All original characters, dialog and situations used from Star vs The Forces of Evil are © 2015-2019 The Walt Disney Company.

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All original characters, dialog and situations used from the fanfics are © 2015-present by their respective authors.

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This is a work of fiction portraying alternate universes; all similarities to beings living, dead, or undead are entirely convergent.

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Possible spoilers between the ⭐⭐and 🌟🌟.


XIII

⭐⭐ The peace and quiet of a barren mountain gave way to the sound and light of an opening space-time portal. Star and Marco jumped out of the portal together, onto a craggy outcropping of the mountainside. They stood, taking in the majestic sight of the foothills of the range, and the valleys and rivers beyond. The beauty was almost overwhelming.

As was the feeling of dread, that something was grievously wrong.

Hearing the sound of metal on stone, they turned around ... to find the AU's Star chained to the mountainside. Marco's heart hurt at the sight. Her skin was bone white and marred by black energy running through her veins. Her cheek marks were broken, cracked right down the middle. She looked more like a zombie than a living being.

"Jeebus," Star exclaimed, quietly.

At the sound, the poor girl's eyes flickered open. "Who are you?" she demanded. "Are you ... me? And Marco?" She shook her head. "You're dead ... either I'm losing it, or I'm dead too."

Star gently responded, "You're not dead. I'm Star Butterfly, a magical princess from an alternate universe, and this is my boyfriend, Lord Marco Diaz. As you guessed, I'm you ... but from another timeline."

Chained Star deflated; she would have sagged to the ground if not held up by her bonds. "Oh ... I actually understand that. Marco told me stories about ... about ..." She sobbed bitterly. "Oh, Marco, Marco..."

Marco asked Star, "Shouldn't we free her?"

Star responded, "Wouldn't that be too much interference in the timeline? As painful as it is, I think the answer has to be no ... and keep your shock to yourself. But maybe we can still ask her some questions."

"Why are you guys talking like I'm not here?"

"Sorry," Marco answered the chained young woman. "We really want to free you, but interf..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the AU's Star interrupted, weakly, "I got the same damn speech from Omnitraxus; I don't need to hear it again."

Marco looked sidelong at his Star, then continued, "Honey, what happened here?"

"Toffee," the girl answered, spitting out the name. "Somehow, some way, he got magic some years back. Bad, black, magic, worse than dark magic, worse than corrupted magic. We never learned how he got it, but there were rumors of a black-clad Mewman seen with Toffee before he suddenly had magic."

Star and Marco glanced knowingly at each other.

"That magic is what's running through my veins, suppressing my own magic and keeping me from escaping. Toffee injected the magic into me in a horrible, humiliating, way."

In unison, Star and Marco gasped, a look of absolute horror on their faces.

The AU's Star actually grinned. "No, not that way, dummies ... although it was almost as bad." She coughed, then continued, wheezing a bit, "Toffee destroyed the royal magic wand, killed my parents, killed the Magical High Commission ... killed pretty much everybody ... and captured me. Marco led an underground, cross-dimensional, resistance for years, but Toffee and his minions finally caught him by using me as a bait." Star's voice took on a somber, quiet, tone. "Toffee tore Marco to pieces in front of me."

Star and Marco recoiled in horror as they realized the source of the rust-colored stain they were standing on.

The girl's eyes closed for a few moments. She opened them again, focused them on Marco, then, her voice stronger but still quiet, said, "Marco, I love you. I love you, and I never got to say it. You never knew." She then passed out.

Marco took his Star's hand. Without needing to say a word to each other, the lovers returned home.

OoOoO — 1 — OoOoO —

Several seconds later, a dimensional portal opened on a ledge of a close-by mountain, a being in a black, hooded, cloak, stepping out. Bob quickly spied what she had come to see ... the universe's Star, bound, humiliated, and dying, chained to a mountain.

This universe's Toffee had done well in Bob's absence, continuing to use the black magic that she had connected him with, years ago, to thoroughly destroy the kingdoms of Mewni. More importantly, to her, Marco was dead and it appeared that Star would soon join him.

As Bob watched, a space-time portal opened. There were subtle differences to the portal, noticeable only to someone familiar with portals opened by Omnitraxus. Bob scowled; an Omnitraxus not only taking an interest in the affairs of the alternate multiverse, but actively interacting with it, was concerning.

A Marco fell out of the portal. He stood, spied Star, then ran to her, freeing her by cutting her chains with his dimensional scissors. He cradled the dying princess in his arms.

The pair talked for some minutes. Bob was contemplating whether she ought to move on the two, when they kissed. Bob felt rage blossom at the sight, as it always did. Before she could act, she saw Star's body go limp. By Marco's reaction she judged that Star had died. Her fury subsiding, Bob smiled, thinking, Looks like my job is done in this AU.

As Bob considered portalling onto the outcropping to confront Marco, a dimensional portal opened there, spitting out Toffee. Bob chewed her lip. Toffee was a formidable foe, and even if this unknown, to her, Marco was his match or better, their battle, which had just begun, would keep Marco occupied for some time. She decided the bigger threat was whichever Omnitraxus had opened the space-time portal. Bob opened a space-time portal of her own, leaving the AU to attempt to track down the mystery Omnitraxus ... and, if necessary, remove the danger he posed, permanently. 🌟🌟

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Rasticore lowered the electronic, military-grade, field glasses, a remarkable piece of technology he had picked up ... stolen, actually ... on Earth. He regarded them wistfully, wishing he'd had them on other jobs. He mused for several moments about how Earth was simultaneously far ahead and far behind Mewni when it came to technology, then stuffed the device into his field bag.

As promised, Rasticore was enjoying his second assignment from Buff Frog, and it was a doozy. He was to steal a small device, something called a W76-2 tactical nook, from the United States military. According to the specifications it was a 6 kiloton device ... which meant absolutely nothing to him. What was meaningful to him was its stated blast diameter of 3 miles, or the distance he could walk in around half an hour. Rasticore was impressed with the due diligence Buff Frog clearly had done; it was very small compared to other weapons of its kind, yet, if used on a population center such as Castle Village, it would nonetheless wipe out most of the enemy while posing little danger to Monster territory. That it would kill mainly civilians meant nothing to Rasticore; to him, all Mewmins were a threat to Monster-kind.

Buff Frog had already given Rasticore his third assignment, both to set in motion the search that would be needed, and to keep his eye out for its targets as he acquired the intelligence and equipment necessary for this job. Rasticore was to find all Septarians living in other dimensions, and, by any means necessary, voluntarily or not, return them to Mewni ... specifically, to New Septarsis. Rasticore doubted there were any Septarians in the Earth Dimension, but nonetheless kept both his eye and optical crystal open in the small chance he might encounter one.

But that was secondary at the moment. Today, Rasticore was outside a well guarded facility manufacturing the weapon he was to acquire. He ran down his checklist for a final time. It was a delicate operation, not just because, he grudgingly admitted, the plant had some of the best security he'd ever seen in the multiverse, but because the device used a substance that was exceptionally poisonous to life. From what he'd read, he was not certain even his Septarian biology would be sufficient to save him. He was absolutely certain that if he accidentally triggered the device, his healing ability would not work ... there'd be nothing left of him to heal.

The entire operation was complex and multifaceted. Not only did he have to steal the device, he had to steal the electronics and code books necessary to trigger the weapon. Despite the excellent security, he had secured the knowledge he needed ... it was a multiversal constant that beings could be compromised with money. As a merc, that didn't offend him at all.

Rasticore reached into his kit and pulled out Buff Frog's dimensional scissors. Rasticore still used his own device, his dimensional chainsaw, on missions, but this particular operation could not be put at risk by the temperamental gadget.

Rasticore slowly breathed in, then out, centering himself, bringing mind and body to its optimal state of readiness. He ran quick-diagnostic routines on his bionics, making sure they were charged and functional. He then cut open a portal into the base, stepping through.

OoOoO — 3 — OoOoO —

The serene calm of a verdant forest gave way to the light and sound of an opening space-time portal. Star and Marco stepped out, closing the portal behind them. As they attempted to get their bearings, they reveled in the cool breeze of an early summer day, drinking in the clean, fresh, air.

"Are you certain these adventures are a good idea with Bob being back?" Marco asked.

"I never said that," Star responded.

Marco sighed, then asked, "Any idea where we are?"

"I targeted a spot just outside the Forest of Certain Death, but this looks like the middle of it."

Marco took out his phone, using the magnetic compass to get a bearing. "If we're in the FCD, Butterfly Castle should be that way."

Star changed their outfits from winter clothes to those more suitable for summer, then the two teens headed off in the direction Marco had indicated. The going was tough, the understory thick and the forest floor cluttered with debris. After awhile, as they still struggled to make headway, Star said, "This is strange. We should have encountered a trail by now, either a game trail or a Mewman-made trail."

Something had been bothering Marco, and Star's mention of a game trail made him realize what it was. "Stop," Marco said, laying his hand on Star's shoulder. "Listen."

The pair listened. They heard nothing but the rustling of leaves, the gurgle of water somewhere in the distance, and the buzzing of insects.

"There're no birds!" Star exclaimed. "No sounds of animal life of any kind."

"Maybe this is a Mewni where animal life never evolved, and that aliens never discovered," Marco mused. Star shrugged. "Let's keep moving for a while longer."

Eventually, the pair arrived at the tree line of the forest. It ended about a hundred yards from the body of water that formed the natural moat around their universe's Castle Village and Butterfly Castle.

The water served as a moat in this universe as well ... but it was no longer needed for defense, as both village and castle were clearly uninhabited. The bridges having fallen into the water, the teens portaled across the moat and into the village.

Most of the village was greatly decayed, the majority of the buildings collapsed in on themselves. Standing in the street, the visitors could see that two towers of the castle had collapsed.

"What in the world happened here?" Marco asked.

"I dunno," Star answered. "There're no signs of a fire, or a battle ... if there was a plague, there should be bodies in the street. There's literally nothing."

"Bob, maybe?"

"I suppose that's possible, but she's generally more ... violent. There's no sign of that."

As Star and Marco continued walking toward the castle, they looked into several of the buildings that were still standing, finding nothing to give any clue. It was as if all animal life, including Mewman life, had suddenly disappeared.

Finally arriving at the castle, and climbing the treacherous stairs to the main entrance, the two forced the doors open. Marco conjured a blue-green Burning Sphere, setting it to follow behind them to light the way without destroying their night vision.

The inside of the castle was as decayed as the outside. Plant life had invaded the halls, covering statuary and other standing items. The few paintings and tapestries still hanging on the walls were torn and mildewed, badly faded, and crumbled to dust with the slightest touch. The patterns on them were unrecognizable.

"No sign of bodies in here, either," Star noted. "Not even any bones. Whatever happened here happened years ago, decades ago if there were once bones that have now turned to dust. Some of the things we've seen look like they've been deteriorating for a century."

The pair pushed on. They eventually arrived where Star's room was located in their castle; the graffiti on what was left of the door showed that it had been Star's room in this universe as well. Marco pushed the door out of the way, the wood disintegrating in his hand from rot.

The visitors explored the room. There were familiar objects still existing of tougher material than cloth or wood, such as pieces of that Star's armor, a mace, and her sword. In the clothes closet were the remnants of Star's clothing, but nothing was recognizable even though they were in decent shape; that Star had different fashion sense. "Or," Star said as Marco joined her after she beckoned him over, "she was much older when she disappeared. This appears to be the kind of stuff an old person would wear."

"Well, old-er," Marco interjected. "You seem to think anybody over twenty is an old pig-goat."

Star responded by sticking out her tongue.

"Later," Marco said, as he resumed his search.

Poking around in the secrets closet, Star dug through a small pile of debris, finding a lockbox. Taking it out into the room, she again called to her boyfriend, "Hey Marco, look at this. It's the same kind of box I kept my journal in after you found it."

Using magic, Star forced the lock, opening the box. Inside she found the AU's Star's journal, in excellent condition. She pulled out the book, flipping it to a random page.

"'On my tenth birthday,'" Star read, "'I put Noxie Frogs in all the servants' beds.'" Star closed the journal. "Actually, Marco, you shouldn't be reading this. It's private."

Marco pouted a little. "I thought we weren't keeping secrets from each other."

"We're not. But she's not me ... have a little respect for the dead."

"But spying on the living is okay? Whatever..." Marco replied, clearly piqued. He walked over to poke some more through the secrets closet.

Star cleared a patch on the floor and sat. She flipped through the book, finding passages nearly identical to the ones she had written in her own. She skipped ahead, looking for any major differences from events as she knew them. She found a passage relating events that she never experienced, and looking further ahead, decided she had found the point of deviation. She began reading more carefully from that spot.

As Star read, she began to realize the events recorded there were familiar. Finally, she placed them. This is like the AU we visited where the Butterflys destroyed the magic and Earth and Mewni were cleaved, she thought. In fact, it's exactly the same until...

Until...

Until...

"Oh, no," Star whispered. A cold chill ran the length of her spine as she began quickly turning the pages, skimming the writing. It told the tale of a queen descending into madness until one day...

Star slammed the book closed. Her eyes began to flit around the room, but they didn't focus on any one thing.

"Star?" Marco asked worriedly, noticing the change in Star's demeanor as he stepped out of the closet.

Star didn't reply. She laid the journal on the floor, stood, then walked to the window, continuing her rapid thoughts as she looked around the landscape. Marco could see her begin to tremble and breathe rapidly, as she became more and more agitated.

Star was clearly terrified. Marco felt fear rise in his gut; he was proud of his brave warrior princess, so anything that could raise this level of fear in her had to be bad. Very bad.

"Star, please ..." Marco began, but Star interrupted him by turning and running to him, embracing him so hard he had trouble breathing. He began to speak, but stopped in confusion when he felt her trembling become shaking.

Star broke the hug, stepping back to look Marco in the eyes; hers were brimming with tears, and her face was bright red. Near panic, in a quavering voice, Star said, "I know who Bob is. We have to go. Now!" She abruptly turned away.

"Star?" Marco began, seeking understanding, but the only response he received was a loud, hysterical, "NOW!"

Star opened a space-time portal and raced through. Marco eyed the book for a moment. What could be so bad that it would terrify Star this much? he asked himself. His concern bordering on terror of his own, constricting his heart, Marco grabbed the journal, then followed Star through the portal.

Marco stepped out of the space-time portal into Star's room on Mewni. Star had already begun acting on her new knowledge, standing before an open All-Seeing Eye, its gale blowing about the room.

"What are you doing?" Marco asked, as he set the journal down on Star's desk. "We've tried that enough times now to know it isn't going to work."

"It will this time," Star responded, "now that I know who Bob is and what she can do. That knowledge allows me to adjust the Eye to break through her cloaking spell, same as Eclipsa did mine."

The Eye's purple and yellow flames shimmered and sputtered like a campfire, expanding and contracting in fits and starts. The viewport settled when a third flame, bright pink, joined the other two.

The altered spell worked; Bob's location appeared within the flames. The two teens stared at the image, processing what they were seeing. When realization hit, Star gave a squeak, eyes wide with shock, causing the spell to end.

Star and Marco continued staring in stunned silence at the empty space where the Eye's projection had been. Finally, in unison, they exclaimed:

"Fuck!"

OoOoO — 3 — OoOoO —

Star, Marco and Janna stepped out of a dimensional portal, fully armored, into the Royal Rose Garden. They were greeted by the sight of Moon standing tall and regal, a look of suspicion and anger on her face, while Eclipsa stood slightly to the front and left of her, wond at the ready to protect her queen. Across from them stood Bob, hands clasped behind her, as enigmatic as ever.

Screwing up her courage and swallowing her terror, Star yelled, "Step away from them, bitch!" as Marco and Janna moved to cover Moon and Eclipsa.

"What is the meaning of this?" Moon demanded. "If I had wanted you here, I would have summoned you. Bob was attempting to explain ..."

"Shut it, mom!"

Moon took in an angry breath to chastise her impertinent daughter, but before she could speak, Marco caught her eye and shook his head. Moon stifled her remark.

"You conniving, lying, murdering, bitch! I know who you are!"

"And who am I?" Bob asked calmly.

"You're a Butterfly queen from another timeline."

"Congratulations," Bob said, "you're the first Star to figure it out."

Star hesitated. She hadn't actually figured it out, she had happened upon the information by pure luck. She decided there was nothing to be gained by revealing that little tidbit.

"That's right, I figured it out," Star responded. "Everybody, meet ... Star Butterfly, a magical queen from an alternate universe."

Bob pulled back her hood, revealing bluish-silver hair the same color as Star's streaks and Moon's long tresses. The hair was short, parted on the side and combed over, in the exact same style as Star's in her new Butterfly Monster form. Bob's face was careworn, lined by age, stress, and exposure. Her blue eyes were dull, bereft of any sign of kindness, and her pink, heart-shaped, Magic-Pips were spiderwebbed with purple veins. A livid, vertical, scar creased each pip, giving them the appearance of having cracked and broken.

A shocked silence fell across the Rose Garden. Moon broke the silence, muttering, "So that's why we felt so strongly we should give her a chance to speak ... and why her magic felt both familiar and different."

The standoff continued until, finally, Marco managed a stuttering, "wh ... wh ... why?"

"Because you don't deserve happiness, none of you!" Bob screeched. Calming, she continued, "I was betrayed by everybody I ever knew or loved. Even my Marco left me, letting himself be killed by that dark unicorn when we went to the realm of magic to destroy the magic. I got my revenge, killing them all, Mewman and Monster alike. But it wasn't enough; Omnitraxus showed me how to visit other timelines, and I saw all those Stars and Marcos that had each other, in peace. That's not right." Bob's eyes widened, shimmering with an azure fire that showed not anger, but crazy. "If I can't have peace, if I can't have my Marco, I'll see to it that none of you can!"

Marco joined Star, where they looked at each other for several seconds. Marco was incredulous. "That's ridiculous," he responded, as they looked back at Bob. "You're making a joke at our expense."

Bob merely shrugged.

Doctor North's words about Star's fear of losing Marco, and witnessing the results firsthand in Nova, came screaming out of her memory. She turned back to Marco; she couldn't decide if she was proud or disappointed that he still could not believe she ... or any Star ... could be capable of such behavior. She laid her hand on Marco's forearm, whispering, "Marco ... Nova." Marco's eyes widened, then he exhaled a small sigh of sadness.

Addressing Bob, Star called out, "Listen, it's not too late. Stay here; we can help you. Maybe you could even be happy."

Bob laughed, a laugh not of amusement, but of madness. Her Magic-Pips began to glow as she started channeling magic.

Star, Marco, Janna, and Moon fell into defensive stances as they channeled their own magic, while Eclipsa brandished the wond, crackling with purple fire.

"Welp," Janna said, "you can't reason with crazy."

OoOoO — 3 — OoOoO —

Star and Marco painfully picked themselves up off the ground. When Bob's attack had come, it caught the teens completely by surprise; rather than the expected magical attack, she had opened a dimensional portal beneath their feet. They emerged about ten feet above the ground, falling painfully onto an exposed outcropping of rock.

Star recovered first, flashing into her Butterfly Monster form. She waved her arms to open a dimensional portal ... to no effect. She tried again, and again, and again, with the same results.

"Cob dammit!" Star yelled. "Marco, scissor a portal!"

Marco quickly pulled his dimensional scissors from their pocket on his armor. He cut up ... to no result. Another try failed as well. "What the fuck?" he exclaimed through clenched teeth. "Star, try your compact phone."

Star returned to her humin form, then pulled her phone from her armor, commanding, "Call mom." The magic mirror rang through, but Moon did not answer. "Why won't she answer?"

Marco face palmed. "Because she's too busy fighting Bob to take a phone call." Marco thought quickly. "Would Bob have had time to put up a new block on spying spells?"

"Only one way to find out." Star opened an All-Seeing Eye.

The Eye showed nothing but fuzz and flashes, like a mis-tuned analog television. However, Bob's hastily erected block still allowed sound to come through.

"Janna! Take the wond! We need your Pink Night...oof!"

"Eclipsa!"

"I'm ... a little damaged, but I'm okay."

"I can't get to you! Moon?"

There was a crash, followed by a shriek in Moon's voice.

"Mom!" yelled Star at the Eye.

"We have to go," Moon's voice came through, a little pained, "but I can't open a portal."

"None of us can," Janna replied. "Look out!"

Eclipsa yelled, "Midnight Shriek!"

The sounds of multiple explosions, crackling from demon flames, and what could only be the sounds made by cast spells, erupted from the eye.

Her voice thick with fear and desperation, Janna yelled, "Get behind my shield! Now! Move! Move!" A "boom" sounded. "Get out of here! I'll keep her off you! Go! Run!"

For what seemed like hours, but could only have been tens of seconds, the sounds of the battle emerged from the eye. Finally, there was a crash, followed by a pain-filled grunt from Janna. She yelled, "Marco! TOM!" followed by a blood-curdling scream the likes of which Star and Marco had never heard before. The Eye closed mid-scream.

Star and Marco embraced, placing their foreheads together. Their emotions out of control, they sank to the ground, sobbing and shuddering, overcome with worry for their family and friend, fearing the absolute worst.

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⭐⭐ Inspired by Stay by IceFire9 (www dot fanfiction dot net /s/12894415). 🌟🌟

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A/N: thus ends the "midseason finale." Given how much effort I put into teasing Bob's identity in book two, my original intent was to clearly state her identity within the first three chapters of book three. However, it didn't quite work out, there being certain plot points I felt absolutely had to be put into place before the big reveal.

Unfortunately, as "Sweet Pete" said, "Death's coming for us all, kid." Or in this case, "life." My preference is to have an entire book in rough draft form before I publish the first chapter, but not only was I not able to do that for book three, I still haven't done so with what remains. Nothing bad has happened, it's just that things that need my attention have piled up to create a giant steaming heap of responsibility that must be addressed. As such, this story is going on hiatus for at least six weeks.

Fear not, dear reader; you will get your closure. The major plot points that remain consist of extensive notes and partial drafts, so in the worst-case scenario I could publish those ... sort of like what is being done with the final season of The Owl House. However, I hope that doesn't become necessary as it will mean my life has really gone down the Thomas Crapper. Au revoir, but absolutely not goodbye.


As always, stay amazing!