Aflame
Chapter 13
The Elephant in the room
Echo creek was a long time in rebuilding.
The damage done by the demon was visible everywhere. But not just physical damage. The mental state of the town was almost badly harmed, almost to the extreme. It had been almost three days since the attack, and Eclipsa still hadn't given a statement. She was about to, on a stage in front of a crowd that numbered over a thousand, but until then, people were scared, angry, and looking for answers. The fact that there hadn't been a riot as of yet was a miracle, and if the townspeople didn't get what they wanted to hear soon, then everything that had been bubbling under the surface for the past 3 days would erupt. Violently, with riots, looting, and of course, death. Lots of it.
But that wasn't to say that a storm cloud of despair and hatred had completely consumed the town. There were still those just looking to help. Some were cleaning up the town, one brick at a time, others were donating as much money as they could spare to those who had their shops and lives turned into rubble. But it wasn't enough. It would never be enough. There was still so much to fix, so much to repair, just...so much, and the ones that didn't help greatly outweighed the ones that did.
And Eclipsa and the mayor were at the center of it all.
On a large stage in the middle of the town park, a gigantic crowd had gathered, eager for an answer. The general mood was worrisome, as well as the ever-present anger. It didn't look like things would go well. Especially because Eclipsa and the mayor had to say that they had to give up their tax money that Brudo gave them.
Backstage, both of them prepared to read the speech together, in some kind of way of showing that the town must stand together, just like they were about to. Corny? Yes. But still necessary. People were starting to forget that in order to get through things like this, that they had to rely on others, as nobody could fix it all by themselves.
"Okay okay okay." Eclipsa said, panicking inside. "So we talk about how we know why we know the town was attacked, we tell everybody about Bren and how they should watch out for him and Tom, and then we explain the...the money situation. Anything we missed?"
Star and Marco, who were standing nearby helping them prepare as well as planning out their beach day once they finished helping with the speech, shook their heads in symmetry.
"Don't think so." Marco said. "That's all that's needed to be said, and all they need to know at the moment. We should also tell that we, and therefore them, shouldn't expect another demon attack anytime soon."
"What, because Bren said so?" Star asked. "Don't tell me you believe him."
"I don't. But unfortunately, that's all we've got right now, so we have to use it." He sighed a sigh of defeat. "Even though yeah, he's totally lying."
"I think that's the least of our concerns." The mayor said, walking over to them. "I'm more worried about how they're going to respond to our little "solution." Just like your friend Janna said, there could be a riot. I know the people of Echo creek, I've been mayor for decades, and they will not be happy."
"We can't do anything about that." Star said. "We don't have any more ideas on how to handle the money. If somebody tries and starts a charity, it would take too long. It's already going to take months to fully repair the damage, even if we had all the money! They're not going to be happy, no matter what we tell them. There's nothing we can do about that. We can only hope that they won't tear us into bloody pieces once they hear it."
"That's comforting." Marco said. "But unfortunately, you're right. They want an answer now, and we can't delay it any further."
"True." The mayor said, sneaking a look at the crowd. "They're growing impatient. No more time to spare."
Eclipsa took a deep breath and prepared herself one last time, then she and the mayor walked on stage together. There was no applause of any kind from the crowd, and both of them started sweating at the sight of thousands of angry eyes look at them.
Eclipsa walked over to the microphone stand and spoke into it. "Hello." She said, but was instead met with an insanely loud screeching noise. The entire crowd cringed and covered their ears at the noise, and Eclipsa banged the microphone a few times to get it working.
"Hello." She repeated. "Thank you all for coming. As you know, the town was attacked just a few days ago, and the mayor, myself, and the rest of the Mewnian high council have prepared a statement for you all. It will explain why the events of the past few days happened in the first place, and what we will do moving forward."
Before continuing, Eclipsa scanned the crowd. Not just to see if Bren was somewhere among the others, but to see how the townspeople were so far reacting. And the answer was...not good. Everybody there had an expression that make Eclipsa just want to get to the point, but she knew that she had to deliver the full speech, lest it appear that even she was angry and scared, just like the rest of them.
"Three days ago…" She continued. "Earthni was attacked by a large demon that had been sent from the Underworld. With info given to us by Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz, we now know who sent it here and why. The person who sent the demon here is named Bren. We believe he has been planning this attack for some time."
The crowds response to this was similar to the Mewnian high councils. Murmured whispers, glances around, and a general wave of confusion.
"So," Eclipsa said. "We also know why he sent the demon here. He simply did it as a distraction so he could prevent himself from being captured. We now know that the demon was never intended to fully destroy the town, and is possibly just the beginning."
More murmurs, more whispers, but this time, they were louder and more panicky, with people wondering out loud when the next attack would be.
Seeing that she was losing the crowd, Eclipsa raised her voice and spoke again. "But...this is just a theory. Bren himself said that if a demon attack does occur again, it won't be for some time. And while we have no reason to believe anything he says, we can only hope that this is the truth."
"Wait, you met with this guy?!" A random voice from the crowd yelled. "Did he personally come and speak to the council?"
"Yes." Eclipsa said. 'Yes he did. During our last meeting, he broke in, killed all our guards, and then came and spoke to us. Most of it was nonsense and threats, so he didn't really give us any useful information. We will learn that from Star and Marco at the meeting that's being held tomorrow, as they are the first ones that encountered and spoke to him...at least that we know of."
"Why didn't you just arrest him right there and then?" The same voice called out.
"Yeah!" Said another. "Even if he did kill the guards, there should have been enough of you there that you could have taken him down! Why didn't you do anything?!"
"Because…" Eclipsa said. "Because…*sigh*. Because he wasn't alone. We don't know how, but through an unknown means Bren has taken control of Thomas Lucitor, the current prince of the Underworld, and is using him as his slave. We couldn't do anything because Thomas would have killed us if we did."
The crowd immediately yelled in an uproar. "What?!" Someone yelled. "Is that demon boy in league with this Bren?!"
"I knew it! I knew demons couldn't be trusted!" Someone else yelled, and the rest of the mob let out some shouts of their own.
"He's right! And it was a demon that attacked the town! We should-"
"QUIET!" Eclipsa yelled, losing her temper, which had been growing the second she stepped on stage. The last thing she needed from these people was more animosity towards each other. "Just...that's not it at all. Thomas was being mind-controlled. We saw it ourselves."
"Are-are you sure?"
"Yes." Eclipsa said. "We don't know how to free him, but it was not his fault. The Lucitors have nothing to do with this, and the demon that attacked the town was also a mindless slave. They are not responsible for this."
A collective, "ohhh" came over the crowd, and Eclipsa breathed a sigh of relief. The whole mind control thing was of course a complete lie, but if she revealed that Tom was doing it while still being in his right mind, then there would be a riot, with the anger directed towards the Underworld. How Bren actually made Tom do those things was still up for debate, although Star and Marco told Eclipsa after the meeting that Bren had some kind of black device that Tom was terrified of, so that seemed to be the key.
But that didn't matter right now. She still had to finish the speech for the townspeople, and then the mayor had to explain the money situation to them. All of which would lead to an unavoidable dilemma.
"Continuing with the statement," She said. "We are making plans on what to do in case a similar event happens again. We will make sure that we can take care of the problem much more efficiently, and quicker, than last time."
"What are you gonna do?" Somebody yelled out. "Are we gonna have any part in it?"
"No." Eclipsa said. "No, none of you will have any part in it. If it happens again, then you will all be quickly taken to a secure location where you will be safe. As for what the plan is…" Eclipsa paused and cursed under her breath. She hadn't thought this through. Truth be told, they didn't have a plan yet. They didn't have time to put one into the speech or plan out what to say. But nobody would be happy to hear that. She had to come up with a lie. Fast.
"I...cannot tell you." She said, before continuing to speak fast enough that nobody could interrupt. "But this is for a good reason! We cannot handle the possibility that Bren could have other people working for him, and if we let the news get out, then they might learn about it and find a way to stop us. I hope you all understand this."
For the first time, the crowd didn't speak, but simply silently agreed, understanding for once that it was necessary. But the moment didn't last. As if the crowd was a collective hive mind that loved to bombard Eclipsa with questions, another person yelled out.
"Other people?" They said. "Who else is with him?"
"We don't know." Eclipsa said. "So please, all of you, listen closely, and make sure to watch out. While we're not telling you to actively spy on people, we are telling you to report anything suspicious to the police, who in turn will report it to us."
"Wait...does this mean we can't trust anybody?" Another asked. "Could anybody be an enemy?"
'Nonono…' Eclipsa thought, now regretting her previous words. She couldn't have the townsfolk start looking at everybody with distrust, unsure about who was an enemy and who wasn't. The town would descend into chaos.
And in a situation like that, one must keep order, yes?
Yes. That was what they needed to do. "Not everybody." Eclipsa said. "Do not look at your fellow citizens with distrust. Don't have the mindset that there could be an enemy everywhere you look. In order for us, as a community, to get through this crisis, we must stand together. Don't fall down and accuse everybody you meet. Rise up and gain their trust, become friends, make sure that every single person you know is somebody you can trust."
Eclipsa took a deep breath, personally thinking that that speech had been a very excellent one. Backstage, Star and Marco smiled and nodded at each other, positive that this would sway the crowd from any thoughts of suspicion.
But despite their optimistic hopes, the crowd did not share this sentiment as strongly as they anticipated.
"You're telling us to make friends?" Somebody asked. "What is this, some kind of community get together? Aren't we under attack?!"
Star and Marco's smiles quickly turned to frowns, and Eclipsa's face turned to one of mild disappointment. 'Oh for the love of Mewni, can't these people just get along?!' She thought. 'Or...I should have just worded it better. But no taking that back now. Either way, these people are going to get angry, like Star said. Give them their answers and hope for the best. That's all any of us can hope for now.'
"Yes, we are under attack, if that's what you'd like to call it." Eclipsa said, trying her hardest to keep her cool. "But that's exactly why we should stand together, like I said. We can't let ourselves devolve into animals and look at everybody like they're about to stab you in the back. We can't let that happen." Eclipsa realized that she was starting to repeat herself here, but she didn't care. She had to get the message through the townspeople's heads, as she was sure that at least a few of them still weren't hearing a word she was saying. "No matter what, stand together, and the town and all of you can and will make it through this."
"So, do you all understand?" She asked. "Please report anything suspicious, and once our statement is done, we will distribute pictures of what Bren looks like around town, so everybody can report it to us if you see him."
"Should we do anything else if we see him?" Somebody asked. "Maybe try and...restrain him, or something?"
"No. Definitely not." Eclipsa said, her voice coming out as a demand. "If you see him, report it to us, but that's it. Do not approach him. We're not sure what's he fully capable of, and he has Thomas protecting him, so don't go anywhere near him. But do tell us exactly where and when you saw him, so the police and the council can track him down. Now do you fully understand?" She repeated.
This question as answered by several shrugs, mumbles, and whispering that sounded like they understood. Mostly, at least.
"Good." Eclipsa said. "Now, on to the topic of the damage the town received and how we plan to fix it. The mayor will explain this part to you."
Eclipsa stepped to the side to let the mayor took the stage, who walked forward, visibly shaking and looking more nervous than anybody had ever seen him.
"Hello everyone." He said. "As you know, as the mayor of Earthni, and one half of the duumvirate, it is my job to make sure that you all get what you need. Now, I promise that you will get exactly that. Soon, we will try and repair all the damages done to your homes and shops, as well as the roads. We simply ask that for the time being, all citizens stay away from any destroyed or damaged buildings, as we don't want to risk the possibility that they could collapse with you inside of it."
"Then how are we supposed to live our lives?" Somebody asked. "If we can't buy anything because we're banned from going near any of the stores, what are we supposed to do?"
"I'm getting to that." The mayor said. "And may I please ask that nobody interrupts again for the time being, as it would be best to get through as fast as possible, so we can figure out these problems as quickly as we can. Now, onto the topic of how we will pay for all of this."
Star, Marco, and Eclipsa took a deep breath and prepared themselves for the crowd's reaction. It was going to be bad, they already knew that. They could only pray that they wouldn't storm the stage and tear them apart in rage, although that was likely an exaggeration.
Probably…
"Here is what will happen." The mayor continued. "Yesterday, you all received large bags of money from Lord Brudo to pay your taxes. I'm sorry to say that at the moment, that money is all we have. I'm going to have to ask you to donate those bags to the town so we can make repairs to the most vital buildings."
The crowd was silent, taking this in.
Then it exploded in an enormous cacophony of noise, with every single person there not believing what they just heard. Just like Janna had said, it looked like there was about to be a full blown riot.
"I know! I know!" The mayor shouted, trying to out yell the crowd. "I'm sorry, but this is the solution we have at the moment. We don't have any money. The royal family's were all scammed out of their wealth, and the tourism money the town earned was used for...other purposes, a few days before."
The yelling seemed to die down a bit, but still remained loud enough that it could be heard all the way down the street.
"Oh god…" Marco said. "This is getting out of hand. They are furious. We should probably leave before things get any worse." Marco turned to leave, but Star grabbed his hoodie and yanked him back. "Oh no you don't." She said. "Come on. I'm gonna sort this out, and you're not going anywhere." Star then walked on stage, grabbing the microphone out of the mayors hands. She adjusted it to create another insane shriek, and the crowd all stopped yelling and covered their ears, before setting their eyes on Star.
Now having their attention, Star stepped forward and spoke, making sure that everybody could hear her. "People of Earthni!" She yelled. "I get it! I do! One day you're given a gigantic sum of money to pay off those taxes you so greatly abhor! Then you learn that the town was trashed by a monster, your shops are in ruins, and then after waiting for three days, you finally get an answer and learn that the tax money will be used to pay for it. I understand your anger. I understand why you're so mad. But...this isn't the way. Like Eclipsa tried to convince you of just a few minutes ago, we have to trust one another and get rid of our anger. We can't let Bren get to us. All of us fighting and rioting is exactly what he wants!"
"But that money was for our taxes, like you said." Someone protested. "Now you're literally saying that we have to give it up?"
"Some people need it more right now!" Star yelled. "Some people have had their shops and lives decimated, and they need that money more than anything. Look around! It was all your fellow citizens. It could be the person right next to you! And I'm willing to bet that not a single person whose buildings were attacked have said anything yet. Because they know what's more important. Not taxes, but getting their lives together. So you all should help them do that."
The people in the crowd all looked at each other, and some of them started to nod to this, Star's message getting through to them. But for Star, it still wasn't enough. She had to drive the point home.
"Here's what's going to happen." She said. "Everybody who did have something of theirs damaged, go to the right. Everybody who didn't, go to the left. Then I'll show you why you need to help each other."
The entire assembly of people hesitated for a moment, wondering what Star was doing, but soon they started going to their respective sides. A minute later, there were now two crowds, with a thin empty barrier between them. The one on the right looked noticeably less aggravated with the tax news then the one on the right, because just like Star had said, they understood what was more important.
"Good." Star said. "Now…look at each other. What do you see? Do you see someone different? Do you see someone that's not the same as you? Humans, do you see a bunch of new people from some foreign land, suddenly arriving and driving up your taxes? Mewmans, do you see some monsters and people that look like you but aren't you, and are you afraid of the monsters and these people for the odd way they handle things? Monsters, do you see the people that have persecuted and hated you all your lives, until just recently? Do any of you see each other that way?"
Silence from the crowd.
"That's right." Star said. "You don't. You know why? Because in a situation like this, one where we're all under attack by a common enemy that wishes for our demise, there is still a small part of you that says, "Hey. These people aren't different than me. We have to stand together, and instead of drowning under an ocean of distrust and hatred, we have to rise to the surface, and make sure we stay there." And that one part, that little piece of you that's saying those things, that part became dominant. Because you know all of it. So stop, look back at each other, and do what you know is right. Help each other, any way you can. Give those money bags to each other. Offer any spare change you have. You don't even have to donate money! But help clean up the destruction! Sweep it away! Make it so that it looked like it never happened to begin with, and...and…"
Star looked at their faces. Understanding, listening faces, the message having gotten through to them.
"And we can finally get back to living as a community."
The crowd remained speechless.
Then a came a clap. Then another. Then less than a second later, the entire gaggle of people were applauding Star for her words, all of them seeing true meaning and truth behind them, as well as finally putting their anger aside.
But Star didn't bow. She didn't say thank you. She didn't seek any kind of award for the words she had said. She merely handed the microphone off to Eclipsa, then walked off backstage.
Both Eclipsa and the mayor watched her go with stunned expressions, wondering why they didn't just have her do the whole speech in them first place. Seeing her go, the crowd stopped their clapping, and turned their attention back to the duumvirate, both of whom who didn't even notice this at first.
"Um…" Eclipsa started, looking back at the crowd. "I guess all the words that had to be said have been said. Do you all get it now?" She asked. "What we must do to fix this situation?"
The crowd responded with quick nods, and several yells of "yes", and "we sure do."
"Wow, that really worked…" Eclipsa whispered. "Good. Now then, the mayor and I will pass out the sketches and pictures, so you can all look it for him and tell us if you see him."
The mayor went backstage for a moment and returned with several boxes, which Eclipsa grabbed three of. They got off the stage and started grabbing pieces of paper out of the boxes, handing them to the crowd like party favors.
Star and Marco on the other hand, were hidden from view and had just released each other from a tight hug, separating and staring at one another.
"Nice job." Marco said, applauding her in his own way. "That was a really good speech. I just hope that they actually took in everything, and won't go back to being angry by tomorrow."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Star said. "They listened. I could see it. They're not going to forget those words for a long time."
"Can I ask you a question?" Marco asked. "Did you plan that out beforehand? Like, did you write all that stuff down earlier, and plan to come on stage when it was all about to go to hell?"
"Nah. It just came to me in the moment." Star said. "They were about to storm the stage, and I knew I had to do something. So I did. But I'm going to be honest with you here Marco, I was only like...seventy percent sure that it would work. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared they would still charge the stage."
"Yeesh." Marco said. "Eighty percent Star. Always be eighty percent sure or higher. Anything below that is too big of a risk to take."
Star smiled. "Alright, safe ki-"
"Yes yes I know, safe kid. But I don't want you to get hurt." Marco said, putting his hand on Stars cheek.
"I hear that everyday Diaz." Star said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.
"Maybe you need to…" Marco said, chuckling.
Star giggled lightly at this, and the two stared into each other's eyes. Almost like a reflex, Marco closed his and leaned in to kiss her, to which Star responded with doing the same. Their lips were just about to touch, and-
"Alright. You two." Eclipsa said out of nowhere, coming backstage. "The mayors passing the rest of those things out, and…umm...I'm...not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked, just noticing Star and Marco's faces being inches away from each other.
Star looked back into Marco's eyes, then at Eclipsa, and sighed before pulling away from Marco. "No, you're not." She said, although the tone in her voice was saying something quite different. Both of them got a look of disappointment on their faces for being interrupted. "But whatever. So, what now?"
"I'm just going to go back the monster temple." Eclipsa said. "Relax a bit after this whole thing. Aren't you two going to that beach day? You did say you would go after you helped us with this speech. Also, sorry for making you help us, but as we just saw...you're probably better at the speeches."
"It's no problem." Star said. "And yeah, we're probably going to go do that right now. Go home, get our things, and then Marco's mom is going to drive us there."
"Well, I hope you two have fun. We all need a break right now."
Star laughed. "A break...is one thing we've never truly had. I'm thinking of this more as a way to get away from it all for a while."
"That's exactly what a break is Star." Marco said.
"Is it?" Star said. "When all our problems are taken care of, then I would consider a break. But until then, I don't see it as one. But I do see it as a way to forget about all of them, so while we're there, I'm not going to worry about Bren, about money problems, about the Mewnian high council crap, or anything else like that. Just me, you, and that beach."
"Now that I like the sound of." Marco said. "I guess we should get back home, if we want to get to the beach early."
"Yup." Star said. "We're going Eclipsa. See you around."
"Got it. See you two around as well. L Don't forget about the other Mewnian high council meeting tomorrow. You two still have to tell everyone everything."
"Don't ruin it!" Star said. "Happy thoughts only!"
Eclipsa laughed a bit at this. "If you insist. But see you around."
"See you around Eclipsa." Marco said, taking Star's hand and leading the two of them away from the stage. They walked over to the sidewalk and headed for Marco's house.
"About getting there early," Star started. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that. It's only...8 in the morning. Eclipsa wanted to schedule this as soon as possible. Get the message out."
"If I'm being honest, I'm impressed that you agreed to come and help her. What with it being so early and all. Didn't you tell me a while back never to wake you up before eight o' clock? You got up at like seven."
"I guess so." Star said. "But the time for sleeping in is done. Not when there's more important things at stake. I'm surprised that so many people got up this early to get here. On a normal day like this, go out at 8 in the morning, there's hardly a soul on the streets. The people in this town really like to sleep in. Also because it's summer."
"Who can blame them?" Marco asked her. "They're in a whole new world. They need all the rest they can get to prepare themselves for the next day. Well, I suppose six months isn't that new, but they still have so much to get used to. Most humans in Echo creek still haven't gotten used to half the town looking like it's in medieval times, and most of the Mewmans and monsters still look in fear at any type of technology more advanced than a horse drawn cart. Do you remember how many reports the council got of magic still being around, when it was just some random thing like a plane or some person looking at a phone?"
"Heh." Star said, not really laughing, but instead just saying the word. "They'll get used to it. Six months is not enough time. Give it a year, or maybe two. By then, they should have gotten used to everything. We should give them some technology classes. As for the humans, they could just learn about Mewman and monster culture from similar classes. It'll help everybody get used to it."
"Well, the tourists definitely get used to it." Marco said, in a sort of complaining kind of voice. "In maybe three hours the towns gonna be filled with them. I kind of understand now why some cities aren't tourist friendly. It seems cool to have people visit your town at first, but after a while…"
"It gets annoying?" Star said, finishing his sentence. "Chill out. It's just the same formula. They look at Mewni stuff, take some pictures, buy some stuff, then leave."
"Sure." Marco said, before remembering something and trying to hold a laugh. "Hey. Do you remember that time my parents went to Mewni acting like tourists? They acted like it was some kind of vacation. I don't think any of the Mewmans were amused."
Star struggled to remember for a moment before bursting out laughing, her memories of the event coming back. "Wait, it wasn't that funny." She said. "I don't know why I'm laughing. Ah well, those were simpler days, weren't they?"
"You mean with Ludo trying to steal your wand all the time?" Marco asked, also fondly smiling of all the memories that were returning to him. "Simpler, sure, but I'm not going to say any easier. Speaking of Ludo, I wonder if we should go and check up on that whole monster freedom fighter council that was at his house.
I wonder what they're up to now that Mina's gone…"
"Probably not much." Star said. "After all, with that speech I just did, I don't think they'll have any work left to do…"
Marco nodded his head sadly. "When it comes to stuff like that Star, there's always going to be more work to do. It takes a long time to change people's opinions. Even if we show them that it's the right way."
"Then that's how we'll do it." Star said. "One person at a time. Bit by bit. I don't there to be a single person in this town who distrusts anybody else simply because they're not the same species."
"The enthusiasm is nice." Marco said. "But that's not really the biggest problem. I think we're ignoring the white-haired, orange-eyed elephant in the room. I don't care what the mayor says. The money is not the biggest problem, Br-"
"Don't say his name." Star said. "I don't want him to be mentioned or brought up a single time today. Beach day. Just us. None of that guy."
"...Ok." Marco said, not wanting to make Star upset. "Just us. And my mom for a while, because you know, she's driving us.
"Yeah. Yeah." Star said, smiling. "But then it's just us."
They kept walking. They tried as best they could to ignore the various buildings that had been smashed to pieces around them, and when they got to the fallen water tower, Star almost stopped and stared, before Marco pulled her along, remembering that she didn't want to be reminded of any of this.
They finally made it past the main town and got into the neighborhood, both of them breathing a sigh of relief. They kept walking until the reached Marco's house, and went in. Angie was busy sitting on the stairs in the foyer, waiting.
"Hey you two." She said. "You ready to go do that beach day? I've been sitting her for a half hour, so I hope so."
"Not...yet." Star said. "Sorry. We have to get all our stuff, but thankfully we prepared it last night. All we have to do it get into our bathing suits and we'll be ready to go. Again, sorry for making you wait."
"Oh, it's fine." Angie said. "I'm happy to see you two doing something together again. After everything that's happened lately, we all need to take a break."
"Not a break…" Star said, repeating the same thing she had said to Marco earlier. "But yeah, we need it. And this beach day is the perfect opportunity. Come on Marco, let's go get our swim suits on."
Both of them went upstairs, and came downstairs a few minutes later, with Marco in his swim trunks holding a towel and several bottles of sunscreen, while Star came down in her one piece bathing suit with a few bags full of random beach stuff. "Ready to go." She said, looking towards Angie.
"Aw, you two look perfect together." Angie said. "I can't wait until two all are grown up. Your father can't either Marco. If anything, he doesn't want to wait at all..."
"Thanks mom." Marco says, slightly blushing. "But we might be thinking a little too far ahead."
"I suppose." Angie said. "But let's get going before the traffic gets too crowded. Last time you said you got stuck in traffic before you got there."
"Yeah…and then I tried to give the car we are driving in wings. Didn't work out so well. The guy driving it yelled at us."
"Well, hopefully it works out better this time. Oh! One last thing. I packed you some snacks for later." She said, grabbing two bags sitting nearby and handing it to them. "Thanks Mrs. Diaz." Star said. "But one last, last thing. Where's Rafael? Is he around here?"
Angie waved her hand. "Oh, he's out at the speech Eclipsa was scheduled to give this morning. I started behind because I wanted to sleep in a little, but he went along."
"Really…" Marco said. "I didn't see him in the crowd. Huh. Maybe he left to go do something else. But whatever. Let's go."
And with that all said and done, they all headed outside and piled into the car, driving away from Echo creek towards the beach, with things looking much less like Mewni and more like Earth the farther away they got.
"Hmm, it looks like it was a good idea to leave early." Angie said. "There's not that many cars on the road, so there shouldn't be any traffic problems."
"I'm glad it was worth it." Star said. "On a normal morning, you'd have to drag me out of bed to get me up this early. But with Eclipsa's speech and beach happening, I think this was the earliest I've woken up all year."
Marco smiled. "That just proves that you can." Marco said. "It would be nice to see you up and about a little earlier at times. The early bird gets the worm."
"Yeah, but the worm got up early and died." Star said. "Two parts to that saying."
Marco was about to make some kind of clever remark to this, before he realized that Star was right. "Dang." He said. "Never thought about it that way. But that's only how it goes if you let yourself be the worm Star."
"I guess." Star said. "But how about we just all accept that I like waking up early, and nothing is going to change that. Cool? Cool."
The next few minutes of the ride was delivered in silence, with Star leaning her head on Marco's shoulder and the sounds of seagulls squawking above the car indicated that they were getting closer. Star stuck her head out the window and looked at them.
"Star, be careful." Marco said. "Don't stick your head out too far. A car could come along and-
"Don't care!" Star said, inhaling deeply. "Come on Marco, smell that sea air. It's a nice change. When was the last time we went here? And when do you think we'll go again."
"Technically we can go whenever we want." Marco said. "We'd just have to worry about it the consequences later."
"Ah, you're a buzzkill." Star said, putting her hand on his head and giving him a playful noogie. "Hey, Mrs. Diaz, are far away do you think we are?"
"Not too far…" Angie said. "The traffic's starting to get a little heavy up here, but it shouldn't be too long now."
"Thanks mom." Marco said. He looked over at Star. "So, what exactly are we gonna do at the beach?" He asked. "Just...do beach stuff? Like last time, except we're forgetting about that dumb photo?"
"It wasn't dumb." Star said, shaking her head. "But yeah, we won't have to worry about anything like that. We won't have to worry about anything! All negative thoughts being pushed out of my mind...now."
"Actually, " Angie said, looking at them through the car's rear view mirror. "Sorry if this is a negative thought, but can I know what Eclipsa told everybody at that speech? I asked Rafael to tell me when he got back, but if it's really important, I'd prefer to know as soon as possible."
Star sighed and put her head against the back of the seat. "Fine, if you really want to. We-"
"No Star, it's okay." Marco said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'll tell her. Try and keep those thoughts out of your head. For your sake and mine. And beach day's."
"Thanks." Star said, leaning back in her seat again. "You can mention him if you want, but after that, please don't. But still, thanks."
Marco smiled, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and then turned back to Angie. "Okay mom, so basically, Eclipsa first told everybody to watch out for Bren and Tom."
"Who's Bren?"
"Oh. Right. You don't know who that is. He's...um, the guy that killed Mina and sent that demon to destroy the town. He looks as older than us, and like a lot of other people in the past, he wants to kill us, and he...likes fire? Maybe? There's a lot I could tell you."
"Oh, is that all?" Angie said. "I feel like I should be more worried about someone trying to kill you, but after all the horror stories you've told me about Ludo, Toffee, Meteora, and who knows who else, I think I'm pretty confident that you can handle whoever Bren is. Especially now that magic's gone."
"Well, not really." Marco mumbled. "There's still demon magic…"
"What?" Angie said. "Sorry, what was that part?"
"It's...nothing." Marco said. "But anyways. I would be feeling pretty confident as well, if it was just him, which it's not. He has Tom. He's controlling him."
Angie first oft a second and then swiveled her had around to look at Marco. "Tom? Your demon friend? How did-"
"Mom! Eyes on the road!"
"Oh, sorry." Angie said, turning her head back around. "But what do you mean he's controlling Tom? I thought he was on...your side, I guess? What happened."
"We don't know." Marco said, looking at his reflection in the window. "Bren has this weird black device with a button on it, and when Tom balked at his order, he threatened to press it. And Tom looked terrified. So however Bren's making Tom do what he says, it's not with mind control. It's just with some kind of leverage."
"Okay, now I'm more worried." Angie said. "That means that there could be more people Bren is controlling. Was there anybody else?"
"I would suspect the rest of the Lucitors." Marco said. "They haven't been to the last few council meetings, and considering that Bren has Tom, and has access to a giant demon, I think it's safe to say that maybe the entire Underworld could be under his thumb."
"Well, maybe that's it." Angie said. "Maybe that's the leverage that Bren has."
Marco looked look at the window and turned towards his mother. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, what if the Lucitors are his leverage?" Angie explained. "I'm sure Tom loves his family, and if Bren has the Underworld under his control, then maybe Tom's parents are what's Bren is using against him. Maybe him pressing that button sends a signal to the Underworld that does something. Like kill his parents. I know that if someone threatened me with that, then I would do anything they wanted."
Maroc thought about this for a second and his eyes widened. "Holy...shit."
Angie looked at him in what could only be described as pure disappointment. "Marco, please mind your wor-"
"Wait." Marco said. "I mean, sorry, but that actually makes a lot of sense. Bren has Tom. He has the Lucitors. He might have the Underworld. He could probably find some way to do whatever he wanted with them. Use Tom as his little murder tool, make the Lucitors command the armies of demons...or just use them to make Tom-oh my god! That's exactly it, isn't it? That's how he getting Tom to do all those things! He's-"
"Marcoooo…" Star groaned. "Please stop talking about all that stuff."
"B-but Star!" Marco exclaimed. "Don't you see? My moms right! That's it! It may be something else, sure, but it makes perfect sense. How Tom's acted, how Bren is controlling him, the entire Lucitor family disappearing and the demon showing up-"
"I know!" Star yelled. "I'll be honest with you. Yeah, in all likelihood, that's what's going on. But this is beach day. We handle this when we get back from beach day. When we go to the Mewnian high council meeting tomorrow. Beach today, Bren tomorrow. There are two B's in this situation, and I know which one I'm picking."
"Bu-"
"No Marco, she's right." Angie said. "I shouldn't have asked. I know you said you wanted it forget everything for a while and have fun. So go do that." The car came to a sudden halt. "Because we're here. The beach is just over there. You two do whatever you want, and then call me when you're ready for me to pick you up."
Marco looked at them. Against his better judgment, he consented to their decision. "Ok. Let's go have that beach day. We can worry about the guy trying to kill us tomorrow."
"That's right." Star said. "Who needs worries? They're worries! We don't need em." She grabbed her stuff and exited the car, followed by Marco a second later.
"See you mom." He said. "Thanks for driving us."
"It's no problem. You have fun with Star. But make sure to...watch out for anything. If Bren really has Tom, then-"
"Thanks Mrs. Diaz, goodbye!" Star said, turning around and walking towards the beach.
Marco looked at Star and then gave his mom a sheepish smiles "I'll watch out. Make sure nothing happens."
"Just try as hard as you can." Angie said. "I've only seen her like this a few times. Take care of her."
"I will." Marco said. "See you later Mom."
"See you later as well." Angie said, a smile coming back to her face. She turned the steering wheel around and drove off down the road. Marco watched the car drive away into the distance and then caught up with Star. "So what are we doing first?" He asked, walking next to her.. "I asked this earlier, but you never really told me."
"Well, I was thinking we could just do some beach stuff first." Star said. "You know, lay on a towel under an umbrella, go swim out into the waves, make some sand castles or something, stuff like that. After that, we can get some lunch on the boardwalk, and then we'll call your mom to come pick us up."
"Sounds like a plan." Marco said. They kept walking own the sidewalk, until they reached the small hill that led to the beach. Climbing up it, they stopped at the top and stared out at the ocean.
"Wow." Star said. "It looks even better than when we came here last time. Lot less people too. We have it all to ourselves."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Marco asked her. "Let's go have our beach day."
"Right!" Star said, moving forward and pulling an umbrella and a towel out of her bag, setting them down on the sand.
"Wait, Star, wait." Marco said. "Put some sunscreen on. I don't want you to get burned and then not be able to sleep on your back for a week."
Star flared over at Marco, inhaled deeply and then cleared her throat. "SAFE KI-"
"Yes yes I get it!" Marco said. "But still, I don't want for tomorrow to come around and you to wake up with half your skin turned fiery red."
"If you insist…" Star said, turning her back to him. "But get my back and shoulders for me. I can't reach them."
Marco blushes slightly at the thought and then did as she said, spraying some sunscreen in and wiping it down with his hands, doing his best to make it as un-awkward as possible.
Star stared out into the ocean waves. "You know Marco, people always say that if you stare out at ocean waves for a while, you start to think about life and how insignificant you are to the rest of the universe. I think that's happening right now…"
Maroc chuckled. "You got rid of magic Star. You and me merged Mewni and Earth together. I would say that you're pretty significant to the universe. Now, can you get my back? I finished putting sunscreen on yours."
"Sure." Star said, with the two of them now switching positions. "After this, I'm just gonna go into the waves. Swim around a little. Have some fun. Go and entertain myself. Maybe try and catch a fish with my bare hands like my dad always wanted me to try."
"I'll make you a bet." Marco said, turning around and grinning at her. "If you actually manage to do that, I'll take a bite out of that fish, then and there. Raw."
Star couldn't help but bend over in laughter at this. "Why would you do that?"
"Eh, I don't know." Marco said, shrugging. "Maybe I want to see if you can actually do that. I'd be impressed."
Star gasped. "Huh! After all this time, your secrets are revealed Diaz! You didn't care about Mewni, you were just trying to get me to become a better fisherwoman!"
Marco snorted. "God, it sounds ridiculous now. But that bet is still on. You done applying that sunscreen?"
"Yup." Star said, finishing up and putting more sunscreen in her arms and legs, while Marco did the same. "Now let's get a move on! I'd like to do as much as possible before noon!"
Both of them got up and went over to the water, where they let the waves crash into their feet, and both of them shuddered at the cold.
"Can never get used to that." Marco, going in a few inches deeper. "Worst part is when your bathing suit gets wet and sticks to your skin, and after that you just have to go one centimeter at a time."
"Hm, I think it's better to do it all at once and get it over with." Star said. "Sure, you'll be freezing for a while, but you get used to it really quick."
"And I think you're insane for saying that." Marco said. "Mental hospital? We have a code D! D for deranged! Better get the straight jacket."
Star rolled her eyes and then leaped at Marco, grabbing his head and dunking his entire body under the water. She let go of him a second later, and he got up and wiped water of his eyes while gasping for air.
"See?" Star said playfully. "Isn't it better to get it all over with?"
"Oh my god!" Marco yelled, shivering and looking like he had just been shoved in a freezer. "I don't think I'll be warm for the rest of the day…"
"Oh blah." Star said. "You'll be fine in five minutes. Here, I'll show you just how easy it is." She dove into the water, disappearing from view and coming up a few seconds later, now shaking as much as Marco was. "S-see?" She said, her teeth chattering. "The w-waters f-fine!"
"Sure Star." Marco said. "Sure it is." Both of them they stayed where they were for a few moments, getting used to the water and submerging themselves at random times. As they waded deeper out past the waves crashing into the beach, Star eventually started looking for seashells, while Marco searched the water for any fish, ready to pull Star away from them incase one appeared. He already regretted making that bet.
Star dove down and came back up a few seconds later, swimming over towards Marco and showing him a seashell. "See?" She said, holding it out in front of him. "This ones nice. It kind of reminds me of...hm. I don't know. But it looks familiar."
Marco looked down and inspected the shell. It was bright orange and vaguely shaped like a rock, and didn't look like any shell he had ever seen. Under the sunlight above, the rock seemed to glow, almost like a natural lamp provided by the sea. 'Why would she be reminded of something by that shell?' He thought. 'I can think of anything that...wait…'
Marco suddenly remembered why Star would think that was familiar. 'A week ago.' He thought. 'Back at the diner. Before all this Bren crap went down. She mentioned she had a dream where she saw some kind of glowing rock. Before the town burst into flames. I-I think it would be best to get rid of this before she remembers that.'
Marco took the shell out of his hand and set it back down on the seafloor. "I don't think it would be a good idea to keep that one Star. Some shells can hide animals, and I think that was one of them."
"Oh…" Star said. "Oh well. Still looked pretty. I'm gonna the and find some more!" She then did a nosedive into the water, not even bothering to take a breath first. Marco looked into the water and then fell on his back, letting himself float gently above the surface of the water.
'So far it's been pretty good.' He thought to himself. 'Other than a close call with that shell, beach day is going just swell. Hopefully we don't run into any other problems. I'm not sure if either of us could take it.'
"Hey Marcooo…" Star said, having seemingly come back up for air.
"Yeah Star?" He asked, still staring at the sky.
"Look what I got…"
Marco suddenly felt a twinge of fear and lifted his head. Star was standing in front of him, grinning from ear to ear and holding what looked like some kind of trout in her hand, the fish flopping around and gasping for air.
"No…" Marco said, standing back up.
"Come here!"
"NONONONONO-"
A little while later…
After a few minutes of Star chasing Marco around with the fish, he had managed to convince her that his bet was only a joke, and Star sighed and tossed it back into the ocean. They both got out of the water and dried themselves off, and now they were simply laying in their towels under the umbrella.
"Shame you didn't take a bite out of that fish." Star said. "But even if your bet wasn't a joke, I wouldn't have expected you to do it. Especially not while it was still flopping around."
"Yeah, totally a joke." Marco said. "I think I'm gonna lay here for a while, maybe try and get a tan."
"I'm pretty sure that requires some kind of lotion."
"And I'm pretty sure that's optional, but who knows. Look in your bag, maybe you got some in there."
Despite knowing that she probably didn't, Star got up and grabbed her bag, rummaging around in and looking for suntan lotion. After three minutes of searching multiple times, she found none and gave up.
'None in there.' She thought as she prepared to lie back down. 'Hmmm, maybe next time we come here, I should bring some. I don't think I've ever gotten a tan before. I wonder what I would look like-'
Her thought process stopped dead in it's track as she looked down at the beach and saw someone walking in front of the water, wearing a red bathing suit and having long spiky hair.
It was Tom.
Or was it?
Star couldn't see straight. For a moment, it almost felt like her vision was blurred, and the entire world looked like it was stuck in a permanent state of obscurity, everything unfocused and hard to see.
Star got up and slowly walked towards Tom, who was busy staring out at the waves. She couldn't think. How was here? Without Bren? What was going-
"Hey." Marco said.
Star jumped at the sound of his voice and looked over at him. He was sitting up and staring at her, with a visible look of confusion on his face. After she saw this, the world around her seemed to come back into focus, and nothing was blurry anymore, almost as if she had just woken up from a dream.
"Uh, what is it?" She asked.
"You were staring at that guy with the salmon hair." Marco said. "You got up and started to walk towards him like you were in a trance. What was that?"
Star turned away from Marco and looked back at Tom, who now didn't resemble Tom in the slightest, except for a similar hair color and style. It was just some random human walking down the beach. For some reason, she had seen him in a completely different way.
"I just...I thought…" Star started. "I thought I recognized him."
"Hm." Marco said. "Well, I'm gonna lie back down and try and take a nap. All that stuff we did in the water tired me out."
"Okay, that's cool." Star said, still look at the salmon-haired guy. "I'm gonna go...make a sand castle."
She left Marco behind and walked down towards the water, grabbing a handful of wet sand and trying to sculpt it.
'What was that?' She thought. 'Why did I see that guy as Tom? Was I hallucinating? Some kind of mirage? Or did I just see what I wanted to see? Or...no. None of that. Beach day. No Bren. No Tom. Ignore it, and move on. Make something with the sand.' She looked back at Marco. 'And I know just what to make…'
Back under the umbrella, Marco closed his eyes and attempted to fall asleep, but wasn't having much luck. He moaned in annoyance and rolled into his side, staring at a small pile of sand next to the towel.
'Maybe I'll just count sand.' He thought. 'Should bore me into falling asleep. That or I can just imagine one of the council meetings where I'm not involved. I'll admit it, those things are the most tedious, dull, and contemptible things I can think of. There are times where I can see why the royals want to leave so often…'
"Marco!" Star called out, knocking him out of his semi-stupor. "Look what I made!"
Marco lifted his head and glanced over at Star, where she was sitting about twenty feet away with a large mound of sand at her feet. Marco got up and walked over to her, looking at the sand pile.
"So...what is it supposed to be?" He asked, unable to make anything of it.
Star scoffed. "It's supposed to be you! I thought I did a really good job on it. See, those are your ears, that's your nose, that little rock there is your mole, and I tried to find some seaweed for hair, but all I found were some sticks." Star grabbed a few dried out twigs from a small pile she had and stuck them in tip of the sand pile. "There. Now it's complete. Admit it, it looks likes you."
Marco tilted his and inspected it. While it could have a resemblance to a head in some way, it certainly didn't look like his. Star really needed to work on making sand art. But it did remind him of something else, before she put the sticks in.
"I don't know Star." He said. "I think it's good, but I wouldn't know it's supposed to be me unless you told me. In fact, it looks like something else altogether."
Star sighed and sat down on the sand. "Yeah, I should have spent a little more time on it. But what does it look like to you?"
Marco clenched his teeth and then slowly look at Star. "It looks...it looks like…"
"Like what?" Star asked him, getting impatient. "Spit it out Diaz! I want to hear this."
"It looks like the magic sanctuary." Marco blurted out, before quickly shutting his mouth.
Star paused and looked down at it. 'What is he talking about?' She thought. 'It doesn't look anything like that! And didn't I say I didn't want to be reminded of any of that stuff? That was...was…' She leaned in and took a closer look at it, inspecting every grain of sand pile an archeologist inspecting an ancient artifact. 'No...It, it does look like the sanctuary. It's got a similar shape, the mount I made looks exactly like it's door, and it even has indents what looks to be little windows! I don't remember making those! Did my subconscious somehow have me make those indents, or was it just a coincidence? What did...okay, you know what, screw it.'
Star frowned and stood up, not wanting to think about it any longer. She drew her foot back and kicked the sand sculpture, causing it to fall apart and crumble back into a shapeless pile of sand.
"No more making sand sculptures." Star said. "I'm gonna go back under the umbrella and relax a little bit. Wake me up when it's noon, and then we'll go get some lunch on the boardwalk." Star turned around and walked towards her towel, literally falling on top of it when she reached it. She rotated herself around and laid on her back, staring at nothing and thinking of nothing.
"Okay." Marco said, dumbfounded by her behavior. "Guess I'll just walk down the beach then…" He strolled over to the edge of the water and started ambling away from Star on it's edge, the water just barely touching him as the waves came in. He took each step slowly, feeling the wet sand between his toes and gazing at the ocean, not sure if he was looking for dolphins leaping out of the waves or thinking about life as a whole, like Star had mentioned earlier.
A few minutes later his walk, Marco came across two more people on the beach. It was some young couple, sitting on a towel and talking with each other, occasionally kissing as well. Marco peered at then, almost as if they were stuck in a fog. He let out a sigh of exasperation, looking away from them and then swiveling around to walk back down the beach.
"That should be us." He said to himself. "It should be me and Star, talking to each other in our towels, and kissing each other. We were like that! Just a week ago! That's all we did! Talk to each other and kiss! What the hell happened? What happened to our relationship that could have...have...oh, right." Marcos face turned into a scowl. "He happened. That little white-haired shit. What is he doing all this for? What does he get out of it? Is he here right now, watching us from somewhere?! Is he everywhere, never leaving us alone until we're dead at his feet?!" He turned towards the sky. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT BREN?! IF WE BOTH DIE, WILL YOU LEAVE EVERYBODY ELSE ALONE?!"
There was nobody there to answer him, except for a few nearby seagulls who squawked and flew away at his outburst. Marco watched them fly away and then sat down in the sand, letting the waves hit him. But he didn't feel any of it.
"He's just...ruining everything." Marco said to himself. "Our life, our relationship, our friends, all of it is going straight to hell. Even today, beach day, a day we love, was just ruined because of that stupid sand castle. Why did I have to say it looked like that? Why didn't I just keep my mouth shut?"
"Because you were worried about her."
Marco jumped back at the sudden voice in his head, before remembering where he had heard that before. "Oh no. Nononono. Get the hell out of here Brainsaya, or whatever you called yourself. I do not need this right now."
"I'm not the Brainsaya. The Brainsaya was a figment of your mind that decided you weren't good enough for Star, and told you as such. But I'm here to help you. I'm here to help you get through this whole problem. Because your brain decided you needed it. Which, you obviously do."
"Well, isn't that convenient." Marco said. "Tell me, what should I do next? Go get Star? Leave this beach? Try and convince her that Bren can't do anything to us and we'll get through it together, like I've told her a hundred times in the past few days? Or should-"
"Shut up and listen! Like the Brainsaya said, arguing with me would only be yelling at yourself. Don't act like that."
"Fine". Marco said. "Say your damn peace. But it better be good."
"It is. Now, it doesn't matter what you think about all this. If you want your relationship with Star to stay healthy and loving, then you need to go to her, get some lunch with her at the boardwalk, and make sure nothing else happens today that can upset her."
"How?" Marco asked. "I don't exactly control the world."
"You can control enough. See that red-haired guy again, which reminded her of Tom? Make her look the other way before she sees him."
"Wait, so that's why she was staring at hi-"
"Not done yet. See a sand castle that looks like the sanctuary? Push it over, even if it's not yours. Dick move, yes, but absolutely necessary. Mind your words as well. Don't mention Bren or Tom, that much is clear. But also make sure not to mention fire, the Mewnian high council, or anything of the sort. It would bring up memories, and this isn't a day to focus on the past."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Marco yelled. "That's what I've been trying to make it. It actually went pretty well at first! But now it's ruined. Star's gonna be in a bad mood, and then we're just gonna go home, and I'm gonna have to sleep in my own bed tonight, without her next to me, all because of a stupid pile of sand!"
"..."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Nothing I can do to avoid it. Once she gets in a mood, it's almost impossible to break her out of it."
"What about the night before you went to the sanctuary and met Bren? She was pissed at you. But you came back. She came back. You both got back in that bed together, and managed to forget all the yelling. That's who we are. A person who won't give up on Star. Now get up, shut up, and go get some lunch with her like I said. Act like nothing happened, and that will be the thing that helps her. Seeing. You. Happy."
Marco contemplated all of this, and then got up without saying a word, deciding to trust his inner voices judgment. He made it back to Star after a few minutes of walking, and went up to her.
"Heeey…" He said, nervousness evident in his voice. "I'm kind of hungry, so...uh, do you wanna go to the boardwalk with me and grab some lunch?"
"We have some snacks." Star said, not even looking at him. "The ones that your mom gave us. We can eat those."
"Don't let up!" Marco's inner voice yelled. "Don't let that happen! Say you'll pay for it. Play cute. Do anything. Don't let her lie there and just get more and more angry with the world."
Maroc nodded. "Aww, come on Star." He said. "We planned this whole thing beforehand! Besides, I'm sure the boardwalk might have some really good food! I'd love to spend some time there with you."
Star perked up. "Really? Right now? I'm trying to rest, but guess that could be kinda fun…with you."
"Yes. Yes! It's working. Now seal the deal! Finish it!"
"It will be fun." Marco said. "One of the boardwalk shops might have nachos…"
That did the trick. Star got up and grabbed me her things. "Okay, I can't say no to that." She said, a smile returning to her face. She rolled up her towel and shoved it in her bag, along with all the other stuff. "Besides, I think I'm beached out. Let's go eat something, and then we'll call your mom for her to come get us."
"Good plan." Marco said, grinning like an idiot. They both left the beach behind, heading towards the nearby boardwalk and looking for someplace to eat. As it was still early, there weren't that many places to eat, but eventually they found a concession stand that sold nachos, and got a giant tub for both of them to share.
"Nice job." The inner voice said, as Star and Marco sat down at a nearby bench and began eating. "Not exactly what I'd call lunch, and extremely unhealthy, but good enough."
"Damn straight." Marco whispered. "Nothing is ruining this anymore."
Then something came along and ruined it.
Star's attention suddenly drifted from the nachos to a guy walking past them. It wasn't the Tom look-alike, but they did resemble someone much worse. Marco looked up and saw him as well, his heart dropping at the sight. The man looked normal, except for sporting a ridiculous mop of dyed white hair. As he walked past them and disappeared down the boardwalk, Star kept staring in his direction.
"Hey…" She started
"Nooooo…"
"Didn't that guy look like…"
"Nonono!"
"...Bren?"
"Damn it! Damnitdamnitdamnit! Now we'll have to start all over again!"
Thinking fast, Marco spoke up. "It doesn't." He said. "Let's get back to eating."
But Star didn't respond. She got up, scrunched her face up, and then started to walk off, which turned into a run. She ducked behind one of the closed shops, and Marco could start to hear faint crying.
"Oh no." He said, putting the nachos aside. He ran over to the shop and looked behind it. "Star? Are you okay?"
She most certainly was not. She had her head down, crying softly, her tears falling off her face and staining the pavement beneath her.
"Listen Star." Marco said. "It's okay. Just because-"
Star turned around and rushed at Marco, grabbing his shoulders and burying her face in his chest. "I can't do this anymore!" She sobbed. "I can't just pretend that everything's okay and that I'm not scared of what comes next. I've been worried sick about everything this whole time. What if Bren attacks us on our beach day? What if he attacks the town while we're gone? What if we're not able to help Tom? What will happen if...if...if he kills you to get to me?! I'll have nothing! Just an empty hole in my heart, and then Bren will finish the job by tearing it right out of my body."
She let go of him and fell to her knees. "I'm supposed to be the princess of Mewni. A person that can defend her people from danger. And I can do that! I've done it before! I've kicked people threatening my kingdom straight out of Mewni back to whatever dimension they came from! But I can't do it now. I don't have magic. I'm useless. I'm just like everyone else. And Bren isn't."
"No." Marco said. "You're not useless. You've never needed magic before to do amazing things Star. I've seen you. For six months, when you weren't spending time with me, you were working as hard as you could to make sure that Earthni would work for everybody. And it does. Your speech earlier today. Did you forget that? That was amazing! You didn't need magic! You saw those people! They believed in you! So take up that position! Be the leader and speaker that I know you are! Just because this one day went badly, that doesn't mean that everyday will go badly."
Star looked up at him, sniffling. "But Bren-"
"Who cares?" Marco said. "He's nothing but some fire obsessed teenager that has mental issues. We've faced worse. We've stopped worse things than him, and even without magic...there's nothing he could do that would ever tear us apart. I promise that no matter what, I'll stay with you until the end."
Star wiped her eyes and nose with her arm, slowly standing back up. "You know something?" She said.
"I was worried that you were worried too. That you would break down crying just like me when you saw that guy walk past us. But now that I see that you didn't...I think that means that I don't have to either."
Marco embraced her in a tight hug. "I'm glad." He said. "I don't want to see you like that. Nobody should, especially yourself."
Star hugged him back, her fingernails digging into his back. "Then I won't let it happen again. I'll stay strong for everybody. I won't let Bren get to me ever again. Not as long as you're here."
"Then we're in agreement." Marco said. "Now let's go finish those nachos, and then let's go home and have the rest of the day to ourselves."
Star nodded, and then leaned on his shoulder as they walked back to the bench, Marco waving a few seagulls away that were pecking at her food, much to Star's laughter. They sat back down next to each other and resumed eating, not saying a word but knowing that no more words had to be said.
Well, almost no words.
"Well done. Very well done." Marco's brain said. "I'm glad I didn't have to step in, and you managed to handle it by yourself."
"Thanks." Marco whispered. "But are you gonna leave now? Even if you're still part of my brain, I want it to be just me and Star."
"Certainly. I serve no more purpose. Our time together was short, but I'd say very productive. Adieu. But I will return eventually. Probably. Hopefully."
It vanished, and now it was just Star and Marco, sitting alone together, like they both wanted it. Sure, that tub of nachos would be empty In a few minutes, and soon they would both have to leave that bench, but right now, in this moment, it felt like it lasted forever.
And that was right.
End chapter 13.
A/N: Under normal circumstances, I would have ended it on a low note, with Bren appearing in the background, scheming. But not this time.
Sorry for the long wait. Schools been a pain, even more so than usual, so I hope you all understand. From now on, the usual one week wait will be replaced by a wait of who knows? But it will be longer than a week.
Also, my notes for the second half of this chapter were written in orange crayon on the back of a restaurant menu. I'm not sure if that reflects back into this chapter, but I thought I would share that for whatever reason.
Until next time.
