This is a proper return to Star and Marco, with the narrative making a major step forward from this point onward. Expect a lot of great action specifically coming up. More comments below. Special thanks goes out to RickRolland and Blackwolf for feedback and suggestions on the chapter's ending.

In her short few weeks with Marco, Star saw many aspects of her new partner. The fact he was a bit of a neat freak, which was both cute and annoying. How he has more cute moles in places he doesn't like speaking off.

But seeing her 'wildman' faint like a frightened pig-goat amused her to no end. She just shook her head and picked him up, gently putting him in their room's large bed and he sunk into a spot that very much matched his body.

Jackie raised her finger, but one knowing smirk from Star silenced the girl. Mariposa looked lost but Star wasn't concerned about a fairy of all things understanding those things.

"Before we go downstairs and get some food in our bellies, can you both uh…" Star folded her arms, sitting down on the bed and slightly bouncing from the impact. "...Explain your deal? I know Marco told me you two dated so…"

And bad enough I got that Janna girl to worry about.

"I didn't come to Mewni for Marco, if that's what you're wondering… Star, right?" She nodded and Jackie sat down next to her, looking over the sleeping form of Marco. "He's kinda cute when out cold like that."

Star giggled in agreement.

"He has his dorky moments…" Star turned toward Mariposa, a hardened look forming on her face. "And you are his sister right?"

She nodded, flying around Star as a trail of sparkles followed her every move.

"Yeah! And you must be his Princesa." Star raised an eyebrow, thinking the little fairy just said 'Princess' wrong somehow.

"I'm a Queen, but close enough I guess you cutie." Star held out her finger, with Mariposa flying down and sitting on it like a perched bird. "If I had to make a guess… You are one of those 'souls' lingering in the Realm of Magic and somehow latched on to Jackie over here."

Jackie and Mariposa blinked, giving Star shocked looks.

"What? I know my magic."

And it's not like I didn't have much of a choice. Those lessons Miss Heinous and Glossy taught me were intense.

"So you know how to return MarMar to 'normal', or something like it then." Jackie asked with Star shaking her head.

"Believe me, if we could just pluck souls outta the Realm of Magic, a lot of Mewni Queens would still be here right now. Heck, I would've tried getting Mom back if I could." She gave Mariposa a somber look. "You might've found a way to come back, but you will have to return there sooner or later."

"Oh…" Mariposa frowned, her wings slumping and she weakly flew toward Jackie, resting on her shoulder and hugging her legs. "I guess I should make sure Big Bro doesn't do anything stupid while I'm still around then."

"He's done plenty of stupid things already," Star started, a weak laugh escaping her lips. "I love him but I've never met a person so willingly to throw himself into danger for me."

Jackie got up, looking around the room and stretching her legs. "Well, Janna's going to make things harder for you guys once she finds us, so best we get a move on before that happens."

Star sighed, folding her arms and looking at Marco's sleeping form.

Would you…

She shook her head, looking toward the sky and seeing the familiar blood moon peeking through the hellish morning skies.

One of the few good things you offer, Blood Moon.

"Sorry for the damages…" Star passed a bag of gold to a short demon lady, who had a scowl on her face. She yanked the bag from Star, looking between her and Jackie.

The duo left the room after a rather long break down on Jackie's misadventures through Tom's dungeons and Mariposa decided to watch over her hermano, whatever that meant. Star frowned at the imp looking genuinely annoyed at Star as they opened up the bag and began counting the gold coins inside. Star rolled her eyes at the sight and walked toward a nearby table, sitting down and gesturing to Jackie to join her.

Guess now that my cover's blown, they aren't going to be as friendly.

Remembering how fun it was just hanging out with her former subjects, Star really enjoyed their company, despite how morbid they acted sometimes. Marco's reaction to how skeletons and demons carried themselves made her very much amused.

"So…" Jackie started, sitting down across from Star and rubbing her arm awkwardly. "What do you make of everything?"

Star laughed, shaking her head amused.

Meeting my dead mom? Somehow getting her magic? And plucking a soul from the Realm of Magic?

"I mean, some of it lines up with what Glossy told me," Star held up her hand, with a waitress coming their way and passing glasses of water for her and Jackie. She mouthed 'thank you' before she took a sip and continued. "Before portals, people traveled to different parts of Mewni using the Magic Wells."

The magic wells are a new thing though, surprised they still work considering…

"How did they remember things though?" Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Janna and I forgot everything when we walked through there."

Star shrugged her shoulders and rested her arm on the table. "You guys are human, maybe you need more magic exposure to get immune to that stuff." She tapped her chin, frowning. "Though, even Mewni Queens that traveled through there had issues remembering things. Mom told me…"

Silence lingered in the air, with Star sighing in defeat. Jackie reached over, patting Star's hand.

"I know the feeling, girl. When we lost MarMar, it hit me like a truck. Poor girl…"

Star leaned back, relaxing in her seat.

"Anyway, I'm more curious about you, Jackie." Jackie leaned forward. "How did you get my Mom's magic? I felt some magical tether-thing between you and the cute little fairy."

Jackie nodded, taking a sip from her drink.

"MarMar told me she got our magic from your Mom, from the sounds of it. Not sure how long this will last but…" Jackie touched her outfit, giving it a somewhat embarrassed look. "Don't want to look like this back home. Might get called a hooker or something."

Star waved her hand, giving Jackie a somewhat flirty smirk.

"You rock that look too well, girl. No wonder Marco liked you." Jackie blushed, looking away from Star. "But I'm sure once you guys return home, whatever magic you're using will fizzle out anyway."

Jackie tilted her head, confused at Star's words.

"See, on Mewni magic comes from exposure to it and all that. I grew up using my wand and my Mom had a ton of magic in her, so all that power was passed down to me." She folded her arms, giving Jackie a more serious look. "That trident you swiped from Tommy is going to help a lot, but be careful. His dark magic might be in there."

I sure hope you don't have an 'edgy' phase like Marco does.

Star made a mental note to study Jackie's weapon later.

Jackie looked away from Star, as if having a hard time asking her question.

"...And what do you make of Janna?"

Star covered her face, feeling exhausted already. Jackie winced at Star's almost disgusted expression.

Stump please help me…

She really didn't want to deal with scorned lover crap on both ends.

Between Tommy and Janna, I don't feel like dealing with some crappy triangle thing.

But seeing Jackie's concerned eyes, Star sighed.

Janna IS important to them…

"Well… Janna clearly made a deal with Eclipsa. And the old hag is actively messing with us," Star started, finishing her water and holding up her hand. "Can I get some strong Butterfly Ale? And a glass for my cute friend here?"

"Right away," The waitress replied, taking Star's glass and walking off.

"You can take your alcohol, huh?" Jackie smirked, with Star proudly smiling in response. The waitress came back with glasses for the two girls and they mouthed 'thank you' before they each took a sip. Jackie visibly recoiled at the strong taste, while Star happily drank half her cup. "Damn, this stuff is strong…"

Star wiped her lips and leaned back in her seat.

"You get used to it, but regarding Janna…" Star looked toward the open window, seeing the blood red morning skies of the Lucitor Kingdom. "...She's got some impressive magic for a human. So not only did she use Dreamwalking to spy on Marco and I's fun time, but she also made a clone of him?"

"Yeah and…" Jackie blinked. "Fun time?"

Star smirked, with Jackie shaking her head in disbelief.

"...So much for being a Safe Kid."

The things we did…

Star blushed, unsure how appropriate it would be to tell Jackie everything.

…Maybe when we are a bit more drunk and don't have angry ex's to worry about.

"He's anything but safe," Star boasted, with Jackie rolling her eyes. "Surprised he never tried anything with you." Star leaned forward, taking a sip from her drink. "Bad break up? Or are those things frowned upon on Earth?"

Jackie took a large swig from her drink. "It was pretty bad, everyone saw it too." She put her mug down, leaning on the counter. "Thankfully, I can take a bad break up. Though Marco's cold-shoulder act stung for a bit though."

Silence lingered, with Star studying Jackie's somber expression.

Reminds me of…

Star wondered if she would've felt the same way Jackie's feeling if Marco didn't pop up on Mewni. Thinking about it, Star would have to admit Tom left a pretty wide hole in her heart once the Blood Moon spilled the beans on everything.

"I can relate, girl," Star leaned back in her chair, eyes firmly looking at the Blood Moon peeking out from the sky. "Thankfully, that Blood Moon brought Marco to me at the right time." Star took a sip from her drink. "Can't believe we have to watch out for two bitter ex's though."

Jackie snorted at how Star praised that, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Really don't care about pissing off a demon king, huh girl?" Star mouthed 'nope' but her somewhat somber expression said otherwise. "Tom creeped me out during my run in with him. How did you put up with that temper?"

Star's eyes narrowed, an icy blue replacing their normally warm hue. Star was no stranger to Tom's more 'angry' moments and despite how much he's grown over the years, Tom was still a demon at heart.

"I didn't," Star said bluntly, a scowl forming in her lips. "The moment Tom got handsy or was a bit much, I put him in his place."

Jackie whistled, taking a sip from her drink.

"Look, Jackie. I'm Mewni's Queen and I don't have time for nonsense." She sighed, looking toward a set of stairs leading up to her room. "I really hope Marco…"

Jackie raised an eyebrow, asking her to continue. Star shook her head, finishing her drink and stretching her arms.

"Speaking of Sleeping Beauty, is he still out cold?" Jackie asked, leaning on the table and looking unimpressed. "I know seeing MarMar again would spook him but he looked like I had three heads when I crashed in."

Star giggled.

She couldn't help but be impressed with Jackie. Being around Princesses for her entire lifetime, Star always was impressed with how each royal carried themselves. Different dress designs reflecting the kingdom they came from, the colorful personalities reflecting their cultures and even how different they looked considering how varied Mewni is.

Similarly, Jackie peaked Star's interest for that reason. For a human, she nailed the royal princess look without any issue. Rather than having a 'prim' and 'proper' look the Butterfly royals typically carried, Jackie looked very much more adventurous and bold.

Maybe I should ask that little fairy to make one for me, though I might need to change some sizes in a few places.

She shook her head, not wanting to muddle her thoughts much.

"Don't sell yourself short, girl. And Marco fainted during our first time."

Jackie shook her head, genuinely smiling at Star. The girls gave one another thankful looks, both seemingly reading each other's thoughts.

Really glad she's cool, maybe we can be good friends after all.

Star remembered when Marco offhandedly mentioned Jackie on their travels and part of her was annoyed with her. Competition and Mewni Queens do not mix well together, especially when their mates get involved. But seeing Jackie not only be super friendly to her, but actually be fun to talk with, Star was relieved to have another new friend.

Reminds me of when Pony Head was worth talking too back then…

Star looked toward the nearby window, reflecting on her time before Saint O's happened.

"You know, Jackie…" Jackie leaned forward. "Maybe when all this is over, we could visit the Bounce Lounge if that's still around."

"Is that some kind of bar? I'd be down for some good times."

Star smirked, holding out her fist. Jackie fist bumped it and the girls heard loud Spanish coming from the stairs leading to the hotel rooms. Star couldn't make out any of it, but seeing Jackie laugh at it amused her.

Ah, so she understands some of that… Language, Marco mumbles sometimes during our 'adventures'.

They saw two figures come down the stairs. The first was Mariposa, flying ahead and yelling at Marco something she couldn't make out. He shook his head in disbelief but Star's eyes widened at the smile on his face. It was the happiest he's looked since he arrived on Mewni.

Marco noticed Star looking at him, waving hello at her and Jackie. "Sorry I was out cold for a while. I uh…" He looked at Jackie then quickly looked away from her, rubbing his neck and blushing. "I never expected to see you again, Jackie."

She punched Marco's arm, giving him a playful smile. "It's fine dude. To be fair, even I was kinda taken off guard at MarMar's fashion choices."

Marco blinked. Then he shook his head as he sat down next to Star.

"Of course she did. You take too much after Janna, hermana." He ignored the annoyed gaze of Mariposa, giving Jackie a serious look. "MarMar gave me the short version of everything but… Is it true? That Janna is looking for me and she's…"

Jackie nodded, a harsh look now on her face.

"She took you leaving bad, man." Jackie laughed, shaking her head. "And to think I thought you handled our break up badly."

Marco frowned, looking at the table in shame. Star put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a supporting look.

"We took down some pretty intense monsters on the way here, Marco. And besides, you got those on your hands anyway." Marco looked down at his hands, feeling the protective weight of the wand gauntlets. "I'm sure Janna will be easy too…" Take down. "...talk to once she wakes up a bit."

"Y-Yeah…" Marco rubbed his neck, looking at Jackie. "So, you can use magic too? What's it like? The magic I can use is either thanks to Star's Wand or some dark magic stuff I stumbled across in an odd dream."

Jackie blinked.

"You can use Dark Magic too, Marco?" Star nodded, taking a sip from her drink.

"He's using spells not even written in the family book of spells too, so Marco is pretty impressive with his dark magic." She elbowed Marco, giving him a proud smile. "But since he can get all edgy using it, I'm holding his other sword."

Jackie leaned forward, having a playful smile.

"Oh, so you are a hero or something here. Guess your training back home was destined for your Mewni adventure, dude." Marco laughed awkwardly, before sighing in defeat.

Destiny…

Star looked toward the open window and once more saw the Blood Moon trying to peek through the skies.

"Maybe it is something like that…" Star started, making both Marco and Jackie turn toward her. "The Blood Moon brought him to Mewni and I actually read up on it… Well, whatever Tom's books had on it. Damned things were all ripped up for some reason."

Marco folded his arms as Mariposa sat on his shoulder. "Did that explain those strange dreams?" Star shook her head, making Marco sigh. "Well, what did they say then?"

"The basics, blah blah blah 'souls bound together' and blah blah 'ruby' something." Star shook her head. "Tom better explain this stuff once we get our hands on him."

Marco shuttered, making Mariposa jump off his shoulder.

"He's nothing more than an angry chucho," Mariposa hovered around the group. "Besides, Princess Oasis was able to encase him in ice! And with you two helping us, we could easily take him down."

Star snorted.

"Princess Oasis? Really?"

Jackie smirked, leaning back in her seat.

"I'm vibing with it. Took a bit to get used to though."

Marco gave Mariposa a look, with the siblings seemingly silently communicating with one another with just facial expressions and hand gestures.

Marco finally spoke up and looked genuinely angry. "You aren't helping us fight, you are way too small and could easily get hurt."

Mariposa scoffed, puffing up her cheeks and angry hearts appearing around her. "I can TOO fight, tonto." She got right in Marco's face, poking his nose. "I'm the reason Jackie can fight at all!"

Marco looked in his lap, a knowing scowl on his lips.

Here we go. Blaming himself for something again.

Remembering how Marco handled fighting… and killing the monsters, she quickly took control of the situation and got Marco's attention.

"Look, we can train them if it makes you feel better," Star put a hand on his arm, gently rubbing it. "And you didn't bring them to Mewni. They came on their own from the sounds of it."

Jackie nodded, but Marco shook his head. He had a hardened look, his brown eyes shining purple for a split second.

"If the Blood Moon didn't spirit me away, they wouldn't even know what a Mewni is." His frown deepened. "And I'm the reason Janna is…"

"No!" Marco jumped, seeing Mariposa fly around him. "Big Sis is impulsive and stupid like you."

Jackie snorted, forcing herself to contain laughter. Star just blinked, looking confused at the exchange.

"She always loved being loca and now that she's embraced dark magic…" She rubbed her arm, looking away from Marco. "Big Sis is even more scary now."

"Janna only embraced Dark Magic because…"

"For the same reason you did, tonto!" Mariposa shouted at him, her somewhat intense voice masked by how small it sounded. "You embraced it for Star and Janna embraced it for you."

The table went silent, with the obvious being aired out. Star wanted to speak but no word could escape her lips. She collapsed her hands together and tried her best to think of the right words, knowing Marco looked utterly defeated this moment.

"...Marco, remember our promise."

He lifted his head, looking squarely at her blue eyes.

"That we will share the burden, remember?"

Marco nodded, his frown being replaced by a confident smile.

"Yeah… Don't worry hermana, as long as Star's with us, things will be okay. I promise."

Mariposa looked convinced, smiling as sparkles resumed trailing every movement she made. Jackie looked between Star and Marco, seeing how confident they made one another. Star picked up on Jackie's look, feeling somewhat prideful at the unspoken approval from her.

"Alright, guess we should get going then?" Marco got up, stretching his arms. "I'll pick up Nachos from around back, you guys can get a head start."

"Nachos?" Jackie asked, looking to Star for an answer.

"You'll see." Star finished her ale and slammed the mug on the counter. "Alright girls, let's get out of this kingdom."

The girls got their things and walked outside, with Jackie's eyes widening at the sight before her. Towering giant demons, little and large flying gargoyles and bat creatures alike, familiar skeletons roaming about and even succubus's flirting with long horned demons.

"Wow." Jackie looked to Star, giving her a baffled expression. "You were okay ruling over all of… this?"

Star folded her arms. "Has a charm to it, though you have to warm up to the screaming pits of the damned and the harsh blood sunlight. I do prefer the Butterfly Kingdom though, but this place has some good spots."

"If you say so…" Mariposa spoke up, sitting on Star's shoulder and folding her arms. "Too dark for my liking."

"Get the feeling you'd love the Cloud Kingdom, sweetie." Mariposa perked up, eagerly looking at Star to explain. "Though you'd have to put up with the most annoying creature in all of Mewni to hang there."

Jackie shook her head, looking toward Marco coming up toward them on Nachos. She blinked, seeing a very out of place Marco riding what looked like a bike.

"...Took you for a Honda kind of guy, but I guess Harley's work too." Marco got off Nachos, gently petting her scales.

"Nachos isn't a bike, she's a beautiful dragoncycle Star and I adopted." He rubbed his head on her neck. "Isn't that right, boo-boo?" Nachos purred, puffing out a content flame from her nostrils.

"So you got a steed too? Really trying to be Star's caballero, huh?" Mariposa teased with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"Lucky you're so small or I would've ruffled your hair like usual." Marco smirked, the siblings looking at one another in amusement. "Star, you think we'll all fit on Nachos? I don't know if she can hold three people."

Mariposa gave him a look.

"I could tuck you into my hoodie."

"I'll pass. Your hoodies are smelly."

Marco was going to counter but Jackie gently grabbed Mariposa and put the fairy on her shoulder. "Just chill with me dude."

Star shrugged her shoulders and entered into her golden butterfly form. "I can stay in this form for longer than usual thanks to the long rest we've gotten here." She gave Jackie a look. "I'll let you hold on to Marco while he drives but don't get used to it."

Marco blinked, realizing Jackie had to do that to stay put on Nachos.

"This is going to be awkward…" Marco grumbled, with Jackie giggling in amusement. Just as they were going to get ready to take off, a huge explosion of flames erupted in the center of the village.

Oh no, I know that smell of magic anywhere.

Star was going to warn her friends of Tom's arrival but it was too late as a pillar of flames trapped them. Jackie tried using her water magic to cancel out the flames but the moment she tried putting them out, the walls of fire shot right back at her. Jackie fell on the ground, unable to move as skeleton arms pinned her in place.

Mariposa flew in the air, flying next to Star as an angry pair of three eyes slowly moved into the flaming circle around them.

"Took longer than expected but finally found you, Starship."

"Cut the crap with the 'scary' voice, I'm not afraid of you." Star towered over Tom, her golden form matching the intensity of his flames.

Tom narrowed his eyes at the small fairy on Star's shoulders and looked at Marco gearing up for a fight behind Star.

"...Curious, that fairy looks like the human."

Marco instantly picked up on the implications, rushing toward Tom and getting ready to activate the wand armor. But Tom released a massive fireball toward Marco. He tried blocking the attack but the impact sent the wand gauntlets flying out of his hands.

"You're fight's with me, not him Thomas." Star bellowed, flying toward Tom but he casted a shield of flames around him and Marco. Star was unable to break through it, forced to watch as Tom was going to finish off Marco.

"You really are something, human. Will give you this, impressed you survived my monster attack." Marco's eyes dilated, the feeling of dark magic bubbling to the surfaces as his eyes turned purple. "Don't make me LAUGH, dark magic does nothing to demons. Now DIE!"

Star and Jackie were speechless as Tom was going to seemingly land the final blow, but a rush of blue light broke through Tom's shield, flying right between Marco and Tom's powerful magic.

A loud explosion made a small smoke cloud, making it hard to make out what happened. But once the dust settled, Tom watched as Mariposa weakly held up her hands, the magical shield she conjured up dying out. She fell out of the sky, landing into Marco's shaking hands.

"N-No. You…" He held her close. "You can't die again. You can't…"

Tom stood still as Star and Jackie rushed over to Marco, with the latter now sporting her look from home. Star's eyes widened, understanding that implication.

Tom actually…

Star narrowed her eyes, standing between Tom and Marco. Using Star as a shield, Jackie rushed over to Marco and shook him, trying to break him out of his panicked state. Star's mind however, became a jumbled mess of rage.

He briefly looked up to Star's eyes, her body fuming at how empty they looked. They lacked the warmth from his brown eyes, nor did they have the protective fury and rage his purple ones did. They simply looked hollow, grayed out as if he was the one that died just now.

Memories of the monster war played in her mind on loop, countless knights and squires having that same empty look holding one another as monsters breached castle defenses and slipped through openings.

And for a split second, Star saw herself in Marco's shoes. Holding the dying body of Moon Butterfly, doing her best to hold on but unable to keep her flame alive any longer.

It won't end like this.

She gently picked up the wand gauntlets, turning them into her wand.

"Jackie." Jackie was in shock, seeing Stars namesake glowing in her eyes. "Take Marco and run."

She didn't argue, weakly putting Marco on Nachos as he held on to Mariposa's still body. Nachos rode off, leaving Star and Tom alone with one another.

Tom faltered, his three glowing eyes unable to match Star's namesake bellowing at him like a thousand angry suns.

"You crossed the line, Thomas."

That's right, Jackie and Mariposa join Team Starco and will be part of the core narrative going forward. Fun fact about the ending through, I originally was going to have things set up to where Marco and Tom would've had a massive show down... But then Blackwolf suggested I have Star fight Tom instead. And if you read prior chapters, Star channels a specific blue hedgehog with her Butterfly form sometimes.

Then it clicked with me and I REALLY going to impress you all with the next chapter. Star V Tom is going to be really fun and highly recommend you listen to the track 'Undefeatable' from Sonic Frontiers before the next chapter drops. Speaking of, that game is shockingly great and I'm still not done with it after playing for over 20 hours (longest I spent on a 3D Sonic).