"HA, DO YOU LIKE MY NEW FORM!" The beast towered over the two teenagers as his voice thundered around them. "I found this magnificent creature after I escaped that wretched bunker!"

"Uhh, Star? Maybe we should… RUN!" they sprinted out of the building as fast as they could. Dipper, or whatever his real name was (if it was even a he at all) chased after them, smashing through the side of the wall instead of trying to fit through the door. Star sent a cupcake blast behind them as they ran down the street.

They needed to hide soon, Marco thought. Those evil eye bats would be here any minute and that was not a problem he wanted to deal with at the moment. Although… Marco was so startled by his idea he stopped moving.

"MARCO!" Star couldn't believe him, stopping in the middle of running for their lives. She couldn't even use her favorite animal spells in case it gave the shape shifter another shape to shift into. "This is no time to mess around!"

"STAR! I'VE GOT AN IDEA! USE AS MUCH MAGIC AS YOU CAN!" Well alrighty, Star could definitely do that. Firing off a laser beam blast at the shape shifter she, ducked behind a car and let loose an explosive rainbow fist punch. It was impossible to hit the creature because he would just change into a shape that would avoid whatever spell she threw at it. Whatever plan Marco had better work.

"You fools, there is no stopping me!" He flipped over the car Marco and Star were hiding behind and transformed into a spitting image of a teenage boy with curly brown hair that was tucked under a blue trucker's hat. He would've looked like a normal kid except his eyes were still glowing red and his hands had grown claws. He grabbed Star by the arm and she screamed in pain as the claws dug into her skin.

The cruel monster only laughed at her pain before throwing her into the nearest wall. She groaned as the stars (ha) cleared from her vision. Why were three Marcos? Star watched as the Marcos combined into a single body but it didn't look good. He was standing in between her and the monster; trying to fight the creature with his karate moves but it was just too fast. One swift punch to the stomach later and he was on the street curled into a ball.

"You can't defeat me." He was standing over her now, a smug grin plastered on his face was gloating. The smile wasn't quite right though, it was just a bit too wide with too many teeth. Regardless, it was obvious that he was enjoying this, the thrill of the hunt. Star looked at Marco and saw that idiot smiling, did he have a death wish?!

"I know," Marco said, and pointed at the sky, "but they can!" tens of eyebats had gathered around the trio and now that their presence was known they attacked.

Furious, the Shapeshifter yelled and transformed back into that massive green creature and tried to fight the eyebats. He slashed the first one into pieces and avoided a stone beam by transforming into a small bird. Then he transformed into that hideous green goblinesque creature midflight and slammed into another bat. He was truly a sight to behold as he shifted from snake to beaver to human to some creature the two had never seen before. It was like watching water flow from one cup to another.

Unfortunately, there were just too many of them. For every flying creature he killed, two more showed up to take its place. He screamed in pure fury as his arm was turned to stone, mid transformation into some other horrifying monster. He refused to give up though and used the newly formed club and smacked that eye bat into the ground.

"Quickly, Star, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible!" Grabbing her hand and pulling her to her feet, they ran away from the center of the town square and towards the ever-looming pyramid. Some of the bats followed and Star and Marco had to dive in a side alley to lose them.

"I don't know how much longer I can last, Marco." She gasped as he gently took a hold of her arm, assessing the damage. It wasn't good, but it wasn't fatal as long as it stayed infected. "How are we supposed to defeat Bill if we can't even get to him?" Her eyes started to tear up as Marco pulled her into a hug.

"We can't give up hope, Star. The people need us." He let go of her so he could look her in the eyes. It was vital that neither of them gave up hope, otherwise there was no chance of coming out on top. "We'll find somewhere to cozy and safe to stay the night so that we will be able to overcome any adversities tomorrow may bring."

Where would she be without him, Star thought. He always knew how to lift her spirits enough to fight another day. After a few minutes rest, neither of them could hear the sound of any wings flapping so they decided to start looking for shelter. They stopped at the first abandoned house they came across and Marco was raiding the kitchen while Star was resting on one of the couches.

She glanced at the gash on her arm. She had been about to heal it with her wand when Marco explained his theory and that the bats could somehow sense when magic was used so now she was stuck with letting it heal naturally until she could safely use her wand again.

"Ah-hah!" Marcos scream of triumph shook Star off her thought train and she looked at the red bag he held in front of him proudly.

"What is it?"

"Oh nothing, just a good ol' first aid kit! I can use the supplies in here to sterilize and dress your wound so that it doesn't get infected." While Star was grateful for the help, she swore she would never use rubbing alcohol again. It didn't make sense to pour something on a wound that made it hurt worse.

"There, that's better," Marco was proud of himself. He remembered all the steps of properly dressing a wound and now he had potentially saved Stars life. Star/79 – Marco/3. He would work on evening the score out later, all that mattered was that he was gaining on her. "hey, I found some food, do you want me to get you something to eat?"

After a tired nod from his best friend, he put together some food that didn't need to be cooked. It was mainly just cereal and granola, but there wasn't a lot of options. He brought dinner out in two bowls only to find Star fast asleep.

Smiling softly, he grabbed a throw-blanket from the fireplace and draped it over her before leaving the bowl of food on the table by her head. Deciding Star had the right idea, he went to one of the bedrooms and was dreaming of his high school friends before his head hit the pillow.

AN: So, I bet a few of you are wondering why I decided to update a few days early. I'll be honest, last night was a rough one. I'm a freshman in college and I'm having a lot of trouble finding any friends and it hit me really hard last night. To make matters worse, my high school girlfriend and I were having our first real argument since we started doing long distance and to put it bluntly, I was not having a good time. And then I noticed I had an email from that said that this story had been added to someone's favorite story list. It was a little surreal because the first time someone favorites my story happens on one of my worst nights in months. I just wanted to take the time and say that I really appreciate that and it actually turned my night around.

This chapter is dedicated to show my thanks to JellyB3ll. Love the name by the way.

(and yes, I still plan to publish another chapter on Friday don't worry)

Okay, so now for my real authors note. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I'm trying to add more emotions into them and even starting to build some sub-plots. What do you guys think of the story? I'm extremely curious because one of the things on my bucket list is to get a book published and I don't want it to just be average. I want to write a book that people enjoy, something that they just can't put down. Any criticism is greatly appreciated.

See y'all on Friday.