Star vs The Forces of PTSD Chapter 1: Take One, a star vs. the forces of evil fanfic

Some time after Lint Catcher and before Sweet Dreams:

The screams had returned to Butterfly Castle ... and doubled.

Star's nights were filled with terror. It began several days after Marco returned to Earth. Her shouts and screams would frequently echo through the castle, ceasing only when she awoke drenched in sweat. She would drift back into a restless sleep only with great difficulty. When Star began dating Tom the frequency of the night terrors diminished, but did not cease entirely.

When Marco returned to Mewni and became Star's squire, Star's parents thought those troubled nights would be over. But to their horror they learned that Marco's nights were filled with terrors as well, and they triggered the return of Star's, usually on the same nights.

Moon and River visited the Diazes to discuss the matter of Marco, and learned an unfortunate truth: Angie had decided to send Marco to Mewni not only to give him is own "French Summer," but also did so in the belief that rejoining his bestie would allow him to cope and end the nightmares. She had no idea that the rebel princess was having her own coping problems. The Diazes' permissive parenting style had doubled the Butterflys' problems.

After speaking with the royals, Rafael was for a more active solution, while Angie still felt Star and Marco could figure it out together. They compromised, agreeing to an intervention on Mewni should that not be the case.

Several more weeks went by. It became apparent the problem was not diminishing. After some discrete questioning, it was clear to Moon that Star and Marco were avoiding talking about this problem and were not helping each other.

Moon turned to River in their bed. "It's time," she said.

"Yes Moon Pie, right away," he responded.

River quickly dressed, then stepped into the hall outside of the royal quarters. He picked up the waiting dimensional scissors and opened a portal to Earth. He stepped through and the portal closed behind him.

When the portal reopened and River and the Diazes stepped through, Moon was waiting. No words were exchanged; the shouts and screams made them unnecessary. The Diazes were shown to the door of Marco's room, and Star's parents stepped to hers.

Angie and Rafael entered Marco's room to find him covered in sweat, writhing in torment and screaming his fear. Rafael sat on the edge of the bed, while Angie took Marco into her arms.

Marco awoke, confused. "No!" he sobbed.

"Shh shh shh," said Angie, "mom's here. There's only one law now, mom's law."

"Mama," Marco said, "I dreamed Toffee was back and Star and Tom and I were fighting him and his monsters. Star could not find her wand. While Tom and Star were distracted by the other monsters, Toffee attacked unnoticed. Tom was the closest, so I moved to save Tom first." His voice became quiet, plaintive, "but I was too late to save Star. Why did I save Tom first? Tom's a demon, he could withstand the attack." Marco buried his face in his hands. "I want Star." He could no longer deny he needed his bestie's help. He heard a scream, and with a start realized that Star might need him too.

In Star's room, as Moon approached the bed where Star writhed and whimpered, Star's cheek hearts began to glow. Moon recognized that her daughter was dipping down. She knew it should not happen during sleep; Moon was shocked it was even possible. Things were worse than she thought.

"No!" Star sobbed in her sleep. She began screaming "THERMONUCLEAR BUTTERFLY ..."

Moon desperately grabbed her daughter. "Star!" she yelled.

Star awoke in confusion. "Mommy?"

"Yes dear, mommy's here."

Moon turned on the light, then sat down on the bed and held her daughter's hand. She pushed down a sudden pang of regret that she had allowed her daughter to be raised mostly by the royal bodyguards, rather than herself; it had made her less sensitive to her daughter's pain.

"Mom," Star said, "I dreamed Toffee was back and Marco and Tom and I were fighting him and his monsters. I could not find my wand. While Tom and Marco were distracted by the other monsters, Toffee attacked unnoticed. Tom was the closest, so I moved to save Tom first." Her voice became quiet, plaintive, "but I was too late to save Marco. Why did I save Tom first? Tom's a demon, he could withstand the attack." She buried her face in Moon's shoulder.

Star sobbed for a minute. She looked into Moon's eyes, and asked "why is this happening? I defeated a monster and saved the kingdom and here I am crying in bed to my mother."

Star's anger swelled.

"I am an independent woman with fists like hammers! I will FIGHT this ..."

Moon grabbed Star's arms and shook her, shouting "You are not weak!"

Moon looked down on her daughter staring back at her, eyes wide with shock. Moon's anger subsided as quickly as it flared. A single tear rolled over her cheek diamond, as she remembered the last time her mother comforted her before the monster of Star's nightmares murdered her mother. She released Star's arms and brushed Star's hair lightly.

"I'm sorry. Remember, I fought a war when I was not much older than you." She chose not to mention her own trauma during the recent fight with Toffee. "My generals and advisors shielded me from most of the horrors, but ... it was years before the nightmares went away. I thought I was weak. If not for your father..." Moon paused, smiling. She lowered her voice so it was barely audible. "Your father can act the buffoon ... don't tell him I said that ... but he is a good, brave, man, who loves us very much."

Star deflated, a little girl in distress again. Her mother knew her pain, but Star now realized she needed the comfort of her best friend too.

"Mommy, I want Marco," she said in a small voice.

"Sweetie, Marco is your squire, and he's with his own parents right now." Star was surprised at the revelation. She knew Marco had issues of his own, but did not realize they were this bad. "Let me call Tom," Moon said soothingly.

"No, " Star said. "No!" she shouted, her feeling of distress surging. She screamed, "Marco!"

Moon was taken aback. With all that Star had done in the last six months, it was easy to forget she was still a 14 year old child, in many ways still the hyperactive goof she had sent to Earth almost a year ago.

Star screamed her pain, her voice shrill, "Marco!"

River stood worried by the door. He kept his distance as he wanted his daughter and wife to speak freely with each other. He endured horrors during the war too, but as prince of a kingdom of fierce warriors he did not experience the lingering trauma that Moon did. He had helped Moon deal with it as best he could, but he knew she could speak to Star from experience, in a way he never could.

River jumped at the knock on the door. He opened it, and found the Diaz family standing outside.

"Marco would like to see Star," Rafael said. "And if my ears did not deceive me, I think Star would like to see Marco too." They entered Star's room.

Moon, years of royal traditions again taking hold, hissed "this is not proper."

Star gently took her mother's hand. "Mom, please."

Moon hesitated, then motioned Marco over. Marco, unable to meet Star's gaze, sat down on the edge of the bed. Their parents discreetly moved away.

Star and Marco sat silently for a few moments. Finally Marco looked up into Star's eyes, which welled up with tears. Star noticed the dark circles under his eyes, matching the ones under hers. They had so often comforted each other in bad times so why had they not spoken to each other about this? Had things changed so much? She longed for things to return to the way they were before that darn Ruberiot ruined everything. When she was queen there would be the first public execution in over a century. She quickly pushed the thought away, ashamed.

Star grabbed Marco and hugged him hard. The hug opened the floodgates.

Star whispered of how she was terrified when she cast the Whispering Spell on Ludo's Wand, not knowing where she would go if it worked, or even whether it would work at all. She feared she might be killed, and that dying in the explosion would hurt. She talked of her time trapped in the magic with Toffee. Of how she feared that she could not escape, that she would die, and worst of all, despairing that she would never see her best friend again. She talked of the horrible pain endured to dip down to escape the magic, and the pleasure and horror of blasting Toffee to pieces, only to see his quivering remains still living, if temporarily.

Marco whispered to her of how he thought he had watched Star commit suicide by blowing herself up, having cast the Whispering Spell on Ludo's wand. He spoke of the joy of learning a few minutes later she was alive inside Ludo somehow, only to be told by the resurrected Toffee that he had murdered Star. He told her of punching through Toffee's still soft body, to no effect, after watching Moon damage herself in a failed attempt to kill Toffee with dark magic. Of the pain from Toffee's retaliation. He described how he had felt utterly helpless and empty, unable to even punish the monster who had murdered his best friend. And of the awe and horror of seeing Toffee blasted to pieces, only to see his quivering remains still living, if temporarily.

Marco sighed; he didn't want to let go, but he was her squire and best friend, not her boyfriend. He pulled away.

"I should go, and you should call Tom," he said.

"No," Star replied. "Right now I don't need my boy friend, I need my best friend."

They looked away from each other, the flush of embarrassment on their cheeks for not speaking sooner.

Marco thought briefly of Jackie with a touch of wistfulness. "So do I. I'll stay."

Marco reached under the bed and pulled out their friendship snuggly. They moved to sit beside each other with their backs against the headboard, leaving a discreet space between them, and Marco draped the blanket over the two of them. They continued to talk quietly.

On the other side of the room, their parents argued in hushed tones.

Unaware of their past nighttime hijinks, Moon said "we owe Marco a debt of gratitude, but he is her squire, and it is not proper for him to be here in the royal princess's bedroom at night. If anybody, it should be Tom, a fellow royal, properly chaperoned" Moon said.

Indignant, Angie hissed "are you saying our son is not good enough to even comfort your daughter? Because he's," she spat the words, "a commoner? When she came to us, she became our daughter too for almost a year! The daughter of commoners!"

"Yes," Rafael added. "Our daughter, the beautiful butterfly."

River stomped his foot and said "Enough!" much louder and forceful than he intended. He glanced over at Marco and Star and was relieved to see his outburst went unnoticed.

"Hang propriety. They are both all our children!"

Moon silently agreed, Marco was indeed more to the Butterflys than just a squire, but she was fighting too many years of royal traditions. She began to protest again, but Angie held one finger to her lips, and pointed another past Moon.

Their gazes followed Angie's pointing finger. Star and Marco were asleep quietly for the first time in weeks. In their sleep they had moved to support each other like they did when awake, leaning against each other beneath their blanket. Star's head rested lightly on Marco's shoulder, while Marco's rested against Star's head.

"That's it, no more argument," Rafael whispered. "My darling will sleep in Marco's room. Moon and River will return to their bedroom. I will stay and watch the children first. River, you will replace me in a few hours."

Slightly flustered at being given orders, River could only stammer "yes, of course."

Moon smiled. She dipped down, and conjured a recliner for Rafael and River to use during their vigils.

"Now go," Rafael hissed, and herded them to the door.

Angie turned, took Rafael's hands, gave him a brief kiss on the cheek, then turned and walked out the door. Rafael quietly closed the door behind her. He doused the light, then made himself comfortable in the recliner, watching protectively over these troubled best friends.

As he watched them, the clouds in the sky parted. He marveled at the soft red light of the crescent moon that filtered through the window and fell on his sleeping children. After a few minutes, he noticed that Star's cheek hearts were softly glowing. He fancied that he could see the glowing shape of the crescent moon on both his son's cheeks.

Yeah I know. Daron and company would have found a subtle way to do it in a quirky, fun-filled episode. I'm not Daron. So sue me.

It's unclear the time frames. Marco says in Lint Catcher he had been wearing the meat blanket ... I mean cape ... for weeks. So a minimum of two weeks, probably more, between Scent of a Hoodie and Sophomore Slump, then maybe a couple more before Sweet Dreams. Given that Marco and Star are dealing with a different sleep problem in that episode, Sweet Dreams is the absolute latest this has to be addressed by.

The difficult things for me were coming up with reasons why their parents would allow the problem to continue for so long, and why Marco and Star would not talk about it with it being so obvious. I think Moon and River were easy, they were standoff parents, pretty much not raising Star at all. Angie and Rafael were a little harder, but they were clearly depicted as inattentive and permissive parents. But Star and Marco's communication problems having deteriorated to this degree? I'm not sure that's credible, especially given their communication problems were primarily in the realm of feelings. I suppose you could justify saying that their night terrors being caused by fear of losing the other puts them into the realm of feelings. Perhaps if I had eliminated the parents direct involvement I could have knocked a few weeks off ... but that eliminates some of the Moon moments which I thought important. Still, you never know until you try.

Stay Amazing!