Aflame

Chapter 9

The Sanctuary of Fire

Arguments between couples.

They are not nice things.

They can ruin a relationship, turn years of love and trust into nothing but meaningless time, and depending on how heated the argument is, ensure that the two people having the argument will hate each other for the rest of their days.

But is it inevitable to fight in relationships. No relationship is perfect. Even Star and Marco had their fair share of arguments. Mostly on what to eat, what to wear, or what to do after they did those things.

But no argument they have ever had before matched up to the one they were having in Star's bedroom right now.

"It's obviously a trap right?" Marco said, his voice rising. "You have to see that."

"Of course it's a trap Marco. But I don't think we have a choice."

"Um, no, we definitely have a choice. We can just tell the police and not go. We shouldn't just bend to the will of whoever this is Star."

Star got up off her bed and walked over to Marco. "Listen." She said. "I know it's a bad idea. But that note said that if we don't go, then there's going to be consequences. And I don't think that the consequences are going to be towards us. It's almost certainly going to be towards someone else. Simply put, if we don't do this, then somebody will get hurt, or worse, get killed! I don't know how I know that, but it's true!"

Marco took a deep breath and stepped away from Star. "But we can't." He said. "We'd be digging our own graves Star. Like I just said, we should tell the police. Let them deal with this. They can go to that place and arrest whoever it is."

"No." Star said. "If it is a trap, then we'd just be killing a bunch of police officers. I don't want to be responsible for that because we were too cowardly to do it ourselves!"

"It's not about being cowardly Star!" Marco yelled. "It's about making a logical decision! What good could come out of doing what that note says?!"

"I don't know!" She responded. "Because I'm not sure what else to do! Telling others about it would just endanger them! But if we do it ourselves, all we'll be doing is endangering ourselves! And I see that as a better option than putting others in danger."

"Argghhh!" Marco yelled in frustration. "Can't you just-"

They were interrupted by a loud knock on Star's door, and Angie poked her head in.

"Umm." She said nervously. "Are you two oka-"

"NO!" Marco yelled.

"Should-should I just lea-"

"Yes!" Marco said. "Please. Just...not right now."

"Okay." Angie said, before retreating and closing the door.

"Wow. Nice job." Star said sarcastically. "Talking to your mother like that. All pissed off and angry. You know, I wonder what yo-"

"I'm pissed off because of you Star!" Marco practically screamed, before immediately regretting it.

Both teens stared at each other for a few seconds, not moving or thinking.

"Star." Marco started. "I-"

"No." Star said. "Sure. Yeah, okay. I mean, yeah, I can be a hassle. I get it. You know what, I'm just going to go to bed Marco. We can continue this tomorrow. You're free to go to sleep by yourself. In fact, I encourage it!"

"You...deserve it."

Marco stood silently, his only wish in they moment being that he could reverse time.

"So, I'm just going to get in my pajamas, so can you leave? Like, I don't know...right. Now."

Marco nodded slowly and left Star's bedroom, not wanting to get into another argument or make Tara any angrier. He went into his room and silently closed the door, then looked out the window into the night.

"Great." He said to himself. "Can't believe that stupid Brainsaya was right. This night really did end up ending terribly."

Marco stopped looking outside and got his own pajamas, switched off his light, then climbed into his bed, not bothering to get under any blankets. He simply lay on top of them, uncomfortable and alone.

He sighed and looked at the ceiling. It was blank and empty, just like how he felt right now. He couldn't take it. It wasn't right. He decided that this night could only end terribly if he let it.

He got up off his bed, left his room and entered the hallway. He could hear nothing except the faint sounds of crickets outsides and other cliche night noises. Which was, to say, not much.

He slowly approached Star's room and entered it. He could see her lying on her bed, with all her lights off as well. If she heard him enter, she didn't acknowledge it. Marco slowly crept across the room and sat down on her bed.

"Star." He said, this time hoping he knew what to say. "I know you're awake. I can hear your breathing. I just want to say that I'm-"

"Sorry?" Star said, turning to face him. "Is that what you were going to say? You know, I think I said earlier that you're free to go sleep by yourself."

"I tried, but I can't." Marco said. "It doesn't feel right without you."

Star groaned. "I know. It doesn't feel right without you either. But I'm still kind of angry at you right now, and I'm sure you are too, so we're just going to have to deal with it."

"I'm...not angry at you anymore."

"It was five minutes ago Marco. There's no way that you-"

"But I did." He said, looking her in the eyes with regret. "I won't let myself stay mad at you for that long. Even five minutes."

"Why not?" Star asked. "You've been mad at me before. For instance, before you were kidnapped by Toffee, you were mad at me. For much longer than five minutes. What's so different about this time?"

"Because that was before we really loved each other!" Marco exclaimed, standing up off her bed. "It was before I really started caring for you. When you started mattering to me more than anything else in the world. And I don't want to live in a world without you. So I feel like If stay mad at you for too long, my brain or whatever might try and convince me that I should break up with you. And...I would never want that Star."

Star looked at Marco, tears now forming in her eyes at these words, and he kept going. Kept talking.

"Listen, I know you're still angry with you as well. And that's fine. Take as much time as you want. But I just don't want you to get hurt. You care about everybody else getting hurt, but not yourself, so I see it as my duty, as your boyfriend, to make sure that we don't get in a situation that there's no way out of. And one day I'm afraid that we're going to get in that situation, and that I'm going to lose you."

Star sat in silence, thinking about everything that he had just said.

"If you really want us to go," Marco said. "Then I'll go. But I'm sorry for yelling at, and I'm sorry for being a jerk. If you want to do what that note says tomorrow, then we'll go. So...goodnight."

Marco sighed and started to leave Star's room, but he quickly felt Star's hand grab his own. He turned around and saw Star now standing behind him.

"That's all you had to say." She said. "But who's gonna make sure that you don't get hurt?"

Marco took a deep breath and squeezed Star's hand.

"Myself." He said. "I don't want you to worry about me too much."

"Marco, I'm going to do that, no matter how much you don't want me too."

"I know Star. I know."

"Good. Then we're on the same page then?"

"Sure." Marco said. "We'll go to the magic sanctuary tomorrow. Even if I think it's a bad idea. But if it's what you think had to be done...then we'll do it."

The two gazed at each for a moment or two, before a second later, almost like a reflex, they quickly leaned in toward each other and met in a passionate kiss.

They continued and walked backwards onto Star's bed, where they fell next to each other and separated. Star put her head on Marco's chest, so she could feel his now fast-beating heart.

With no more words having to be said, both of them fell into a loving sleep, happy that they were both back together again.

Morning...

Star groaned sleepily and open her eyes, only to be met with an explosion of sunlight shining directly into her face. She squinted at the sudden brightness, and turned back towards Marco.

Marco awoke at the feeling of Star waking up, almost in sync with her.

"Hmmm. What time is it?" He moaned.

Star looked over at the clock on her bedside table. "Oh. It's...um, ten thirty."

"Ten thirty?"

"Yeah." Star yawned, not showing any emotion in the slightest.

Both of them continued laying next to each other until they realized it. They both shot of the bed and looked at the clock again.

"Wha- how did it get so late?!" Marco yelled to himself. "Okay, we have to go, NOW."

"Right." Star said. Marco ran out of her room to put on his clothes, and Star tore through her closet, searching for anything that would do. She eventually settled on-'Nope! No time to think about it!' She thought, pulling off her pajamas and throwing in the clothes she had picked out. She grabbed a few of her things and shot out of her room like a rocket, nearly running into Marco.

They both nearly fell down the stairs descending them, and then almost slammed into Angie, who was standing in the foyer.

"Oh!" She said. "Good morning you two. Are you...okay now?"

"Yup!" Marco said, barely pausing between each word.. "We just, umm, need to go somewhere. Like right now. Also, sorry for yelling at you last night mom. I was just-"

"It's okay." Angie said. "I understand if you two have...problems together. We and Rafael used to fight sometimes too. It's natural."

"Thanks !" Star said, before grabbing Marco by the air, flinging open the door and yanking him out. The two teens then ran through Echo creek towards the forest and lake that contained the magic sanctuary, almost running over a few people in the process.

When they got to the forest, they both paused to take a breath.

"How long do we have?" Marco asked, panting.

Star looked at her watch and frowned. "Twenty-five minutes." She said.

Both of them paused at this.

"I...think we have the time to walk." Marco said.

"Oh thank Mewni."

Both of them caught for breath and speed-walked down the path that led to the sanctuary.

"Who could it be?" Marco wondered out loud. "Who would kill Mina? Who would want to kidnap Meteora and Mariposa?"

"I don't know why, but I'm going with some angry Mewman."

"Yeah, probably." Marco said. "Although if they were mad at monsters, then killing Mina would only hurt them."

"I don't think they're mad at monsters…" Star said, and didn't reiterate.

The two continued walking through the forest until they hit a bend in the path, which ended in a large clearing.

"Okay." Star said. "It should be right around…"

She stopped talking mid-sentence, as both her and Marco saw what was in the clearing.

It was the magic sanctuary. Still there, standing in the middle of the lake it always sat in. But it was different. Last time they were here, it was broken. Destroyed. Nothing but a pile of rubble. But somebody had fixed it.

"It's...it's back." Marco said. "Somebody rebuilt it."

Star was about to speak, but she noticed that the sanctuary looked...off. Like something was wrong with it. It had the same basic structure, with the dome shape, large windows, and stepping stones that led up to the building.

But Star could still see that it hadn't been rebuilt the same. For starters, the materials it was made out of looked different. The old sanctuary had been made out of regular stone, but this new was made out of regular bricks, with a slick black mineral covering most of them. Another thing Star noticed was the windows covering the top of the dome. Before, they were just huge purple and blue windows. But now they were different colors, with bright splotches of orange and red covering them.

"No…" Star said. "It's different. Whoever rebuilt it, they didn't rebuild it like it was before. It's not the same."

"But why?" Marco asked.

"I don't know, but there's only one way to find out."

Star started to move forward, but Marco quickly grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back.

"Star." He said with concern. "Remember what I said last night. This is probably a trap. We shouldn't just go in. We should try and find another way in like we did with Mina's base."

Star nodded, and then looked down at the ground. "I agree. But I don't think we have that option. I'm not even sure if there is another way in."

Marco let go of Star's shoulder and walked up to her, now standing at her side.

"Then we're doing it together." He said, grabbing her hand.

"Always."

They moved forward towards the sanctuary. As they got closer, Star thought she could see orange light coming from one of the windows inside. It was flickering, like a candle flame.

Careful not to step in the water, they quickly made their way across the stepping stones until they were standing in front of the door. Marco took notice of the glassy black rock covering the bricks, and slid his hand across it.

"Is that...obsidian?" He asked. "Odd choice for a building material."

"What's that?" Star asked.

"It comes from volcanoes." Marco answered. "It's used to mostly make knives and ornamental stuff. I don't know where someone could have gotten so much of it through."

"Well, It looks pretty, I'll give it that."

"If you say so. Now…" Marco said, before grabbed the handle.

"One." He said.

"Two." Star said.

"Three."

Marco pushed on the door, and it swung open. They stepped inside, but stopped dead in their tracks a second later, awed by the sight before them.

The sanctuary had been completely transformed. What had once been a run-down temple devoted to magic and Glossaryck, was now nothing short of a beautiful cathedral devoted to fire and ash.

The walls of the sanctuary were painted with bright shades of red, orange, and yellow, while the floors were covered with intricate patterns of blue and white. The statues of Glossaryck that had once created an odd aesthetic were gone, with giant blocks of obsidian replacing them, carved to resemble some unknown fire deity that neither Star nor Marco recognized.

The pool of water in the center of the sanctuary was gone, now replaced with a huge black circular disk with four large holes in it. In each hole was a bonfire, roaring away. They were so large that Star and Marco could feel the heat from where they were standing.

As for the towering well that stood in the middle of it all, it was still there. But its roof was gone, and inside lay another bonfire, but with large, beautiful, white flames coming out of it. It looked almost otherworldly.

Frankly, the sanctuary looked much better than it had ever been. Before, the statues, walls, and even the floor were old and crumbled. But it all looked brand new, not to mention clean as well. There was not a speck of dust, or a speck of anything else, covering the obsidian carvings, the large disk, or any other part of it.

Star and Marco simply stared at the sight before them, which could only truly be described as a work of art.

"This is incredible." Star said, admiring it all. "This looked like it took years to complete. Those carvings, those patterns on the floor, the bonfires, how did anybody manage to complete this in such a short amount of time?"

"Maybe it was multiple people." Marco suggested. "Although you're right, the amount of work it would take to make this astronomical."

"I wonder who made all this…" Star wondered out loud, before the two of them realized at the same time why they were here in the first place.

"Hey!" Star called out. "Is anybody here? We got your note from the restaurant!"

There was no answer, no sound, nothing to hear except the crackling of the numerous fires.

Star looked at her watch. It read 11:03.

"Well, they're late." Star said. "Or did the note say P.M.?"

"No, it said A.M." Marco said. "I think…"

Marco then took a cautionary step forward, careful watching the ground in front of him for traps, footprints, anything at all. But try as he may, he found none.

They both stared inspecting each part of the building, taking long periods of time looking over everything. Surprisingly, there was even more to see when they looked closer. Marco thought he could see tiny symbols carved into the various obsidian blocks, and Star occasionally found small pebbles scattered around in odd patterns, hot to the touch as if they were burning coals.

"It's nice." Star said, stating the obvious. "But we're the only ones here. Did we just waste our time coming here?"

She turned towards Marco, who was currently ignoring her.

"Marco!" She yelled. "What are you looking that?"

Marco turned to look at her. "Hm? Oh, sorry, I was looking at that white fire that's coming out of the well."

"What about it?" Star asked.

"I'm...not sure how it's possible." Marco said. "I mean, flames can be white under certain circumstances, but I've never heard of them being as big of that. What would you even have to do to keep that burning all the time?"

"Five straight days of trial-and-error, that's what." A voice from behind them said.

Almost instantly, Star and Marco whipped around at the sound, revealing a shadow-covered shape standing at the entrance.

"Sorry I wasn't on time." It said. "I would have been here earlier, but I've been kind of busy as of late."

Marco quickly took a karate stance, and Star took a defensive stance of her own, taught to her by numerous Mewnian knights.

"You're him, aren't you?" She asked. "You're the guy that's been scaring everybody. You're the guy that killed Mina."

"Correct." The figure. "But where are my manners? I should introduce myself."

The figure stopped into the light given off by the flames, revealing the same person threat Marco had seen at the restaurant, and a person that Star had never seen before.

Star didn't know what she had really been expecting. An intimidating person, most definitely. Someone who looked like they could beat down anyone who got in there way. Someone who looked like a genius who was always ten steps ahead. But this person didn't look anything like this.

He was just some teenager. No older than them. Sure, he had some odd features, like his unnatural orange eyes, and his hair that looked liked it was dyed white, but other than that, he didn't look out of the ordinary. Even his clothes were nothing special. Just a grey long sleeved shirt with black sleeves, some random pair of extremely dark green pants, and a hoodie as black as the obsidian that surrounded them. If Star had seen him on the street, she wouldn't have given him a second glance.

"So," The figure said. "My name is Bren. Odd name, I know, I've heard that several times already, so you can make fun of it all you want. Also, you can stop your silly little defense stances. I didn't bring you here to hurt you."

"Give us one good reason we should believe you." Marco demanded.

Bren sighed. "I don't have one. But I can do this." He raised his right hand in the air. "I swear, by the order of ash and cinder, to harm neither of you while we are still inside this building at any time. There, happy?"

"No." Star said. "Because that still doesn't mean anything to us."

"I…okay, listen." Bren said. "Look around you. Look at the statues. Look at the bonfires. Look at everything. Now imagine how much time it must have taken me to create all this. Hours and hours and hours of nonstop work to make it possible. So do you really think I'm going to fight you and risk damaging any of it?"

Star and Marco paused. He did have a point.

"So, you can relax. I'm not going to fight you in here."

"Then what about outside?" Marco asked. "If we just go outside, are you going to attack us then?"

"God, you're paranoid." Bren said, shaking his head like a disappointed parent. "No. If I wanted to attack you directly, at this time, I would have done so already. Just please relax, so we can talk."

All three of them stared at each other. A few seconds later, Star once again took a normal stance, resulting in a surprised look from Marco, but he himself took one a second later, trusting Star's judgement.

"There we go." Bren said, happy that they complied. "Now that you're comfortable, I must ask, what do you think about it?"

"About...what?" Star asked.

"The sanctuary." Bren answered. "Do you like it? Is it good? I spent a long time working on it, I'd like to know what people think about how it looks, even if it's from you."

"It's...pretty good." Star said, being honest. "Honestly, I'm more interested in how you found the time to make all this."

"Oh, you know." Bren said. "A few hours a day can do wonders, as long as you enjoy what you're doing. If you like your job, you'll get a lot done, but if you hate it, then nothing will ever be accomplished."

"We didn't come here for your life lessons." Marco said, already on edge. "Why did you bring us here?"

"Did you listen to a word I said?" Bren asked. "I came here to talk to you. That is all. I would have waited a little while longer for this moment, but my hand was...forced, so to speak. By your little hospitalized friend."

"Janna?" Star asked.

"That's right. Because she told you about me...well, more or less, I had to speed up my plans so you wouldn't find me on your own. Because that's not really how I wanted things to go, and if that doesn't happen, then what has this all been for?"

"Okay, that's enough." Marco said. "You're not our friend. You're not our pal. You say you want to talk, but I can hear the malicious intent in your voice. So cut the crap and get it the point. You want nothing more than to see us both dead, don't you?"

Bren smiled. "Oh, you are a bright one. And you're right. I do want both of you to die. That's the real thing I'm working towards."

Bren moved forward towards them, causing them both to tense up.

"But…" He said, taking one step every second. "If I just kill you right here, then I wouldn't gain anything out of it. There would be no class. It would be no fun. I don't mind direct confrontations when necessary, but that doesn't mean I particularly like them."

Now a few feet away from them, Bren took another step forward, causing Marco to take a step forward of his own.

"Not another step." Marco said. "Don't come any closer to us."

"I can and I will." Bren said, ignoring Marco entirely. "Don't try and act like a tough guy Diaz."

Marco growled at this and once again took a karate stance, ready to attack Bren if he approached them any further.

Bren looked down at Marco, with an expression similar to a person looking down at an ant.

"Don't." He said. "I would crush you anyway. I know I don't look like much, but trust me, if you try and attack me, then I'll give you a one way ticket to the hospital, much like your little friend."

Marco didn't back down, but he did start getting nervous. He could hear nothing but confidence in Bren's word. He completely believed that he could beat Marco in a fight, and now Marco didn't want to find out if that was true or not.

"Besides," Bren continued. "I'm just trying to get past you. So could you just move out of the way or something?" He looked at them expectantly.

Star and Marco glanced at each other, then moved to the side to let Bren pass.

"Thank you." Bren slowly walked past them, then continued talking.

"Now, I want you to know that whatever happens next, I want you to try and stop me. I want you to try your hardest to stop my plans and defeat me."

"What?" Star asked. "Why would you want us to do that?"

"Because." Bren said, turning around to look at them, his grin now practically spread from ear to ear.

"It's no fun if there's no challenge. If I wanted to, I could have you all dead by the end of the day. And I don't just mean you two. Eclipsa, Globgor, your parents, even the entire damn town. All gone in a few hours. But I like to stretch things out and give my enemies a fighting chance, because it's fun to watch you panic and struggle against me."

"Why-why are you doing this?" Marco asked, honestly hoping that he wasn't hearing Bren right.

"Why?" Bren said, repeating Marco's question. "That is the question, isn't it? You really think I'm just going to explain my reasoning behind all of this? No, I'm not going to tell you. That's something you can figure out by yourself. And if you don't...well, too bad."

Star stepped forward towards him. "Why did you kill Mina?" She demanded. "Why did you order her to do all that stuff, only to kill her later?"

"She was a liability." Bren answered. "I couldn't have her ruining everything I worked towards. And she definitely looked like she was going to. That's why I gave her the idea to assassinate Eclipsa, and that's why I called the police a second later to tip them off about what she was going to do."

"Wait." Marco said. "The person who told the police about Mina was you?"

"You're welcome." Bren said. "And yes, it was me. I must say, seeing everything Mina worked hard to accomplish all come to an end like that...it was extremely satisfying, I must say."

"So, because she wasn't doing what you wanted her to do, you burned her alive?" Star asked, looking at Bren with newfound horror.

"Yeah, but so what?" Bren said. "Everybody dies. I just sped up Mina's death. Why do you care anyways? I thought you would be happy that Mina died. She was nothing but an enemy to you."

"Maybe so." Star said. "But even she didn't deserve that."

Marco looked over at Star. "Ehhh…" He started. "I mean, she was kind of-"

"Like. I. Said!" Star said, emphasizing each word. "Even she didn't deserve that."

"Whatever you say." Bren sighed. "Believe what you want to believe. In the end, it won't make a difference anyways. The outcome will remain the same."

"And what is the outcome?" Marco asked. "Us dying? That's what you said, right? That's your grand final plan?"

"Part of it, yes. But only part. While that's the main idea, I still have several...other ideas to get through before I go there. So don't worry. You got a while before set my plan into full motion."

"Well, I think you're going to find that rather hard to accomplish, you-" Marco said, before being swiftly interrupted.

"Actually, if I'm being perfectly honest," Bren said. "I don't really give a shit about you. You're just in the way. I was really talking to her." He pointed at Star.

"Me?" Star said. "Why do you hate me?"

"Like I said, something you'll have to find out by yourselves. I can't have you spoiling all the fun. Wait, did I already say that? I feel like I said that…"

Ignoring this, Star quickly spoke up. "You're not alone, are you?" She said confidently. "There's more people you're working with. Mina and her followers weren't the only ones."

Bren snapped out of his thought process and looked up at her.

"And what makes you think that?" He asked.

"A few things." Star responded. "The sanctuary...what you've turned it into…you couldn't have done it by yourself. Six months ago it was a pile of rubble. But now, not only have you repaired, you turned it into something else entirely. And you couldn't have done that while also working on these "plans" of yours. Not without help."

"Okay, you're right about that." Bren said, shrugging. "I did have help. Even I couldn't have made this all by myself. So I just hired a couple of fools to do it for me. And I do think it all turned out quite nicely."

"Why did you make it?" Marco asked. "Do you use as your base or something?"

"No, actually. You see, where I'm from, there was a particular religion that I followed. That everybody followed. So now, as I am the last living member, I saw it as my duty to make sure something survived. Something that makes sure that the religion didn't die with me. That's why I made this. It's the only thing left…"

"The last surviving member…" Star muttered. "Does that have anything to do with why you want to kill me?"

Bren stared at her for a moment and then made a "Tch" sound. "Hmmm. I let that slip out, didn't I? Oh well, doesn't matter, don't care. Maybe you can consider it a hint."

"Great." Marco said. "So you're some nutjob who was part of some evil fire cult."

"CULT?!" Bren screeched, now staring at Marco with pure, burning hatred. "IT WASN'T A FUCKING CULT YOU DISRESPECTFUL SHIT!"

Star and Marco both instinctively took a step back at this sudden outburst of rage, and both of them could see a rage in Bren's eye that made them practically freeze in place.

Bren continued staring at them for a few moments, before he sighed, quickly regained his composure, and attempted to somewhat calm himself.

"So," He said. "You can take that as a hint."

Both Star and Marco, unnerved by Bren's outburst, wanted nothing more than to leave. But they also both knew that if they were going to get through this, then they needed to get as much information out of him as possible.

"So...um...where are you from?" Star asked. "I'm going to assume that you're not from Earth, Mewni, or any other dimension I visited, because I'm never seen this type of building before. I've never heard or seen this religion."

"A place." Bren said, now with a faraway look in his eyes. "The last of the sister dimensions. The last of the parallels. Lots of names you could call it. But it's gone now, unfortunately."

"You know, for someone that wants us to figure out why you hate by ourselves," Marco said, staring him down. "You sure seem to be giving us plenty of hints. I think I got it figured out."

"Oh, do you?" Bren said, amused at Marco's confidence. "Then please, enlighten me Diaz. Tell me why I'm doing this. We'll see if you are right."

"Okay." Marco said. "You're not from Earth or Mewni. You're from another dimension entirely. Somehow, you dimension was destroyed, along with whatever religion the sanctuary is now dedicated to. And for some reason, you blame Star for this. So now you came to Earthni, to get your revenge and avenge your dimension."

Bren expression changed, either to one of surprise, respect, or something else along those lines.

"Well." He said. "You're not wrong...but you're not right either. That may or may not be what happened."

Star tilted her head this, confused by Bren's word. "You say that like even you don't know why you're doing this."

Bren suddenly got an expression that could only be described as worrisome, and he looked at Star and Marco without really seeing them.

"I…" He started, but a second later, he turned away from them towards the fire well, muttering to himself and grasping the sides of his head like a person having a mental breakdown.

"Ummm…" Marco said. "Are...are you…" He couldn't even finish his sentence. Both Star and Marco took a step forward to better hear Bren's muttering, which sounded something along the lines of, "You know what's right. You know what's right. You know what's right."

Both teens exchanged glances at these words, completely unsure of what to make of it.

However, a moment later, Bren stopped his muttering, took a deep breath, and turned back around to face them.

"Sorry about that." He said casually, as if what he had just done was normal.

"That happens sometimes." He continued. "Take no notice of it. It has nothing to do with you."

Marco frowned, then leaned in toward Star.

"I'm done." He whispered. "Let's just end this right here. We outnumber him, and I know that we can fight pretty well together. Let's take him down, and end this whole charade."

Star thought about this for a moment. That would just solve all their problems, wouldn't it? And Marco was right. If they worked together, they would almost certainly be able to take Bren down. Even if he had said that he would "crush" Marco in a fight.

But she had a feeling. A small one, but it was still there nonetheless. Something telling her that she shouldn't. Like a voice in the back of her head.

"Don't…." The voice whispered, and for a second, Star wasn't sure if that was brain her telling her not to do it or if it was something else entirely, but she had made her choice.

"No." She whispered back.

"What? Why?"

"I just...I don't think we should, okay? We're on his turf, you know. He might have weapons stored around here in case we tried to pull something. And we don't know what he's capable of. For all we know, he could easily take us both down in a fight. No, I don't think it's a good idea."

It wasn't the truth. But it wasn't a lie either.

"Well, then that's it." Marco said. "We're leaving."

Star nodded in agreement. Between Bren's mental breakdown, the random outburst of anger that he had had earlier, and overall just starting to get

tiring, Star and Marco had had enough of this. They needed to get back to Eclipsa and the Mewnian high council and tell them what was here, regardless of any "consequences" that would happen. They had to leave.

"Yeah, me and Marco are going." Star said. "This is getting too uncomfortable, even for us. So...uh...bye. How about...you just stay here? Or something."

"Wait." Bren said. "There are still some things I'd like to tell yo-"

"Nope!" Marco said, not having any of that. "Goodbye! You creepy little shit…" He muttered.

Bren simply watched them go, not moving a muscle. Star and Marco left the sanctuary without looking back, and went back outside.

"God, I couldn't take seconds more of hearing him talk. That was something." Marco said. "So, what's the next course of action?"

"Obviously, we tell Eclipsa and the Mewnian high council everything." Star said. "About this place. About Bren. Every single last detail. If he wants to kill us, and he wants us to try and stop him, then he can better believe we're going to."

"Looking forward to it." Bren said, now standing a few feet to their right.

Both teens looked at him in shock, and Marco looked back to the magic sanctuary, then back to Bren, stuttering his words. "What the...how did you…"

"Not important." Bren said. "But if you're leaving, then it's on my terms. And I have one last surprise to show you…"

"Fine." Star said, wanting this whole sordid affair to be over. "What is it?"

Bren straightened, clapped his hands twice, and a figure covered in shadow emerged from the underbrush.

Star gasped.

Marco's eyes widened.

"T-Tom?!" They both said at the same time, confusing now reigning inside their heads.

And yes, It was Tom. But at the same time, not really. He wore a look of pure defeat on his face, limped as if he had twisted his ankle, and generally just looked...terrible.

Star quickly snapped out of her shocked state and turned towards Bren.

"What is this?!" She demanded.

"Oh, poor Butterfly." Bren said. "Didn't you ever wonder why your little demon friend didn't come back for his family vacation?"

Marco wasn't having this. He turned towards Tom and yelled at him. "Tom! Blast him with your fireballs or something! Use your demon strength! He's right there!"

Tom look at Marco, with an expression that said that he couldn't do any of those things. "I'm sorry." He started. "But I-"

"HEY!" Bren yelled at him. "YOU DON'T GET TO SPEAK TO THEM!"

Tom cringed away form the outburst, like a pet being yelled at by it's master. Bren then pulled a small black device out of his pocket that had a small button on it, which Tom looked at as if it was a grenade that had been armed.

"Do I need to do this?" Bren asked, his finger hovering over the button. "You know what will happen. Don't think I won't hesitate to do it."

Tom shook his head, obviously terrified.

Star started marching towards Bren, her hands curled into fists. Bren saw her coming, turned towards Tom, then yelled, "Lucitor!"

Tom, following the command like a trained dog, stepped between Star and Bren, ready to stop her. Star stopped in her tracks, not sure what to do.

"You see?" Bren said. "I have him completely under my control. After I broke him in both body and spirit, all it took was a little…" He looked at the drive he was holding. "...Encouragement. Now, he'll do whatever I want. And the best part? He knows what he's doing! It's not mind control. The demon is fully aware of his actions, every horrible thing I've forced him to do, and if that's not funny, then I don't know what is."

Star shook with rage at these words, wanting nothing in the current moment more than to turn Bren into a pile of bloody paste, but she knew she couldn't. If Tom really was doing whatever he said, then she wouldn't get far. She was strong, but she didn't think she could take Tom in a physical fight.

"Tom." Marco said, once again attempting to speak to him. "Just take that stupid little device he has. I know you're fast enough. I've seen you. You can-"

"No, he can't." Bren said. "I can press this button faster than Tom can take it from me. And he if somehow does manage to steal it, then somebody else will press the button. Like you said yourself earlier...I'm not alone Butterfly. Don't think I haven't planned for everything."

Star clenched her teeth, but didn't go any further. If Tom had a reason for doing what Bren said, then she had one too.

"Nothing to say?" Bren said. "Well, then let's wrap this up. Tom, do the thing."

Tom looked from Bren, then back to Star and Marco, hesitating.

Bren tilted his head, then hovered his finger a centimeter over the button.

"Don't…" He said. "Remember what I said earlier…"

Tom looked at Star and Marco, mouthed, "I'm sorry," to them, then raised his hands in the air.

Instantly, like it had happened so many times before, a tower of flame arose out of the ground, a portal to the Underworld. It persisted for a few seconds, then vanished, with something else taking its place.

To Star, it just looked like a giant rock. But then it cracked. And shifted. Then orange lines like lava flowing down into the cracks appeared in its surface. Like an entanglement of limbs stuck together, the rock started falling apart, but upon closer inspection, it was just taking a new shape.

A second later, the pile finally reformed itself, taking a rough humanoid form. It "stood" up, and stayed still.

Star and Marco backed away from the rock creature until they were at the edge of the forest line. They had never seen anything like this before, and had no idea what to expect of it. It towered at least ten feet above them.

"Alrighty then." Bren said. "Now Lucitor...do it."

Tom looked at the ground, either in self-pity, regret, or sadness, and snapped his fingers. In a second, the rock creature sprung to life. Deep cracks appeared all over its body, eventually crumbling away to reveal fingers, horns, and even a face. The creature was then covered in flames, looking like a literal demon from hell.

(Which, it technically was.)

Star and Marco looked on in terror as the creature turned towards Bren, then simply waited, eager for a command.

Bren slowly turned his head towards the two teens.

"Impressive, right? It took a lot of searching to find this thing. Hundreds of years ago, the Underworld used these demons as mindless slave soldiers, sending him against their enemies. I had to crawl through some of the deepest parts of the entire dimension to find this guy. But now it's all worth it…"

He turned towards the demon. "You see, I had to find someway to make sure you wouldn't attack me. This is it. Sure, you could try and capture me, beat up Tom, and then finally end this. But while you're doing that, my demon will be doing this."

Bren whistled at the demon, then pointed a finger towards Echo creek. The demon, understanding, roared and stomped past Star and Marco, literally going through trees as it made its way towards its target.

"Now, you can either try and fight me…" Bren said. "Or you can go and attempt to save the town from that thing. Decide quickly, time is short. And by the way, it won't stop until it's dead, or the town is. So I'd get moving if I were you."

Star didn't stay to talk anymore. She knew what she had to do. Although Bren was important, the safety of the town and everybody in it was paramount, and she turned around and ran after it, not even knowing what she planned to do.

Marco watched her go, turned towards Bren and Tom, and then followed Star, sprinting as fast as he could.

"Ah, yes." Bren said. "So many distractions. Endless diversions. Nothing but beneficial. Simple, yet effective."

Bren looked at Tom. "Time to go."

Tom nodded, raised his hands, and the two of them disappeared in a tower of flame. A second later, they were gone, the only sounds left being the demon making its way towards Echo creek, and the small crackle of the numerous fires inside the sanctuary.

End chapter 9

A/N: Basically, Bren's got everybody exactly where he wants them. I hope the Tom reveal made sense, and if it didn't, then why he's following his orders will hopefully make it that way.

Also, Bren's got serious psychological problems. That's gonna be fun to expand on.

Until next time.