Star wasn't able to get much sleep last night. Every time she either saw Dippers broken face or Marcos face, bleeding tears. She ended up huddled in the roots of a giant hardwood tree.

Her stomach growled, she hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday, and even then, it was only a snack. Her emotional state had hampered her hunger for the past several days.

What was she going to do? She couldn't rescue Marco on her own, Bill had stopped her ances- Eclipsa's most powerful spell. Star had to remind herself that they weren't actually related. She'd been so focused on the present, she forgot about what the future could look like. Eclipsa had birthright to the throne, would she take it from the Butterfly family? Would they be forced to leave the castle?

A low rumble shook her from her thoughts. The ground vibrated Star. Of course! Dipper and Mabel had planned to attack Bill's pyramid early this morning. She owed it to them to help.

Star started to stand up but hesitated. Would they want her? What if Dipper would rather her gone? She shook her head; they needed all the help they could get. She needed to go and at least try to help.

Star started running towards the floating pyramid. She almost lost her footing as the ground rumbled. The battle for Earth had started. Her run turned into a sprint as she felt the earth shuddered again.

At first Star hated the mini quakes, but then she realized that it meant the fight was still raging. That her new friends were still fighting.

Star finally got to the tree line and could what she saw made her whoop for joy. The mystery shack had grabbed hold of Bills eye and ripped it out. Star felt a sick sense of pleasure overtake her. That monster was getting what he deserved.

As Bill was screaming, the totem pole changed its angle slightly. Star watched as tiny dots were shot out of it. The rescue team was on its way, maybe they would save Marco. She watched as the parachutes disappeared into the pyramid.

"Hey Achilles! Nice Heel!" Star turned her attention back to the brawl between Bill and the Mystery Shack, except it wasn't a brawl anymore. Bill had noticed the shield didn't cover the entire robot and had ripped the legs off. The mystery shack was immobile now.

Bill wasted no time. He threw punch after punch. Star watched in horror as cracks started to appear on the shield. She needed to do something.

Star unfroze as her instincts took over. Her eyes glowed blazing white and she raised her wand. She wouldn't sit by any longer. Her wand turned into a rocket launcher and she launched the magical detonation device towards the demon. It hit his back and exploded in rainbows. And fire. Star was even thrown off her feet by the concussive blast.

When she looked back at Bill, it was almost as if she was looking at a picture. The demon looked stunned; his swing stopped midflight. It was if the spell had actually hurt him, there was even a smoking crater on his back. Maybe, he'd been able to shrug off magic in the book of spells because he'd known about them.

"WHAT!?" Star could just barely make out what Bill said because of the ringing in her ears. His bricks separated, spun one hundred eighty degrees, and reconnected. It was the weirdest way Star had ever seen something turn around.

"Star Butterfly, I Thought You'd Be Off Crying. No Matter. This Won't Take Long." Laser beams shot out of his fingertips. They weren't red like in those movies she'd watch with Marco on movie night, though. They were white in the center and tinted neon green on the edges. Star jumped back as the smell of acid filled her nose. Everything the lasers touched was melting like plastic. Bill wasn't holding back this time.

Well neither would Star.

(Line Break)

Dipper couldn't believe it.

Star had not only come back, but she'd saved his friends in the mystery shack and was now fighting Bill one on one. He watched as rainbows and narwhales covered the ground. It reminded Dipper of when he'd left the Dusk 2 Dawn convenience store and came across the liquid rainbow goo in the middle of the town. He'd almost run into Star days before they actually met, interesting.

"C'mon Dipper, Star can handle herself. We need to free the people." Wendy shook him out of his daydreams. She was right, they had a job to do and there was no telling how long Star would be able to hold Bill off.

He'd heard of the throne when Star had told them what to expect, but to actually see it was just unreal. He could make out faces of people he knew; Robbie, Gideons dad, Lazy Susan. Even the pizza guy was stone. And perched on the left armrest was Great Uncle Ford!

"Start pulling on people! We need to get them out of here!"

"It's the mayor! He's the cornerstone!" Dipper looked up. Gideon was stuck in what appeared to be a very large bird cage off to the left of the throne of human agony. He was wearing a frilly blue dress and a full face of makeup. Poor Gideon.

They quickly searched for Tyler (the mayor) and found him on the front right leg of the throne. When they pulled him out, the entire thing collapsed. As the stone statues fell, they reverted back to their original forms. Human.

"Ughh, my head." Lazy Susan rubbed her eyes and looked around. "Wait… Where am I?" Wendy threw her out of the way to get to her father, whom Susan had landed on. Dipper looked around; Ford must be around here somewhere. He'd been mixed in with all the other people after the collapse.

"Dipper! My boy, you've done it! Oh I knew you would." Dipper knew that rough voice anywhere. He turned around, only to be thrown into a hug. He'd done it, he'd saved Ford. The weight that'd been weighing him down vanished.

"Ford! We have to hurry and stop Bill. Star can only keep him occupied for so long."

"Star?" Ford shook his head. "No matter, we can stop him now. Does anyone have some kind of paint!"

Robbie came forward with some spray paint he'd planned on using to vandalize the pyramid, typical. Ford snatched it and started to draw a big circle on the floor. Dipper was helping his mentor as much as he could when Mabel found him.

"Dipper! You need to see this." She yanked Dippers hand and dragged him towards one of the side chambers. Inside one of the doors was a young teenager. He was wearing the remains of a red hoodie; it'd been torn to shreds. There was blood splattered on the walls and the whole place smelled of iron and it left a metallic taste hanging in the air.

"Oh my… help me get him out of here, Mabel." Together, they were able to lift him up and dragged him back to the main area. This must be Marco. Dipper would ask him, but he wasn't entirely conscious. In fact, his only signs of life were the occasional moan to being moved.

Dipper took off his puffy vest and put it under the poor man's head. There was a particularly nasty gash over his left eye that'd definitely scar over. If he survived. His skin was white, as if most of the blood had been drained out of him. Remembering the red on the walls, Dipper decided it probably had been.

"Hey Dipper! Come over here! And bring Mabel!" Dipper reluctantly left Marco. Ford had drawn a symbol that looked vaguely familiar. It was a circle, about twenty feet in diameter, with various symbols inside the perimeter. It was the symbols! He recognized the shooting star that was on Mabel's favorite sweatshirt. She was even wearing it now!

"I first came across these symbols years ago, back when I was still working with Bill. I had no idea what these symbols meant, but perhaps it was because the time wasn't right yet." Robbie came up and noticed one of the other symbols.

"Woah… destiny sweater." It was the stupid stitched up heart that he'd worn for years. Dipper wondered how often it got washed. Not often enough.

Each symbol could be traced to someone who had either been part of the rescue party or one of the rescued. There was even a symbol for Gruncle Stan. Dipper was honestly surprised he'd come. He'd half expected him to stick it to the man and stay back.

Dippers own symbol was the pine tree. It was crazy to think that there was an ancient circle that had accurately been able to guess what hat he'd be wearing today.

Dipper listened to the battle going on outside while the others marveled at the magical circle. He could hear the ground rumble as multiple detonations went off. Star must really be giving Bill a run for his money. Occasional bright flashes lit up the inside of the pyramid from the window. Dipper could almost imagine that it was just a thunderstorm outside and not the battle for all humanity.

"I spent years trying to bring you back! I even came on this suicide mission to save you!" Gruncle Stans explosion whipped Dipper back into the moment. He was yelling at his brother. "And what do I get?! Nothing! Not even a thank you!

"Well I'm sick and tired of waiting for it, I'm out of here!" Stan threw his hat on the ground and stomped away.

"Stan, wait!" Ford called out. He ran over to his twin. "You're right. You've done a lot for me over the years and I've done nothing to show my appreciation for it. Thank you."

"That's all I wanted, was that so hard?"

"Well, considering you were the reason I was put in all those situa-" Gruncle Stan tackled Ford to the ground.

"I can't believe you!" Dipper tried to intervene, but they were too far gone to care. Their emotions had been building up for weeks now, there was no stopping this brawl. Stanley threw a wicked right hook at his brother. His nose started to dribble blood into his mouth.

"You're ruining everything!" Ford yelled at Stanley. "All you had to do was hold my hand, and we could've defeated Bill!"

"Me?! You're the one that let that demon into your head! You built the very thing that let him cross through!" Gruncle Stan stood up and left his brother bleeding on the floor. He was suddenly very calm, and that was even more scary. "Don't lecture me on your lack of foresight."

Everyone had stopped to watch the brawl and it was dead silent. Gruncle Stan spit out blood on the floor, turned around, and walked away. Ford didn't attempt to get up. The words had hurt worse than the punches.

Something wasn't right, and not just with the family relationship. Dipper had missed something; he was sure of it. Suddenly it came to him. The noise! It was still dead silent after that brawl. He should be able to hear the fight going on outside.

"Oh Wow! That Was Interesting!" Bill's voice loomed from above him and the limp form of Star Butterfly was unceremoniously dropped onto the ground.

Unmoving.

AN: Hey guys. I'll be honest, this isn't my most polished chapter, but I have been super busy this week. I had two exams, two finals, and a poster presentation. I am also auditioning for a drum corps group tomorrow and have been practicing a lot for that recently. My workload lightens up next week so you can expect a longer chapter. Thanks for getting this far in the story, it means a lot.

See y'all next week.