thought overwhelm him. "Does it have anything to do with what you were going to say before we arrived in London?" Star asked, recalling Marco mentioning something he and Jackie did after she left Earth. "Come to think of it, she's right, Marco. What were you going to say to her when we first arrived?" Kelly then asked, feeling like she was butting in, but still wanted to ask either way.
Marco was hesitant, but he attempted to give Star an answer…only to be cut off when Star noticed her parents and grandfather with a group of royals and their children, preparing for the Hollow's Day gala, though something was clearly bugging her. "…no no no, for goodness sake. This is not how my mother used to make them, you're doing it wrong. Just…maybe try one more, if that's ok?" Moon spoke to her royal chef, feeling under pressure despite him agreeing to do the recipe again.
"Moon, calm yourself…We both know your mother took the secret recipe to her grave, so the recipe doesn't have to be like how she made it." Arthur said, trying to take pressure off of his daughter with effort. "I know, Father…but I just wanted a piece of her legacy to be remembered." Moon spoke, sounding as if she was obsessed with wanting a small part of her mother to be remembered. "I know, Moon…just don't overdo it, that's all I'm saying." Arthur said, trying to, at the very least, keep his own daughter from freaking out.
Letting curiosity get the better of them, Star, along with Marco and the others, decided to see what was up with her mother. "Hi Mom, what's up?" She asked, interrupting a father-daughter moment between her mother and grandfather. "Oh, Star. Hello, I didn't see you coming towards us there." Moon spoke in a hint of fright before calming down with a smile on her face. "Aye, Moon. It's only Star, nothing to worry about." Arthur said with a chuckle much to his daughter's embarrassment. The elder knight then went to Star, kneeling down to her height.
"So where might you lot be off to then, Star?" Arthur then asked his granddaughter. "We're heading out to see the city today, mainly for a day of fun. It was totally Marco's idea." Star then said, whispering the last part to her grandfather in secret. "Sounds fun…though not as fun as what it was like when I was with your grandmother back in the old days." Arthur responded. Oh, he wished he could've gone to see London's changes, but alas he couldn't because he was helping his daughter with the Hollow's Day Festival.
"Have fun today, darling. I'm sure it'll be a great day." River said, rooting for her daughter and her friends. "Thanks Dad, I owe you!" Star said, and she was about to get going, but she was immediately stopped. "Just a moment, River." Moon said, stopping Star as she approached her gently. "Star, just to let you know, I'll be needing you in charge of our gala over the next few days. Since we've booked the Grand Ballroom of the Montcalm, it'll need decorations, food, music and guests, that part is where you can invite anyone you want." Moon said, explaining the upcoming gala to her daughter, who was bored within seconds.
"Ugh, yes Mom, I can handle that part." Star responded in annoyance as she tried walking away with her friends. "Oh, and don't get into any trouble while you're out in the city!" Moon then called to her daughter firmly. "No promises, I'll try." She responded in annoyance. After that, Moon then got back to business with sorting out the event at the Trinity Wing while Star chose to ignore her mother as usual. All the while, Hekapoo, carrying out her promise to Moon, made her way towards the gang.
The gang were about to head towards the city, but suddenly, Hekapoo appeared directly in front of them and startled them all, much to her humorous satisfaction and Tom's immediate delight kicking in. "Ugh, what are you doing here, Hekapoo? Come to take more dimensional scissors away from us?" Marco asked bluntly and a little bitterly at the same time. "Ohhh, so harsh when you say it like that. But no, Queen Moon asked me to keep an eye on Star, so since you mentioned Ludo's minions appearing in London yesterday…I've decided to hang with you guys for today." Hekapoo explained despite Marco's annoyance.
"Um, how though? I mean, the minute, or whenever, anyone sees you, they'd see who and what…you…are?" Marco began, looking away for a moment while making a good point on the downside of trying to keep Star safe from Ludo's goons. However, he stopped after looking back at Hekapoo, only…she wasn't looking like herself. In a brief moment, Hekapoo had changed her usual look to a new one, which was something similar to an average teenage girl from Echo Creek.
She was around the same height as Tom was, had brown skin, orange eyes and had her now-dark red hair tied into a huge ponytail. She wore fire-like crystal earring in her left ear, a brownish-orange hoodie with similar designs to her dress over a red turtleneck vest, black spandex shorts and brown high-heel lace boots. A couple things that didn't change, however, were her fangs, the bang of hair over her eye and her horns, which had been turned into a headband nearly identical to Star's one.
"Ok…now I know you're showing off, Hekapoo." Marco groaned after seeing Hekapoo doing a cute pose. "Actually, Diaz, the name's Parker now. Hailey Orlando Parker." Hekapoo, or rather, Hailey said with pride, making Tom lovestruck and impressing the other girls too. "Oh please. There's no way anyone could be fooled by that." Marco then said, sounding like he was jealous despite his point. "Hello, Miss Parker." A random teacher said, greeting Hekapoo as if she was actually a human student.
After seeing that, Marco was annoyed and quite a bit jealous too. "So…what are we all up to today?" Hailey asked enthusiastically. "Well…we're heading out to the city for a day out, but I never s-" Marco was cut off when Star excitedly accepted bringing Hailey along for the day with the others. "Oh my goodness, this day is gonna be so exciting if you come along, Hailey! Let's go!" Star spoke much to Marco's shock.
"This is where the fun begins, Earth Turd!" Pony exclaimed with excitement following the others, including Star and Kelly, who were currently dragging Marco off to the big city despite his doubts . "Man…some day out this is gonna be…" Marco groaned, thinking that something bad was about to happen, though he quickly put aside his annoyance and worries afterwards, deciding to focus on the more excitable day he and the others were in for.
[0:00] Owl City - Fireflies
"So, where to first, you guys?" Star asked with excitement as she immediately got out her magic wand and held onto Marco's arm. "B-Fly, lead the way." Pony said with approval as Star then rushed off towards the city with her friends, even Hailey came along like she said, right after holding onto Tom's hand. All the while, Brittney saw them rushing off towards the city to her annoyance, mainly because she loathed the way she, a crazy girl, got way more attention than she did. "If I ever face that butterfreak again, it'll be too soon." She muttered to herself as she and other other friends went off for their own day of fun.
~ You would not believe your eyes
~ If ten million fireflies
~ Lit up the world as I fell asleep
Their first stop was seeing a magic show at West End, which Marco had organised with the right amount of money that he somehow earned. As soon as they got in, the magic show wasn't what Tom or Hailey had expected as it was mostly about illuminated projections, illusions and a great number of magical deceptions, but he liked how the show went either way, especially since he was eager to learn more about how this kind of magic was done himself. Star was even so excited she was tempted to use her own magic for the show, but was bummed out when Marco stopped her out of fear.
~ 'Cause they'd fill the open air
~ And leave tear drops everywhere
~ You'd think me rude
~ But I would just stand and stare
For the final act, the magician called upon an assistant from the audience, which was miraculously Star and Hailey to Marco's horror. Both were placed in a box that would be shredded to pieces in a woodchipper. Marco covered his eyes, thinking that Star might blow up the box or do something to ruin the show…yet in an instant, the spotlight was turned towards him and the gang, or rather, to his right, causing the teenager to open his eyes and see Star back in her seat and Hailey back in hers, both were waving and the crowd cheering despite the magician not having a clue what happened but bowing either way.
~ I'd like to make myself believe
~ That planet Earth turns slowly
~ It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
~ 'Cause everything is never as it seems
After the show was over, the gang took one of the London tour buses to their next location, and it was there that they met Oskar, Sabrina and a few of their other friends, who were taking quite a few pictures of the sights. Star and Marco were amazed at the sights too and, though they never noticed, both were growing closer together slowly but gently. Kelly on the other hand, despite listening to Tad, was looking around, was looking around for any sign of danger, but apart from noticing Hailey stealing a drink with the help of her scissors, she did hear a rather strange whisper, which she shrugged off after a moment.
~ 'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs
~ From ten thousand lightning bugs
~ As they tried to teach me how to dance
The gang arrived at an arcade beside the Aquarium that Jackie wanted to visit later. Pony was a little annoyed that the place wasn't the Amethyst Arcade, but still, she was excited to play despite the freaked out teens looking at her. While the others were off trying out a few of the arcade machines, Star and Marco spend most of their time there playing an advanced version of a game called Dance Dance Revolution. The two had loads of fun on the machine, even gathering an unwanted crowd that thought they were brilliant. Star nearly hit her head after slipping, but thankfully Marco caught her just in time. The two chuckled a little after a quick, awkward glance.
~ A foxtrot above my head
~ A sock hop beneath my bed
~ The disco ball is just hanging by a thread
~ (Thread, thread...)
Shortly afterwards, the gang worked their way towards the docks where Marco arranged for a boat ride along the Thames. He even arranged for Oskar and a few other friends to come long too. At first, Star was bored and even summoned a bouncing sock-creature out of boredom, but then had an idea to make the ride wilder. She conjured a huge wave for the boat to surf along until it returned to the docks. Marco and a lot of other passengers were holding on for their lives while Tom, Kelly and Pony were having the ride of their lives. Marco was annoyed at Star for pulling that stunt, but after a second, he and Star burst into laughter.
~ I'd like to make myself believe
~ That planet Earth turns slowly
~ It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
~ 'Cause everything is never as it seems
~ (When I fall asleep)
Later on, the gang travelled around parts of London, taking a few pictures. One was at Trafalgar Square, where Star was riding one of the lions she brought to life along with Marco, once again holding on for his dear life, and Hekapoo, who looked thrilled. Another picture had the gang posing in front of a famous mural which seemed nice...until Star brought it to life and then accidently destroyed it after thinking the mural was some form of Dark Magic, but thanks to Marco and Tom, she fixed it. And the third picture involved Star pretending to lean against Big Ben, or rather, she literally leaned against Big Ben after growing big, but nearly breaking the old clocktower after leaning on it too much.
~ Leave my door open just a crack
~ (Please take me away from here)
Later on, The gang met up with Jackie at a huge store called Harrods, which was a store which Star thought was just like Quest Buy. Everyone decided to split off into three groups, Star went with Marco and Kelly, Jackie went with Tom and Hailey, and lastly, Pony went with Janna and Tad. One department had a good amount of toys and gadgets, one of which caught Star's attention. It was a big keyboard that was large enough to be played with one or even two feet. Marco was quite amazed at the keyboard too and, upon deciding to get onto it, tried to, and succeeded in playing a familiar rhythm (1) that amazed both Star and Kelly.
~ 'Cause I feel like such an insomniac
~ (Please take me away from here)
Amazed by the way Marco made that rhythm on the keyboard, Star tried to do the same as what he did with her own feet, but ended up tripping, but in doing so, she made a slightly different yet similar rhythm to the tune. She was amazed at the way she made the rhythm, even Marco and Kelly were both amazed too. The trio even gathered a crowd of people who were amazed at the way they played the piano.
~ Why do I tire of counting sheep?
~ (Please take me away from here)
A little bit later, Tom and the others came to see the trio playing, or rather, they saw Kelly playing the keyboard without her pink flats on, nailing the same rhythm that Marco had done before Star. Everyone applauded the teenage woolett, who took a bow to her audience. Tad was somewhat jealous that his own girlfriend was having fun without him, but he admitted her skill on the huge keyboard.
~ When I'm far too tired to fall asleep
~ (Ha-ha)
Tom and Hailey were so excited, and seeing as how neither Jackie, Janna, Pony or Tad wanted to go, they decided to give the keyboard ago...unfortunately, when the two tried to jump onto they keyboard, they broke it with both their pairs of boots. Star and Marco tried to stop them both, but it was too late, they had jumped in the air and broke two of the keys. Thus ending what seemed to be a pretty good performance, especially to Kelly's annoyance.
~ To ten million fireflies
~ I'm weird 'cause I hate goodbyes
~ I got misty eyes as they said farewell
~ (Said farewell)
The gang ended up getting booted from the store after the damage Tom and Hailey had caused. They did, however gain 10 last minutes of shopping, in that time they got the keyboard, Janna got a souvenir and Star got something for Marco. Despite getting everything, Star was upset about being banned from the huge department store, especially crying over it. The gang then made their way over to Buckingham Palace, the place where the Queen of England lived.
~ But I'll know where several are
~ If my dreams get real bizarre
~ 'Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar
~ (Jar, jar, jar...)
After arriving, Star was quite amazed that royalty was still a thing on Earth, or rather, in the United Kingdom. The gang saw the Queen herself riding along in a horse drawn chariot, waving at everyone as she passed by. Star was so excited, she attempted to jump onto the chariot to shake her hand, only to stop when Kelly and Marco grabbed hold of her and stopped her just in time as the chariot passed. All the while, Janna snuck through the palace gates without being spotted.
Tom and Hailey then came across who Marco described was the Queen's Guard, who were very emotionless all the time. But Star being Star, she attempted to make him move or even laugh by pulling funny faces, telling humorous jokes and even trying to tickle him with the others, but all were futile. Janna suddenly came back, holding a strange sack with a wide grin across her face to Marco's suspicion. Kelly then felt a little sick and accidently threw up a single hairball, causing him to look towards her with a hint of anger.
~ I'd like to make myself believe
~ That planet Earth turns slowly
~ It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
~ 'Cause everything is never as it seems
~ (When I fall asleep)
The gang made a run for it, with the queen's guard chasing them from a distance. Thankfully, they lost him and carried on to their next destination: The Aquarium. Inside, Jackie was amazed at the pretty fish and coral. Marco was somewhat impressed too, seeing all the aquatic animals, like seahorses, a few crabs, jellyfish, a mermaid and even-wait, a mermaid? Marco was dawn back to the tank where he saw a light green mermaid, swimming in the tank and waving back at the gang with amazement, even grabbing the others' attention. But looking closer, at the familiar hairstyle, freckles and orange seashell necklace, Marco realised that the mermaid was actually Jackie, who had magically turned into one, assumingly this was Star's doing. He did see a little smirk, but it was mostly because of the rainbow narwhal she put in the tank.
~ I'd like to make myself believe
~ That planet Earth turns slowly
~ It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
~ 'Cause everything is never as it seems
~ (When I fall asleep)
As soon as they were finished with the Aquarium, Star saw a photobooth nearby and wanted to use it with the others so badly. Marco, despite being annoyed, agreed and even wanted to join in too. The booth was a bit crowded, so Star took the liberty of making it a little bigger on the inside with her wand's aid. The gang started off with just a normal photo, then they pulled a few silly faces, then a good many crazy faces, and lastly, Star pulled everyone in for a group hug and even kissed Marco on the cheek much to Jackie's sudden shock.
~ I'd like to make myself believe
~ That planet Earth turns slowly
~ It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
~ Because my dreams are bursting at the seams
The gang then walked towards the Millennium Wheel as the sun began to set behind the buildings, bringing an end to the perfect day Marco and the others were having. In a mere moment, Star took hold of Marco's arm and leaned against him, causing her cheek marks to glow warmly. Marco smiled slightly before gently resting her head against Star's. As soon as they were in one of the capsules, the gang were high above London, looking at the beautiful sunset and a bunch of beautiful fireworks that Star casted after getting up really high. Thus, being a wonderful way to end the day, for everyone.
After getting off the Millennium Wheel
The gang headed over to the jubilee gardens and sat on a couple of park benches. Star lent against Marco while looking up at the stars within the dusk-filled sky. "Wow…I haven't had that much fun since before I left Earth." She purred as Marco held her hand. "You can surely say that again, B-Fly." Pony said in agreement, sure it wasn't what she expected, but Pony still liked the day out either way. "Gotta hand it to you, Marco. This day out was a brilliant idea." Tom then spoke to Marco, somehow managing to get his arm around Hekapoo.
"Thanks. I'm glad everything went well…even if a few things did go a little wrong." Marco sheepishly responded gratefully. "So anyway, Jackie, how'd skateboard practice go today?" Star then asked after turning towards Jackie. "It went pretty well. Plus, Skylar told the whole team that the skateboarding championship is coming up in around three or four days." Jackie said, excited for the championship she'd take part in. "Gotta admit, I can't wait to see you in action, Little Miss Jacqueline Storm." Star said much to Jackie's sudden surprise.
"Only my mom calls me Jacqueline." She responded, and she wasn't wrong, since being called Jacqueline was a bit embarrassing, at least to her. However, she suddenly considered the nickname Star gave her a pretty cool one. "Just saying, it could be an ideal name for you when the competition is on." Star suggested with a slight giggle. The others agreed that the nickname was a pretty cool one for Jackie, but Tom was too distracted, mostly because of Janna.
"I've been meaning to ask, Janna. What's in the sack?" He asked, seeing the suspicious bag that Janna had been carrying earlier along with Hekapoo, Marco and Jackie. "It's for me to know and you to find out." Janna said, clutching the bag with her life. Knowing Janna, Marco figured that the contents of the sack were possibly stolen or possibly worse. Still…he didn't want to ruin the moment for anyone right now. In fact, without Star looking, he slipped his gift into a bag that Star had purchased items from Harrods.
Kelly meanwhile, was hearing the strange whisper from earlier on the bus once again, but this time it was bugging her more and more to the point where she couldn't hear her own thoughts anymore. "Kelly, are you ok?" Tad asked, snapping his girlfriend out of a rather stressful-looking trance and caused her to look at him. "Oh…uh, yeah. I'm ok, thanks Tad." She responded before taking a deep breath and exhaling. "You know you can tell me anything, right? If there's anything bothering you…" Tad said, trying to be supportive as best as he could.
In a matter of a single moment, Kelly got off the bench and walked off, but not before Tad got shocked or even allowed her friends to notice. "Kelly, where are you going?" Marco asked, almost tempted to get off the bench as well. "I'm…gonna go get a drink. Do you guys want anything?" Kelly asked nervously, making the others a little worried, at least until they said they wouldn't mind a couple of drinks themselves, allowing their Woolett friend to walk to the nearest convenient shop.
All the while…Kelly was being watched by a couple of Ludo's minions. "You sure this is a good idea, Mush?" "If Toffee or Glacia ever found out-" Du and Po, the two-headed monster asked Mushy Mush, who came along with Longnek, holding a strange weapon, and Gill. "Shut it, two-face! They won't find out. Besides, if we get rid of the princess' friends, one by one, Toffee'll forget our mistake of Eclipsa's escape and he'll respect us once more." Mushy Mush harshfully yelled before sneaking off after Kelly. "Fair enough…but if we fail or get caught, it's on you." Longnek muttered to himself as he, Du and Po and Gill followed.
Back with Star and the others, Hailey yawned, but only did it slightly to try and not be rude. Still, it was late and she needed some rest, that is, if Rhombulus or Omnitraxus didn't need her help for the rest of the day. "Well…this was a fun day. But, I'd better get back to the other High Commission members. I think they'd need my help with the Hollow's Day celebration plans or whatever." She said after getting up and saying her goodnights to the gang, especially to Marco's relief.
He then turned towards Star after a thought came into his head about yesterday. "So, Star…did you know you had a grandfather when you were younger?" Marco asked, the thought about Arthur Butterfly appearing yesterday running through his mind. "Like I said, I never really knew…sure, I know I had a grandma, but I always thought my grandpa left after my mom was born." Star said, going off what she assumed happened to her mother's parents, but it was strange as to why he suddenly showed up years later.
"Well, he did say he still had some moves in him, right? That'd be something to see, wouldn't it?" Marco replied, seeing as how he could learn a few things from Star's grandfather. "If you ask me, he looks 300 years old." Tom spoke up much to Star and Marco's confusion. "Oh, I almost forgot. I got you something by the way, Marco." Star then realised before rummaging through her bag from Harrods until she took out a knight's right handed gauntlet, though it looked like she had enchanted it with her wand though.
"Wh-What is it?" Marco asked, having a look at the gauntlet for himself. "It's a knight gauntlet I got from that huge store earlier. I did a few enchantments on it to help enhance your karate skills." Star explained, and after hearing that it could enhance his karate moves, Marco was excited to try it out, even putting on the gauntlet too. "Wow…man, I really don't know what to say, Star. T-Thanks…" Marco said, trying a few of his moves out for himself. "I…also have, actually had, a gift for you too. But I…left it back at the hotel room." He then said, realising that he put his gift to her in her bag.
"Oh…well no worries, Marco. As soon as we get back you can-" Star began, only to be cut off when the gang heard a loud crash coming from a couple of nearby park bins. Seeing the fallen bins, as well as a strange small figure going through the trash, Star and Marco assumed that the figure was a new minion to Ludo, and very gently walked towards it along with the others, preparing to attack just in case it was harmful. The small figure then heard the gang coming towards it and looked towards them.
But just when they were preparing to attack, the figure jumped out into the light almost in an instant, revealing to be Glossaryck. "Star! Marco!" He said, glad to see the duo again since she tried to resurrect Bon Bon the Clown. "G-Glossaryck? You're ok!" Marco said with disbelief, even Star and Janna were shocked by this too. "Oh my goodness, I'm so glad that you're…wait, no I'm not. What do you have to say for yourself after ditching me?" Star then said before remembering how he didn't want to be rescued and became bitter all of a sudden.
"I had my reasons…I never meant to upset you, it's just that I needed to find out what Ludo, or rather, Toffee, was up to. When I did, I had to flee to London, and I've been waiting here ever for your mother ever since." Glossaryck explained, not being enough to calm Star down completely, but still, she was glad he was back. "Well, at least you're ok, even if you're eating from the garbage and-oh Pegasus feathers, I almost forgot! The Book, do you still have it?!" Star then spoke before remembering something important.
"Of course, it's over there." Glossaryck spoke reassuringly, pointing towards the book, lying on the grass nearby. Star and Marco rushed towards it and opened it up, making sure it wasn't fake or some trick that Ludo had come up with and thankfully, it was the real thing. "Phew…I never thought I'd be so glad to see this thing again." Star said as she and Marco worked to lift it together, but forgot how heavy it was when they nearly dropped it on their own toes. "Yeah, I'll say." Janna spoke up in agreement, snickering at Marco's attempts to lift the book off his toes.
"Yeah…but next time you decide to go wake the dead, DON'T bring the book with you." Jackie said firmly, reminding Janna of what happened the last time. "Yeah yeah, I got it. No more raising the dead until Marco's there." Janna replied, treating the night Ludo took the spell book as a joke to Marco's brief anger. "Well I dunno about you guys, but I'm tired. Wanna head back now?" Tom yawned after which, the others reluctantly agreed with him.
However, Tad looked around and remembered that Kelly wasn't amongst them. "Wait you guys, where's Kelly?" He asked, and to Star and Marco's surprise, they realised that the teenage woolett wasn't back yet. "Huh…you're right, she's still not back yet." Marco realised, looking around and not seeing Kelly anywhere. "Do you think something happened to her, Marco?" Star asked, feeling the same amount of worry as Marco just did there now. "Oh, come on. Stop worryin', B-fly. Kelly's probably in the bathroom somewhere. It's not like someone's gonna jump out at her, right?" Pony said, half reassuring but also half not caring at the same time.
Meanwhile…
Kelly was walking back to the gang with the drinks, but it still didn't stop the strange whispers in her head. She tried to block it, but it kept coming back. She tried to pinpoint where the sound was coming from, but it kept changing place when she tried. "Ugh, what are those stupid whispers? Am I going crazy…? This can't be normal." She said to herself, trying to ignore the thoughts as best as she could. But soon enough, she was strangely able to make out what the whispers were saying to her and where it was coming from: Right behind her.
"Look out…" The whisper told Kelly. As her eyes widened in shock, Kelly jerked around just in time to avoid one of Mushy Mush's exploding mushrooms along with Du and Po attempting to pounce on her. The second the teenage woolett saw Longnek, Mushy Mush and Du and Po, she dropped the bag of drinks and got out a sword from her hair, pointing it at the trio of minions. "Ugh, come on. Don't you guys have anything better? I'm having a weird, yet pretty nice day today." Kelly groaned, honestly not in any mood to fight anyone after a wonderful day she had with her friends.
"Not if that means that that weird day will be the least of your worries, repetitive Woolett. Get her, boys!" Mushy Mush mocked before sending his fellow monsters charging at Kelly, who dodged Longnek and hit him right in his weak spot, sending him falling onto Gill, flattening him immediately. Kelly then turned to Du and Po, who tried to attack, only for Kelly to hit both of their heads repeatedly before kicking them to the ground. Kelly then turned towards Mushy Mush and tried using her sword, on him, only for the mushroom monster to break her weapon with one of his mushroom bombs.
Kelly reached into her hair to get another sword, only to realize in horror that she left them back at the hotel room. "Heh, one down, and seven more enemies to crush for Toffee." Mushy Mush chuckled darkly as he pulled out the weapon, preparing to use it on Kelly. But the second he took the weapon out of its scabbard and tried to attack Kelly with it, the weight of it caused Mushy Mush to fall off the truck's trailer and right into a convenient dumpster, and the weapon itself slammed into the pavement, cracking it as it landed.
The monsters then ran away, having underestimated Kelly and the weapon they tried using on her. "Ha! That's right! You better run!" Kelly said, triumphantly yet awkwardly as she didn't need to fight that much. As she worked to pick up the pieces of her broken sword, muttering about how she needed to be better prepared, she heard the whisper again. This time, the whisper was more soothing and less irritating and she could hear where it was coming from. Looking beside her, Kelly saw the weapon, which was some kind of strange sword, different from most swords she had seen in her life, and boy did she love swords.
It had a platinum green hilt and a pommel in the shape of a diamond, it's grip was made of greyish light green wraps, but what made this sword different was it's emerald-like blade, including an emerald lightning bolt symbol on the hilt. While approaching the strange sword, Kelly discovered that the whispering was originating from the weapon, repetitively telling her to take up the sword of truth or wield it's mighty power. Without second thoughts, Kelly lifted the sword, had a bit of a look at it until she felt a surge of energy wash over her and somewhat affected her abilities.
Feeling a little creeped out, Kelly got the scabbard and placed the sword back into it. "Ok…that was pretty weird." She said, placing the sword into her hair, picking up the bag of drinks and walking back over to the gang. Or rather…she would have been if it wasn't for something completely unexpected the next moment. "Egnever…I lliw evah…egnever…" A new whisper spoke harshfully, taking the teenage woolett by surprise. Hearing this, Kelly placed the drinks in her hair and took out the strange sword both from her hair and it's scabbard.
It was very hard for her to pinpoint where this voice was coming from as it moved around the area like lightning. She felt someone tap her shoulder, causing strange instincts to kick in and nearly causing her to attack, but only for her to see Tad and the rest of her friends looking pretty worried. "Kelly, where have you been? We were starting to get worried." He asked, but Kelly couldn't answer before Pony cut her off. "Yeah, I was getting bored waitin' for you and more importantly…what's with the new sword?" Pony complained before noticing Kelly's new sword, or rather, everyone did.
"Yeah…it's so beautiful. Where'd you get it, Kelly?" Star asked, admiring the sword's emerald blade. "Uh…I found it? It was in the pavement cracks back there and…I guess I couldn't resist picking it up." Kelly responded, lying about her encounter with Ludo's minions as she put the sword back into its scabbard. "Also, did…did anyone hear that voice a moment ago?" Kelly asked much to the sudden confusion of her friends. "Er…what voice, Kells? Nobody heard any voice." Tad pointed out, surprising Kelly.
She questioned herself on whether she actually heard the whisper or not, and she was almost right there. "Are you sure you're not tired from today, Kelly?" Marco then asked, attempting to make sure Kelly wasn't sick, only for the whisper to return. "Egnever…I lliw evah…egnever. Ruoy esimed si nopu uoy." It spoke viciously, sounding like it was about to kill someone. Hearing this, Kelly took out the sword a third time and charged after the voice without warning, following it towards Tower Bridge. "Come on, guys! I think someone's in trouble!" She claimed as she ran off.
"K-Kelly, wait up!" Marco exclaimed, panicked and confused on what was happening as he, Star and the others followed. Up ahead at a museum called Tate Modern, Kelly stopped in her tracks, unable to hear the whispers anymore no matter how hard she tried to listen for it. "Great. It's gone…" She muttered to herself in annoyance. Then while she had her new sword at hand, Kelly decided to get a better look at it. She couldn't stop gazing at the emerald blade or feeling how smoothly carved it was, and as much as she liked the lightning bolt gemstone on the hilt, Kelly couldn't help but wonder how it was made, it seemed so…
"Kelly, what is seriously up with you?" Tad asked as he, Star, Marco and the others finally caught up with her. "The voice…it's gone. I-I tried to-" Kelly never got to finish before Tom cut her off when she tried to explain. "Come on, if this is a joke, it's not funny!" He growled in annoyance, almost igniting again. "Tom, go easy on her." Star said, hitting his shoulder slightly. "Ow…come on, you're not seriously taking her side, are you?" Tom groaned as he rubbed his arm. "Look, I don't know what's going on with Kelly, but whatever it is, maybe it's something serious, maybe something really attacking someone." Marco said, defending Kelly along with Star.
"Well if that were true, then were you seriously gonna get us to fight him?! 'Cause I ain't in that kind of mood." Pony said, annoyed at the simple thought of fighting after all the fun the gang had today. "And in case you haven't noticed, Marco, not all of us are able to fight monsters like you and Star." Jackie pointed out sheepishly, Star couldn't blame Jackie for that. "And anyway, what was this stupid voice you heard, little miss Wonder Woolett?" Tom complained, speaking directly to Kelly. "It was…kind of like a whisper, or an utterance, but…raspy and vicious." She explained to Tom's surprise.
"An…utterance?" He asked, beginning to feel like Kelly wasn't making it up. But before he, Star or Marco could speak up, Janna became the first to do so. "Guys, look." She yelled, pointing up ahead towards a few ghostly figures, flying away out of fear. "Are those…ghosts?" Star asked, seeing as how they were mostly transparent. "Yeah…but, I've never seen them running away from anything before." Janna said, curious about what the ghosts were running from. "Never was fond of ghosts, even in horror movies…" Jackie admitted to herself, shivering a little.
Pony Head heard her words and was about to tease her, when the whole gang heard a boom in the distance within the sky no doubt. They all turned towards the noise to see a pink beam shooting right up into the sky, drawing what looked like golden lights towards it before it shapeshifted into the clouds, forming a set of strange symbols that Star knew nothing about from her confusion. "What the heck…is that…?" Jackie asked, gazing upon the symbols with the gang before the strange message morphed into a more understandable yet frightening one, or at least…to Kelly.
"The Mysterious Hollow has awakened, and so has the beast within. Enemies of the King of Darkness, suffer against my unfathomable might." She read, confused on what the message was saying, in fact, she was confused on how she could understand the message, oblivious to the sword's emerald blade glowing. "Yo…how can you read that, gurl?" Pony asked, frightfully confused about how Kelly could read the weird message in the sky. "No idea…" Kelly responded, shaking her head a little.
"Also, The Mysterious Hollow? What the heck is that, Star?" Marco then asked Star before she turned towards him. "No idea…" She responded with a simple shrug. "Well whatever it is, it doesn't sound good." Tom said, getting the feeling that something really bad was going to happen. The gang heard a weird moan coming from behind, immediately making Kelly's instincts kick in and allowing the others to prepare to fight.
The second they turned around, they saw Lars Vanderdud, the boy Marco had beaten up with his monster arm, but he looked different. He looked a little bit bulkier, drooled dark green slime from his mouth and had a vicious expression. "Look out!" Kelly yelled, getting both Star and Marco out the way before Lars smashed the ground with his fists. "Woah…what's up with Lars?" Jackie asked, a little spooked by how bizarre Lars was acting. "No idea…but I hope this isn't the time I hit him with the monster arm." Marco said, hoping he was right.
Before the Star and Marco had a chance to take on Lars however, Kelly karate-chopped him in the stomach, and to hers and the others' shock, sent him flying into a nearby tree, knocking him out in the process. "Woah…" Tad spoke in amazement as Kelly looked at what she had done to Lars. "I…never knew you were that strong, Kelly." Marco said, half-awkwardly half-amazed at how Kelly took out Lars. "I…I'm never usually THAT strong, Marco." Kelly spoke up in disbelief, wondering how in the name of Woolandia she did that.
"Star! Marco!" Queen Moon's voice spoke from behind, causing the gang to turn and see the Queen, her father, River and the Magic High Commission running towards them along with a few of their friends. "Are you alright? When your friend told me that that boy was after you, I was worried and…" Moon began, rushing to Star and hugging her…only to suddenly see Lars unconscious by the tree. "Oh my…that was quick taking him down, even for you, Star." She continued, assuming that Star took out Lars with her magic.
Kelly didn't say anything and even hid her new sword inside her hair. "Uh…yeah. Maybe I'll tone it down a little in the future." Star said, briefly glancing at Kelly as if to cover for her. "That's good to know." Moon said with a sigh of relief. Her attention was then drawn to Lars, who was still unconscious. "And at least we arrived just in time to get this guy." Hekapoo said, sighing in relief as she and the rest of her fellow High Commission members walked over to Lars. "What the heck happened to this guy anyway? Did he awaken a half monster part of himself?" Rhombulus asked, inspecting Lars and his new beastly-like features before encasing him in one of his crystal prisons.
"Justin, was it? What happened to that chap?" Moon then asked Justin much to his honest confusion. "Dunno. One minute he was the same old Lars, and the next he was this huge monstrous thing." He explained, the words from his mouth almost making Arthur gasp in horror, like he had seen it before. "Did anything happen to make him this way?" He asked, prying a little further on what happened. "Well other than Ingrid knocking him into the fountain, I'm not really sure." Ferguson answered. Star was a little confused on what was happening, but when it came to her grandfather's concerned expression, this was serious.
"Rhombulus, put the boy in quarantine for now. I need to get a better look at what happened to him." The old knight responded much to Rhombulus' surprise. "Quarantine? But I thought-" In a matter of seconds, Arthur cut Rhombulus off instantly. "This is urgent! We need a secret meeting afterwards, in private. If what I think has happened is happening now…then we could all be in trouble." Arthur said, and to his relief, Rhombulus or the other High Commission members didn't argue, though Moon was concerned for her father.
"Don't worry about him, darling. I'm sure it's nothing too serious." River said, trying to calm his wife down. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Who knows?" Glossaryck then said, appearing from the book of spells much to her immediate surprise. "Glossaryck?!" She exclaimed before picking him up immediately. "Thank the stars, we thought you were gone. Star, wherever did you find him?" Moon asked, so relieved that Glossaryck was ok. "We found him earlier. He said he came here to wait for you guys and he only stayed with Toffee to see what he was up to." Star explained.
"Well, at least we have the book of spells back. Now…I think it's time for you to return to your room. Who knows what else might be lurking around London at night." Moon said, wanting to keep her daughter safe and, after a day of fun for the gang, nobody argued. "Yeah…I guess, see you tomorrow." Star said before she and the gang walked back towards the hotel. When her mother was out of sight, everyone turned towards Kelly, who was a bit nervous about what was coming next. "Uh…why are you guys looking at me?" She asked awkwardly.
"Gurl, why'd you not tell them about the message, or your fancy new sword, or even your brute strength?!" Pony exclaimed right to Kelly's face. "Oh for the love of-Look, I-I don't know. I didn't think they'd believe me, or worse. Look, I don't want to talk about what happened anymore tonight." She responded defensively. "Ok…just talk to us when you're ready." Star said, relieving Kelly a lot. With the matter done for now, the gang headed back to their hotel room.
After getting back to the hotel
Star and the gang were almost there when they ran into an old friend. "Star, thank the corn we found you." Buff Frog said, relieved that Star was ok. "Buff Frog, oh my goodness I'm so glad to see you here and-wait, what are you doing here and where are your tadpoles?" Star said, excited to see her friend but confused on why he was in London. "They're right behind me, see? Also, we're here to view Hollow's Eve Gala, or maybe…become part of it." Buff Frog explained, showing his tadpoles were following him.
"Buff Frog, we must hasten. If we're to find where Ludo is hiding, then we must to it now." A basilisk lizard-like samurai spoke, trying to rush Buff Frog due to some mission. "Take my babies, Kaito. I'll be right along." He spoke before the samurai bowed and led the tadpoles away from the hotel. "Listen, sorry I cannot stay long. By now you must know that Ludo is in London, so we have to stop him from unleashing the powers of Mysterious Hollow." Buff Frog then explained before rushing after Kaito.
Star tried to ask what he was talking about, but Buff Frog had already taken off. "Man, I haven't seen Buff Frog this serious since he was working for Ludo." Marco said, recalling when Buff Frog was dedicated to Ludo. "Also…did he say, Mysterious Hollow? What even is that?" Kelly then asked, unable to get those words from her head. "Kelly, chill…we'll ask my mom tomorrow morning. But right now, I think we've had enough excitement for one day." Star said reassuringly. "Do you think your grandfather knows about the Mysterious Hollow?" Tom asked as the gang walked towards the hotel entrance.
"I'm sure Arthur knows about a lot, but can we please get some rest now? I feel like I'm gonna get cranky." Tom asked in annoyance. All the while, the gang were secretly watched by Eclipsa, who seemed surprised. "Arthur…as in King Arthur Butterfly? My goodness, I've got to speak to Moon's daughter immediately…" She said to herself, excited to meet the daughter of Moon Butterfly but on a more serious note, needing to talk to her.
Meanwhile at Toffee's hideout
Having allowed his minions to let the trident's power to spread the message across the sky, Toffee had confronted Mushy Mush and his little scheme with Gill, Longnek, Du and Po, and boy were they ever so frightened of him. "I have no idea what you imbeciles were thinking, but losing one of our stolen items, let alone an important one, is quite possibly the worst thing that you have ever done." The possessed bird spoke, growling at the incompetence of his own minions.
"Boss, for the record, I was against this, but Mushy Mush was too stubborn to even listen to any of us." Longnek spoke, rubbing his sore spot while pleading to Toffee. "That's NO excuse! We are 11 or more days until the Hollow's Eve Celebration, to destroy the Butterflies, and yet I am having to deal with your mess well beforehand!" As he yelled, Toffee blasted a nearby mannequin doll, smashing it to pieces to the fright of Du and Po. "Please, you wouldn't hurt us for one misdeed, would you?" Gill pleaded, much to Toffee's sudden pause. "No…perhaps not." He then replied to the relief of the minions.
However, their relief was short lived as Toffee's smile grew a little wider as he summoned the Devil's Trident. "I've just thought of a better use for your idiots…" Having spoken this, the smiles on Mushy Mush, Longnek, Gill, Du and Po turned to frowns of fear. "N-No, please do anything else but that, boss!" Mushy exclaimed in horror as Toffee pointed the trident towards the mushroom monster. "If I need you all to focus on the task, I'll need you to be less incompetent." As he spoke, Toffee blasted them with his magic absorption power, leaving them lifeless before ordering Goturtlodile and Spikeballs to dunk them in a pool of dark green ooze.
"My my…that was ghastly. Even for you, Toffee." A disgusted voice spoke, revealing to be Miss Heinous, who was in the hideout with Baby, Gemini and Rasticore. "Looks like you haven't changed much…emotionally speaking, Toffee." Rasticore said, greeting his old ally. "It's been too long, my old friend." Toffee replied with a smile. Before long, Miss Heinous approached Toffee, wanting to explain her situation with him. "Toffee, I've come before you because we have an enemy in common, one who's bested us, ruined St. Olga's and especially has friends of her own." She explained firmly.
Toffee then realized something about Miss Heinous, something he kept to himself, and then he smiled. "Heh. I figured Star had other enemies besides us. You've come to the right place, Miss Heinous." He spoke humbly, though it seemed he was faking it. "I know it's on such short notice, but I want to get rid of that girl and her tattle-tailing friend, Princess Jackie." She cursed angrily under her breath before calming down. "Oh it's no matter…because with our combined forces, and come the day of the Hollow's Eve Celebration, they'll all fall before us." Toffee spoke, looking towards the dark green ooze, that somehow had a vicious grinning face.
"Eht Yad fo eht Suoiretsym Wolloh si nopu su…dna os si ym egnever nopu lla ohw denrut no em…" The voice in the ooze spoke before letting forth a huge cackle that echoed around the hideout before monstrous figures emerged from it.
(1) That rhythm will be the same as the song's rhythm in that part.
Anyways, there you have it, the next chapter.
Everything'll be explaine more in Chapter 9.
But for now, Stay tuned ^^
Negaboss2000 Out.