Chapter 9
Mewni Part 3
Another day of searching for the keyhole had went by before Molly and Libby returned from Mewni. As they returned to Earth, Molly and Libby heard Star and Marco arguing with each other. They weren't too sure what the argument was about, but it was something about Star and Marco nearly getting killed over a sandwich.
Molly and Libby decided to stay in their room and stay out of this until Star and Marco would eventually make up. It wasn't long before nighttime fell and Molly and Libby got ready to go to bed. However, at the last moment, Star burst into the guest bedroom, carrying Marco's hoodie with tears in her eyes.
"Star? What's wrong?" Libby asked, noticing Marco's hoodie in Star's hands.
"It's Marco! He was just captured by Ludo!"
'What?" Molly and Libby gasped in shock.
"There is no time to explain! Just follow me!" Star ran down the stairs to get Marco's parents.
As everyone gathered in the living room, Star told everyone what was going on. About her argument with Marco and how one of Ludo's henchmen sneaked into Marco's room and told Star to bring the wand to Ludo's castle in exchange for Marco's safety. By the time Star was finished explaining everything, Marco's parents appeared to be horrified as they tried to process what was going on.
"I'm really sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Diaz! This is all my fault!" Star was overcome with guilt.
"Look, this isn't your fault, Star!" Angie tried to comfort Star. "If anything, we should have been paying more attention to the two of you."
"Angie is right, Star! Why don't I take the minivan and we can save Marco together?" Rafael suggested.
Star shook her head. "No. I have to do this alone. I have to do whatever it takes to rescue Marco."
Seeing Star this depressed make Molly feel bad for her. She couldn't blame her for feeling this way though. If Libby had been kidnapped, Molly would feel the exact same why.
After grabbing her pair of dimensional scissors, Star stepped out of the house, ready to save Marco. Molly and Libby knew that they couldn't let Star handle this on her own, so they rushed out the house as well to catch up to Star.
"Star, wait!" Molly called out to Star right as she cut out a portal with her dimensional scissors. "Take us with you! We can help you!"
"I really appreciate it, Molly, but I have to do this alone!" Star explained.
"No, you don't! Do you even have a plan to save Marco?" Libby asked.
Star stopped in her tracks. "No, I don't."
"That's why you need our help! We know that you are worried about Marco, but we can help you save him! Please let us come along!" Libby begged Star to take them with her.
Knowing that she couldn't take on Ludo's army by herself, Star knew that she could rely on Molly and Libby for their help.
"Molly! Libby! Thank you! Now, let's get going! Marco is waiting for us!" Star soon entered the portal as Molly and Libby followed after her.
The group of friends stepped to the other side of the portal to see that they were standing right in front of Ludo's castle. Determined to save their friend, they ran towards the castle.
However, before they could reach the castle, they quickly took notice of Ludo and Buff Frog. They couldn't hear what Ludo and Buff Frog were saying to each other, but they were more concerned about a struggling bag that was near them. There was no doubt that Marco was in that bag, so Molly, Libby, and Star made their move.
Before Ludo and Buff Frog could take notice of the group of friends, Star blasted them with her wand, knocking them to the ground. Wasting no time, Star opened the bag, expecting to find Marco. Instead, she was surprised to see that the bag was filled with tadpoles.
"Tadpoles? Ugh!" Star stared at the contents of the bag in disgust. As Ludo recovered from the blast, Star aimed her wand at him in a threatening manner. "Where's Marco?!"
"I don't even know who that is!" Ludo backed away in fear.
"She is referring to Karate Boy!" Buff Frog explained as he got back up.
"Why are you acting so surprised? Weren't you the one who wanted us to bring the wand to your castle?" Libby asked Ludo.
With a sad expression, Ludo replied, "It's not my castle anymore! It now belongs to Toffee!"
"Toffee? Isn't he that reptile guy in the business suit?" Molly asked, remembering when Toffee spoke to her and Libby.
"It doesn't matter who's castle this is! I need to save Marco!" Star said impatiently as she hurried over to the castle.
Soon, Molly and Libby followed Star to the castle, doing their best to keep up with her. Before Ludo could follow as well, Buff Frog decided to thank him for the tadpoles.
"Ludo! I-I wanted to say, thank you for giving me the gift of fatherhood!" Buff Frog spoke up, grateful for his new children.
"That wasn't a gift you dingaling! It was a bribe! You see, the plan was, I buy your friendship with gifts because we're friends! Then in return, you kick Toffee out of my castle for me because we're friends! But then, Star and her friends showed up and I don't need you anymore, you old meatball!" Ludo laughed before he left Buff Frog behind, much to his annoyance.
As everyone got closer to the castle, Molly and Libby made sure to keep their distance from Ludo and Buff Frog, just in case they planned to trick them. Buff Frog noticed this and sighed. He didn't blame them for being skeptical of him. Even so, he wanted to make things right with them.
"I can see the distrust in your eyes." Buff Frog said to Molly and Libby. "You think that I would betray you."
"To be fair. We barely even know you!" Libby pointed out.
"Libby is right. The only times we have ever interacted was when we fought each other." Molly explained.
"Yes, and I am sorry for constantly fighting you."
Hearing Buff Frog say that surprised Molly and Libby. Unlike Ludo, Buff Frog actually seemed to be remorseful for his actions.
"You are?" Molly and Libby asked in unison.
Buff Frog nodded. "Indeed! Being a part of Ludo's army for so long made me realize that I don't want to help him steal the wand anymore. I just want to take the castle back, so that my babies would have a safe place to grow up at."
"Aww!" Molly smiled, touched that Buff Frog just wants to be a good father. "You are actually not so bad after all, Buff Frog!"
"Please, call me by my real name, Yvgeny Bulgolyubuv!" Buff Frog introduced himself by his real name.
"Well, it's nice to officially meet you, Yvgeny!" Libby smiled, happy that she and Molly made a new friend.
It wasn't long before Molly and her friends found their way into the castle. They hid behind a corner and were shocked to see Marco trapped in a glass cage. The entire dining room was filled with not only monsters, but Heartless as well. Sitting at the end of the table was Toffee, along with a cloaked old man, standing next to him.
There was something about that old man that seemed weirdly familiar to Molly and Libby. They didn't have time to question it since they needed to focus on rescuing Marco.
"Here's the plan! We are going in at the count of one!" Star announced, gripping her wand tightly.
"That is not good plan!" Buff Frog spoke up.
"I agree with Yvgeny, Star!" Libby tried reasoning with Star. "Maybe we should think this through."
Star clearly wasn't listening as she got ready to fight before she said, "One!"
"Star, wait!" Molly called out for Star, before she ran into the dining room, blasting the monsters with her wand.
With no other choice, Molly and Libby joined in on the fight as well, fending off the monsters and Heartless with their keyblades. Buff Frog was about to fight as well before Ludo stopped him.
"Wait! Now is our chance to get the wand!" Ludo pointed out, but Buff Frog simply ignored Ludo, wanting nothing to do with him.
While Star was trying to destroy the cage Marco was trapped in, Molly and Libby teamed up with Buff Frog to defeat the monster army and the Heartless. Buff Frog beat up the monsters with his fists while Molly and Libby counted the magic of the wizard Heartless with their own magic.
Despite her best spells, Star couldn't make a dent in Marco's cage. One by one, more Heartless disappeared and the monster army was knocked out. Just when Molly and Libby defeated most of the Heartless in the room, one more Heartless appeared in front of them. It was another wizard Heartless, except it was much bigger than the usual wizards and it wore darker colored robes.
"That Heartless looks different than the others!" Molly noticed. "I have a bad feeling about this, Libby."
"Me too! We need to be careful, Molly!" Libby raised her keyblade in defense.
Before Molly and Libby could react, the wizard Heartless knocked them back with a powerful spell. They both slowly got up from the floor surprised by how strong the Heartless was. Molly and Libby soon used their own magic, but the Heartless casted a reflect spell on itself, causing Molly and Libby to get hit by their own spells.
Seeing that magic wasn't effective against the Heartless, Buff Frog jumped in and began to punch it repeatedly. The Heartless knocked Buff Frog off of it, but was weakened from the punches. Seeing their chance, Molly and Libby charged at the Heartless and swung their keyblades at it. This caused the Heartless to disappear as a giant heart floated in the air.
Meanwhile, Star was getting desperate to destroy the cage as none of her spells worked so far. Desperate to save Marco, Star pushed all of the monsters away with her magic and aimed her wand at the cage with the most powerful spell she could use. The spell was so powerful, a bright light illuminated across the room. After the light dimmed down, Star looked back at the cage and was happy to see that it was finally destroyed.
With a smile, Marco said, "Star, you did it!"
"Marco!" Star rushed over to Marco before giving him a hug. "I'm so glad you are okay! Come on, let's get out of here!"
Before they could leave, the cage began to reform again, trapping Marco once again, much to Star's dismay. At that moment Toffee applauded sarcastically with a smug grin.
"Impressive! I never would have guessed that your magic would be strong enough to destroy that cage!" Toffee stood up from his seat as Star and the others got ready to fight him.
"Toffee wasn't wrong when he told me that your magic was powerful." the mysterious old man stepped forward as well.
"Oh, where are my manners? I would like you all to meet my new partner!" Toffee gestured towards the old man. "It was his idea to kidnap Marco in the first place."
Hearing this only made Star even more angry. She aimed her wand at both of them, ready to blast them with her most powerful spells. Upon taking a closer look at the old man, Molly and Libby finally figured out where they had seen him before.
"Molly, isn't that the same old man we met in Gravity Falls?" Libby whispered.
"It is him!" Molly gasped in shock. "What is he doing in Mewni?"
At that moment, Toffee took out a remote and pressed a button on it, causing the ceiling of Marco's cage to descend in an attempt to crush him. It was at that moment when Marco struggled hold up the ceiling, but to no avail.
"Don't worry, Star. I think I've got it!" Marco tried to assure Star that he would be okay, despite how much he was struggling.
With no other choice, Star approached Toffee and held out her wand.
"Fine! Take it! Now let Marco go!"
Before Star could hand over the wand, Ludo took this opportunity to take the wand for himself, only to be grabbed by the old man.
"We cannot have any interferences." the old man said before taking a pair of dimensional scissors and opening a portal.
"W-Wait! Wh-what are you doing?" Ludo stuttered before the old man tossed him into the portal, banishing him to a random dimension.
With Ludo gone, Toffee turned to Star once more. "Do you think I'm like Ludo? I don't want your wand. Destroy it!" Toffee ordered, much to the shock of Star and the others. "Surprise!" Toffee taunted with a chilling grin before immediately returning to his usual deadpanned expression.
After getting over her surprise, Star replied, "I can't! I don't even know how."
"Yes, you do. It's the first spell your mother taught you."
Star knew that she couldn't let Marco die, so with one last look at her wand, she closed her eyes before performing a spell. She began to whisper something that Molly and Libby couldn't hear. Whatever spell Star used caused the wand to turn to a grayish color as the wings at its sides were slowly disintegrated. Once the wand lost all of its magic, the spirit of the unicorn that powered the wand emerged from the remains and whispered something to Star, causing her to tear up.
It broke Molly and Libby's hearts to see Star so distraught over her wand, so they both gave her comforting hugs in an effort to cheer her up. With the wand gone, Toffee pressed a button on his remote, not only allowing the ceiling to rise back up, but also opening the door on the cage.
With no time to mourn the loss of her wand, Star rushed towards the cage. At first, Marco thought she was going to hug him, but she got in the cage with him, much to his confusion.
"Quick, get in!" Star yelled to Molly and Libby.
Molly and Libby shared confused looks with each other, having no idea what was going on, but knew that something bad was about to happen. They got in the cage as well before Star closed the door.
"Run!" Star whispered to Buff Frog before he gathered his tadpole children and safely got out of the castle.
With a satisfied grin, Toffee began to speak to Ludo's Army and the Heartless. "Gentlemen, it's been a pleasure!"
Suddenly, what was left of Star's wand began to glow and shake as it got ready to explode. The monster army began to panic as they ran away from the castle as well. Toffee and the mysterious figure were the only ones who stayed around. Neither of them made any effort to escape. Instead, they both simply grinned, as if they knew what was going to happen next.
It wasn't long before Ludo's castle was enveloped in the explosion, completely destroying it. Thankfully, Molly, Libby, Star, and Marco, managed to survive after hiding in the indestructible cage.
"Is everyone okay?" Molly asked as she and the rest of her friends got out of the cage.
"It seems that everyone is fine, Molly!" Libby assured with a relieved sigh. Libby soon took notice of something shining in the distance. "Molly, look!"
Soon, Molly noticed it too. Molly and Libby stepped closer to realize that it was the keyhole that they had both been searching for. Just like last time, they raised their keyblades and beams of light were fired, sealing the keyhole and saving Mewni.
It wasn't long before Star and Marco stumbled upon the remains of Star's wand. The sight of her now destroyed family heirloom caused Star to tear up. She embraced Marco in a tight hug, who hugged her back.
"Excuse me." Star and Marco heard a voice and looked down to see that it was a tiny unicorn that spoke to them. "When I was a baby horse, Mama told me the day would come when I'll be called open to fulfill a responsibility greater than myself, greater than this dimension. For me, that day is today."
With his speech over, the unicorn entered the wands remains before the wand sank in the ground. That was when crystals rose from the ground, along with the wand, which was fully repaired. The main difference was that half of the wand's star was missing, leaving a dark section of the wand. Despite that, Star was happy to have her wand back.
Before the group of friends could celebrate their victory, they soon realized that they were being watched. They immediately took notice of the mysterious old man, who was still alive. Molly and Libby had no idea how he managed to survive an explosion, but they didn't care anymore. At that point, they just wanted to know who the mysterious stranger who was causing them so much trouble was supposed to be.
"Hey! You are that same guy from before!" Molly pointed to the mysterious figure.
"Who are you, and how were you able to travel to Mewni?" Libby asked.
In response to Libby's question, the mysterious figure removed his hood, revealing himself to be a bald old man. He had pointed ears and a silver goatee hanging from his chin. With a sinister grin, the old man stared at Molly and Libby with his yellow eyes, giving them both chills.
"Ah, you must be Molly McGee and Libby Stein-Torres, the new keyblade wielders!" the old man spoke.
"Wh-Who are you?" Libby asked once again, this time fearful of the old man.
"You may call me, Xehanort!" the old man introduced. "I must admit, I am impressed with how you two have come so far!"
With a glare, Molly summoned her keyblade, angry at Xehanort for all the trouble he caused.
"Why are you doing this? Do you know how much hurt you have caused our friends?" Molly yelled.
"It is a small price to pay for knowledge." Xehanort calmly replied.
"Knowledge?" Libby raised a confused eyebrow.
"Yes. Have you ever wondered about the origin of light and darkness and what would happen if both sides battled? It is similar to the star on your wand!" Xehanort pointed to the star symbol on Star's wand. "There is one side of light and one of darkness! When both sides clash, one has to wonder which side would be victorious in the end!"
Confused by Xehanort's words, Star decided to ignore him before aiming her wand at him. "I have no idea what you are talking about, but you are going to pay for taking Marco away!"
Star was just about ready to blast Xehanort with her new wand before he opened a corridor of darkness behind him.
"Perhaps it is time I left this world! We will meet again, wielders of the keyblade!" Xehanort said to Molly and Libby before escaping through the corridor of darkness, similar to what he did back in Gravity Falls.
With the old man gone, Molly and Libby stood in silence, wondering who that Xehanort guy was supposed to be. One thing they knew for sure was that they would meet Xehanort again and they would have to be prepared for their next encounter.
Suddenly everyone heard a bunch of galloping sounds as knights of Mewni approached Molly and her friends. One of the knights got off his horse and gave Marco a hug.
"Oh, Marco! I'm so glad to see you!" the knight exclaimed.
"Um, do I know you?" Marco asked, feeling awkward about the whole situation.
"Marco, it's me!" The knight removed his helmet to reveal himself to be Rafael. "I'm your dad!"
"My dad!" Marco hugged back, happy to see his dad again.
Another knight removed her helmet, revealing herself to be Angie. "Ooh! My turn!" Angie said, wanted to hug her son too.
"Mr. and Mrs. Diaz? How did you two get here?" Molly asked, confused.
"They used Star's mirror." cane the voice of King River.
Both, Queen Moon and King River stepped forward, much to Star's dismay. There was no doubt that she would get in trouble with them again.
"Star, what just happened?" Moon asked her daughter, upon noticing the ruins of Ludo's castle.
"Uh, Marco just got kidnapped and I was kind of forced to destroy the wand to save his life, but don't worry! The wand is all better! See?"
As Star showed the new wand to her mom, Moon's eyes widened in surprise. She gazed at the wand's new design before taking it in her hands.
"It's uh-" Moon didn't know what to say about it. "I'll take it and get it cleaned for you."
"Please don't be mad." Star expected her mom to be angry at her for destroying the wand in the first place. Instead, Moon did something unexpected. She embraced her daughter in a hug. "So you're not mad?"
"Oh, I'm always mad, but I'm happy that you are safe!" Moon smiled.
As Star hugged her mom back, Molly and Libby both sighed in relief, happy that everything worked out in the end.
"Molly! Libby! Thank you for helping me save Marco!" Star thanked her friends. "I couldn't have done any of this without you!"
"Now that everything is back to normal, how about we go back home and eat nachos to celebrate?" Marco suggested.
"We would love to, Marco, but now that Molly and I saved Mewni we must be on our way." Libby explained, sad to leave her new friends.
"Oh. You have to go now?" Star asked, disappointed. "Well, feel free to visit us whoever you have the time!"
"We'll never forget you! Thanks for everything!" Marco smiled.
"You're welcome, Marco! Libby and I had fun hanging out with you and Star! We hope to see you again someday!" Molly replied.
After returning to Echo Creek, Molly and Libby got in their gummi ship, ready to move on to their next word. As Mollibby took off into the sky, Molly and Libby took one last look at Echo Creek, remembering the fun times they had with their new friends. The gummi ship soon took off into space as Molly and Libby were ready for the next part of their adventure.
