Hello everyone! Next chapter live and ready! Really happy with this one, so hope you all enjoy :) And...there is some cursing, so hope you don't mind. This is a...heated chapter, so that's why the language is a bit stronger here.
Momijifan Low-Ki - Yep and the story is going to get darker.
Bedrock Armor - First off, thank you for writing such a personal response to my story. Comments like yours are why I continue writing. High school wasn't the best for me either, but we get through it in the end. And yes, Janna being her snarky self WAS important to nail here. Star...has a very dark backstory. That is a major point in this chapter actually.
RobLebron - Star befriending Janna and being 'acquaintances' with Jackie is nice, as hanging out with Marco is allowing Star to open up more. Marco patching things up with Oskar was important to establish too. And there is going to be ALOT more than homecoming that gets Star and Marco into being a couple. But that isn't happening for a while, as while this story DOES ship them together, both characters aren't emotionally ready for being a couple. They just met for crying out loud :P. But yeah, keep an eye out for that as the story continues. And no problem about the shout-out!
It was now nighttime in Echo Creek, with Marco and Star sitting in the kitchen. "So…what does our art teacher want us to make?" Star looked over the instructions sheet, scratching her head in confusion. "It says 'Make a Drawing using Abstract Shapes'. I know what that is, but why something so specific?"
Marco tapped his chin, shrugging his shoulder. "Testing us on the knowledge of arts?" Star pouted in slight annoyance. Marco simply smirked back, flipping to a new page in his notebook. "So Miss Picasso, having some trouble?"
"I would smack you…if I knew what that even meant." Marco laughed, patting Star's shoulder. She smiled, only looking at her sketchpad. "Want to see something I've been working on?" Marco nodded, sitting right next to Star. The two looked intently at a page in Star's book, with it showing a short blue dress. It was shaded in dark blues, having a black scarf hanging around it's neck hole. Sleek white gloves and heeled boots were underneath the dress. "I want to make this with magic, but it's missing something…"
"It's perfect the way it is though." Marco said bluntly, with Star only sighing. "What do you think is missing?" Star tapped her chin but soon snapped her fingers. She took out a pencil, drawing a small hearts on the dress's hemming's.
"Now it's perfect." Star ripped the paper out of her book, tossing it in the air. Zapping it with her wand, she morphed the simple sheet. After a small pink light, all that was left was the blue dress and everything else that was drawn on the paper. "Be back in a sec." Star took the clothes and darted up to her room.
Star took off her current outfit, throwing on the dress and everything else. Looking at herself in the mirror, she tapped her chin, thinking something is still missing. She looked at her bare legs, snapping her fingers. "Of course!" She used the wand and zapped her legs. Now they were covered with dark purple leggings. "Perfect." She studied her appearance, feeling a smile creep on. "Can't believe…" Star tugged on her scarf, feeling her face warm up. "…I can be myself like this."
Looking around her room, she spotted a small book near her bed. Star picked it up and flipped through the pages, showing hundreds of designs for clothes but she stopped on a specific page. It was of various drawing of her wand. Holding the magical artifice tight within her right hand, she studied it. "The wand reflects the current wielder's heart." She gently touched the white wings, brushing her thumb over a black heart. "I feel broken…"
Star looked at the drawings, showing a bright colorful wand. It had some tassels hanging from the side, with the crystal star being surrounded by small pink hearts. The wings were larger, almost angelic. The final part, being the handle, was pure purple with red and blue stripes coming across it. "I want my wand to look like this…as it's the real me. Right?" Star held the wand up again, frowning at the device. "But this is the real me, broken and ravaged." She got up and walked out of the room, but stopped toward a wall of pictures. Walking toward them, she picked up one. Her face formed a bitter frown, showing herself holding up a peace sign alongside her at-the-time boyfriend Tom and a floating horse head. "Those to using, evil, nasty, bitter mother…" Star ripped up the picture, with it turning into dust. She gasped, zapping it with her wand. The picture reformed, with Star pinning it back up. "…It was nice at one point." Star walked towards her door, leaving her room and closing the door.
Marco rubbed his neck sheepishly, wondering what's taking Star so long. 'She really loves designing stuff…can't wait to see how it looks on her.' He noticed a pink glow coming from her dangling star-shaped purse. "What the heck…" A large book soon springed out of it, crashing on the kitchen table. Marco jumped back, reading into fighting stance. The large tome-shaped book flipped pages rapidly, soon exposing a small sleeping blue man.
"Oh boy, that was a long sleep." The blue man looked at Marco, grinning knowingly. "So, you are the latest prince for Mewni's Princess?" Marco simply folded his arms. "No? Well, then you shouldn't be seeing me." The book was closing but Marco took a nearby fork, keeping it open. "Well that's just rude."
"Who are you?" Marco demanded, making the blue man chuckle. He kicked the fork back and floated toward Marco.
"Why, I'm Sir Glossaryck of Terms. Official teacher for Mewni Princess's." He looked around, scratching the large pink gem on his forehead. "So, where's Star?" As if right on cue, Star rushed down the stairs with a smile on her face. Her eyes looked at Marco before turning toward Glossaryck "Ah, nice to see you in high spirits Star."
Star's smile turned into a scowl. "What do you want? I'm not practicing magic. Mastered it already, so go in your stupid home and leave me alone." She sat down next to Marco, with her fingerless gloves tapping the counter top harshly. He floated toward Star, having a somber expression.
"I didn't get you sent to that school Princess. In fact, I tried talking Moon out of it." He said earnestly. Marco leaned forward, intently paying attention. Star just narrowed her glare toward Glossaryck, feeling intense rage flowing through her mind.
"Did you deal with the shocks? The needles? Better yet did YOU get prodded with sticks whenever you got out of line?!" Glossaryck had his fist grow large, pounding the table. Both teens were silenced.
"You really think I'm just some…all seeing baby sister for current queens? To be frank, I could care less about your mother right now. But I'm your teacher." He sat on Star's shoulder. "Just let me help you so I can complete my job. When the next Princess is born, I will be out of your hair."
Star only got up, swatting Glossaryck away. "Fine. But I'm not in the mood to learn magic now." She walked into the living room. Star felt panic overcome her, taking a few deep breaths to calm down. Marco just looked at Glossaryck, wondering something.
"What…what happened to Star?" He asked softly. Glossaryck snapped his fingers, handing Marco an image. "This is…a castle? Looks something out of a horror movie."
"Princesses are sent to a reform school. It's called 'Saint Olgas' and you never want to be stuck there. Despite having results, it torments poor girls like Star over there." He points his finger toward the living room. "I was against this, but Moon HAD have her way. Sigh…"
"Star mentioned needles and shocks." He rubbed his forehead. "Please tell me she is just saying that stuff out of rage." Glossaryck had an unreadable face, making Marco's turn ghostly white. "My God…"
"Yep." Glossaryck simply sighed and floated back toward the spell book. "If you need me Marco, just open up." He vanished into the book, closing shut. Marco got up, seeing Star curled up in a ball on the couch.
Marco sat down next to Star, who was huddled up in a ball of covers. "Do you want to talk?" Star said nothing, only sniffling. "Hey, if it means anything, I think you look great. Love the blues and the spider-like scarf."
Star tugged the scarf, smiling slightly. "Thanks…" She looked at the table. "I…don't want to talk about that place." Marco just nodded, relaxing in the couch. "It brings back painful memories."
"It's okay, I get having some heavy baggage." He drifted his eyes toward a family picture, seeing Jessica posing with him. "More than you ever know." Star and Marco stayed silent. No tension was in the air, with the only sound being soft breathing from the two teens and wind brushing up against exposed curtains.
Star just scooted over next to Marco, laying her head upon his shoulders. Marco looked toward Star, seeing her smiling face. He threw his arm around her, with Star nuzzling contently. They closed their eyes, feeling at peace. After a few minutes of content silence, a loud noise was heard from outside. Star jumped out of the chair, tightly holding her wand.
"I'M NOT GOING WITH YOU ROBOT GUARDS! I HAD ENOUGH TODAY!" Star screamed loudly, with Marco crashing into the ground in confusion. Star blinked, rubbing slightly tired eyes. "Oh…just a loud noise. I was enjoying the moment before. Once I find who ruined it…"
Marco held up his hand, taking a nearby bad from underneath the couch. "I will take care of this…" He just looked at Star, frowning harshly. "Just what…no, nothing." Marco's grip on the bat was very tight, wanting to beat something up. 'Star was…her parents are monsters.' He kicked open the door to his back yard. "Hey! If you dare mess with this house, I will beat you senseless. I'm a black belt and skilled with melee combat." Marco said in a cold tone. A horse head popped out of some bushes and tackled into Marco, but he slid back to avoid the attack.
"Move out of the way turd! I'm on the run and B-Fly will help." The horse head hissed. Marco narrowed his gaze, cracking his knuckles. "Oh, you think that I will lose to a pathetic loser like you?"
"No." Marco and the horse head stopped moving, hearing Star slowly march over. The heels of her white boots slammed against cold ground, getting right in the horse head's face. Aiming her wand darkly, she grit her teeth. "Because I will kick your body-less ass."
Pony Head blinked a few times before glaring back. "Oh, that is the thanks I get after breaking you out?" Star blasted the horse head directly with a narwhal, sending her crashing into the ground. "Pift, you used to be cool."
"Really now?" Star said mockingly, laughing darkly. "If I remember correctly, whose plan was it to storm into that damn place in the first place?" She tapped her chin playfully, before looking evilly at the horse head. "That's right, your fucking plan Princess Pony Head!" She blasted the ground near Pony Head, making her shake.
Marco stood between the two, holding hands out. "I have no idea what the heck is going on, but please, take this inside." Star glared at Marco, with him folding his arms. "Don't want burn marks everywhere in my backyard."
"Fine." She took Pony Head's mane, dragging it roughly. "Come with me you bitch." Pony Head muffled curses in a language Marco couldn't make out. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked back inside.
Far away from the Diaz House, was a tall lizard jumping out of a blue portal. He tapped his crystal left eye, having his vision tinted red. Picking up a trail of magic, he pointed in that direction. Two robotic tall men came out of the portal, both being largely metallic. Wearing medieval-like armor, they hissed smoke from their open pores. "Go follow the trail I'm sending you via programming." The lizard held up his right hand, punching in instructions for the robotic figures to follow. They nodded and rushed in that direction.
Coming out of the portal before it closed was a woman wearing a form-fitting purple dress. She had curly hair and glowing green clover marks. She folded her gloved covered arms together, glaring at her partner. "So Rasticore, found the missing princess?"
"Yes Heinous." He tapped his eye, making a hologram appear. "Princess Lilac Pony Head is in one of these buildings. Sent the guards up ahead. But we are here for another reason, correct?"
Heinous only grinned. "I had a feeling that our 'perfect' princess is here." She took out a black box. "Never got to test this after all." Rasticore just glared at Heinous, making her raise an eyebrow. "Still don't agree with my methods…"
"You went too far." He simply walked a head, with Heinous following her partner in excitement. As the two walked ahead, Buff Frog watched the entire scene from a nearby treetop. He clenched his right hand into a fist.
"You will not get Princess Butterfly." Buff Frog tapped something on his arm. "Toffee, report coming."
"Hello Buff Frog. How is operations on Earth?" Buff Frog looked into the distance, noticing Heinous and Rasticore getting away.
"Must go now. But bother of yours and his partner on Earth." He heard Toffee slam something loudly. "They after Butterfly."
"That horrendous school strikes again…work with the Princess and her Earth friend. Help them escape that wretched woman's grasp. Report back to me once the situation is under control." Buff Frog saluted.
"Understood friend." He pressed the button on his wrist communicator. "Not going to let Butterfly girl suffer again. Like other poor girls." Buff Frog felt his legs tense up, before springing across building to building.
Marco felt like a match could ignite his living room, with Star's wand and Pony Head's horn both glowing menacingly. "Uh…I get there's some bad blood here, but calm down please?" Star huffed, putting her wand down. Marco glared at Pony Head, poking his finger at her neck. "Star wouldn't want to kill someone without reason. What the hell did you do?"
"All I did was run away from home!" Star rolled her eyes. "Keep rolling those peepers before I take them out Stella." Star slammed her fist into the couch, with some smoke coming out of her ears. Marco patted Star's back, trying to calm her down. "But yeah, ran away from home after my dumb parents wanted to ship me to Saint O's. Daddy sent their guards after me and I kept hopping through dimensions using these." She spat out scissors on the couch.
"You can travel through dimensions…" Marco picked up the spit-covered scissors. "With a pair of scissors?" Star nodded, standing up with hands clenched into fists.
"Yep. Though you have to earn them through years of trials." Star folded her arms. "As if this bitch knows hard work." Pony Head scoffed. "Really now? Did you get shock treatment for saying the wrong thing? Touched by the damn guards for being pretty?! Or strapped down to some fucking machine like a vile creature?! NO! I DID BECAUSE OF YOU!" Star aimed her wand at Pony Head, feeling hot tears come down her scarred blue eyes. "Get out of my home. Now."
Marco just tackled Star into a hug, making Star look around in shock. "You…you was abused. Tortured. Toyed with. Because of her, correct?" Star nodded fearfully, with Marco letting go. He turned to Pony Head, giving a killers stare. Pony Head backed away, shaking in fear. "You lead them here, to capture Star, didn't you?" She stayed silent, with Marco punching the wall. "DIDN'T YOU?"
"I don't want to go there! It wasn't my fault! We just wanted to bust out some princesses and it lead to us being caught! I lied my way out but Star couldn't leave for whatever reason." She started crying, falling down to the ground. "I never saw Star after that day two years ago." Marco backed away, shaking his head.
Marco looked at Star, having a knowing look. "We need to get out of here before…" They heard a crashing sound, coming through the front door. It was kicked opened, with two robot guards pointing shock staffs at Star and Marco. "…they get here."
Rasticore and Heinous soon entered Marco's home, having a playful smile on her face. "What a quaint home. I will pay for the damages…" She looked at Marco, squinting her eyes. "…human boy. Now, I'm here to collect two princesses, as they broke out of my school."
"They aren't here." Marco said coldly, standing in front of Star and Pony Head. "This is Jessica Diaz and our stuffed animal horse head. You have the wrong house miss." Heinous laughed, slapping her knees.
"You are quite the joker, aren't you boy?" Marco remained stoned face, feeling his body grow tense. "No, you have Princess Butterfly and Pony Head behind you. They are coming with me."
"No." Marco answered bitterly, roundhouse kicking a guard and sending him crashing toward a wall. "Star won't be tormented by you any longer monster." Heinous just laughed madly, taking out a black box. Star felt her blood turn cold, starting to run out of the house. She just pressed the button, making Star's body shake violently.
"AHHHHHH!" She screamed in pain, with her eyes slowly turning grey and heart marks turning dull. "I'm. No. Damn. Puppet!" Star grabbed her wand and with the last ounce of strength blasted the black box with pink magic.
She huffed from pain, having her eyes blue and heart marks pink once more. "Yeah…you…aren't…winning…" Star collapsed, landing in Marco's arms. He carried her bridal style and jumped out the window. Pony Head followed, as did the guards. Heinous only grinned, feeling her marks glow a dark shade of purple.
Marco held the passed out Star tightly, feeling overwhelmed with rage. "Just what exactly they do to the princesses at that school Pony Head?!" She remained silent, blankly flying ahead. "Not talking huh? Well, hope you're happy with yourself." Marco took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm not letting you go to that place."
"What now?" She asked in shock, with Marco nodding. "But I hurt B-Fly and made her…"
"You didn't know the school would…torment her this badly." Marco looked at the shaking body of Star within his arms, feeling his teeth grit in anger. "You aren't going out like Jessica…I won't let you." Marco held Star tighter, feeling bitter tears come down his face. Him and Pony Head ran for what seemed like miles, until finding the local park. They dashed into the bushes, taking deep breaths to calm down.
"M-Marco? I'm not…dead?" Marco heard Star mumble. He just nodded, with Star slowly getting out of his arms. "You carried me…after passing out, right?"
"He did Star." Pony Head said softly, with Star turning toward her. "I'm sorry…didn't know that school tormented us princess like that." Star gave a somber smile, bitterly laughing.
"Neither did I, until the experiments happened. Sticking needles in me to 'control' my outbursts. Feeding me utter slop because I refused to listen to them. The guards treating me like a doll, not being able to fight back at all thanks to that stupid black box. They broke me." Star curled up in a ball. "And my family let me stay there, despite knowing what they do to princesses."
"They…don't." Pony Head comments, getting Star's attention. "Remember when we first heard about the school? You know, threats by our jerk parents? The place was 'just another princess academy' but we never learned how it worked." She floated around, frowning in anger. "I had a friend back there. A cool chick that was stuck in the school. She told me about their…methods. I didn't want to believe that, so when we decided to break in to the school, didn't think much. Seeing you now though…I was wrong."
"It's…okay." Star said unsure. "I mean, I still suffered a lot, but I know now at least you didn't want me to deal with all that." Pony Head nuzzled into Star's chest, with Star petting her mane. "I still hate you, but I'll forgive you somewhat for everything."
"That's more than enough B-Fly." Marco smiled, seeing the two princesses bonding. He coughed getting their attention. "What's the deal Earth…I mean Marco?"
"We are sending them a message to not mess with us ever again…and I have an idea." Star and Pony Head nodded, with Marco cracking his fingers. "Anyone have a piece of paper and a pen?"
Buff Frog jumped around Echo Creek, hoping to find Star and Marco but froze in place when seeing Heinous and Rasticore walking towards him. He jumped into a nearby bush, overhearing their conversation. "Can't believe that Princess broke my controller…no other one linked to her."
"Too bad, but we wasn't here for the Mewni Princess." Heinous slapped Rasticore across his face, with the lizard not flinching at all. "She suffered enough."
"No, she didn't. She needs to be the perfect princess…someone I can control to get exactly what I want from Mewni." She grins darkly, with Rasticore rubbing his forehead.
"To do what? Oppress my kind further?" Rasticore hissed, making Heinous jump slightly. Buff Frog's eyes grew wide, but remained silent. "I worked with you for all these years…because not only you give me a roof over my head. But because I respect how ruthless you are. My brother is the 'thinker' while I jump into action. You have the best of our traits and figured one day, you would help me get my race rights." He pushed Heinous back. "But you don't care about my people. I've seen how you treat monster princesses at the 'school'. And yet you made the Mewni Princess suffer worse than a monster."
"She needs to learn." Heinous huffed, fixing her dress. "Now come on, we aren't going to find them standing around." She started walking but Rasticore didn't follow. "I said…"
"I'm done." He made a rift with his chainsaw blade. "I may be heartless, but even I have my limits." He jumped into the portal, it closing shut. Heinous gritted her teeth and marched away. Buff Frog jumped out of the bushes, tapping his wrist.
"Toffee sir, you will be seeing…" He heard Toffee chuckle at the other line. "Bother already there?"
"Why yes Buff Frog. Now, you help the Princess 'take care' of that witch. Got some catching up to do." The call ended, with Buff Frog looking into the night sky. He knew about a local park, seeing a guard run in that direction and followed.
The guards circled the local park, with their bright eyes immolating the darkness. "Princess Butterfly and Princess Pony Head, come out now." Pony Head floated towards them, blasting one with a laser from her horn. "You little!"
Star whistled, getting the other guard's attention. "Come here boys!" The guard charged towards her, with Star morphing her wand into a staff. She vaulted in the air, landing an airal kick. The guard's helmet came off, exposing wires and the robot crashing into the ground.
"Robot #2020 down." The other guard said in monotone. Before it could turn around, Marco jumped out of a nearby bush and punched directly through its chest. Pulling his arm out, wires and oil covered his sleeve.
"That…has to be gross." Pony Head said in disgust. Marco wiped his hands, with Star coming closer to the duo. "There were no more guards, only…"
"YOU TWO COME HERE!" The trio heard the bitter voice of Heinous from the distance.
"…the evil lady who wants our heads. Ready to strike?" Star cracked her neck and aimed her wand forward. Heinous was feet away from Star, looking intently at her.
"Why would you attack your great aunt dear?" Heinous said sweetly, making Star narrow her gaze. "We Butterflies should stick together after all…"
"No, they should rot and our family tree should die." Her wand glows a sickly pink. "They create chains of evil queens that don't care about their people or monster rights." Magic was sparkling violently around Star. "The family doesn't care about each other as people, only pushing roles generations had to follow." Star's eyes were now pure white and cheek marks glowing. "I'm no Butterfly. I'm Star, the Rebel Princess!" She blasted a beam of white light, hitting Heinous directly. She screamed loudly, feeling her body slowly fall apart. The light soon vanished, leaving nothing left. "Good riddance."
"She's gone for good now." Marco said coldly, walking toward the ashes. "You will harm no more princesses anymore." Pony Head looked at Star in awe, seeing her pose like an action hero after a great battle.
"Wow…you are something B-Fly." Star smiled at Pony Head, before frowning. "I will take care of the Princesses. They need a leader, considering you kinda killed the head teacher."
"Sounds good." Star rubbed her neck. "Uh…feel free to call anytime. Sure Marco and I could help out if you need us." Marco nodded, smirking at Pony Head.
"Sorry for being a jerk earlier." Pony Head flipped her mane back, shooting a grin at Marco and Star. "But like Star said, don't be a stranger." The trio walked back to Marco's house, the ashes of Heinous blowing away with the wind.
The trio made their way home, noticing the house in utter shambles. Pictures falling off the walls, the front door being knocked down and the window being broken. Marco turned toward Star, rubbing his neck. "Uh…can you fix this?"
Star grinned, spinning her wand and blasting the room. It was completely cleaned up, as if nothing ever happened. "Done and done." Marco sighed in relief, with Star giggling. "I know my magic buddy."
Pony Head smiled, feeling a lone tear come down her face. 'He is good for her.' Star noticed Pony Head being quiet, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing girl. Got a gift for you two." She picked up the scissors with her teeth, dropping them in Star's open hand. They had a blue handle, with each blade forming fractions of a heart. "These are dimensional scissors, as you know girl." Star smirked, recalling fonder memories.
"So those blades can help us visit other dimensions?" Pony Head raised an eyebrow. "Come on! I don't know much about this magic and everything."
"Yes Marco, they can take us EVERYWHERE!" Star shouted joyfully. She tackled Pony Head into a hug. "Thanks…girl." Pony Head only smiled back, with Star making a portal to Saint O's. "Now, please destroy that school up."
"Oh I plan to." She flew into the portal, with it closing. Star walked toward the couch, nearly collapsing into it. Marco mirrored her, feeling drained.
"Tired?" Star asked.
"Yep."
"Want to sleep?"
"You know it."
The duo fell asleep, with Star resting her head on Marco's shoulder. He rested his own head on Star's bundle of blond hair. They smiled contently, unaware of Mr. and Mrs. Diaz walking into the house. They studied Star and Marco, smiling fondly.
Mrs. Diaz looked toward a family picture. "It's a good thing Estella came into Marco's life." She put the picture down, walking into the kitchen. Mr. Diaz just patted Marco's head, joining his wife.
Buff Frog jumped into a portal, now back into Toffee's Castle. The lizard looked pale as a ghost, with Rasticore mirroring him. "Toffee? What's wrong sir?" Ludo held his staff, making an image appearing. It showed Star vaporizing Henious into nothing. "Girl…killed witch?"
"Yes, she did." Toffee answered with worry, rubbing his forehead. "Didn't know she was that skilled with magic!" He slammed the table. "The four of us aren't going to be enough to take that wand."
"I could get my brothers and sisters to join us." Ludo commented, folding his small hands together. "Even though they have no magic staff, they are very good at combat."
"I can contact my hunting buddies to brother." Rasticore suggested, looking at his worried brother. "You know, talking won't solve everything. If the princess won't meet reasonable demands, we will have to fight her."
"Sure. Look at what fighting the Butterflies directly did to me brother." Toffee held up his fingerless hand, silencing the entire table. He coughed, fixing his suit. "It's not an issue. The day of our strike is still days away. Plenty of time to prepare."
"At least princess not in hands of witch." Toffee nodded his head, looking toward his brother. Rasticore grit his jaw together.
"I never liked my partner's methods and…" Toffee only sighed, looking away. "Sorry brother but I did what was needed." The lizard felt an idea spark in his head.
"Brother…you know the princesses are free now, correct?" Rasticore nodded, with Toffee forming a smug smile. Sitting back in his chair, he clasped his hands together. "And many of them are monsters, correct?"
"They aren't willing to fight." Rasticore said bluntly, with Toffee waving his hand. Ludo and Buff Frog looked at each other in worry.
"You just need a motive. And the Butterfly is key to this." The group continued talking, plotting their next course of action.
