A/N: This chapter took quite some time to write. I hope it was worth the wait.
Warning: From this chapter going forward, I've decided to bump the rating to M. If not this chapter, then the next one would warrant a ratings bump for sure. The following chapter contains: violence, coarse language, and mature situations including some sexual content. You have been warned.
The morning sun shone on the beginning of another beautiful day. Another day of Marco waking up next to his Shining Star. They had been sleeping together in his room for over a week now. The air-mattress that Marco had brought out on the first night, had been put away in a closet somewhere, never to be seen again. He couldn't even imagine not being with her in his bed now. After everything they had experienced together, they needed to be with each other as they slept. It had become almost like therapy for the two of them.
Marco yawned lazily as he rolled over towards where Star usually slept. He expected to be able to wrap his arms around her to gently wake her up. In fact, this was a rare time that they didn't wake up wrapped up in each other. Star even admitted that she needed the sound of his heartbeat to fall asleep, which she could only get by lying on his chest. So, it was a bit surprising for Marco to not be able to feel his girlfriend's body lying next to him as he rolled over. This caused him to fully open his eyes to find out just what was going on.
Blinking in the brilliant sunlight that was peeking through his blinds, Marco found Star's side of the bed empty. Confused, Marco rolled over onto his back. It was possible that she had gotten up early, but unlikely since they had been waking up together almost the entire past week. There was no sound of the shower running in his bathroom either. Star preferred that Marco used the bathroom first in the morning anyway, since it gave her more time to get ready.
As Marco lay in his bed contemplating where Star was, little did he know he was about to find out. All of a sudden, a pink and gold blur came at him from the doorway leading to his bathroom. Marco was roughly tackled by Star as he attempted to sit up on his bed, almost knocking the wind out of him. As he struggled to regain his senses, he found himself being pushed flat by her body. His attempted protests were effectively silenced by a shower of kisses all over his face and neck. She stopped the assault briefly, but only to give him a silent loving gaze with her amazing eyes. Star then brought her lips down to his for a long and tender kiss. Marco chose the path of least resistance, and allowed himself to melt into her, all while running his hands through her river of golden blonde hair.
"Morning, Marco…" she breathed after breaking the kiss to gaze upon him again. "I had to go to the bathroom and when I came back in the room you looked so adorable sleeping there. I could have stayed there for hours watching you like I did. But then you woke up, and I just felt the urge to jump on top of you and smother you with my love…"
Marco responded to Star's affection by pulling her down into another intense kiss. He began to explore her body as they deepened the kiss. Marco ran his hands up and down her body, clad in a pink tank top and tight pink shorts. He marveled at how she felt against him at that instant. His hands roamed around some more, this time finding their way further down her amazing slender body to her hips. He slowly began caressing her hips up and down with the palms of his hands. Using his thumbs, he gently hooked them into the waistband of her shorts and pulled them down ever so slightly, exposing the soft skin of her lower back. His fingers began to caress the skin right above her wonderful firm butt, causing her to shiver at the touch.
Feeling that she was enjoying where his hands were, Marco continued to lightly brush his fingers along her lower back. Star began to squirm with pleasure at his touch. She also intensified the passion of her kiss. Their lips stayed welded together, and their tongues fought for supremacy in each other's mouths. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they both broke the kiss at the same time and proceeded to look deep into each other's eyes.
"How can someone so beautiful almost knock me unconscious?" Marco mused aloud while staring at her sapphire orbs.
Star collapsed onto his chest in a giggle fit. "Holy shit, Marco...you are such a dork!" she proclaimed after her laughter had subsided and she lifted her head to his eye level.
"What?" he retorted. "Star, you hit harder than some of the guys who play for the Rams or the Chargers!"
Again, she buried her head in his chest trying to stifle-to no avail-another fit of laughter.
"Stoooppp...Marcooo…" she giggled. "You're making my sides hurt I'm laughing so hard!"
Marco lifted up her head and planted a kiss on each cheek, right where her hearts used to be. Star's cheeks began to flush at the gesture.
"You miss them, don't you?" she asked with a small hint of sadness in her voice.
"Yeah…" he replied. "I always thought that they were really pretty. They also made you look super cute."
Star blushed furiously at his comment, and rewarded him with another quick kiss.
"It can't be helped, though," he sighed. "I guess it's the price to pay for eliminating magic and cleaving Earth and Mewni together."
"Speaking of which." she mused while slipping her arms around his neck. "What do you think we should call this creation of ours?"
"I've heard some people calling this place Mew-Earth or Mearth…" he responded. "I don't think I like any of those names. If I had to choose, I'd rather go with Earth-ni. It just sounds better."
"I completely agree, Marco. Earth-ni sounds much more appropriate." she nodded.
"So...what's the plan for today, beautiful?" He stroked her hair some more.
Star giggled again. "We have to go to the Monster Temple and clean out my room. Especially the closet. Anything we can salvage; we send over to my mom at Butterfly Castle. The rest…"
Her face fell as she contemplated what to say next. "We have to dispose of whatever else we can't use."
Star felt some pangs of regret. Her magical creations and items that she kept in her closet were sentient beings. Destroying magic meant destroying them. While it was ultimately for the greater good, she was starting to have lingering doubts about whether she had made the right decision in the end. Marco sensed this, and kissed her on the cheek again to comfort her.
"I'm not going to lie, Marco." she sighed. "There's a lot of crap in that closet as well. It's not going to be much fun to clean it out…"
"I know," he nodded. "But it has to be done at some point in time. At least you get to do it with me…"
She kissed him on the nose. "Doing anything with you is always better. Thanks, Marco."
"Always." he replied. "Shall we get up, then?"
"Yeah…"
"So...Marco?" Star asked hesitantly. "Are you sure this will work? Are you sure she'll come back to you?"
"Star...the bond between a rider and his Dragoncycle is sacred..." he intoned solemnly. "No matter where I am, she'll find her way to me when I need her."
"Ooookaaayy…" Star looked at Marco like he was slightly insane. "Is she your other girlfriend when I'm not around?"
"No!" Marco said quickly. "It's not like that at all! Anyway...Star, I need you to cover your ears. I have to whistle really loud so she hears me."
Star did as she was told, and plugged two fingers into each of her ears. Marco brought two fingers up to his lips and gave the loudest, sharpest tweet that he could muster. Then another piercing one. In the distance, a low rumble could be heard. The rumble began to get louder the closer it got. Suddenly, a large dragon making the sound of a roaring motorcycle came into view in the sky above them. It circled around for a bit, using its wings to glide through the sky, then swooped down towards the two teens on the ground. With the wheels attached to its body, the Dragoncycle landed on the road in front of Marco's house and came to a stop in front of Star and Marco.
"Nachos!" Marco exclaimed. "You found me, girl!" Marco reached over and stroked the dragon under her chin.
Nachos grunted and purred at his touch. She then made growling sounds as if to communicate with him.
"Yeah...I missed you too! Were you having a good time with the other wild Dragoncycles?"
Nachos nodded and gave what sounded like an approving grunt. She then noticed Star standing next to Marco. The Dragoncyle motioned with her head and gave a questioning snort.
"That's Star." he pointed to the blonde girl. "You remember her, don't you?"
A few more grunts and squeaks came from Nachos as if she was asking an important question.
"Well...yeah. She is my girlfriend now..." Marco responded.
Nachos broke out in a grin and began snickering. She then grunted and growled as if making a statement.
"What took us so long to get together?" Marco asked somewhat indignantly. "It's kind of a long story. Let's just say that I managed to finally realize who was completely right for me."
"Marco…" Star beamed next to him. "This is the most adorable thing I've ever witnessed watching you two act like this..."
"Heh!" he exclaimed. "We did talk about you a lot on our rides together. She knows what I had to do to get back to you from the Neverzone."
"Sooo cute!" Star grinned. "Anyway...shall we get going?"
"Yes, let's," Marco agreed. Marco placed his helmet on his head and strapped it on tight. Star did the same with hers. He had bought it for her on their first official date as a couple when they discovered that Dragoncycles had become part of the new world. She really wanted to ride with him, and he had promised that he would summon Nachos and they would ride her when they needed to go somewhere.
Moving over to the center of the body, Marco swung his leg over and climbed atop Nachos. Star gently climbed on top of the Dragoncycle right behind him.
"Ok, Star. We're about to take off. Hang on tight!"
He felt her arms snake around him in a tight embrace. He also heard her sigh contentedly.
"Marco Diaz...you are the most adorable cute dork ever! Asking me to hold on tight to you? As if I need any prompting!"
Marco started to blush at Star's words. Nachos made a cooing sound upon hearing the young couple's interaction.
"Alright…" Marco finally said. "Let's ride!"
Star gripped him even tighter as Marco grabbed the horns of his Dragoncycle. Nachos responded by tearing off down his street. After gaining enough speed, she flapped her wings and took off gracefully into the air leaving the ground far behind them.
A short time later, and with expert precision that he had honed from many hours of riding her, Marco guided Nachos down from the sky for a perfect landing into the main square of the town at the foot of the Monster Temple. What had started as a small settlement of monsters a few years ago, was now a bustling center of activity. All kinds of monsters were making their homes in the town, along with a few of the younger Mewmans who thought it to be hip and cool to be living amongst their former enemies. No better example of this could be found than the Princess of the Spider Bite Kingdom, Penelope, and her monster boyfriend, Slime. The couple waved to Star and Marco as they approached after watching them land.
"Penny!" Star exclaimed as she removed her helmet. She ran over to greet her princess cohort with a hug. A stranger would have had no idea that two former royals were greeting each other in the middle of the Monster Town. Penelope was dressed like an Earth girl, wearing a denim skirt and white t-shirt. Star, meanwhile, was wearing her Narwhal dress ensemble, but instead of her usual horns, had opted for a plain white headband.
"You guys always know how to make an entrance, bro!" Slime greeted Marco with a wet high five.
"Thanks, Slime." Marco responded. "How are things going with you two? I hope the cleaving didn't cause too much chaos for you guys."
"Nah, bro. It was cool. We were together when it happened so I didn't have to go find her or anything." Slime looked at his girlfriend with a loving glance.
Penelope returned the glace with one of her own. "If anything, all this cleaving business convinced me that I need to be with this guy right here. We're in the process of moving in together right here in the Monster Town. It caught my parents a bit off guard, but hey...I'm old enough to do what I want now."
"Wow! Sounds like you two are getting pretty serious!" Star remarked.
"Yeah," she responded. "But not as serious as you two! We saw the press conference after you guys did what you did."
"She was running around cheering." Slime added. "Penny always told me you guys would end up together."
"No offense, Star, but I knew that you and Lucitor wouldn't last. It was so painfully obvious who the right guy for you was."
Penelope said all of this with a smile. "You didn't need another prince, what you needed was a guy who would have your back at all times. You've had him with you all along."
Star blushed. "Aww...thanks Penny!"
"So, what brings you guys to this cool place?" Slime inquired.
"We're heading to Star's old room at the Monster Temple to get some of her stuff and bring it back to my place in Echo Creek."
"Now who are the ones getting serious?" Penelope smirked. "You guys just got together and you sound way more serious than us! When's the wedding?"
Star and Marco just glanced at each other with embarrassed expressions.
"I told you, babe." Penelope turned to her boyfriend. "Most adorable couple, hands down…"
Slime just chuckled. "I think we should let them go, then. We've embarrassed them enough."
"Say hi to Eclipsa if you see her!" Penelope waved as her and Slime departed. Star and Marco waved goodbye, and after joining hands, made the short trek to the base of the Temple. Sitting on the steps as they arrived was a familiar face. Kelly waved at the couple as they approached.
"Kelly!" Star greeted her Woollett friend with her usual enthusiasm.
"Hey guys." Kelly acknowledged them both. "I'm just letting Jorby have a water break before we get back to sparring together."
"Sounds exciting!" Star exclaimed. "We're cleaning out our old rooms at the temple. Not the most exciting day planned for us..." Star made a face. Just then, something occurred to her.
"Actually...Kelly, do you mind if we talk for a bit? Just the two of us?" Star asked the blue haired girl.
"Sure...I guess?" Kelly looked over to Marco who had a puzzled look on his face.
"Don't worry, Marco." Star assured her boyfriend. "This doesn't have anything to do with you. I need to ask Kelly something, girl to girl."
Marco shrugged. "Ok, then. I'll head up to the main hall and wait for you."
He kissed her on the cheek and began climbing the Temple steps.
"I won't take too long!" she called after him.
"So...what's up?" Kelly asked as Marco departed.
"Something's been bothering me these past few days…" Star began. "Kelly...me and Marco just caused you to come into our world against your will. Now, you're essentially trapped here with no way to get back home since magic was destroyed."
She looked away from her friend in shame. "For all we know, you can't even contact your parents to let them know where you are. I'm really sorry, Kelly. You shouldn't have to suffer because of a selfish decision by me and Marco…"
"Woah! Slow down, Star!" Kelly interrupted. "First off...I don't even feel anywhere close to what you think I do."
"Really?" Star was surprised at her friend's assertion.
"Let me back things up a bit." Kelly began. "I made the choice to run towards the portal you guys created. If anything, it's my own fault that I got sucked into this world. But I'm certainly not holding it against you two…"
"But what about your parents?" Star insisted.
"My phone has really good interdimensional coverage." Kelly smiled. "Even though magic was destroyed, I can still contact my parents on Woolandia. It's how I was able to meet up with Ponyhead the first morning after I came here. I guess I was just lucky to be using a good service provider."
"Well...I feel a little bit better then." Star admitted. "But you're still physically cut off from your home dimension. What if you ever want to go back?"
"I understand how you feel, Star." Kelly put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "My parents' sort of felt the same way at first. But I convinced them that it might just be for the better that I live in another dimension for a while."
Star looked at her friend with an incredulous look. "I don't understand. It sounds like you almost were looking for a way out of your home."
Kelly sighed. "Yeah...maybe I was…"
"Kelly? What happened?"
The young Woollett's voice took on a hard edge. "Fucking Tad…" she said in a voice that resembled a low growl.
Star gasped. "No! Please don't tell me you guys got back together again!"
"Ugh!" Kelly shook her head. "No way! That wasn't going to happen, like ever again! We're long since done with being a couple."
"That's great to hear...but I still don't understand…" Star arched her eyebrow.
"Even though we broke up, he just wouldn't leave me the fuck alone! He kept phoning me to tell me he was happy that we had broken up. Or to tell me that he was in 'a great place' in his life without me. It was driving me insane! He was being such an asshole!"
"What a fucking loser…" Star said disgustedly.
"I know...right? So, the reason I'm actually happy to be here in this new world, is that he can't contact me here. He never had a good phone the entire time I knew him, so he can't call me and piss me off with his bullshit as long as I'm here. Why do you think he lived in my hair for so long?"
"I actually feel a lot better now that you've told me everything." Star admitted in a relieved tone.
"That's good. I'm glad we were able to clear some things up, then." Kelly said with a smile.
"I should go and find Marco," Star started to climb the steps. "We totally need to have a girl's night sometime really soon, though."
"That's a great idea." Kelly agreed. "I need to go find Jorby as well and continue training. Hey Star? Since I'm living in this world now, can I tell you something that's been on my mind as well?"
"Um...sure?" Star was a bit perplexed.
"It took you and Marco a long time to get together. Marco is one of the greatest guys I've ever known, and he deserves to be happy. Make sure you don't take him for granted."
"Believe me, Kelly, I won't," Star smiled. "It took me a long time to figure things out as well. I made plenty of mistakes along the way, but being with Marco is the best decision I've ever made in my life. I won't screw this up…"
"I'm glad to hear that, Star." Kelly waved goodbye as she headed down the steps. "Good luck with cleaning out your room!"
Star, meanwhile, began climbing the steps to enter the Monster Temple to look for Marco.
"How are you holding up, Star?" Marco asked his girlfriend as he loaded up a cardboard box with some items from her closet.
Star just sighed. They had been cleaning out her closet for almost two hours, and due to the destruction of magic, most of the contents were completely useless. Star felt sadness at this fact, as it confirmed her worst suspicions. Mainly, that she had destroyed many sentient beings and creations by ending magic. As such, her mood had slowly gone down as the day's task wore on.
Finally, she'd had enough. Without a word, Star stood up and walked over to the spiral staircase in the middle of her room. She climbed up the staircase to the second level of her room and over to the entrance to her balcony. Stepping onto the balcony she made her way over to the marble railing. Resting her arms on the railing, Star stared out at the landscape below. Beneath her was the Monster Town, still bustling with activity even though it was late afternoon. In the distance, she could see Echo Creek. The skyline had been transformed due to the Cleaving, the most obvious change being her family's castle now being the tallest building in the city.
Star sighed again. Everything she could see was due to her and Marco. They had created something amazing-if not impossible-by combining their two worlds. Her mother, and Eclipsa, were working hard to integrate everyone as best they could. Most of all, she had the opportunity to be with Marco almost non-stop. She could fall asleep to his heartbeat every night, and wake up with her arms around him every morning. In addition to spending every waking minute with him. It was paradise. So...why was she feeling doubt right now?
As if he could read her thoughts, Marco snuck up behind her and snaked his arms around her waist. He held her close trying to comfort her, even though he wasn't quite sure what was troubling her.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Marco finally broke the silence. "Is it about magic being gone?"
"I don't know, Marco…" Star began. "I should be more than happy with what's happened over the past week. I stopped the Solarian Warriors from slaughtering innocent monsters. I ended the age of Queens. We found a way for us to be together. Everything kind of worked out in the end. But I just can't shake this feeling that things shouldn't be this good…"
Her train of thought was interrupted by a rumbling sound off in the distance. Slowly, the sound got closer and closer. Eventually it was close enough that Star and Marco could see what was making all the noise. A caravan of vehicles was coming towards them by way of the road that led to the Monster Town. Star and Marco weren't exactly sure how many of them there were, but from their vantage point it looked like a lot. The caravan consisted of a number of pickup trucks, with multiple passengers inside including ones riding on the flatbed. There were also a number of motorcycles in the procession. There was even a big rig truck-minus the trailer-leading the way.
The procession of vehicles made their way right up to the edge of the main square, right below where Star and Marco were standing on her balcony. The doors of the big rig in the front opened, and to the surprise and also horror of the two teens observing, out climbed Mina Loveberry alongside Manfred and two other humans. Dale and Bobby surveyed the scene as they followed Mina out of Dale's big rig truck.
A crowd had gathered in front of the vehicles as they had pulled up into the square. A collective gasp could be heard from the monsters in the crowd, as they realized who had just showed up. With a devilish grin, Mina strode over to the gathered crowd and addressed them directly.
"Hello...dearies! Did you miss me?!"
Mina cackled as she observed the looks of shock on the faces of the crowd in front of her.
"Well...well...well…" she smirked. "It looks like we've got all the Monster Smoochers all gathered in one place! It'll make finishing the job I started so much easier!"
"Whatever you're doing here, Mina, you won't get away with it!" a female voice called from the crowd. Penelope stepped forward with Slime at her side.
"But of course," Mina grinned. "It's just too perfect that the Crown Princess of Monster Smoochers would be here! Don't worry Penelope...when I'm done with your monster boyfriend, I'll take care of you personally!"
"I'm not afraid of you, you crazy bitch!" Penelope spat. "As for your threats, I just sent a message on my phone to Eclipsa, Moon, and my parents! Whatever happens here, it won't go unpunished!"
Penelope held Slime's hand as she stared down the former Solarian general.
"You know, Penelope…" Mina began. "I used to respect your parents. At least until they let their whore daughter start hanging around with monsters! As for your little threat...go right ahead! Get that other whore and that traitor Moon up here! I want them to see what I'm about to do to this place!"
On cue, a number of other people began pouring out of the other vehicles and started lining up beside and behind Mina. The remaining Solarian Warriors that had stayed loyal to Mina began lining up next to her. There were also a number of humans in the crowd that had followed Mina to the Monster Town. Many of them were from the trailer park where Mina and her warriors had set up their camp. There were even some Mewmans that she had managed to gather along the way, and who still hated the monsters.
Most of them were brandishing some sort of weapon. Mina and the Solarians had their swords. The humans were carrying bats, and tire irons, and pieces of wood. Even the Mewmans were carrying pitchforks and torches. It was clear that the situation was about to get ugly, fast.
No one knew this better than Star and Marco. Watching this unfold from high above, Star had seen enough. A feeling of pure hatred came over her. She violently extracted herself from Marco's grasp, and stormed back into her room and down her staircase. Marco followed her inside, worry evident on his face. Star stomped over to her wall where she kept her cache of weapons, and proceeded to pull down a large sword. Turning around, she was about to leave her room when Marco blocked her path.
"Star. What are you doing?" Marco asked calmly but firmly.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Marco?" she shot back with a glare. "I'm heading downstairs and outside to take care of a bad fart that just decided to show up unannounced. I'd appreciate it if you moved out of the way."
"Star…" Marco tried to address her calmly. "I know you want to confront Mina. But do you think that's a good idea when she's got an entire army with her?"
"Marco…" Star began calmly but with barely concealed fury. "I'm going outside and down the steps...and I'm going to cut that fucking bitch from her neck, right down to her asshole…"
Marco went white with fear over Star's assertion.
"Then…" she continued. "When I'm done with Mina, I'm going to take care of all the fucking assholes that showed up with her! So, Marco...please step aside...because I really don't want to have to kick the ass of the person I love because they got in the way…"
Marco stood there in shock at the extent of Star's fury. Star used this moment of hesitation to push past Marco and run out of her room and down the hall towards the exit of the Monster Temple. Marco ran after her hot on her heels.
"Star!" he called out again. "Don't act crazy! This is a really dangerous situation! We need to get Eclipsa and your Mom here!"
Either she couldn't hear him, or she was choosing to ignore him. Star continued to run down the passages of the Monster Temple on her way to the exit and a confrontation with Mina. Marco, meanwhile, was still trailing her while in a complete panic about the whole situation. He loved how Star always threw herself into situations. Following her lead is what led him to break out of his shell and become more confident. But this was an incredibly dangerous and volatile situation. Marco had noticed-from high above-that some of the humans in the crowd were also carrying guns. Star, being Mewman and not exposed to the earth weapons like Marco was, had no idea how lethal things could get with guns involved. There was no way Marco could live with himself if Star ended up getting shot in a gunfight...or even worse.
Down below, Mina and her followers began to advance on the crowd. Dale and Bobby looked at each other and smiled. Both of them cocked the firing pins of their assault rifles that they had brought with them.
"We should get some good target practice today, eh Bobby?" Dale chuckled at his taller friend.
"You bet, Dale!" Bobby agreed. "Them monsters won't know what hit 'em!"
Both men began aiming their rifles at various monsters in the crowd in front of them, carefully choosing which target they wanted to shoot at first.
Other humans began taunting and abusing the monsters in front of them.
"Go back home to where you came from, you fucking freaks!" One man began yelling at a group of monsters.
"We don't want you coming anywhere near our children!" Another woman shouted.
"Dude...like chill out!" A younger monster covered in fur stepped forward out of a group of young monsters. "We just want to live in this world in peace! We don't want to hurt anyone!"
"Stand back!" A man shouted at the young monster. "Don't come any closer!"
"Why?" the younger monster took another step forward while giving his group of friends he had been with a smirk. "What are you going to do to me, human?"
Suddenly, a shot rang out. One of the humans in the crowd had fired a handgun at the younger monster. He fell to the ground as waves of shock and awe went through the crowd of monsters. However, after a few seconds, the younger monster stood up...although in some pain while clutching his stomach.
"Holy shit...dude! What was that for?! You could hurt somebody doing that!"
The monster looked down at his stomach. There was no blood staining his fur. Examining under the fur, he couldn't see a bullet hole either. There was no sign that he had been shot, other than the sharp pain he was feeling where he had been hit. But otherwise, he was no worse for wear.
Mina looked on with a puzzled expression. She then turned to her human companions.
"What the fuck? I thought you two said that using guns on the monsters would work!"
"That's because he shot him with a pea shooter!" Dale retorted. "You need to use some real firepower!"
Dale aimed his rifle and fired a burst of rounds into the crowd. Penelope screamed as the bullets hit her boyfriend square in his body. However, as with the other monster, they appeared to do no lasting damage, other than to cause him to go down to the ground. After a moment, Slime got back on his feet and proceeded to pull the bullets out of his gelatinous body mass and threw them on the ground in disgust.
"Babe?" Penelope anxiously asked him. "Are you alright?"
"It burns a little bit..." he winced. "But it's ok, babe...I'm not seriously hurt."
He glared at Mina. "Is that all you've got, Loveberry?!"
"It's bad enough you want to attack us!" Penelope yelled at the crowd of attackers. "But now you're shooting at us with human guns? This is a new low...even for you, Mina!"
Star had arrived at the main doorway of the temple and was about to run down the stairs, when she heard the shots from Dale's rifle. Stunned, she stopped for a moment. Marco used this distraction to catch up to her.
"What just happened?" Star stared straight ahead eyes wide with disbelief.
"That was gunfire, Star!" Marco replied emphatically. "The humans are carrying guns! We need to call in some backup! We need the police, the riot squad, even the army to handle this situation!"
Star's expression just darkened. "I am going to kill that crazy bitch…" She took off running down the stairs.
"STAR!" Marco screamed after her to no avail. All he could do was follow her down the steps into a potentially deadly situation.
Meanwhile, the battle in the town square was getting more intense by the minute. Some of the mewmans with torches had begun setting fire to the houses. Thick black smoke began to billow from the town as the fires spread. Both the humans and mewmans began physically confronting the monsters using their weapons. Mina proceeded to lead the Solarian Warriors in a charge at the line of monsters in front of her. Some monsters ran away, fearing for their lives. But a number stayed to defend themselves and the town. These monsters had the ability to withstand attacks from edged weapons, and they were able to fight without getting severely injured from the swords brandished by the Solarians. This included Slime Monster, who used his gelatin like body to absorb the assault from two Solarians at the same time, all while protecting Penelope.
Other monsters began to counterattack against some of the humans. Once they figured out that the human guns were essentially useless against monsters, they organized and began to attack the humans carrying them. Many of the humans turned and simply ran away. They were not used to having their targeted prey fight back in this manner. Others stood their ground and were swinging their makeshift weapons at the monster hordes. But some of the monsters were using their natural monster abilities to gain the upper hand even against the humans with weapons.
Suddenly, a large stomping noise shook the ground. On the horizon, the huge form of Globgor appeared. Riding on his broad shoulders was his wife, Eclipsa, who was also carrying in her arms their infant daughter, Meteora.
"I say, Globby..." Eclipsa remarked. "It looks like we got here just in time…"
"Yes, my love." the former Monster King agreed. "It seems that Mina is up to her old tricks again."
"You'll need to use your breath to put out those fires, dearest…" Eclipsa pointed to the huts that were currently burning.
"On it, my darkest star…" Globgor inhaled deeply and then blew out a breath that felt like a small hurricane. Almost instantly all the fires that had been set were extinguished.
"Well done, my love…" Eclipsa beamed at her husband. "Now...if you could set us down gently please?"
Suddenly, Globgor began wincing in pain.
"Globby!" Eclipsa cried out. "Are you alright, my love?"
"I'm fine…" he grimaced. "It felt for a second I was being stung by a dozen or so bees on my chest."
"Goddammit!" Dale cursed as he lowered his rifle. "What the hell is going on?! There's no way I could miss that big fella at this range!"
"I don't know, buddy!" Bobby shook his head. "We've got high powered rounds in these things, but they ain't doing shit against any of these damn monsters!"
"Maybe you two assholes would do better fighting with your hands instead of using guns…"
Dale wheeled around to face the voice, and was greeted by the sight of Star making a chopping motion with her sword. She brought it down on the stock of the rifle, causing Dale to drop the gun on the ground. A well-timed kick to the chest of the heavyset man that followed sent him sprawling to the ground as well.
Bobby was in shock to see his friend get handled like that. Initially not knowing what to do, he eventually regained his senses enough to start aiming his rifle at Star. As he raised his rifle in her direction, a red blur came out of nowhere. Marco landed a flying karate kick square to the taller man's chest, sending him crashing into the ground violently. His gun flew out of his hands, and landed a few feet away.
Dale, meanwhile, had managed to crawl to his feet. He began reaching into his pocket to pull out his hunting knife, which he fully intended to use. There was no way he was going to let some young girl get the best of him, even if she was brandishing a large sword. But that idea ended up dying as quickly as it was born. Seeing Dale reach into his pocket, Marco jumped into action. He came in from behind and delivered a solid roundhouse kick to the back of Dale's head, slamming him face first back down to the ground. Breathing hard, Marco glanced over to Star who had a bemused expression on her face.
"You know I could have handled him...right?"
"I know you could have," Marco replied as he gazed at her lovingly. "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you get seriously hurt or worse. I love you too much...Star."
Tears began welling up in Star's eyes. She loved him so much she couldn't even begin to put into words what she felt for the young man in the red hoodie standing in front of her.
"Careful, Star!" Marco cautioned as Bobby began to stir and stagger to his feet near her.
Star backed up right next to Marco and assumed a fighting position. Marco did the same. Bobby just stared at the both of them blankly. He was unarmed and at the two teen's mercy. This day was not going to plan, and in his mind, it was all the fault of that idiot Manfred and that crazy bitch he had with him. He shifted his eyes towards the two teens in front of him, then to the ground where his friend was lying prone. The whole situation of getting beaten up by two teenagers was a perfect example of how badly today had gone.
"Pick up your garbage and get the hell out of here." Star commanded the thin man with a vicious stare.
Bobby mumbled something under his breath. Star began to move towards him with her sword pointed towards his throat. She was done fooling around with these humans. Bobby finally got the hint, however. He complied with Star's order, and dragged Dale to his feet. Both men supported each other as they turned and limped away from Star and Marco.
"I'm going to find Mina." Star announced as the two men slowly fled the scene. "Coming, Marco?"
Marco nodded. He wasn't too thrilled with Star still wanting to confront Mina, but at least they would do it together. They both started to run in the direction of the larger fray.
Dale and Bobby were able to limp back to Dale's big rig truck when Manfred came running up to them.
"Oh, thank goodness I found you two!" he exclaimed. "It's awful! Apparently, guns don't work on monsters and now the monsters are gaining the upper hand! We need to bring in some reinforcements to regain the advantage!"
Manfred looked at both men quizzically. "Are both of you chaps alright? You look like you've sustained serious injuries."
Dale and Bobby just gave Manfred disgusted looks. Both of them climbed into Dale's truck without saying a word.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Manfred questioned as the engine of the truck started up. "Are you both leaving? You can't leave! We can win this battle! At least take me with you then!"
Manfred was nearly hit by the truck as Dale put it in motion and swung the wheel to turn it around. He began to drive it back down the road away from the monster settlement. It was very difficult to keep the truck on the narrow dirt road, as Dale was still very much feeling the effects of Marco's violent kick to the back of the head. About half of the way down the road a Dragoncycle, with two riders on its back, appeared out of nowhere and was flying right into the path of the oncoming truck. Dale was initially confused as to what was in front of his truck coming straight at him. It was only when Bobby started screaming next to him, that he realized the predicament they were in. Dale attempted to avoid the oncoming Dragoncyle by pulling the truck hard to the right. Unfortunately, he ended up driving clear off the narrow road, as the Dragoncycle pulled up at the last second and flew overhead. The big rig truck hit the embankment as both men inside screamed in terror. The truck careened down the embankment at full speed, flipped over violently three times, and came to rest upside down. There was no movement inside the truck when it finally stopped rolling over.
Meanwhile, Eclipsa and Globgor were in their own predicament. After shrinking down to his normal size, he and his wife-along with Meteora-found themselves confronted by two humans in hunting fatigues pointing guns at them. This completely enraged the former mewman-eating monster.
"How dare you!" he snarled. "How dare you point your weapons at my wife and baby!"
Globgor began to increase his size in an attempt to intimidate the two humans. But then one of them spoke and caused him to freeze.
"Go right ahead, buddy. We know that you can't be killed by bullets. But if you keep growing, we'll just have a better angle to have a shot at your wife and baby."
The human grinned evilly. Globgor felt even more rage building up inside him. He was determined to teach these two humans a lesson in respect. He started to grow even more, when Eclipsa addressed him from behind.
No, Globby don't!" she implored. "He's right. They have a clear shot at me and Meteora if you keep growing."
Globgor shrank himself down to normal height again and stood in front of his family in an attempt to act as a shield.
"Just because the bullets can't kill you, doesn't mean they still don't hurt." The human smirked at Globgor while raising his rifle. Globgor prepared himself to defend his family at any cost. Before the human could squeeze the trigger, however, he was momentarily distracted by a loud noise behind him.
The two humans turned around, and were greeted with a Dragoncycle coming right at them. One of the humans managed to duck out of the way, but the other one wasn't so lucky. He was sent flying by the left wing of the Dragoncycle, and was knocked out cold the instant he hit the ground. The Dragoncycle climbed back into the sky as the other human managed to get back to his feet. Standing up fully, he was greeted by one of the Dragoncycle riders, who had jumped off the beast as it had passed by. The rider was dressed head to toe all in black leather. A black leather jacket, black leather leggings, and black motorcycle boots, as well as wearing a black helmet with the visor closed. The rider quickly pulled out of their pockets two short swords, and wielded them in both hands. The human equally as quickly reached down to pick their pistol off the ground. Aiming it squarely at the rider, an arrogant grin came over the human's face.
"You are one dumb son of a bitch...bringing a knife to a gun fight…"
These were the last words he'd ever speak. In a flash the black clad rider threw one of the swords at the human. It struck him directly in the throat. He began clutching his throat, while his eyes rolled back into his head. The human fell to the ground, a pool of blood beginning to form around his body.
The rider put the remaining sword back in their pocket, and proceeded to lift their helmet off their head. A cascade of long red hair billowed out from under the helmet as it was lifted.
"That's Ms. Bitch…you fucking dipshit…"
Meanwhile, Eclipsa and Globgor both stared at the rider with shocked expressions as sirens could be heard approaching in the distance.
Mina could also hear the sirens approaching in the distance. She knew that meant it was time to beat a hasty retreat, as the battle against the monsters was not going as she planned it. Mina seethed inside. She'd made a huge mistake listening to the idiot humans that Manfred had met. Their weapons turned out to be completely useless against monsters. In her opinion, the humans were completely useless to begin with. They weren't Mewmans, who knew how to fight and win against monsters, and had done so for centuries.
"MINA!" As if the day couldn't get any worse. There was only one person who had a voice that loud and obnoxious and Mina Loveberry knew who it was without even having to turn around to face them. But she did anyway.
"Hello...princess…" the former general greeted Star with a menacing stare.
"All of this ends now...Mina!" Star assumed a combat pose in front of her former idol. Off to the side, Marco nervously readied himself.
Mina looked upon the rage filled blonde in front of her and felt like laughing. The former princess was so predictable...and so arrogant in her belief that she could single handedly defeat Mina and her followers. Yes, she did manage to destroy magic, and she somehow managed to merge two dimensions together. But Mina knew that she would eventually falter. After all, she was just a bratty, immature young girl who was the beneficiary of her bloodline. A bloodline that apparently wasn't even royal.
Without any prompting, a group of Solarian Warriors gathered between where Star and Mina were facing each other. Mina grinned at Star as if to taunt her. Star just became more enraged.
"Fine, Mina…" Star snapped. "I'll take out your little army before I finish up with you…" She raised her sword and prepared to charge into battle.
A ways away, Penelope gently touched the arm of Slime. "Put the phone down, babe. We've got enough footage of Mina and her followers that we can present to the cops when they finally show up."
"But Penny…" he replied. "Star is about to fight Mina and a bunch of her soldiers! I totally need to film this!"
"Exactly, babe." she insisted with a smile. "Star is probably going to kill that crazy bitch once she gets to her. We don't need that kind of evidence on record. Trust me on this one…"
Slime put his phone away just as Star had finished taking out three of the Solarians almost instantaneously, and was about to dispatch a fourth. Mina steadied herself in preparation for the inevitable onslaught. Marco just stood there frozen in place as Star finished with the last warrior, and began advancing on Mina. Meanwhile, the sounds of the sirens were getting closer.
A black SUV pulled up to the square of the Monster Town. Robert Miller, the Mayor of Echo Creek, and Moon Butterfly exited the vehicle. Moon surveyed the situation after getting out of the SUV. The former queen saw what looked to have been a chaotic situation, now brought under control by the local authorities. On one side, were the monsters standing around in a large group with a line of police officers standing in front of them. On the other side, were groups of humans, mewmans, and a few Solarians being treated for injuries by paramedics. They also had a line of police officers in front of them.
It looked like the entire Echo Creek Police Department had been called to the monster settlement. Police cruisers were everywhere, although some were beginning to depart as Moon and the mayor had pulled up. A few ambulances were also present, and paramedics were loading some of the mewmans and humans into them. Even the fire department was there to inspect some of the buildings that were set on fire, and to make sure the fires had been put out.
Mayor Miller strode from his vehicle to the center of the square, where one of the police commanding officers had set up a mobile command post. The officer-who was a blonde-haired man in his late thirties-noticed the mayor approaching.
"Mayor Miller…" he greeted the mayor warmly. "Thank you for coming out here on short notice...sir."
"You don't have to be so formal, Gary." the mayor replied. "We've known each other for over 15 years now."
"Whatever you say, Bob…" the officer responded and offered the mayor his hand.
"You're the Commanding Officer in charge of this incident?" the mayor returned the handshake.
"Yes, at least until the Chief gets up here. He's busy talking to the Sheriff's Office about covering for us since I think most of our officers got called in for this."
"I see." the mayor nodded. "Gary, I'd like you to meet Moon Butterfly. She is the former Queen of Mewni, and now is part of my transition team that's helping put everything back to the way it was...at least for the most part. Moon...Deputy Chief Gary Gray…"
"Pleased to meet you, Officer Gray." Moon extended her hand.
"So...what exactly transpired here today?" the mayor inquired.
"Well, Bob. When we got up here it was pretty chaotic. Everyone was either fighting with each other, or running away. The monsters were fighting with the guys from the other dimension, and even with some humans...many of whom were from the trailer park back in town. I don't really know why they were up here in the first place. There were a whole bunch of weapons lying around as well. Some were makeshift, some were actual swords, and we even found a few guns. Most of the guns appear to belong to the humans...and some of them were illegal."
"I see…" the mayor's expression darkened.
"We arrested the ones that had illegal firearms right away." Gary motioned his hands around. "As for the rest...honestly, we don't know what we're going to do with them. I've got as many officers as I can taking eyewitness statements. It's going to take a while to sort all this out."
"What about the semi-trailer truck that I saw down in the ravine as I was driving up here?"
"Two occupants. According to the fire department, the driver died upon impact. His passenger survived a bit longer, but ended up dying at the scene."
"What about my daughter?" Moon spoke up.
"I beg your pardon?" Deputy Gray inquired.
"My daughter." Moon repeated herself. "She was supposed to be in that temple over there this afternoon." Moon pointed to the Monster Temple.
"Her name is Star Butterfly." Moon continued. "Young adult woman, long blonde hair, blue eyes. Often wears a headband. Stands about five feet and two inches tall. Slender body. Very...energetic. She almost always has a companion with her named Marco Diaz. Young Latino man. Slightly taller than her. Dark hair, brown eyes. He wears a red hooded jacket almost all the time."
The deputy chief thought for a moment. "Oh...yes. I think we have two people that fit those descriptions detained over there." He pointed towards the crowd of monsters.
"Detained?" Moon's expression became similar to the one she gave River whenever he was engaging in behavior that she didn't approve of.
"Yes...ma'am." he responded. "If she is your daughter, I'd like to inform you that she was involved in a fight that we had to break up when we first arrived. She was on the ground fighting with another woman with purple hair. They were both unarmed at the time. It took a few of my officers to break them apart. The other woman is claiming that she was viciously attacked by your daughter. The young man she was with, who does fit your description, went with her quietly when we took her away."
"Take me to her...please…" Moon requested in voice that indicated she was none too pleased.
"I can't do that, Mrs. Butterfly." Deputy Gray stated. "Your daughter is part of an ongoing investigation into what happened here today."
Actually...Gary…" the mayor interrupted. "I'd appreciate it if you let Mrs. Butterfly here go and talk to her daughter."
"Bob...are you asking me to ignore police regulations just so I can do you a favor?" The commanding officer asked the mayor incredulously.
"Gary...would you like to be Police Chief one day?" the mayor replied pointedly.
Deputy Chief Gray hesitated for a moment. Clearly, the mayor was flexing his political muscle in this situation. Mayor Miller also knew that the deputy chief was an ambitious man who had risen through the ranks to his current position very rapidly. He wouldn't want to jeopardize his standing within the police force by going against his political master, even if it was proper procedure to disallow the mayor's request.
"Fine. You win, Mr. Mayor." the police deputy finally relented.
"Thank you, Gary…" Mayor Miller nodded. He and Moon headed in the direction of the crowd of monsters.
It wasn't long until Moon and the mayor found Star and Marco. They were sitting on the steps of the Monster Temple surrounded by a phalanx of police officers. As Deputy Gray indicated, they were both being detained by the police. Star had her arms behind her back, clearly due to her being in handcuffs. Her hair was a mess, and there was dirt on her clothes, but otherwise she wasn't any worse for wear. Marco was sitting next to her with his arms crossed. For some reason he wasn't in handcuffs. Star was the first to notice her mother standing in front of the police officers.
"Hey...Mom…" Star flashed a nervous smile. "When did you get here?"
"Not that long ago, dear." Moon responded coolly. "I heard that there had been a large disturbance in the Monster Town, and I decided to come and see just what had happened along with the mayor..."
"Well...I can't really tell you right now how me and Marco ended up like this…" Star motioned to the surrounding police officers.
"Why is that?" Moon inquired with an arched eyebrow.
"Well...Mom...you see, me and Marco used to watch these police TV shows when I lived on Earth, and all the time when they arrested someone they always told them that they had the right to remain silent or anything they say could be used in a court of law. So, I'm exercising my right to remain silent and not incriminate myself."
"I...see…" Moon was somewhat astonished by Star's explanation.
"It's probably for the best…" Marco chimed in next to Star.
"You taught me well, Marco." Star flashed a satisfied grin at him.
"Could someone wearing a uniform please give me an explanation as to why my only daughter is currently wearing handcuffs and surrounded by police officers?" an exasperated Moon asked no one in particular.
"Are you her mother?" a female officer with auburn hair tied in a braid and bright blue eyes inquired.
"Yes, I am..." Moon nodded to her apprehensively.
"My name is Officer Turner of the Echo Creek PD. Could you please confirm your daughter's age and identity with us?"
"What for?" Moon inquired with a confused expression.
"Your daughter wasn't carrying any ID on her person when we arrested her. We need to know how old she is to determine what charges, if any, we need to lay against her."
Moon stood frozen in shock. She knew first hand that her daughter was a self-proclaimed rebel and a handful...but criminal charges? This was too much, even for Star. Still, refusing to cooperate with a police officer was not an option that Moon could afford to take. Not with her position of working with the mayor to aid with the transition.
"My daughter's age is the equivalent of eighteen of your earth years." Moon sighed. "Which makes her an adult in this world."
"I would like to point out that back on Mewni we considered her an adult the day we handed over our kingdom's wand to her…" Moon continued. Officer Turner just gave the former queen a blank stare.
"Ok, then...and her name is?"
"Star Butterfly." Moon responded. "What about the young man next to her? Is he under arrest as well?"
"No, he wasn't involved in the altercation." Officer Turner explained as she wrote Star's name in her notepad. "He actually did have identification on him, so we know that his name is Marco Diaz of Echo Creek, also eighteen years old. Normally we keep suspects away from their friends when we arrest them, but he seemed like a pretty safe person so we let him stay with her...for now."
Moon rolled her eyes at Marco being the "safe kid" no matter what.
"You need to let her go, right now!" a voice called out. Penelope, Slime, and Mayor Miller pushed their way through the crowd and came up to the officers guarding Star and Marco. With them was a middle-aged Latino officer who was also a Lieutenant of the Echo Creek PD.
"We showed your commanding officer a video of everything that happened here today." Penelope motioned to Slime's cell phone. "It's video evidence that Star and Marco did nothing wrong here today, and that the person you should be arresting and charging is Mina Loveberry and her group."
"This young lady is correct, Officer Turner." the lieutenant nodded. "You need to release this woman that you have in custody, here."
"Lieutenant Rodriguez...what about her involvement in the fight? Officer Turner inquired skeptically to her superior officer.
"I have depositions from a number of eyewitnesses, including these two right here," he motioned to Penelope and Slime. "They all corroborate that the young woman you have in cuffs right now was defending them against the woman with the purple hair. Furthermore, the woman with the purple hair brought a whole army up here with the intention to cause damage and endanger lives. You need to get her out of those handcuffs and come with me to arrest the group of people who are standing over there."
He motioned over to where the remaining mewmans and humans were being surrounded by police.
Star stood up as Officer Turner came over to her, and removed the handcuffs. The other officers cleared away from her and Marco, presumably to go and arrest Mina and her followers. When the officers left, Moon quickly grabbed Star and embraced her in a tight hug.
"Mooommm…" Star protested. "Take it easy…"
"Quiet, you…" Moon whispered. She grabbed Marco, who was within arm's length, and dragged him into the hug as well.
Out of the corner of her eye, Star spied Penelope giving her a thumbs up.
"Thanks...Penny." she whispered. "I appreciate you willing to lie to the cops for me…"
"You're welcome, Star." Penelope gave Slime a long loving gaze, then turned back to the blonde. "Let's just say I owed you one…"
"I've just been told that the Chief of Police has arrived," Mayor Miller noted. "Come find me when you want to go back to Echo Creek, Moon."
Moon nodded her head, but for now she was content to hold her daughter and her daughter's significant other tightly.
"Moon!" Another voice rang out. It was Eclipsa.
"Eclipsa!" Moon exclaimed as she let go of Star and Marco. "What in the world has been going on around here?!"
Eclipsa approached with Globgor in tow, and Meteora in her arms.
"A lot of chaos, I'm afraid. Moon...since you're here, there's something else I need to show you…"
Eclipsa stepped aside to reveal two figures. They were the riders of the Dragoncycle that had rescued Eclipsa and her family earlier. One of them was a tall muscular creature dressed in black biker leather. He looked like an eagle with a human body. The other person next to him was a shorter female with long red hair. She was also dressed in all black leather, save for the low-cut yellow top underneath her jacket, which was presently showing an ample amount of cleavage.
Marco's eyes went wide with the realization of who was standing in front of them.
"Talon?!" he gasped.
Moon stood there frozen. She couldn't dare believe that the woman standing in front of her was who she thought she was. Her daughter, however, managed to speak up.
"HEKAPOO?!"
A/N: That ended up being quite the ride. I hope everyone is still on board. In case anyone was wondering, I decided to age up Star and Marco (and some of the other characters) as if the show happened in real time, so over four years. I know that's not exactly to canon, but that's what artistic license is for :) It's not because I have a problem with two minors being in "adult" situations.
Speaking of which, things are going to heat up for Star and Marco next chapter in a number of different ways. There's a lot more craziness to come in this story. Thank you to everyone who's been following along. Your feedback has made it worth writing this tale.
J/K