Aflame

Chapter 3

A normal life

"How is she? Please tell me she's okay."

"She's stable...for now."

"Oh my god. What, what exactly did they do to her?"

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to-"

"I don't care. Tell me."

It was bad. Everything was bad. Meteora and Mariposa were missing, courtesy of Mina, who had just kidnapped them. Janna was hospitalized, as she was barely alive when they made it to the Diazes residence. Nothing good was happening now.

The doctor Star was talking too sighed. "I can't tell you. I don't have the patients permissions to-"

Star narrowed her eyes. She was in no mood for anybody to say no to her at the moment. Not after what had just happened. "TELL ME!" She yelled. She couldn't just ignore this. Janna was one of her best friends, and she needed to know if she was going to be okay.

The doctor flinched away at Star's outburst. "Ummm...security?" He said. "Somebody?"

Marco walked over to Star and grabbed her arm.

"Hey Star." He said nervously. "Come on. Let's go back down to the hospitals lobby. There's some people waiting for us."

"How can you be so calm?!" She asked him, incredulous. "I'm not surprised you're not freaking out!"

"More than you know…" He muttered. "But I spent 16 years in the neverzone Star. I've trained myself to keep calm even under the most stressful situations."

A lie, of course. Inside, he was freaking out more than he ever had been. He just wasn't trying to show it as to not make Star panic even more.

"Now come on." He said. "I promise Janna will be okay."

"Okay." Star said. "Okay."

Together they went back down to the hospitals lobby, where Eclipsa, Globgor, Janna's parents, Marco's parents and Star's parents were waiting.

"Well?" Eclipsa asked. "How is she?"

"We- we weren't allowed to see her." Marco said. "Doctors orders."

"What!" Janna's father said. "I want to know how my daughter is doing, or I will-"

"Dear." His wife said. "Not right now, please."

"Right. Right. Sorry." He looked over at Eclipsa. "Why did this happen again?" He asked.

"Well… the police apparently found a note inside the house. We still haven't seen it, as I think they're examining it. But from what they've told us, whoever did this wasn't after your daughter at all. They were after my daughter and Mr and Mrs Diaz's daughter. I think Janna was just...in their way at the time."

"In their way, huh?" Janna's father said. "We saw her. If she was in their way, then they sure did one hell of a job of getting her out of their way."

"Listen." Eclipsa said. "I think that-"

"Excuse me." A sudden voice said. It was the doctor from earlier.

"Oh, it's you." Star said, with noticeable disdain in her voice. "What do you want?"

"Ummm, well Ms. Ordonia is awake. And...she wants to speak with you."

"She's awake?!" Her mother said. "Can we talk to her?"

"...No. Sorry. She requested that only a...Star butterfly and a Marco Diaz talk to her at this time. I apologize, but that's what she said."

"Okay." Star said. "Marco, come on."

Marco got up from where he was sitting to follow the doctor, but Janna's father put a hand on his shoulder.

"Please tell me that she's okay."

Marco looked up at him and nodded. "I will. Don't worry."

With that, the doctor led Star and Marco to a hospital room. "She's in there." He said. "Please don't touch anything and keep it brief."

"Right." Marco said. They both went inside and closed the door behind them.

Janna was on a bed, with bandages covering most of her and several tubes connected to IV stands coming out of her. But she seemed to be conscious. Well, conscious enough.

"Hey you two." She said weakly. "It's nice to see that that quack doctor actually followed my request."

"Oh Janna…" Star said. "How...are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She said. "Believe me, I can take this. I should be up and about in a few days."

"Janna, I think the injuries you have would constitute a stay of more than a few days. You looked like you were dead when we found you. Your were hardly breathing." Marco said in concern.

"That was sarcasm Marco. But seriously, I'd like to leave soon."

"Why do you want to leave?" Star asked.

Janna's eyes slipped to the side, as if she was hiding something from them. "Oh, you know. I don't want you guys to worry too much about me."

"It's impossible for us to worry anymore about you right now than we already do Janna. That's not the real reason, is it?" Marco asked.

Janna remained silent.

"You want revenge on whoever did this, don't you?"

"No, actually." She said. "Well, maybe a little, but that's not the real reason. The real reason is...I don't want to be in this hospital when the fireworks start."

"The fireworks?" Marco said. "What do you mean?"

"Listen." Janna said. "Before this happened to me, I've been hearing whispers from some of my more...high-profile friends."

"High-Profile? How high-profile are we talking?"

"Let's just say that, if need be, they can have people "taken care of." That kind of high-profile."

Star took a deep breath. "Janna, as your friend, I'm advising you to break ties with these friends of yours for your own safety."

Janna chuckled. "Heh. Too late for that. Anyways, as I was saying, I've been hearing whispers and rumors. That there's somebody new in town. Someone they're scared of. I heard that my friends are gonna leave the town soon. Whatever this new guy has planned, my friends don't see it as worth it to get in his way."

"Any idea who he is?" Star asked.

"No clue. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's behind the whole baby kidnapping thing."

"Well, that's just great." Marco said sarcastically. "But how do we stop them?"

Janna smiled and looked like she wanted to laugh, but couldn't. "You can't. You don't. If my friends are scared of this guy, then you should be too. And by scared, I mean terrified. My friends don't scare easily, and if they're scared enough that they want to leave town, then that's honestly probably the best option for all of us."

"Are you going to leave town?" Marco asked.

"Nah." Janna said. "Whoever this is, I'm not going to take this sitting down. Stand and fight, even if I can't stand at the moment."

"Do you know who it was that attacked you at the Diazes house?" Star asked.

"No. It was too dark. Although they did yell something at me. Something about being a traitor and a monster lover."

Star and Marco exchanged glances.

"We're going to go Janna." Star said.

"Okay. Go home. Go to sleep. It's already ten o'clock already." Janna said. "See you two later, I guess."

Star and Marco both got up and started to leave the room, but Janna stopped them.

"Hey, Marco! Wait. I want to talk to you."

"Just me?" Marco said, confused.

"Yeah. Star, could you leave the room for a second?"

"Already on my way out, but okay." Star left the room and closed the door behind her, leave Janna and Marco alone.

"So, what is it that you want to talk to me about?" Marco asked.

Janna simply smiled. She slowly raised her arm and outstretched her enclosed hand.

"What are you-"

Janna opened her hand, revealing an object that made Marco's eyes go wide.

"Where did you get that?" He hissed at her in a combination of anger and disbelief.

Janna grinned the grin of a thief. "I found this little ring in your wallet. Probably should have hidden it in a better place."

Janna turned the ring in her hand and examined it. "It's expensive too. That's a real diamond. Let me guess: Is this the ring you're gonna propose to Star with?"

Marco looked from the ring, then to Janna, then back to the ring with sweat trickling from his face. Janna was the last person he wanted to know about this, as the odds that she would keep her mouth shut were slim at best.

"Okay…" Marco said. "I have an explanation for that."

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this. Is it gonna happen soon? I want to be there when you pop her the question. Or maybe-"

"It's not gonna happen anytime soon!" Marco said suddenly. "At least, I don't think so."

He sighed. "Listen, Moon and River got that for me."

"Stars parents? But why would they do that?"

"Well, when they heard that me and Star were together, I think they got a bit ahead of themselves and bought me this ring to propose to her with. But I don't think they realized at the time that Earth traditions are different than Mewnian traditions. On Mewni, apparently the correct age to propose is 16 or 17. So that the queen has plenty of time to prepare for being a queen before they grow up."

"Why would Star even be the queen?" Janna asked. "I thought that was Eclipsa's whole thing now. Once she retires or whatever, I figured that Meteora would be the next queen."

"She would be, but Meteora is still a baby. It's gonna be a decade and a half before she's ready to become queen. And in that time, Eclipsa wants Star to be queen for a while or something so she can better strengthen the relationship between Earth and Mewni. Because Star's spent a time of time on Earth, you know. But I think the real reason is that Eclipsa is tired of being queen and having to deal with everything that Earthni has brought."

Janna rolled her eyes. "So Eclipsa doesn't want to be queen. And Star doesn't. And Moon doesn't really want to either. Talk about the world's least desirable job."

Marco laughed. "I know, right? But seriously, somebody has to do it."

"And once Star steps up, you're going to be king, right?"

Marco blushes slightly. "I guess, but I think that's going a little too far ahead."

"Why?"

"Well, I love Star, but I think that...that...hey! Why am I even talking to you about this?"

Janna burst out laughing, but then suddenly stopped.

"Okay. Ow. That hurts. But I got you good. But when you do decide to propose to her, make sure to tell me when so I can see it."

"Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Can I have that ring back now?"

"Yup." Janna tossed the ring to Marco, who caught it and looked at it before putting it in his pocket. "Please don't take it again."

"No promises. Now you better leave before that doctor comes in and tears you apart for taking too long."

"Got it." Marco left the room, took one last look at Janna and closed the door. Star had been waiting outside. They both started walking together back to the hospitals lobby.

Star suddenly spoke up. "Do you think that Mina-"

"I don't know."

"It's possible she's behind this."

"I don't know why she would kidnap my sister though."

"Maybe she didn't intend to."

They made it back down to the lobby.

"Guys." Star said. "We think we know who-"

"We know who did it! We just got a call from the police!" Eclipsa said.

"Oh. Who?"

"It's Mina loveberry! She left a ransom not saying that if all monsters don't leave the town and that if we don't appoint her the new leader, then Meteora and Mariposa will never be found again!"

"Oh god." Marco said. "Well, our suspicions were confirmed. Did the note say anything else?"

"No." Globgor said. "Just that, but in more dramatic terms."

"What now?" Star said.

"Well, we're going down to the police station to help out with some descriptions of Meteora. But you two should go home." Eclipsa said.

"Um, we can't really go home." Marco said. "It's kind of blocked off by police tape."

"I know. But you can stay at the monster temple. The beds you two used from when you stayed there are still there."

"Thanks Eclipsa." Star said. "That...really means a lot right now."

"Of course." A few police officers appeared and Eclipsa and Globgor walked off, followed by a worried Rafael and Angie.

"Okay." Janna's mother said. "We're leaving too." They followed the police out of the building. Star and Marco were left alone with Moon and River, creating a slightly awkward situation.

"Sooo mom." Star said. "Are you going to help out with the investigation?"

Moon sighed. "I wouldn't be able to do anything anyways. But it's nice to see you again dear. Even if it's under...unfortunate circumstances."

Star smiled. "Yeah. It's nice to see you again too mom." Star turned around and walked out of the hospital. "Come on Marco."

Marco looked at Star, and then back at Moon and River, and then followed Star, leaving them behind.

"Is that it?" He said. "You haven't seen your mom in a week, and that's all you're going to say to her?"

"Marco, right now, that's all that's needed to be said."

"Okay then."

The walk through Echo creek back to the monster temple was slow, silent, and possibly unnerving. For some reason, both of them expected to get attacked by someone at any random moment. But who could blame them? After discovering that Mina was behind the baby-kidnapping, and after Janna's warning of someone new in town that even her criminal friends were scared of, it made sense for them to be afraid of someone jumping at them out of nowhere.

Star looked at the people in the street. It was late, so there wasn't that many, but there was still quite a few. She wondered if any of these people even knew about what was happening right now, or, based on Janna's warning, what was to come.

Finally, they made it back to the monster temple. But a few feet from the door, Star stopped and turned around, looking down at the town. She sat down on one of the steps leading up the door and looked out at the town. Marco sat next to her, but Star didn't react.

"So." He started. "Why-"

"Shhhhh." She said. "Give me a minute."

Star stared out at the town, it's lights flickering in the distance like a million candles, waiting to be blown out. She wondered how many people down there knew. About the "fireworks" that Janna was talking about. If people started leaving the town, then panic would spread, and then when the panic spread, what would happen?

Chaos.

Star had seen plenty of that. What with all the enemies and monsters she had to fight, from Ludo to Toffee to Meteora and Mina, all of them had induced panic in the people of Mewni, and it always led to the same thing.

"Hey." Marco said.

Star looked at him.

"Are you okay?"

"No." She said. "No. I'm not."

She got up.

"I'm scared Marco."

"Of what?" He asked, concerned.

"Of everything!" She said. "I don't know what to do. Everytime it seems like we can have a happy life together, something always sweeps in and takes it apart. I was so happy with you. Being together with you. The last few months have been the happiest months of my life. I wished it would never end.

But now Eclipsa's daughter and your sister have been kidnapped, and Janna is in the hospital, because of Mina, and apparently there's someone even worse out there now, who's causing people to start leaving the town out of fear. People will be looking to Eclipsa for help when this new person or whatever finally shows themselves, but how can she do that when Meteora is missing? She'll have enough on her plate to deal with already."

Star stretched her hand out towards the town.

"I wish...that I could just have a normal life again. Without all the queen stuff. Without all the problems. Without anything. I wish I could be like the people down in Echo creek. The people who don't have to worry about these things."

"Star." Marco said. "The people in Echo creek don't have lives without problems. Dealing with this sort of stuff is just part of living. We all have to deal with these sort of things. Especially soon. If someone's out there causing people to be afraid and leaving town, then it could be everybody's problem. And that's why we have to calm down, and try and stop whoever it is before that happens."

"But what if we can't?" Star said. "Every time someone comes along trying to kill us, they always succeed in some way. To get rid of Toffee the first time, I had to destroy the wand. To get rid of Toffee the second time, I had to die...I think... and then come back. Meteora was too strong, and would have killed us all if Eclipsa didn't stop her. And we only stopped Mina by destroying all magic. Mina still beat us in some way. Only the destruction of magic saved us.

But this time, what if it's permanent. What if they win, but permanently. What if we can't find a way to stop whoever it is? What if this time, we-"

Marco quickly got up and hugged Star from behind, unable to see her panic any further.

"I know." He said. "I get it. But right now, just...calm down. For me. For the people down in the town. If they're going to need our help soon, then we can't show them that we're afraid as well. We have to show them that we're strong, and that we'll take down whatever comes our way, no matter how bad it is."

Star contemplated this for a moment. "But what if we don't?"

Marco smiled. "Then I promise we'll still have each other."

"No matter what?"

"No matter what."

Star turned around and faced him.

"Star," Marco said. "I-"

Star didn't hesitate. She leaned forward and kissed him. Marco suddenly drew back out of surprise, but a second later, he returned the kiss and the two continued out of sheer passion for each other.

The world around Star and Marco suddenly fell away, and all of Star's worries, her fears, and everything else she had just gone on about disappeared. Marco started caressing her cheek, and for a moment, all was right in the world. It only lasted a few seconds, but seemed to go on forever.

They then separated and stared at each other, blushing and smiling at each other.

"You wanted me to calm down right?" Star said. "Because that's how I calm down."

Marco laughed. "I thought listening to my heartbeat did that for you."

"Well, that too."

"Good." Marco said. "Now come inside. It's getting late and I'm tired?"

"Seriously though," Star said. "How can you stay so calm?"

"Like I said, neverzone training. I'm very good at staying calm in stressful situations."

An hour ago…

"Okay, anti-stress pills, starts taking effect a half-hour after consumption, do not take more than three at a time."

"..."

"I'll take five."

An hour later…

Star and Marco entered the temple and went back to their old rooms that they had shared when they lived there. Star remembered every memory that they had shared together at this place like it was yesterday. Archibald suddenly approached them.

"Princess Star!" He said. "I heard what happened. Is everything okay with the queen? Who is responsible?"

Star, too enthralled with Marco to even hear Archibald words, ignored him and walked right by. Marco however, simply said, "Archibald, take the rest of the day off." He then followed Star into the temple.

"I mean, it's already ten o' clock, but okay…" Archibald said, confused at the two teens behavior.

Star and Marco then finally made it to their old room, with the bunk bed still there. Star walked over to it and simply fell in the bottom bunk.

"Guess I'm sleeping in my normal clothes. Doesn't matter." She said. "Too tired to do anything else."

"Suit yourself." Marco said, taking his shoes off and throwing in the floor. "But you're right. I'm too tired as well."

He then climbed on the top bunk and lay there, thinking about everything that had happened. Even though his little sister had been kidnapped, Mina was back, and there was another threat out there that they knew virtually nothing about, he wasn't concerned about any of it.

'Huh.' He thought. 'Those pills really the job. I feel like I'm gonna pass out though. That's normal right?'

"So." She said. "What are we about Mina?"

"Hmm?" Marco said. "Oh. I don't know. I think this should be left to the police Star. They have the real experience in this. I feel like we'll just get in their way."

"But Marcooo! We have to do know me. I'm not just going to stand by in this sort of situation. I have to take charge! And you can help! It'll be like the old days! Us going on adventures together, solving mysteries, you know? Before everything...else happened."

"Star, this is something different. But, I guess if you really want to, I can't say no. Besides, I know I can't resist your puppy-dog eyes that you would give me."

"Heh." Star said. "No one could ever resist those."

"Mmm-hmm. But I suppose a good place to Star would be with Needles."

"Wait, who?" Star said.

"Needles. Remember that time we had to get Janna to retrace her steps? Well, she said that some people are leaving town. Now, these people are almost certainly part of the towns underworld. That needle guy is part of it. Well, the knitting underworld or something. But I think he would be a good start to find Mina and find out more about that new guy that everybody's scared of."

"So, you big plan…" Star said while laughing. "Is to ask the guy who's part of the knitting Underworld?"

"Hey." Marco said. "It's what I got."

"No. No, it's fine. Let's do it. We have to start somewhere I guess…"

Marco and Star tried to go to sleep, something felt wrong. They could both feel it. They suddenly both realized at the same time what it was.

"Marco, can you-"

"Yup." He said, swinging down over the side of the bed and laying down next to Star.

"Ahh." She said happily. "Much better." She then hugged him and pulled him closer to her.

"You know," She said. "If everything turns out okay in the end, then we should totally take a vacation."

"To where?"

"I was thinking...the same beach we went to in beach day. When we got that photo of us taken."

"You think so?"

"Yeah." Star said, yawning. "It would be...fun…"

Star then closed her eyes and feel asleep. Marco smiled and kissed her on the head. "Goodnight Star," He said.

"I promise we'll get that next beach day when all this is over." And with that, he fell asleep as well, with the only thing on his mind being Star.

End chapter 3

A/N: Y'all better enjoy Starco moment like this while it lasts, because soon enough shits gonna hit the fan, and there won't be that much time for these moments.

Until the next time.