A/N: Well, from here on out, there should be weekly updates,or 2 weeks at the max, but definitely no more than that, sono more having to wait 3-4 weeks for an update!
Enjoy the chapter!
Replies to the latest reviews:
SugarQueen97: Well, I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there :P?
allen Vth: I don't even know myself, dude xD. This fanfic stopped being normal a long time ago...
archivewriter3: 'Going full mama bear' - from this moment on, this is my favourite review xD
Bedrock Armor: Okay!
Rock Raider: Yeah, I think that should serve as pretty conclusive evidence. And I've got a lot planned, just gotta write it, which is the hard part xD
Sugar: Thanks, although if things go well with my novel, this may just become my job :D! But thank you for being patient with me ^.^!
Disclaimer: I do not claim the right to Star vs. the Forces of Evil or any of the characters that appear in the show. They belong to Disney and the show's creator, Daron Nefcy. I do, however, claim the right to the plot as well as any original characters that may appear in this fic, and would kindly ask you to inform me should you want to use anything from this fic in your own story. -jolleIQ
Beta read by ElleFreak.
Story cover by Luzz015. Be sure to check her out on DeviantArt!
Star vs. The Forces of Evil: Staring it up!
Chapter 9
Family
Part 2
"Urgh..." Star awoke with a groggy groan, rubbing her aching head. She sat upright and gradually opened her eyes. Once her vision had adjusted to the bright rays of the dawn, she whipped her head from left to right, blinking confusedly and arching an eyebrow.
Why was she in the middle of the woods? Come to think of it, did Echo Creek even have woods?
Star's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a soft, even breathing and looked down at her lap to see Zora sleeping soundly.
"Aww..." Star smiled a warm smile and cooed at the sight of the girl all cuddled up with her. As much as it pained her to do so, Star had to rouse the girl from her nap since this was clearly not the time for a snooze.
"Zora... Zora..." the princess whispered softly, gently shaking the young girl until she heard a few moans of protest and knew the girl was awake. Zora slowly opened her eyes and yawned cutely, then looked up at Star and gave her a tired smile before letting out another yawn.
"Sleep well?"
"Mh-hmm," Zora gently cooed and rubbed her tired eye.
Star smiled and helped Zora stand upright, then got off the ground herself and asked, "Uh, do you know how we got here?"
"You don't remember?" Star shook her head. "Well, how do I put it. Um, you turned into something, well more like some thing and flew the three of us out here."
"I did that?"
"Yep! And it was cool!"
Star rubbed her chin and hummed in thought, unable to recall having done anything of the sort, then cocked an eyebrow as a thought crossed her mind.
"Wait, you said the three of us?"
Who was the third person?
"Get me down from here!"
Star looked skyward to see the CPS agent dangling from a tree, suspended mid-air by a mesh of purple web-like strings that Star immediately recognised as her own doing. The man looked unhurt but was scared out of his wits, tossing and struggling to break free from his purple bastille and calling out for help.
"How did he get up there?" Star casually asked Zora, seeming unconcerned for the man's safety.
"You put him there," Zora replied. "Do you really not remember anything?"
"Not a thing..."
"Would you just get me down from here already!? Please!"
"Yeah, yeah," Star grumbled. "Gosh, some people are just so impatient..."
"How are we gonna get him down?"
"That's the part that I'm still trying to figure out."
"Maybe we'll get lucky and the branch will just break off?"
Star chuckled and pat Zora on the head.
"Zora, Zora, Zora... what are the odds of something like that happening at such a convenient time like-"
Star cut herself short upon hearing the distinct sound of the cracking of wood, followed by a short, terrified scream and a loud *thump!* as the man landed face-first onto the ground.
The two girls stared blankly at the unmoving man for a time.
"... pretty high, apparently..." said Zora, to which Star nodded in agreement. "Is... is he alright?"
Star shrugged and stepped over to the man, then picked up a stick a poked him with it a few times.
Nothing.
Then a light groan.
Then some stirring.
Finally, the man lifted his head from the dirt and looked up at Star and Zora, stared at the two girls for a time, then jumped with a panicked cry and hit his back against the tree, trying to claw his way as far away from Star as possible.
The princess arched an eyebrow at him.
"Uh, are you al-"
"Don't eat me!"
The man curled up into a ball and shivered violently from fear, clearly on the verge of a panic attack.
"Woah! Relax! I'm not gonna do anything!" Star replied, a tad offended by the man's remark. What did he think she was, a wild animal? "Listen, I don't even know what happened after you ticked me off back there, so would ya mind filling me in on the details?"
"Details? Details!?" Having regained his vigour, the man stood up and dusted himself off, then glared down at the princess. "You attacked me!"
"I did what?"
"I wouldn't say attacked," said Zora, "But you did disarm those people in blue clothes and then you took me and him and brought us here."
"Took? Hmph! More like abducted!" The man added, his arms crossed defiantly. "You have a lot of explaining to do! You... you... freak!"
"Hey! I am not a freak! I told you I was from Mewni, but you wouldn't listen! It's your fault!" Any guilt that Star may have felt turned into thin air upon being called a freak. Given the man's situation, he was in no position to insult her. "And besides, it's not like I did it intentionally! It just... happened!"
"That still doesn't change the fact that you assaulted a group of police officers and abducted me!"
Star rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, shotting the man an even look. "Well you abdoohickied Zora, so I guess that makes us even."
"I did not-"
"Can the two of you please stop fighting?" Zora pleaded. "This isn't accomplishing anything. We need to figure out where we are and what to do, and we can talk about this later!"
The man sighed.
"The girl's right," he told Star. "Putting your felonies aside, we're stuck in the middle of the woods, so I'd advise we cooperate for the foreseeable future, then we'll settle this agenda, agreed?"
He offered a handshake to Star, albeit the expression accompanying it was less than happy. Star thought about declining the man's offer, but seeing Zora's hopeful face made her reconsider, so she, too, let out a sigh of defeat and shook the man's hand.
"Alright, we've got a deal. But I have a bone to pick with you after this!"
"As do I, young lady!"
"Ahem!"
The two looked towards the source of the angry warning protest and saw Zora shooting them an irritated glare. "What did you just promise?"
"Sorry," the two apologised in unison and parted their hands. Zora smiled.
"Anyway," Star began, "I have no idea where we are and there's no telling how long we'll be stuck out here-" she took out her cellphone and frowned, -and of course there's no signal out here, so I can't call Marco to come find us. You?" The CPS agent also took out his phone but also frowned and pocketed it thereafter. "Well then," Star continued, "looks like we're on our own."
"You mean we're stuck here?" Star nodded in response to the man's question and pocketed her cellphone. "Can't you just turn into that thing and fly us back?"
"I told you, I don't know why it happened! It's not like I can control it..."
"Excellent... just excellent... So we are officially lost in the middle of a forest! Fantastic!"
"What is up with people getting lost in forests all the time, anyway?" asked Zora.
Star shrugged. "Meh, it's a simple and easy solution to keep the main characters separated for a chosen span of time while also allow the happenings in two different parts of the story to continue simultaneously, thereby allowing the story to continue smoothly without needlessly interrupting its flow."
"Uh... What?"
"Hey! Don't look at me! I don't know where that stuff just came from!" Star declared. "I think I should see a doctor about this..."
"Thank you for the elaboration, but I don't plan on being stuck here for long, so I'll lead us out of here!" The man declared confidently and explained his plan. "The plan is simple: we'll just walk in a straight line and until we see or hear signs of civilization! Easy!"
"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea?" Star voiced her concern, casting a questioning look in the man's direction. While she was no expert in forest-survival, her dad had taught her a thing or two about the woods, and she was pretty sure this was one of the more important things. "It's walking in a straight line exactly what you aren't supposed to do in a situation like this?"
The man chuckled mockingly. "Silly, silly girl. This is why I'm the adult and you're not." Star was tempted to wipe the smug grin off his face but remembered her promise to Zora. "Just let me do the thinking, and you do the walking. Now follow me," he ordered and began walking in a random direction without a second thought.
Zora and Star exchanged a look.
"We're gonna die, aren't we?"
"Yep."
Meanwhile
*beep*
Marco was tapping his foot at a furious pace, his expression betraying his anxiety.
*beep*
He knew she had her cell phone on her, so she was either still in that monstrous form or she was deliberately ignoring him.
*beep*
"C'mon Star, pick up already!" Marco was losing more and more patience with each passing beep. When he finally heard a voice from the other side, it wasn't what he'd been hoping for.
The number you have dialled is unavailable or outside of service range. Please try calling b-
"Argh!" Marco ended the call and almost threw his phone onto the pavement but rethought the decision and instead put the device into his pocket. He took a prolonged breath to relax his tense nerves, then made a thoughtful expression.
"C'mon Marco, think! You're trying to find a purple, flying princess gone wild that flew off with a 6-year-old girl and a public services agent! How hard can it be to find them!"
Pretty hard, as it turned out. For some reason, every person Marco asked whether they'd seen, well, that passing by overhead told him that they were too preoccupied taking pictures of it to actually pay attention to where it was headed. The pictures they showed him gave him a sense of the general direction in which Star had been flying, but it was not enough to fully track her down.
"I could call her mom and ask for help."
It wasn't such a bad idea. Moon would definitely know what was going on and what had triggered Star's transformation. Sadly, he never could figure out how to call someone with Star's magic mirror, and he also didn't have inter-dimensional coverage on his phone, so that idea was quickly laid to rest.
Maybe the police could help.
And probably shoot at her if she was still in that form.
Nope, he wasn't doing that.
Comet?
Probably busy with something more important.
"Janna?"
"Janna?" Marco asked aloud. Where did that thought come from?
"From your right."
"My right?" As Marco was about to question his own sanity, he turned his head in the said direction and stared wide-eyed as he found his nose touching with Janna's who was smirking teasingly.
"Hi."
It took Marco's brain a moment to register the awkward position he was in, and when he did, his face turned cherry-red and hot.
"Janna!" Marco yelped and shoved her away reflexively.
"Wow! Rude!" she remarked, smirking triumphantly.
"What are you doing here!? Again!?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? Talking to you, duh!"
Marco's stress levels were already through the roof, and with Janna deciding to pop up randomly, this was enough to drive him over the edge.
Almost.
"Could you please stop doing this already!?"
"Doing what?"
"This!" Marco waved his hands about frantically, unable to phrase his desire into words, but Janna seemed to know what he was referring to.
"Hmm... let me think about it..." Janna seemed like she was putting his request under serious contemplation, then looked at him with a devilish smirk. "Nope! Not toppin' anytime soon, sorry."
"Janna, I don't have time for this right now!" Marco proclaimed, inching closer to her with a vicious glare, their gazes locked. "I'm dealing with a situation right now and I can't afford to have you waste my time with your nonsense! Now if you'll excuse me."
Marco turned away from the girl and began stomping away, in no mood to deal with the troublemaking girl right now.
"Suit yourself," said Janna in a nonchalant manner and spun around, putting on a coy look. "If you want me to go away that badly, then I guess I just won't tell you where Star is. Oh well..."
Upon hearing his girlfriend's name, Marco's pupils grew wide and he turned around to see Janna strolling away calmly.
"Wait!" he shouted, but the girl ignored him and kept on walking. Marco rushed after her and grabbed her by the shoulder, expecting her to be mad at him, but upon spinning her around, he could see a tiny smirk on her lips as if she'd known all along what his reaction would be.
Nevertheless, Janna wasn't particularly trustworthy.
"How do you know where Star is? I've been looking for her for hours and haven't gotten any closer to finding her!"
"I have my ways, Marco!" Janna only called him by his first name on two occasions: the first was exclusively on his birthday when she was congratulating him. And the second? Well...
"What do you want this time, Janna?" Marco grumbled, already regretting asking the question.
"Hmm, the possibilities..." Marco shuddered thinking about what her request was going to be. Whatever it was, judging by the evil smirk on her face and that gleam in her eyes, it was going to cost him big time, but he needed to pay the toll if he wanted the information he was after. Janna always loved making his life a walking mess for some reason.
Janna's expression grew extra devilish and she snickered evilly, evidently having decided on the tariff for her services would be. Marco swallowed audibly. He didn't like the look on her face one bit.
"What do you want?"Marco asked, concerned about the request that was about to be voiced.
"Oh, not much," she said innocently and took a step towards him. "Just a good 'ol smooch right here." Janna leant forward and pointed a finger at her lips, smirked flirtatiously, and added, "Pucker up, bad boy!"
"What!?"
To be continued...
Had to write this for all you Janco shippers out there :D! Also, I'm gonna be honest; the whole thing was about 1k words longer, but then I decided to leave you guys with this scene stuck in your brains until next week xD
See ya next Sunday!
Bye!
