Replies to the latest reviews:

Sugar: Yes, but which decision IS the right one?

Bedrock Armor: I've just taken into account that the majority of my audience is American, so I'm trying to include some 'more American' sayings.

archivewriter3: This mini-arc has reached its climax, and now comes the major arc that will at long last shed light upon everything! But be warned, it is NOT a happy tale...

Rock Raider: Yes, he has, and it was directly caused by her. As a matter of fact, you all already know how she imbued him with magic. And the attacks have already served their purpose. And yes, in the following chapters, you will finally learn the truth about this woman, but be warned, things finally take that dark turn I've been promising since day 1.

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

A Thirst for Vengeance

Final Part

Dungeons, Castle Butterfly

In the depths of the castle, deep underground where no light could reach was a dark and damp place reserved for only the foulest of scum and the vilest of evildoers. If one found themselves locked up in one of the iron cages that lined along the walls, a feeling of despair would quickly settle in, followed by a feeling of resentment that would quickly turn to rage; a boiling rage against those that threw one in there and threw away the key.

Yet such a rage was the last thing Toffee felt as he sat on his bed and stared aimlessly ahead of himself, listening to the sound of his other jail-mates, the majority of them being his fellow monsters that were captured during their attacks and spared death for a fate some would consider being much, much worse.

All of those monsters, locked up in the same place, deep within the Mewman capital.

Toffee smiled a sinister smile to himself.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Moon," he said aloud to nobody in particular and stood up from the bed to stretch himself. Being locked in a dungeon didn't allow one much freedom for exercise, but at least they were considerate enough to bring him a new suit every day. He was surprised that after all these years, Moon still kept his old suits in the castle, and what's more surprising was that they all still fit like a glove.

Then again, Moon was one to never let go of the past, always worrying about the days of yesteryear, even when she was but a young girl.

Which made him wonder...

No, impossible.

Toffee heard footfalls echoing in the distance. His lizard eyes narrowed to better focus on their source, and upon recognising a familiar figure in the shadows, he smiled a wry smile.

"Mewni, thine end has come."

Throne Room, Castle Butterfly

The room was as silent as a funeral hall. All were silent as though in mourning. A pair of footfalls were resounding, step by step by step, as two hooded figures slowly walked towards the throne, the spears of the guardsmen pointed at them.

Star, Marco and Moon - the latter of whom had assumed her position on the throne - watched them approach. Marco and Star exchanged a curious glance, unsure why the air suddenly felt so tense.

River and Zora ceased their frolicking about and the King brought his niece to Star's side, then assumed his position on the throne next to Moon's.

"Whatever happens, allow me to handle it," Moon said sternly to all present while keeping her iron stare locked on the two figures, particularly the taller one.

"Why? Who is that?" whispered Star. Her mother didn't answer, so she tried again. "Psst! Mom! Who is that?"

"Not now, Star!" Moon hissed.

"I just wanna know!"

"Star, I said-"

"Come now, the girl has a right to be curious." For a moment, Star thought it was her mother who'd said that, but soon realised that the voice, although sounding like hers, belonged to another. She turned her gaze towards the tall, womanly figure, and noticed a smirk underneath the hood of her robe. She and the smaller figure stopped some feet before the two thrones, and the woman added, "Although, given how much effort you've put into hiding my existence from everyone, I can't say I' surprised by your actions."

"You dare insult our Queen!" a guard yelled from the side and drew his weapon. The other guards followed suit and surrounded the two figures.

The woman sighed.

"This again..."

With a snap of her fingers, the oncoming guardsmen collapsed unto the floor, dropping their weapons, unable to stand up. The woman smiled sinisterly as all but Moon and stared at her dumbstricken.

"Well, your guardsmen do lack manners. You really should uppen your standard."

"River chose them."

"You let your husband be the one in charge of the security around this place?"

"Yes."

"I don't think that was the brightest idea..."

The comment angered River, but he was unable to speak up as the woman continued.

"You know, I've managed to enter rather easily. I thought your warriors would present at least some retaliation."

"Knowing you, I could have had sorcerers guarding the castle and you'd still get through."

"Well, true. But they just let us in! Not a single person stopped to properly interrogate us!"

"Um, not to sound rude or anything," Marco cut in, grabbing the attention of the two women, "but could someone tell us exactly what is going on here?"

"I'll do you one better, boy."

Both figures promptly pulled their hoods back to reveal their faces, and all looked on with wide eyes as they recognised both figures, their shock more than apparent.

"M-mom?" Star looked at her mother with a dumbfounded look, then at the woman, then at her mom, then at the woman; this went on for a time until Marco snapped his fingers before her face, breaking her daze. The princess rubbed her eyes and opened them as wide as she could.

Nope, there was no mistaking it. Whoever that woman was, she resembled Moon to near-mirror perfection, and the only things that made the two distinguishable from each other were the spade marks on the mysterious woman's cheeks and a deep purple dress.

Marco, too, was in shock, but his had another origin, namely that of the girl standing beside the mysterious woman, wordlessly gazing in his direction.

"J-Jackie?" he uttered the girl's name as a whisper that barely reached her ears. The girl looked off to the side, concealing her evident shame. After a time, she sighed and gazed at Marco and Star, giving them a thin, ashamed smile.

"Hey, guys... Um... How've you been?" she asked awkwardly.

"Uh... good... thanks for, um, asking..."

"Oh, s-sure thing..."

Their awkward exchange ended abruptly. The woman by Jackie's side giggled girlishly and cast Moon an amused look.

"Ah, teenagers. They really are some of the most amusing of creatures, you never know what they'll do." Her smile turned to a sinister one. "Right, Mona?"

"Mona? Who's Mona?" Star asked her mother with an arched eyebrow, but the Queen of Mewni did not provide an answer for her, instead choosing to respond to the woman.

"Yes, one never knows what they'll do when put in situations like this, especially when they are put in situations beyond their control. You should know this better than anyone, Diana."

The woman's smile grew wide upon hearing her name uttered. "So we're still going by a first-name basis? Splendid! I'm glad we're still friends after all these years."

"We were never friends, Diana," replied Moon with a flat tone. "We were... something... but not friends," she added, nearly stumbling on her own words.

"Always so prideful. You haven't changed one bit... Splendid! This will make things a lot more fun," replied the woman with a meek enthusiasm and giggled. "But anyway, I'm afraid we'll have to cut our little meeting short, Mona. You know why we're here."

At this, Moon staggered, then nodded evenly.

"Yes, I know." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and added, "A deal is a deal, after all."

"Darling, what are the two of you talking about?" River asked in a concerned tone, looking at his wife with worried eyes. "I've never seen that woman before? Did the two of you hold a secret meeting or something? And who exactly is she?" He paused briefly. "And why does she look like you?" He them stumbled on his words and blabbered awkwardly, "Well, I mean, of course not exactly, say, as beautiful or as majestic, but-"

"I understand, River."

The diminutive king's eyes widened upon hearing her utter his name. She did so only on two occasions; when they were being 'intimate' with one another, or when something was seriously wrong. And unless he was mistaken, it was definitely the former reason this time, which made him all the more concerned about the strange woman.

But the adults weren't the only ones who had things to say.

"Jackie, what are you doing here?" asked Marco, worried. He had questions the answers of which were long overdue.

Jackie didn't answer immediately. She dropped the robe from her body and reached around her neck and removed her trademark seashell necklace, and threw it at Moon. The pendant landed before the queen's feet, and Marco looked at Jackie in confusion.

"Let her explain!" she said with such resentment in her voice that Marco looked on in shock.

All gazes locked unto her, Moon knelt down and picked up Jackie's necklace. She twisted it in her hands, inspecting every inch of the seashell pendant. She smiled redolently as she stood up and aimed her gaze at Jackie. The girl and the woman kept their gazes interlocked, the former smiling and the latter's eyes burning with hatred.

"You're all grown up, I see. After that day... I-I thought you were dead..." The distant voice with which those words were uttered made it seem as though the Queen was relieved at the development of things. But they failed to evoke any sympathy or cheer from Jackie, who spoke with a cold, resentful voice.

"I was pretty damn close, believe me." Jackie snapped back at Moon, each word sounding more bitter than the last. "But yeah, I'm still alive, unlike the thousands of my people you and your goons killed!"

The eyes of the four onlookers widened, and Diana grinned venomously.

"Now now, let's not spoil everything at once," said Diana, giggling. Upon hearing those words, Jackie took a few deep breaths and nodded.

"R-right. Sorry, mother."

"Mother?" Marco asked curiously, scratching his head in confusion. "Jackie, I've met your parents, and I don't remember ever seeing her."

"..."

"Jackie?"

"Do not delve too deep into those waters, boy. You may not like what lurks within the depths," warned Diana, and aimed her gaze at Moon, leaving Marco silenced. "Tell me, Mona, and be honest: do you wish to pin the blame for your actions unto me?"

"...Yes, I do, but I've only myself to blame. In the end, it was I who made the call. You merely obscured my mind enough to make me think it was truly the correct course of action to take at the time."

"Obscured? Hardly," replied Diana, offended. "I do believe I had made things abundantly clear back then. I obscured nothing. In the end-" Diana put a hand on Jackie's shoulder. "It was you who stole everything from dear Nerida, and it was I who took her in as my own and nurtured her so that she may one day seek the justice she is due, and that day is today, my dear Mona."

"Nerida? Who's Nerida?" Zora whispered cautiously to Star and Marco, who simply shrugged and listened on to Diana, completely entranced.

"Indeed, whoever could she be?" asked Diana and chuckled, enjoying her little game that was leaving many confused. "Tell them, Mona. Don't be shy, now. Tell them everything."

Moon nodded obediently, conceding to Diana's demands.

"Nerida was the daughter of Queen Ula and King Tethys of the Merfolk, who dwell in the Oceania dimension. She was presumed dead after..." Moon stopped then and there. The words left unspoken were Pandora's box, and thus she uttered them not. Seeing such a pathetic display made Diana chuckle heartily. The provocation willed Moon to continue, but she derailed the topic, "Nerida, she- her mother Ula always wore a seashell pendant that allowed her to traverse the mainlands for a longer period of time without transforming into her natural mermaid form. It was also a symbol of the royal family, and supposedly, she gave it to her daughter the day before she was executed." Upon finishing the explanation, Moon's grip on the seashell necklace Jackie had thrown at her tightened, and while the others still did not fully understand, to their surprise, it was Zora whose mind was the quickest to piece the puzzle together.

"Wait! That's her, isn't it!" The small girl cried and pointed her index finger at Jackie. "She's Nerida, right?"

Diana laughed.

"Well, it looks like the girl is quite the observant one," she stated, smiling an oddly satisfied smile. Excellent.

Marco looked shellshocked at the sudden realization, as did the others, and so looked at Jackie, eyes wide.

"J-Jackie, you're..."

The girl gave a slow nod and looked on."

"I was-" she raised a finger at Moon. "Until she took it all away from me. Everything! And now-" Jackie knelt down and grabbed her cloak, and pulled out the sharp blade with the mermaid handle, that glittered as ice, aimed at the Mewman Queen. "Now I'm here to settle things once and for all..."

A voice so bitter, so grim, so filled with hate; none could believe their ears, especially not the two teenagers who'd until recently called the knife-wielding girl their beloved friend.

"Jackie, wait! Why do you want to take revenge on my mom?"

"Why!?" Jackie chuckled rather hysterically, and Marco felt chills creeping down his spine. There was no way that this was the Jackie Lynn-Thomas he'd known for well over a decade, his mind refused to believe it. And yet, there was no doubting it. This was Jackie, the same Jackie that was casting a vengeful gaze towards Moon, and spoke in a resentful tone, "Have you not heard a single word!? Do you have any idea what I've had to go through because of her!?"

Her maddened cry echoed loudly throughout the room, and an eery silence befell.

"Mom," it was Star who broke it, finally grabbing her mother's attention. She then asked, fearing the answer as though it were death itself, "What did you do?"

"H-honey?" River uttered, but Moon didn't answer and instead stared on expressionlessly.

Diana chuckled.

"Go on, Mona. Tell them, are need I do so?"

Moon closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath through her nose. She exhaled and slowly opened her eyes.

"Alright, Diana. You win."

"I always do," the woman said in a smug fashion, grinning evilly.

Thus the Queen of Mewni told her tale, and none were left the same thereafter.

End of Chapter 10!


The next few chapters will be longer since they will tell a separate arc of the story, namely Moon's past and her relationships with Diana, Toffee and the monsters, and Jackie. This chapter was more or less just a prologue for the next one that will span for 4-5 updates, each focusing on a part of Moon's past.

1. How she met Diana

2. Her time with Diana

3. Her acquaintance with Toffee, the Monsters and Jackie (possibly divided into 2 parts)

4. What she did and why Jackie hates her.

I expect to have it out in about 2 weeks (hopefully, because I am busy as heck...)

See you guys then.

-jolleIQ