The dark walls of the cave, normally uninviting and crude, seemed to take on a new look of vile disgust as the green light washed over them. The working rats took off down various tunnels to avoid the disturbing change and the ominous hum that reverberated down the halls.
"Again," Vartek demanded. A soft moment of silence went by before a wailing scream filled the caves, accompanied by the usual hum of energy. For a few minutes, the bright green light washed over the antechamber before dying down with the echoing yells. Vartek walked over to the captured monster, looking it over for signs of progress. When none could be found, he clapped his hands, summoning an array of rats to come forward and remove the test subject to be further evaluated and discarded.
The muscular purple monster, now christened with a sizzling scorch mark on its chest and seemingly unconscious, was carted away as Ludo stood silently, watching the ordeal. Vartek took a seat at his table of notes and documents, listing off observations to himself before writing them down.
"What did you feel?" He asked Ludo, not looking up from his madly scribbled papers. Ludo was unresponsive. Instead, he was staring off into space with a blank expression as his wands green energy died down.
"Ludo. What. Did you feel?" Vartek asked again, this time his lack of patience beginning to show.
Ludo shook his head and brushed off his shoulders, taking a seat before his new leader. "It felt ...cold. And empty. I don't know how to put it."
"Well describe it as best you can. These trials are instrumental in taking down the butterfly kingdom and securing the other half of your wand," Vartek explained.
Ludo thought for a moment, running his hands over the bones of his wand like he was feeling it for the first time. "I could feel his life draining, and something started to replace it. Something angry, and cold. But it went away and I was left with nothing."
Vartek nodded and wrote down what was described. There wasn't much in the way of progress as of late, but every piece of the puzzle helped. Setting his pencil down, Vartek stood abruptly and walked over to the chair where the monster had been restrained. Ludo watched carefully as he stepped around it, examining the scorch marks and the charred wood. Sniffing the air, Vartek snorted in disgust.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Ludo asked, now seemingly getting impatient with the practice himself. Vartek only shook his head and walked closer to ludo, holding out his hand expectantly.
"Gimme," he demanded. Ludo slowly and regretfully obliged, placing the bone wand in Varteks hand. Gripping the handle and holding it closer to his scarred face, Vartek glared at the toxic green semi-star. "You're being quite difficult, Toffee. You and I both know how this all turns out, so why don't you just assist me in my little endeavor?"
The wand was silent for a moment, nearly convincing him that there was no reply coming before it began to hum softly. It pulsated brighter for a few seconds before returning to normal, eliciting a snarl from Vartek, who threw it back to Ludo.
"Watch the cave. I have to check something. And if I find out you spoke to Toffee while I was away, you can kiss your kingdom goodbye," Vartek snarled. Ludo merely nodded before glaring at the wand himself distastefully. The artifact that was one so prized to him, was now a reminder of just how far he had fallen. "I'll be fine. Tell your girlfriend I said hello," Ludo chided.
"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND, SHE'S MY- " Varteks eyes glowed bright green for a moment as his armor curled with green energy, before abruptly snuffing out. "Nevermind. Just watch the cave, you pathetic bug."
Unsheathing his scimitars, Vartek stepped away and cut a lime green portal through the air and walked through, disappearing from sight. Ludo, now alone in the cave, decided some extra practice was in order.
He jumped down from his chair, which Vartek had been kind enough to cover in phone books, and called forth a group of rats. "Bring me one more. I want to get this thing down so I can finally go after that Butterfly brat and her stupid sidekick!"
The one-eyed leader rat squeaked in compliance and ran down one of the adjacent hallways, followed closely by an entourage of assisting rats. Ludo stood patiently, holding the wand out and away from his. As if on cue, it began to hum once more, glowing bright against the side of his face.
"I'm not talking to you! Vartek specifically asked me not to!" He yelled, seemingly at no one. Again a hum of the wand came, accompanied by the glow.
"Well, obviously he's crazy! But at least he didn't betray me, like you! All I ever wanted was to make a name for myself, maybe have some subjects, throw some people in my dungeon, even just boss people around. I needed the wand to do that, and now because of you, there is no more wand! Just two broken pieces!"
The wand vibrated some, throbbing harshly with its glow against Ludos face.
"You took everything from me. Vartek might be nuts, but at least he's honest! You don't even know what he wants to do! That's why you're asking so many questions! Well, it's not gonna work this time!"
This time, the wand was silent, leaving Ludo alone in the antechamber to collect his thoughts. Toffee was evil and scheming, but Vartek had seen right through it, somehow.
There was a lot that Ludo didn't understand about Vartek, and how he always seemed to know what would happen, but they both wanted the same thing. To get the wand, and destroy the Butterfly dynasty. And there was only one way to do that. Get stronger, and master the wand he had been given.
After a few moments of silent contemplation, the army of rats brought in another subject. An odd-looking monster with four blue eyes and dry, grey skin. It was rough around the edges, clearly from a scuffle, but strong nonetheless. The rats dropped it in place on the wooden chair opposite to ludo and strapped it in, moving out of the way to watch.
Ludo took in a deep breath and held the wand out, aiming the star-capped rock for the monster's chest. His mind went to a place he remembered well: home. He felt the fear of failure, the disappointment from his family, and the loneliness from his brother wash over him as he inhaled sharply.
"By my power, gifted and learned,
take this beings will, and leave them turned.
By my strength, cultivated and earned,
strip the mind of this creature, and leave it burned."
Upon the ending of his incantation, Ludo flexed his arm and jutted the wand forward, allowing it to glow and writhe with green tendrils of energy. The light in the room seemed to grow dark, almost as though the wand was absorbing every bit of it, and casting out its own.
The green light built up, and once the energy had receded, Ludo once more jutted the wand forward and blasted a stream of sizzling, toxic magic at the monster's chest. Where it hit, it bubbled and spread over the skin, not burning it this time. The mass of frothing green energy spread over its entire body, before slowing to a stop.
Ludo smiled at the feeling as he watched the bubbling liquid power begin to recede, flowing towards the monsters face and into its mouth. The process was painless and tasteless, but the sight gave the beast incredible discomfort as it tried to wiggle away from the mass, unsuccessfully. Once all of the vile energy was gone, the monster lurched forward with a guttural grunt and exhaled sharply as the rest of the room watched.
Slowly but surely, all over its skin, cracks pouring with green light formed and sustained as it moved. There was silence beyond the soft crackling. It stopped moving, and after the cracks stopped forming, it slowly leaned back into a sitting position and stared forward, its eyes glowing the same color as the cracks, and its face expressionless.
Ludo took a step forward and motioned for the restraints to be removed, and once the beast had been freed, it stood rigid and proud before the avarus before it.
"Are you ready, my loyal subject?" Ludo asked with glee. The monster was silent for a moment before speaking in a voice comprised of several, like a group of dying souls speaking their last words...
"Ready to serve, my master."
Ludo smiled and motioned for the rats to give the monster a weapon, and sat at the desk behind him to relax. "And how do you feel?" He asked.
"I feel nothing, my master."
"Wonderful. Rats, take him to be examined. Once we make sure he won't kick the bucket, we can use some more like him!" Ludo sang out. The rats nodded and led the lurching creature out of the cavern, leaving Ludo alone in the massive room to study his wand.
The typical green hue of the center gem now seemed more prominent against the grey stone, but other than that, it seemed to have not changed. "All of this green, pfff. It's pretentious is what it is. Not exactly the all-powerful spell he promised, but when ya can't complain, you make due," Ludo chuckled.
He made to write something down, but the sound of a portal being opened behind him immediately stole all of his attention. Vartek stepped through the swirling mass and took an immediate seat at his desk. Ludo watched him, barely hiding a smile in his beak as Vartek spoke in an impatient and angry tone.
"It's as I feared. We may have to make a move sooner than I expected. The corruption has spread faster than-" he stopped suddenly, craning his neck about the room like a sudden aroma had just reached his nose. "Something's different about this place. I can feel the magic of the cave twisting against my skin. What did you do?"
Ludo took a step back, showing a face of mock hurt as he smiled at Vartek. "You assume I had something to do with this?" He said in sarcastic innocence. Vartek stood up quickly and took a step closer to ludo, eyeing him cautiously.
"What. Did you do, Ludo," he said quietly, his voice betraying his calm expression of all the anger he held. Ludo shrugged and held up his wand, showing it to Vartek proudly. "I got it, ya big dummy! I mastered the spell of the turned!"
A moment of silence went by before Vartek actually smiled- a jagged and toxic grin at that -at Ludo. He knelt down and stared at the brighter green corrupted gem at the center of the wand, nearly giddy at the sight. "Never mind my worries, then. As it seems, we are ready to make our next move. Excellent work, Ludo, you have exceeded my expectations."
There was something about that statement that rocked Ludo to his core. Was that, appreciation? Pride? In him? Very rarely had he ever heard words like that before, and never from someone he feared would kill him. He smiled at Vartek and nodded, but quickly let it fall into a frown at his next words.
"Have the rats send in another. The sooner we have a sizable army, the sooner we can strike."
Vartek began etching some notes down as Ludo summoned a small detail of rats and gave the order. As they scurried off, he approached Vartek and placed his wand on the table. "The spell takes too long," he stated unhappily.
Vartek paused and looked up, eyeing the small avian. "We have all the time in the world, you know. Our plan is set by our terms."
"I get that, but the spell requires a long speech and the magic is slow. Isn't there something faster we can do?"
After a short moment of thought, Vartek shook his head. "The spell is ancient, and very powerful. Spells like that take time."
Ludo crossed his arms and sat on his stacked chair, looking dour as ever. "If we could harness it in battle, we would be unstoppable. But I can't do that when it takes two minutes to use."
"You have two options," Vartek began, setting his writing utensils down. "The first, is nearly impossible, since Raksuran stones haven't been discovered as a reliable source of magical amplification."
"Raksuran...stone? What's that?" Ludo asked, perplexed by yet another odd choice of words by his colleague.
"It's a small blue rock that when held, it amplifies your magical aptitude tenfold. My wife used it against a queen once, and won. But such an artifact doesn't exist yet. So we are left with option two."
Leaning forward, ludo prompted Vartek to continue. Vartek picked up his noted and reorganized them as the next beast was finally carted into the room and strapped to the chair. "We steal the book of spells, as you are meant to anyway, and use its knowledge to refine the corruption magic."
"We can do that?" Ludo asked. "But… if we can, why don't we just steal the wand?"
Vartek smiled at Ludo, one of his trademark toxic smiles that bared his jagged teeth as he gestured towards the monster opposite to them.
"We can. But stealing the wand, that's another matter altogether. You'd probably be killed. The book is large and the princess is often prone to forget it, so we have better chances at, relieving her of its burden, if you will."
Ludo nodded and held up his wand, letting the feeling of cold, sporadic energy fill his body. "When do we start?' He asked quietly.
"Soon," Vartek answered, watching the process of turning carefully. "For now, we focus on building an army. After, we can pay our favorite couple a visit."
Ludo whispered to his wand, letting the green tendrils of magic grow and writhe around his arms. As he finished, he simply smiled against the bright green light before him and fired the shot, as the walls of the lonely cave reverberated the monster's screams."
O - O - O - O - O - O
Marco stood in the middle of his backyard, holding his newly earned pair of scissors aloft as Star stared at him with crossed arms a few feet away.
She shook her head held out her wand, aiming it right at him and glaring sharply. "I'm not letting you go. There's like, a million other things we could be doing today, and getting eaten alive isn't totally what I had in mind."
Marco grinned and swung his scissors in a wide arc, letting them grow to a flaming blue sword in his hand. "Like what? Spend the fourth day in a row getting your burrito fix? We kinda don't have a choice, Star. She asked for both of us."
"That's why I can't let you go, Marco," Star said, her face contorted into one of horror and realization, "She knows…."
"Riiiiight. Look, we don't even know what it's for. So, let's just head over and see what it's about." Marco smiled warmly at Star, nearly melting her aghast expression into one of painful submission. "Ugghhh. Fine! But I'm just warning you now. She totally knows."
Marco nodded and swung his sword, opening a magenta portal in the air before them. "You're being paranoid. Watch, it's gonna be about Ludo or something." She gave him an uneasy stare and shook her head before taking a step forward, grabbing his hand as they walked through the portal together.
Once through, they found themselves inside the Castle Butterfly throne room, and under the cold stares of Queen Moon, and King River. As they approached the Queen and King, Marco took a respective bow and knelt before the matriarch of Mewni.
"Queen Moon, we have arrived as-"
"I know," Queen Moon said emotionlessly. Star turned and gave Marco a wide-eyed glare that could have curdled milk as Moon continued. "I hope it wasn't too horrible for you?"
Star made to ask what aspect of it would have been unpleasant but Marco stood up and interrupted her before she could get them both killed. "If I may, Queen Moon, what are you talking about?"
Moon rubbed the bridge of her nose and shook her head, giving in to the stress of the situation and turning to smile at the two. "Marco, just call me Moon. There's no need for pleasantries. And I'm referring to your extended trip to Hekapoos dimension."
Star and Marco both stared silently at the two rulers, their eyes wide and their expression blank. A few moments rolled by before Star finally broke the awkward silence with a sweaty question of her own. "And uh...h-how do y-you know? What do you know?"
Moons cold stare pierced the young princesses heart like a dagger, eating away at her very soul. "Hekapoo informed me about your ten-year visit this morning. She will be severely reprimanded for this, and I want to ensure both you and Marco are unharmed. After that, I can properly scold you for not telling me about your little adventures."
Marco stood up and gestured dismissively at the inquiry, doing his best to remain calm. It's not like they did anything wrong, but there were still some aspects that needed to be kept secret. "I won't lie, Moon. It was, hard, to say the least. If it wasn't for Star, we might not have made it out."
"Yes, and I was informed that you had your memories stolen? Are you...alright, Marco?" Moon asked tentatively.
He gave Star an uneasy glance but nodded nonetheless, hoping to move the conversation along. "I am. Do you remember the Blood Moon goddess we told you about?"
"Yes. Did she give you any trouble?"
Star butted in, shaking her head vigorously as she answered. "No no, she was very helpful. She used some of my memories about our timeline and Marcos timeline to stitch him back together."
Moon let her calm demeanor waver some as she and River exchanged glances at that statement. "How...erm, convenient. I won't bother you for much longer, but are you both sure you're alright? Ten years in Hekapoos dimension isn't something to be ignored."
Star gave her mother a genuine smile and took Marcos hand, answering in a soft tone that put Moon at ease. "We're fine mom. It was hard being without him for so long, but we made it through together."
Moon returned the calm smile and let her demeanor ease as she nodded. "You two always manage when you have each other. That being said, I was hoping you'd indulge me in a bit of a learning exercise, after you've spent ten years in another dimension. You remember Baby, yes?"
Star went quiet, staring ahead in blank acceptance at that question. Marco tossed her an uneasy glance, remembering how stressful the visit by the magical evaluator was. Through a stammer, Star nodded nervously. "Y-yes, of coouurse...Babyyy. And, just a teeny little question, this evaluation won't result in me being sent back home, right?"
Moons expression softened at that as River continued to remain silent. "No, no of course not. I take it something along those lines happened last time I sent her to evaluate your progress?"
Star nodded glumly, sharing Rivers stoic response to the idea of Baby's presence. Marco stepped forward, hoping to learn something he wasn't able to ask before. "Moon, what exactly, is Baby?"
"Well," Moon began, "Baby is Stars Fairy Godmother, of sorts. But really, she's a magical aptitude evaluator for all of Mewnis Queens, past and present.
River scoffed, earning a glance from everyone in the room. "More like a gluttonous monster, if you ask me. That cursed feline never fails to annoy and disrespect me."
"River, calm down. You know she doesn't eat much when shes not working. Plus, I think with Star being twenty-four years old, it's high time she was evaluated," moon chided, earning another scoff from River.
"Well do enjoy yourself, Moonpie. You as well, my shining Star. Marco, would you please accompany me to the kitchen, I'd rather like a last meal before that furball eats us out of the castle and country."
Marco nodded uneasily, remembering his last encounter with River being less than calming. Not to mention that neither of Stars parents knew she was actually closer to thirty, and he was actually closer to forty-five. "Uhh, yes sir I'd be happy to. Goodluck Star," he said wistfully, though she noticed his skin seemed a few shades paler. "Thanks, hun. You two have fuuun!" She sang, thought she was almost certain she'd never see him alive again.
"Now then, Star, let us begin," Moon prompted, taking a small glass bottle from her dress and yoinking the cork off the top. Star watched carefully for a moment as nothing seemed to happen, and just as she was about to ask what the bottle was for, a thick, dark cloud emerged, shooting around the room with reckless abandon.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" Star yelled out, ducking back behind some nearby chairs. Moon only watched silently as the cloud continued rushing about the room, until it finally settled just before her. To Stars amazement, it didn't break apart or poof about the room, but rather, it condensed into a singular point, and then burst like a bubble to form a small, fluttering cat with massive eyes and a blue gem on its head.
As its butterfly wings kept it airborne, the small, green-furred cat acknowledged Moon and slowly turned to face Star, its eyes wide and its mouth turned into a cordial smile.
"Hello, Baby. I'm sorry to bother your meditation, but I was hoping you could evaluate Stars magical abilities early. She's had a bit of an incident with time," Moon explained. Baby didn't say anything back, but simply nodded in affirmation and fluttered over to where Star was hiding.
"Hello, princess Star Butterfly," Baby began, her voice high pitched but soft as a breeze. "It's very nice to finally meet you. Are you ready to begin?"
Star glanced over at Moon, who merely gave her a thumbs up, before she turned back to Baby and nodded. "It's nice to meet you tooooo. Yes, I'm ready. What uh, what do I do?"
"Well, normally I would check around your living areas and assess your organizational skills before grading you on your arcane knowledge. But since you have neither your room nor your spellbook with you, we can jump straight into your ability evaluation."
Star stared blankly at the fluttering feline, waiting for her to give her some sort of prompt. When none came, she glanced around the room uneasily, before asking timidly "so like, do I do something? I'm not sure what you want from me right now."
"Hmmm," Baby hummed as she thought for a moment. "Very well. Show me a simple transformation spell.
"Oh! I can do that no problemo!" Star exclaimed. Taking out her wand, she waved it above her head and spun around as she recited her spell. "Radiant shadow transform!" she yelled.
But instead of the usual glimmer of pink sparkles, or the flash of bright light, her wand hummed a deep rumble before blasting out a three-piece suit covered in green slime. It schlocked to the floor as everyone stared at it in stunned silence. Star was the first to speak up, holding up her hands defensively. "Okay so, it uh, doesn't usually do that, I swear. That's definitely new."
"And interesting," Baby chided, taking a small notepad out and jotting something down.
"Noo, nononono don't write that down and say 'interesting' for every weird thing! Come on!" Star yelled. She remembered this ordeal exceptionally well, and was definitely not going to put up with it. Moon watched with mixed expressions as Baby nodded and prompted Star to try again.
"Radiant Shadow Transform!" She yelled. At the command, her wand glowed a sickening green once again, humming ominously throughout the room. A bright flash of light illuminated the room, and once it had dissipated, Star was left wearing a slightly flour caked salmon chefs uniform.
"Okay so, not exactly the outfit I was hoping for, but I'll take it."
"Hmmm. ...Inter-" Baby began. "No! I got the spell lets just move on to the next one," Star immediately blurted.
Baby gave a curt nod as Moon rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Very well, Princess. Next, please show me a basic summoning spell." Star gripped her wand tighter and smiled at that, eager to show off just how good at summoning narwhals she was.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen of the castle, River was buttering a roll to enjoy with a massive leg of mutton as he spoke to Marco cordially. "So, Marco dear boy, what exactly are your plans with my daughter in the future?"
Marco nearly dropped the spoon he was using to mix soup and struggled to regain his composure. "What do you mean?"
River took a large bite of meat and sat down, giving Marco a look or stoic intrigue. "Oh come now, I don't get to talk to you quite often, so I'd rather we get this small grievance out of the way now. What are your plans with Star? She's a princess from a reputable kingdom and will one day assume the throne. Are you prepared for that type of commitment?"
Marco sat down with a bowl of piping soup and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, King River sir-"
"Just call me River. Honestly, I get enough of the titles from the servants," River interrupted.
"Right," Marco began. "Well, if I'm being honest with you, I already know that one day I'll be her king."
River leaned forward, not doing a very good job of hiding his mixed feelings, one of which being excitement. "Really. Are you from that far in the future?"
"No, no, it's just a couple years, and in my future, Star and I never really admitted our feelings for each other. But a few months ago, we met a goddess of knowledge, who told us that we would rule Mewni together, sorta."
Marco ate some of his soup as River processed that, trying hard to ease the tension he felt he was under. After a moment, he added, "Her name was Saraswati. It was a really weird conversation, and she gave us this weird rock, but after that, Star and I just kind of assumed we'd be together in the end."
"So, your intentions are to stay with her. Excellent," River exclaimed, finishing the notion by continuing to eat his mutton. Marco gave him a perplexed look and leaned forward to punctuate a question.
"Wait, is that it? No threats? No challenges? No weird hunting ritual?"
River chuckled at the idea and shook his head. "Of course not. Hekapoo told me about what you did in her dimension, and I haven't forgotten about all the things you've done for my daughter. If you really do plan on staying by her side, I don't see any reason for all that. Honestly, I'm more interested in how much she's grown while staying at your household."
"Grown?" Marco asked nervously, hoping River meant mentally, as opposed to physically.
"Yes, I'm not thrilled to admit it, but she's not the same little girl she was when we had to send her away."
Marco thought about that for a moment before pointedly noting, "Sure she's matured some, but she's still the same adventurous, caring, powerful princess."
River smiled at that and took a sip of ale before chomping on the last of the leg meat. "Well, I'm truly glad for that, dear boy. It was hard letting her go, but I'm beside myself to know that she's flourishing on her own."
Nodding, Marco handed River a buttered corn roll. "Maybe we can take you to Hekapoos dimension sometime. If you want a sneak peek at what the future holds for her. The people there love her, sorta."
"I'll have to pass on that. I'd rather not rush seeing her grow up, especially since I've missed so much already," River noted solemnly. Marco ate some soup and with as much sincerity as he could muster, added, "Thank you for trusting me with her, River. You have no idea how much I appreciate getting a second chance at being her friend."
River didn't say anything immediately, but after a minute of chewing on a rib bone, he spoke with mixed emotions. "I have some reservations about the two of you being as close as you are, despite all that you've done for her...but...I'm just as grateful for your dedication and loyalty to my family, my boy. Do keep impressing me, and I hope to return the favor someday."
There was a short pause before Marco looked down at his soup, glad for the drop in tension. "Do you think she's doing okay?" He asked tentatively.
River wiped his face with a blue blanket stitched with an M and smiled. "It's Star we're talking about, there's nothing she can't do."
"COME! ONNNN!" Star yelled, sweat pooling on her brow and her wand ripping with heat from failed spells. "Why can't I do this?!?!" Baby floated around pleasantly taking notes on the entire ordeal.
"Princess, if I may? It seems that while you are extremely adept in any form of a combat-based spell, it also seems that alteration, illusion, and restoration spells are out of your range of skills." Star glared at Baby harshly, but Moon stepped in, careful to avoid the scorch marks, pools of green fire, and deformed narwhals.
"Baby, remember, this is as much of an evaluation for her, as research for us. Star, you're not being judged based on your skill. We want to see what you can do, and what might be wrong with your magic."
Star gave her mother an impatient glare and gestured to the rest of the room. "What might be wrong? Mom, Marco and I already know! Ludo has a wand of his own and Toffee is in the realm of magic mucking everything up!"
Baby and Moon exchanged an uneasy glance before the queen turned harshly toward her daughter. "Toffee is...You knew?! Star! This is something you tell us immediately! Why wouldn't you-"
"Mom! We can't just tell you everything! Especially the crazy stuff!" Star took a breath and sat down on the stairs before the throne, approached by Baby and Moon. "Marco explained it when he first came back. I wanted to know so much, but he wouldn't tell me anything."
Moon sighed and rolled her eyes. "Star, knowing what boys to chase and what your school serves for lunch is hardly comparable to the fate of the universe!"
Star stood up and glared at Moon, gripping her wand tight as Baby fluttered nearby harmlessly. "He wouldn't tell me anything because if he did, he knew I'd change everything. And if I did that, he wouldn't know how to keep me safe. And I get it now. If I tell you what's going to happen, then we lose the only advantage we have against Ludo and Toffee."
"But if we can take them down now, then we don't need our advantage. We can just end this all and no one else has to die because of him!" Moon yelled, stepping closer to Star and matching her intense stare.
Star was somewhat taken back by that, but shook her head after a moment of thought. "I know. Toffee killed your mother. But right now, we can't stop him. Not yet. Just trust me when I say things will be okay."
"You know that I can't just follow your word on a whim, Star. If you know how we can beat him, you have to tell me, NOW!"
"I DON'T KNOW HOW!" Star yelled, her words echoing throughout the main hall. Moon took a step back and looked at Baby uneasily. The evaluator wisely said nothing, and gestured to Star before Moon turned back to face her.
"Everything happened so fast. It's what I'm trying to tell you. If things go differently, I don't know how to beat him," Star muttered. Baby floated forward, finally deciding to join the discussion.
"I agree with the princess," she stated cheerfully.
Both Star and Moon turned to face her, a look of disheveled confusion on their faces as Baby continued. "Our best strategy would be to do nothing. If Princess Star knows all of Ludo and Toffees moves, then she can adapt to them as they arise. And when conflict presents itself, they will be negated like last time."
"But what if something happens differently?" Moon asked desperately, gesturing to the room around them. "Look at what he's doing to magic! How do we know things won't go wrong?"
Baby just continued smiling before gesturing to the door. "We know that, because of him."
Both Moon and Star stared at the entrance of the room as River and Marco both stepped through the massive doors, laughing together hysterically. But the moment they looked about the room, both immediately fell silent and turned to face the group at the throne.
"What...happened here?" Marco asked?
Ignoring his question, Baby continued. "He is a testament to your victory. You won last time with his help, I presume. So as long as he and the princess know what to expect, they can prepare on their own, and prevent a disaster."
Moon frowned and turned to face Star, who met her cold glare equally. "Star, we talked about this. 'No more secrets', if I remember correctly."
Star shook her head and walked over to Marco, turning back to glare at Moon. "This is something I can't tell you. The more we know, the better, and I won't risk everything falling apart just so you can be in control of everything."
"It's not that I want to be in control of everything! I just want to keep you safe!" Moon yelled. But Star was just as quick to return fire. "I don't need you to protect me, Mom! Just let me do this on my own!"
Baby fluttered between the two and smiled cordially at Star before pointing at her wand. "While I must agree with you on your ability to protect yourself, princess Butterfly, I also must disagree."
The entire room turned to face Baby and waited expectantly for some sort of explanation. "You see, while you seem to show prowess in your magic capabilities, it's your ability to use that potential that helps me understand Queen Moon's perspective. If you cannot use your wand effectively in defeating Ludo and Toffee, then I understand her worry towards your secrecy."
Star grimaced at looked down at her broken wand as Marco stepped forward. "But she had a broken wand last time too. Magic was corrupt and her spells weren't working. This just proves that she knows what she's-"
"Mr. Diaz, silence yourself," Baby commanded in an unsettlingly cheerful tone. Remembering well what Baby could be like when angry, Marco backed off. Baby then turned toward Moon and fluttered closer. "My Queen, your uncertainty is not without warrant. Star Butterfly, at the moment, is not ready for battle. But it is for that exact reason that acting now would be detrimental to your kingdom. She knows her deadline and will improve as she did before. For now, it is in your best interest to trust in her decision."
Star looked up at Moon, waiting for a response, but none came. Moon simply huffed angrily and excused herself from the throne room, storming through the massive doors and slamming them behind her. Star made to move towards the entrance, but River stopped her.
"Just give her some time to see reason. She's thinking with her heart instead of her mind, sunshine." Star crossed her arms and avoided Rivers soft gaze before he turned to head towards the door himself. "You know what defeating Toffee means to her, after... you know. I shall go and help her sort her feelings out. Goodluck, Star," he said softly, closing the door behind him.
Now alone with the two teenagers, Baby smiled cordially and took out her notebook. "Would you care for the evaluation report, Princess Butterfly?"
Star merely shook her head and sat down on the throne steps, avoiding her gaze. "No. No, I'm fine, thank you. I failed last time too, so it doesn't matter."
Marco sat beside her and stared forward, observing the mess that remained around them. "Star, you did the right thing, even if it doesn't feel like it. Kinda sucks knowing the future, doesn't it."
"Yeah. I'm sorry you had to walk in on that by the way. I think my spells are worse than last time," she muttered. Before Marco could console her any further, however, Baby flew up to them and spoke just above a whisper.
"You know, you didn't fail, your highness." Both teens looked up at her with surprised expressions, unsure of what to say, so she continued. "Despite the corrupted Magic that's tainting your wand, I can feel something else inside you. A warmth that fights it off without you even realizing it. That, paired with your combat skill, makes for a passing grade."
"A warmth?" Star asked, tilting her head. "The heck does that mean?"
Baby only smiled and nodded to Marco before poofing into smoke and shooting through a now destroyed window, presumably to raid someone's pantry. Now alone in the throne room, Star and Marco exchanged an uneasy glance amidst the green pools of fire and deformed smells scattered about.
"Well look at that. A silver lining," Star shrugged. Marco gave her a halfhearted smile and a quick hug before standing. "Could be worse. Your mom could have taken you from Earth like last time."
"Thanks for the bright side, Marco. Are you sure we're doing the right thing?"
He gave that a moment of pause before smiling. Out of the blue, he helped Star up and held her shoulders, locking eyes with her. "I don't know for sure. Things are changing faster than we can keep track of. But if I've learned anything over the thirty-three years I've known you, it's that we can handle anything, as long as we're together."
He ended that notion by pulling her into a tight hug, quickly reciprocated by the princess of Mewni. "I've got your back, so long as you've got mine. Now c'mon. Let's go home."
Star relinquished him from the quick hug, smiling wistfully as he cut open a portal to Earth. "Thank you, Marco," she said softly as they stepped through and out of the room.
No sooner than they had left, however, a small crater of the green fire flickered brighter, as small tufts of blue formed at the end of the flame. The color began to shift more dramatically until the entire flame was now a vibrant deep blue hue. From the pit, a new light grew brighter, until it filled the entire room, masking the disarray entirely.
After a few seconds, it died back down until the throne room was back in its prime condition, untouched by damage, and void of any flames.
Baby smiled from the now fixed window, finishing up an apple and tossing the core to the gardens below. "I thought so, Princess Butterfly. Good luck on your journey, and never relinquish the warmth of your heart."
With that, Baby shifted into a cloud of dark vapor, and shot towards the castle entrance, ready to end her latest evaluation.
To be continued in: Dancing With The Star
Star and Marco are pressured into going to the school dance. But trouble finds them wherever they go.
AUTHORS NOTE
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of Forgotten Ventures! Next chapter is basically the midseason finale, with Vartek planning some A̸͖͌̓k̴͈͍͗̕͜f̸̲̓̀̆n̶̯̱̬͛̈́̉̍f̸̯̼̬̲͗̑͗́͜ò̵͕̀͜c̵̳͓͙̳̅̋̀͘n̵̩̝̙̅̉ẅ̸̗̣̺͎̳͆̔͠, so get ready for a doosey! Thank you so much for reading my story, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or heck, even just some gripes, fire away and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Thanks a ton, and have an awesome day! BUH BYYYEEE!!!
~Mr. Ronald Reagan