"So, you are the girl's protector. I must admit not much to look at but looks are often deceiving as is the case of Moon." Marco glared in an annoyed and exasperated manner at Lord Mildrew as he gave a token struggle against the restraints in his swivel chair.
"Ohhhhh man am I sick and tired of this." Marco spoke in a slightly sarcastic manner. "I have done every single thing… oh wait." Marco swiveled the chair around in a circle staring at Mildrew when he was done. "Now I've done everything. Now let me out of here and fight me bitch." Mildrew chuckled at Marco tapping on the crystal that trapped Marco in a rectangular prison before speaking.
"I could, but you would wind up right back where you started even if you defeated me due to everyone else here." Mildrew gestured around the underground base that seemed to be both tunneled out and made out of the living wood of a gigantic system of roots. "And if we did you might get hurt in the process perhaps even killed. I still need you alive to 'negotiate' with Star if you will." Marco groaned and slumped back in the surprisingly comfortable chair and spoke in a tired manner.
"Even if we were on good terms Star would never trade her wand in for me, it's too important to her." Mildrew raised an eyebrow and spoke in a surprised manner.
"You two had a falling out of sorts? Well no wonder we were able to apprehend you so easily. Sit tight boy as you are going nowhere for a very long time then." Mildrew walked away with Marco groaning in protest and looked around the base.
The hall appeared oddly shaped being slightly curved and very long and short with several doorways in the hall. Marco saw some of the barbarians looking at him in interest but left him be to go about different tasks throughout the base. Marco groaned again at how easily they caught him and was about to test his restraints again when two familiar figures walked up with the smaller one speaking in a somewhat condescending manner to him.
"Well, so much for the mighty guardian. Can't even protect yourself." Marco glared at Selene and Dumnorix who both looked at him in pity responding in kind.
"So, resorted to such tactics to get to Star, how desperate are you?" They both laughed at that with Dumnorix responding.
"Well when you have been hunted like a wild animal by your own countrymen siding with Monsters savages you tend to grasp at every option." Selene spoke up at this point.
"But now this ends and a true queen of Mewni will sit on the throne and bring justice for all who have suffered at Moon's atrocities." Marco outright laughed at them taking them both off guard as he responded.
"Equality and heroism are crimes? Moon is an awesome person for running a kingdom and taking care of her daughter despite all you people have done to sabotage her. Wow you people are most definitely the bad…" Selene opened the door to his prison and punched him across the face giving him a black eye before speaking.
"You just saw the good aspect of her; a clever but thin veil she keeps up to make people believe she is not Toffee's slave bitch. If she was so intent on justice she would never have let this war happen in the first place." Selene walked away with Dumnorix closing the door and sitting down next to Marco with an oddly concerned look in his eyes.
"What do you want 'dumb'norix." Dumnorix laughed at Marco and spoke softly.
"That was kind of clever, I'll give you that. There is one question I have to ask you…" He leaned in close speaking in a whisper. "… did Star put a spell on Mavis to drive her mad?" Marco blinked in shock as Dumnorix continued. "She was acting off for a while and after snapping in anger a few days ago she ran off. I need to know what Star has done to her." Marco blinked for a second before answering in anger.
"Star doesn't do that kind of thing. Sure she beats you up but she would never do something like that." Much to Marco's surprise Dumnorix sighed in a mixture of relief and sadness before speaking.
"I was afraid of that. You two seem too noble a pair of warriors to stoop to those tactics." Marco blinked in confusion as Dumnorix continued. "But enough of that, I am fairly certain Star will come for you. I know she will not just hand over the wand but we will convince her otherwise. If she does you will be returned unharmed, if not…" Dumnorix smiled cracking his knuckles. "… well you are still my enemy." As he got up Marco called out to him.
"Wait." Dumnorix looked at him in confusion and annoyance. "Back at the historical event Selene said something about seeking justice for her family. I get Moon started a war to end the oppression of the Shadow Clause, or whatever it was called, but what could Moon have possibly done that was so bad as to drive anyone against her like that." Dumnorix sighed in sympathy and sat down again speaking with a strange wisdom about him that matched his aged appearance.
"So, wondering if your enemies are people too huh?" Marco blinked and nodded slowly. "Well it wasn't just what Moon did; it's what she didn't do as well. Many of us that you see here were once warriors of various noble houses, most notably house Johansen." He leaned back against the wall of the cell as if letting memories flow through him as he spoke. "House Johansen wished only to declare independence from the kingdom of Mewni during the war of Moonlight Shadow but Moon would not allow that. So on the third year of the war she stormed castle Johansen and massacred everyone within, even those that put up only token resistance." Marco blinked in shock at the words as Dumnorix continued. "But that was too be expected honestly with Monsters serving her; what was not expected was her ally River Johansen joining the assault and killing his own father." Marco's thoughts drifted to the boisterous and happy go lucky man who was father of Tempest and imagined him doing something like that as he spoke.
"Wait, Tempest's father is a Johansen?" Dumnorix spat to the side and swore quietly before continuing.
"He WAS a Johansen before he shamed his family name by running away from home to saddle up with a pixie that made him go soft towards Moon's cause. He sided with Monsters, the very same creatures who took countless lives of Mewman settlers when the border wars broke out hundreds of years ago. He left his heritage behind when we decided to go down our own path and leave the kingdom of Mewni when he helped Moon destroy our ancestral home and kill his father." Marco sat in dumb shock as Dumnorix continued. "His own mother witnessed the deed and went mad out of despair. To this day River keeps his mother locked up now for her 'protection' and 'well-being'. BAH If he wanted to avoid that he should have sided with his family in the first place as he was supposed to." Dumnorix looked at Marco who was now nervously pulling at his restraints with Dumnorix smiling coldly at him.
"But that was nothing compared to what was happening all around them. Peasantry and Monsters rose up in riots all throughout the kingdom not 1 week after Moon was crowned to 'cleanse the land' of those who had 'oppressed' them for so long. We provided commoners homes, protection, food, and a cause worth working and fighting for and they massacred us the first opportunity they got." Marco memories went back to his first visit to Mewni when Star had mentioned something about many of the nobility dying at the end of The War of Moonlight Shadow and shuddered at it. Dumnorix smiled again at him. "Sickened by how cruel people can be." Marco shook his head and responded.
"Actually this reminds or something known as the French Revolution back on earth. It was bad." Marco looked at Dumnorix who did not hold back.
"Well did the ruler of that realm just ignore all the crimes the peasants did and used it to rope the nobility into being her lackey's or die at the peasantry's hands?" Marco shook his head no and then yes in shock as Dumnorix continued. "Well to add insult to injury she offered up a 'pardon' for any nobility that fought back against the peasant uprising like we were wrong for fighting back just to stay alive." He spat to the side again in disgust and fixed Marco with his one eye which showed repressed rage caused by hopelessness. "Every single person you see in this base fights because we would not bend the knee to this false justice Moon touts about. We WILL get full justice and restore Mewni to its proper glory one way or another. And if you are wondering about Selene…" He looked to the side making Marco jumped in shock at the fact that a crowd had gathered around watching Marco react to the story. Dumnorix chuckled a little at Marco's reaction before he began speaking again.
watch?v=tqQ7x2FQCvM (Overwatch Dragons Music Theme)
In ancient times the kingdom of Mewni was beset by a threat even greater then Monsters or forbidden magic users, the dragons. These beasts burned farms and homes for sport and stole whatever they could eat like Mewni was an all you could eat buffet, the people of Mewni included. There were few of them but far fewer were able to fight these beasts and best them due to their sheer might and power. One however found a secret to fighting them; a warrior by the name of Yorimasa defeated a dragon and in exchange for its life promised her a way to turn the dragons very weaponry against them. She agreed and the dragon taught her the secret of Shimazu, calling the spirt dragons to redirect their powerful breath attacks to turn them against the dragons. She mastered this art and taught it to many warriors who used it to defeat this scourge by forcing them onto even ground and annihilating the dragons one by one. Some even expanded on her art and turned the spirits themselves into a powerful offensive weapon against ones enemies. She gained such renown that the Butterfly queen gave her a high position of power with her becoming the forefront of Mewman knight hood taking the surname Dragon to show they possessed the dragons power. While other houses rose and fell they stayed strong since the house's founding more than 800 years ago… until the war of Moonlight Shadow.
During the war the house of Dragon was nearly emptied as the knights answered the call to Queen Willow to protect the nation from the upstart whore Moon and the Monster who controlled her as a puppet. But that left their home vulnerable to attack when only the lord and his immediate family were left to rule. Most had not learned how to use the powers of Shimazu by this point and to properly use them one must have something to channel the power, usually a tattoo, and something to project the power, a specially made weapon is commonly preferred. They were unable to call upon their power when they were attacked by a group of Monsters who left Moon's side and were led by an entity called Silvicar. Using a powerful weapon known as 'black powder' he fell upon the family by surprise and wiped out the residents destroying their home, shattering their clan. The knights with Willow did not leave their post though, knowing they would get vengeance soon enough… only for them to be proved wrong. Willow surrendered to Moon who, while she had defeated Silvicar, had pardoned the Monsters who had formally served him. Hundreds of years of dedication and commitment thrown out like garbage because she wished to establish 'peaceful' relations with Monsters.
The remaining family members of house Dragon fled from Moon deeming her a leader a not worth serving; including the only survivors of Silvicar's attack Marigold Dragon, the matriarch of house Dragon at the time, and her near infant daughter Selene Dragon. Not much is known about what happened to them but Selene one day showed up to our group even younger then you are with a scroll of the arts of Shimazu asking to be allowed to fight. So we let her in and while she trained with us and as best she could in the art of Shimazu giving herself their tattoo even she has not be able to test her abilities… until now. (end music)
Marco sat there in dull shock as Dumnorix finished the story with many of the warriors holding their heads sadly or crying silently at the great atrocities that had happened. After an unknown length of time Marco finally spoke.
"So… you guys are fighting to get revenge for what Moon could not prevent from happening to you." Dumnorix scoffed again and spoke in a tired manner.
"We fight to save Mewni from itself. Moon is allowing it to lose its traditions and without them we lose who we are; but she also lets crimes committed against us go unpunished and, while she will not say it outright, I know she believes we deserved such punishments in the first place for crimes we never committed. But some of us fight to see our families again as if we were to return now we would be killed on sight as criminals. Selene in particular wishes to find her mother again." The group around them nodded silently as he continued. "That wand Star possesses holds great power but it's the book that is also important. Within is a dark chapter that holds many spells of corruption and ruin but one spell is useful despite its darkness, The All Seeing Eye." The group nodded in appreciation of that with Marco looking on too shocked still to be confused. "With it you can find and being at any place no matter what, and Selene wishes to use it to find her mother. You see Marco, Star's wand not only represents the power we need to fight but our hope for recovering what we can of what we've lost." Marco sat there in dull shock before speaking slowly in a staggered fashion.
"But… Star did… nothing wrong…" The group around him laughed bitterly at that as Dumnorix stood up and took Marco's restraints off while striding for the door to the cell speaking to Marco.
"Neither did we but look at where we are now. She is a half-Monster, an unholy binding of two races that must be kept separate. She also stands in our way of what we need so we will fight her to reclaim what is ours and to restore balance to Mewni. Nothing personal Marco, this is war after all." Dumnorix stepped outside and closed the door and locked it behind him with the group walking off leaving Marco alone.
"But… Star did… nothing wrong…" He stared ahead in dull shock for a while to be snapped out of it by returning warriors who were injured calling out to everyone; something along the lines of Star following them here with reinforcements.
"Aaaaaaaannnnnnnnd I lost them. Damn it." Buff Frog slumped against a tree frustrated as Star rubbed her tail nervously as she spoke.
"Well they couldn't have gotten far right? Maybe we can circle out and look for…" Buff Frog groaned in annoyance as he answered Star.
"We are in swamp land now; if they were covering their tracks, which they were, it is near impossible to track them in the fading light. We have to wait till morning." Star shivered nervously and rubbed her tail even more as she responded.
"We can't wait till tomorrow. If I don't get him back tonight they'll kill him!" Star looked around desperately looking for anything to send them in the right direction. "There has to be some lead somewhere."
The duo were currently in the middle of a half forest half swamp like terrain with willow trees and low shrubs being the main plant life outside of the water. A low mist had also begun to creep in giving the area a very foreboding appearance similar to a horror story. Star shivered and moved in close to Buff Frog partially out of worry and partially because she had forgotten how cold it could get on Mewni. Back on earth she didn't really need to worry about temperatures during the day as Marco claimed that spring was turning into summer and it did get quite warm in their area. Buff Frog held her close and comforted her as best he could with Star's mind going over what she could have done. She could have stopped one of the men from running off to get directions, she could have just apologized for almost getting Marco killed to get the Sandvich, she could have not asked him to go along in the first place, she could have…
"Something approaches." Star stiffened up at first to buff Frog's voice and then relaxed against him ready for action.
They waited in their current stance to not let anyone know they were onto them approaching ready to spring into action. After a little while Star heard muffled steps like someone was running through the undergrowth not paying attention to where they were going. She looked up at Buff Frog who nodded and picked her up slinging her onto his back making ready to throw her when the person showed themselves. Star growled silently her eyes going to yellow cat pupil as she waited to see who the wanderer was. After a few seconds more a figure burst out of the vegetation with Buff Frog immediately throwing Star at them with Star landing on top near effortlessly. The figure could only look at them taken completely off guard as Star smashed them to the ground with her wand and pointed it at them with it ready to fire.
"Alright, you are done…. Mavis?" Star blinked in shock as she saw the person she had knocked down was in fact Mavis. "Where is Marco you bitch!"
"Child language." Buff Frog spoke up to Star as Mavis stuttered out a reply.
"Huh… Marco? Is he not with you?" Star growled and shot a 'Ferocious Fire Ant Swarm' at her with the ants biting Mavis making her scream out in pain. "What is going on? What are you doing out here and why are you asking about your guide!?" Buff Frog put his hand on Star's shoulder and spoke cautiously.
"I think she is telling the truth my little munchkin." Star looked at Mavis and actually bothered looking at her now.
She wasn't wearing armor and didn't have her sword on her or her skull helmet leaving her in aged and slightly tattered clothing. Her hair was matted down and dirt streaked her clothes and form as if she hadn't been properly taking care of herself, or was unable to. Her eyes were also red and baggy from lack of sleep and her voice sounded hoarse as if she had not drunk in days. Star realized that Mavis was not just not a threat but she likely had no idea of what was going on and was desperate for help herself. Star undid her spell and pointed her wand at Mavis threateningly and spoke softly with a hard undertone.
"Ok, what do you know has been going at your base for the last few days?" Mavis blinked in confusion and sat up as best she could trying to clear her throat.
"I'm… not sure. I have not been back there in days." Buff Frog grunted sympathetically and handed her a water skin which she drank from gratefully and emptied the whole thing. "Thank you. I left secretly a few days ago when it became clear something was wrong with Lord Mildrew." Star blinked in confusion and Buff Frog went stock still as she continued. "I think I may have been drugged by him into acting rash at one point and was using his sword to do… something to me. There was a red glow along it and within his eye. I have no idea what is going on and I have not had the best recovery as my companions tried bringing me back to him. I know they would not hurt me but if they bring me back he will." Star blinked trying to assess the situation as Buff Frog spoke up.
"Perhaps we could benefit each other..." Mavis immediately shot him a suspicious look before speaking up.
"Are you asking me to betray my comrades and work with the daughter of the woman who is running this kingdom into the ground?" Buff Frog slowly stepped towards her accentuating each step until he was towering over her and spoke ever so softly.
"Do you have a better option 'cyka (bitch in Russian)'?" Mavis trembled slightly as Buff Frog spoke to her. "You have had your fun in punching at kids but now you are dealing with a grown up. You will lead us to your base so we may rescue Marco and deal with Lord Mildrew and you are going to be happy I do not squish your skull like a ripe tomato, da?" Mavis nodded slowly to that clearly outmatched and terrified as Buff Frog motioned to Star. "A quick word my child." Star came over to the side with Mavis watching them unwilling to move given what Buff Frog might to her if she didn't cooperate. "Now Star a word of warning, Lord Mildrew is not like the ones you have fought before. He is powerful, intelligent, ruthless, and merciless. He trapped your mother when she went on a stealth mission to assassinate him by leaving a pattern of where he went and when he would be vulnerable to assassination. He knows of your magic and knows how to counter it from someone with far more experience then you." Star nodded at him feeling fear creep in from the fact that Buff Frog of all people seemed scared. She had also heard of stories her mother had told her of just how cruel Lord Mildrew could be when he was a member of the Shadow Clause.
"We still need to go, they have Marco." Star firmed herself up on the outside though she was holding her tail like a stuffed animal as Buff Frog replied.
"I was hoping you would say that." He smiled a large gap toothed grin and patted her shoulder. "Let's get Marco back and show these Forest Barbarians what happens when you kidnap and attack children." Star nodded as Buff Frog called over to Mavis. "Show us how to get to your home, Моя леди (Moya ledi)." He bowed to her as Mavis got up brushing herself off and led them through the swamp towards a thicket of very large and ancient willow trees.
'Don't worry Marco, we are almost there.' Star thought hopeful they could do something.
Omni P: Well... that got heavy fast.
SN: No kidding.
WH: Well there are two sides at least to every conflict with right and wrong on both sides and different perspectives. Never assume the other side of any conflict is 'just evil' because of what they do. Moon had to forgive a lot of atrocities in order to establish peace in Mewni after all.