Chapter is ready a day early! Special thanks goes out to Blackwolf for feedback as usual. Authors notes at the bottom.
Something smells really nice.
Marco's eyes half opened, trying to make out the sweet scent hovering near his face. It reminded me of his favorite fruits back home.
Strawberries maybe?
He tried turning on his side but couldn't move his body.
"Stop.. moving…"
Marco's eyes went wide realizing the scent was coming from Star Butterfly, her body uncomfortably close to him. He wanted to push her off, but sensing her grip was ironclad, he relented and just studied her.
Despite the two of them laying on the bare ground with little more than leaves covering them, he was surprised at how content Star's face looked. A small, beaming smile was on her lips as she nuzzled closer to Marco.
How come I'm completely okay with this?
A dumb smile was on his own face, enjoying her warmth on his mostly healed body. Part of him even considered throwing his arm around her.
"Marco?"
She opened her eyes. Looking between herself and the half-naked young man within her arms, Star hastily moved away from Marco.
"Oh corn, I…" She studied Marco, blue eyes dilated. "Did I do anything to you?"
Marco tilted his head in confusion, slowly getting up and stretching his body. "No? Why would you?"
She was going to say something, eyes doing her best to look away from him. Marco's eyes went wide, understanding her implication. He quickly looked over himself, thanking god himself for pants still being firmly on his person.
"I… I'm going to get some air." Star hastily rushed off into the forest, Marco faintly hearing loud shouting in a language he didn't understand.
He wanted to laugh the moment off, but part of him felt scared. "I can't believe I would've been okay if that happened."
Is it because of you?
He looked up at the sky, seeing the Blood Moon faintly shine from the bright sun. Shaking his head, Marco sat down on a log and looked over his right leg, seeing the wand firmly attached to it in its brace form.
Gently touching his leg, he was surprised to see the wand revert back into its normal form. Picking the object up, he simply studied the object. It faintly glowed, before transforming into a new form. It mirrored a compass in the center, with strange red crescents surrounding it.
Those bat wings are odd. Then again, when Star holds this there's Butterfly wings.
Resting the object on his lap, he smiled seeing a completely healed right leg. Making a few wiggles with his toes, he felt relieved the sharp pain from last night was gone.
"You got some powerful magic, Star." Marco looked into the dead campfire and his mind wandered.
Wonder how everyone back home is holding up?
Marco felt a pit form in his stomach.
My exit from Earth was… Very dramatic.
That was putting it mildly, with Marco knowing that his family and Janna likely thought he flat out died. Recalling how he and his family handled the loss…
"Hey! Got us some…" Star shouted, running toward Marco. "What's with the face? Look, I'm sorry if I scared you but us female Mewmans are very aggressive…"
"No, I'm not scared… Well, I am now but just thinking about home." Star noticed the wand in his lap, picking the object up and studying it. "Oh, I touched my leg and it took on a new form."
Star looked between the wand, Marco and the Butterfly Tattoo on his shoulder. She tossed Marco the wand.
"Huh. So you have magic radiation already," She pointed to his shoulder, making a faint glow. Marco touched his shoulder and felt a sharp pain for a split second. "I'm guessing it's because of the Blood Moon, since even male Mewmans can't use magic."
Marco watched as the glow vanished and the wand formed a simple striped black and red staff in his hands.
"Regardless, it will make the adventure easier," Star smiled, eyes studying his chest. He frowned and jabbed the staff into the ground. "Okay, can I at least get a shirt or something? You staring at me is getting a bit annoying."
Star smiled, leaning forward and touching his chest.
"Boop."
Marco's face turned a shade of red, though he wasn't sure it was from anger or embarrassment.
"Finnnne, give me a sec." Star held out her palms, a gust of red and pink magic striking Marco. He closed his eyes, feeling a layer of clothing form on his chest and legs.
Opening his eyes, Star simply conjured up a large mirror and folded her arms smugly. "I like making my own clothes, but this is my first time making guy clothes." Marco took in his look and made a playful battle pose. "I mean, I did make Tom something one time, but he doesn't like hoodies too much."
"I love it!"
Marco enjoyed the roguish look Star made for him. Wearing a simple red hooded cape, it matched with a simple black armored undershirt with a yin-yang sign in the center. Even his pants and shoes took on a new appearance, the former having some purple stripes and the later being a lighter pair of sneakers.
Star picked up the Wand Staff and tossed it to Marco.
"Good to see someone who knows good taste." Star leaned forward, jabbing her finger into Marco's chest. "If you even touch sunglasses though, we have problems."
Marco mouthed 'no problem', but he noticed Star wearing different clothes herself. Gone was the somewhat torn up wedding dress, but instead was a look similar to one she wore in the dreams. But instead of bright blues, pinks and yellows, it was dominated with various darker colors.
Noticing Marco looking at her, Star made a playful spin and smiled. "Yeah, that dress doesn't cut it for an adventure anyway." She snapped her fingers, making a simple map appear in her hands.
Marco walked toward her, noticing various landmarks on the aged paper. "So this is Mewni?"
Star nodded, tracing a line on the map.
"We have to leave the Lucitor Kingdom pronto, more so since my little stunt likely caused panic amongst the other kingdoms," She started, with Marco raising an eyebrow. "Running off from a royal wedding causes problems and political tensions. I'm sure you…"
"Messy weddings are common on Earth, so no surprise," He made a dumb laugh. "Janna forces me to watch a really bad show with her about this stuff."
Star gave him a face.
"If you mean that show I watch on my mirror phone in-between boring royal meetings, you better rephrase 'bad' with 'not interesting to you', okay?"
Wait, she can watch stuff from Earth?
He couldn't ask with Star continuing her train of thought.
"Anyway, I'm in hot water and I can't stay in this kingdom any longer than I have too," She turned toward him, giving him a somber frown. "Plus, I need to get you back to Earth."
"Wait, I can go back?" Marco asked, with Star holding up a pair of red scissors. "Wait! Those are from…"
"Yep. I woke up last night to get some water and I saw you holding them." She brushed her fingers over the red steel. "I know you didn't earn these specifically, but those dreams don't lie. A version of you earned them. It's really hard to earn these from Hekapoo."
"Wow…" Marco took the scissors, opening them and looking at the reflection of both himself and Star within the blade.
This… this feels right to hold.
He put them in his pocket, looking back at Star.
"Hekapoo is missing and since she controls portal making across Dimensions, we have to travel back to my kingdom on foot," She folded the map up and tucked it into one of her pockets. "First stop should be the demon village a few miles south from here."
"What about food?" Marco asked, with Star blinking.
"What do you mean? I'm not hungry."
Both their stomachs collectively growled.
They blankly looked at each other, before Star made a dangerous grin.
I don't like this.
Yeah, I don't like this.
Marco was holding his wand staff for support as he climbed up a hill. He was out of breath trying to keep pace with Star, who was on all fours sniffing the ground for a trail.
"Stop," Marco froze in his tracks, watching Star get on her feet and narrow her eyes. She quickly turned to him, eyes focused as could be. "Our beasty is close."
Before he could comment, Star went back on all fours and started dashing ahead. His mind was just confused watching a magical princess…
Who is this? Tarzan?
Marco sighed, deciding to shrug off his confused thoughts and follow his friend. Keeping up with her shockingly fast pace was rough but Marco was able to spot Star standing up behind a tree.
She held up her hand, Marco standing a few inches behind. He looked at their prey and his eye's blinked at the sight. The bear had four heads, being surrounded by cubs with two heads. Each one had a different coat: white, black and brown. "Aww, the little ones are cute."
"They may be cute," Star cracked her knuckles and magically summoned a spear in her hand. "But they are our food. You know how to kill?"
Marco recoiled, nearly tripping over himself. Star noticed his hesitation, her somewhat cold expression softening.
"I never killed before," Marco admitted. "The closest thing is fishing, but even then, Dad and I usually just release the fish after we catch them."
"How come you're so good at…"
Marco frowned, folding his arms.
"Oh, right. You do that karate thing." Star sighed, jabbing her spear in the ground and harshly shoving her finger into Marco's chest. "Look, you know Mewni's different than Earth, so get with the program and help me get some grub."
His brown eyes stared down Star's fierce blue ones, silence hovering between the two for a few moments.
"Fine." Marco looked at his staff and focused, imagining a spear. He was surprised with a large gust of blue magic escaping the object and not only changing the weapon, but his own clothing.
He looked over himself, seeing animal pelts replacing his clothes. Turning toward Star, he just noticed her agape jaw.
"Oh…"
"So, what's the plan?"
Star just blankly stared at him, her eyes mirroring her cheekmarks.
"Now's not the time!"
She patted her cheeks and mouthed 'sorry' before pointing at where they should strike.
Just jumping in? They will notice us.
Star seemingly read his thoughts, shaking her head and smirking. "Just trust me on this."
She jumped from their hiding spot, jabbing her spear into the mama multi-bear. A deafening scream escaped its four mouths, with Star yanking the spear out of the creature and rolling away from a lethal strike.
Marco jumped next, landing right beside Star and spinning his spear defensively, blocking a few strikes from the cub multi-bears. One of them tried gnawing at the spear, but a powerful kick sent one of them flying into a bush.
The other cubs tried attacking Marco's rear, but Star shot a surge of heart daggers at them, wounding the creatures and making them run off.
Mama Bear let out a deafening roar seeing their babies wounded. Marco felt his blood pumping, snapping his spear in half and it turning into the gauntlets. He turned toward Star, wondering what team-up attack they could do.
Why is she scared?
Marco blinked, seeing Star's downright panicked face. "We messed up. Big time, Marco."
"Why? It's not like the bear summoned…"
As if finishing his sentence, the entire forest circled them. Demonic black owl's eyes glowed from the trees uptop, small goblin-like creatures jumped from the bushes with their arms twitching, and even the trees looked threatening thanks to their branches growing spikes.
"Marco?"
"Yeah, Star?"
"Hang on tight"
Marco just gave Star a curious look, but she just grabbed his collar and started flying.
"Use the wand to blast 'em!"
He just followed her command, shoving his palm and sending magic blasts toward the goblins and owls coming their way.
She's moving too fast to aim well!
He did his best but eventually they were struck down by a mighty swing from an incoming tree creature, using its spiky arm to slam them into the ground.
Star and Marco screamed in pain as they tumbled into a nearby ditch. He was about to get up, but Star covered his mouth, letting the demon creatures pass them by. The two stayed like this for a solid minute, taking a shaky breath once seeing the creatures completely gone.
Marco just grabbed Star's shoulders and shook her.
"Did you know those things were out there?!"
She shoved him back.
"No! Yes?" She rubbed her temples, mumbling a healing spell to soothe her wounds. "I never hunted in the Lucitor Kingdom, so I guess it's different from back home."
"Nearly killed us…" Marco grumbled, rubbing his sore shoulders. He looked ahead, eyes widening. "Wait, I think we might've found a shortcut."
Star looked to where Marco was pointing, with the ditch being linked to a cave of some kind. She rubbed her chin, a smile forming on her face.
"Good work, adventure buddy!" She threw an arm around Marco's shoulder. "Ready to face the unknown and face horrors?"
"Suuuure." Marco replied, watching Star gleefully walk ahead of him.
He looked behind him, feeling something was following them. But narrowing his eyes, whatever was tailing them vanished.
"Great… Al infierno me voy."
He ran after Star, unaware of a sole red eye glowing in the mist behind him.
"So, take it you never explored this part of the kingdom?" Marco asked, hoping to ease the tension around them as they went further into the dark abyss that was the cave. The only sources of light were Star's glowing hand and Marco's glowing wand.
"Not really," Star tried focusing ahead, but she only made out glowing red and blue rocks. "I'm guessing this is a cavern? The Lucitor Kingdom's best resource is crystals that power a lot of magical objects across Mewni."
"Huh, you think the crystal in the wand is made of the stuff here?" Marco pointed to the wand, but Star shook her head.
"No, I personally know the creator of that."
Marco's eyes went wide, with Star giving him a soft smile.
"Huh, no wonder you were willing to lend this to me then. You guys could just make more if you want."
Star frowned, shaking her head. "The Butterfly Wand isn't some toy. It's the most powerful object in the multiverse." She turned toward him and gave him a serious look. "People killed one another trying to get the weapon in your hands right now."
Damn.
Marco suddenly felt the small object in his right hand feeling heavier.
"I promise to use it well."
Star smiled, patting his shoulder. "I know you will, that's why I'm lending it to you."
She turned around, grabbing his hand.
"Something's wrong?"
"Stay close, I hear something."
They slowly walked forward, the endless cavern getting larger. The two stopped walking, hiding behind a large boulder. Star and Marco peeked over, eyes wide at what they saw.
"Why are we hiding out here? This place is way too dark." Slime complained, squinting to make out a fellow monster across from him.
"What do you mean? I see perfectly." Dennis replied, folding his feathered arms and giving his friend a knowing smirk.
"Bah," Buff Frog spoke, throwing a torch at Slime who caught it before the object fell on the floor. "Butterfly has effective bodyguard. We need to think of a new plan."
A loud whistle got the monster's attention. "Now, chaps. This is just the first stage of the hunt." He walked forward, his large tail trailing the ground like a snake. "We weakened them and lured them close to us."
"What makes you say that?" Dennis asked. "You ran off while we dealt with the human!"
Rasticore snapped his fingers, the entire area lighting up.
Star and Marco ducked behind the bolder, hoping they weren't spotted.
"I have a feeling the Butterfly and the meat-bag are in this very room. But what do I know?" Rasticore whistled, leaning on the wall and his large jaw grinning. "We just have to wait for the demon brat's curse to activate. Shouldn't take too long."
Curse?
Marco turned toward Star, but he only saw fury in her eyes. Her body was faintly glowing gold, ready to fly toward the monsters and end them on the spot.
He hastily grabbed her and looked directly into her eyes.
"This is my chance too…"
"To get both of us killed!" Marco whispered. "We are a team and we need to plan like one."
Star's eyes dilated, with Marco releasing his grip on her.
"I… I never been part of a team before…" She mumbled, hugging herself. "I always dealt with things on my own."
"Didn't Tom help?"
Star bit her lip.
"Sorry, didn't mean…"
"He tried but he never stopped me like you just did," She gave Marco a knowing smile. "So, what is the plan?"
"We find a way out." Marco peaked over, the monsters seemingly waiting for the two to move forward. "Maybe…"
He gave Star a knowing grin, leaning into her ear and whispering something. Star turned toward him, giving him a baffled look but Marco mouthed 'trust me'.
Before some commentary, a translation for Marco's Spanish. He was saying 'Welcome to Hell'.
Now, the next few chapters are going to be really action packed and I'm excited to announce that the story is completely outlined, with the next ten or so chapters fully mapped out (and the remaining ones having a 'clear idea'.
I'm really excited about some of the stuff coming up, so hope you all look forward to it! And please, feel free to drop reviews or send me DM's. Love feedback and really hope you all are enjoying story.
Have a great day and thank you for reading.