"So you all met in secret to throw a party, and you didn't even bother inviting me?"
Vartek grinned beneath his helm, the skull-capped armor casting a shadow across his scarred face. He was dripping with malice and smarm, confidence oozing through every word, but he had every right to it. Flexing his hands, he dissolved the Magic in his palms, relaxing his shoulders before reaching up for his helmet. Star, Moon, and Dennis all tensed at his movements, but sighed in relief when he only removed the armor, letting the cold night breeze ruffle his frills.
"That's much better. You'd be amazed at how stuffy and humid the swamp can be," he laughed with a shake of his head, taking a step closer to them with a slow stride, "but then again, one of you has the right idea. Perhaps it's time for a little swim."
He strolled right between the two royals, neither of them moving, both paralyzed with fear and hatred alike. He walked past Star's transfixed gaze of shock, past Moon's upturned gawk of terror, and right up to Dennis, the taller Avarius' face twisted into rage. "You're in my way boy," Vartek growled through his sneer, keeping his carefree front alive, "step aside, and you'll live to see tomorrow. Unless...you'd prefer to join your little friend?"
Dennis' eyes narrowed, his wings flared in a barely controlled anger. "Brother. Ludo was- is my brother."
"Odd, there are no records of you in the future, despite there being plenty of your erm…'brother'." Vartek leaned closer, so close his snout was inches away from the end of Dennis' beak before he curled his lips into another sneer. "Step aside, or you'll join him, and you will all remain calm, unless you want me to finish the job." Vartek lifted a hand to flex his fingers, inciting a grunt from behind Dennis.
He turned to look and found the dagger lodged in Ludo's chest had sunk ever so slightly deeper, evidently causing pain to even a Turned minion. And as expected, Vartek met Dennis' returning glare with a look of absolute provocation. He knew he'd obey, but he smiled all the same, daring him to refuse. And ultimately, Dennis stepped aside, quiet and orderly as he had been ordered to.
But the girl, she was another variable altogether. Vartek had planned for something like this, an odd Mexican standoff of sorts, and produced the object of her subjugation as well: a simple, sizzling blue crystal. The girl's eyes lit up immediately, as expected, and as Vartek brought up a closed fist beside the gem, a fist burning with charged magic to destroy it, he knew he had her. "You are going to give me your wand, and surrender, or I will destroy the boy's soul here and now. The choice is yours."
"You won't actually do that," Star scoffed, taking a step closer, "you need his soul as much as you need my wand, so I'm not giving you anything but an ass-kicking. The choice is yours if you want it easy, or hard."
Vartek glared at her, stunned that she had seen- no. She knew, she knew exactly what he needed and what his plans were, she had to. And Vartek had a pretty good idea who exactly had spilled the beans, a likely candidate standing just behind him, waist deep in the Magic.
He sighed, relaxing his shoulders before stowing the small crystal back in his armor, raising his gaze to meet the girl's glare. In times like this, his plans called for improvisation, and he intended to deliver. "So, you believe you hold a candle to her light, especially in your...precarious position?"
"Don't listen to him, Star," Moon whispered, eying the dagger in Ludo's chest as she ran through several scenarios at once, "he's caught and he knows it. If we move quickly, we can grab Dennis, and I can fly us out of here to-"
"Do not forget where you stand, False Queen. You're playing on my field now, and that means playing by my rules, with my players, and you will die a loser's death." Vartek stepped back, closer to the magic as he splayed his hands, letting arcs of toxic magic sputter to life in his palms. "If you will not give up your power willingly, girl, then I offer one final out for you: a trade, of sorts."
"Yeah no, you have nothing I want, and I don't trust you nearly as far as I can blast you," the princess fired back, narrowing her eyes at the lizard before her. She had been through too much, lived too long in several lives, just to give it all away now. She had one goal: to get to the realm of magic. And there was nothing Vartek could offer now that she couldn't take on her own when she got back.
"I have plenty, actually," Vartek noted, taking another step towards the magic, as Moon and Star took a step closer to him in return, "all of the Butterfly Kingdom, all the monsters, your father, I have Turned thousands. And, at your...cooperation...they will all be released, safe and unharmed in exchange for my Merina. I will return things to normal, free your people, and retire peacefully if you help me."
Vartek lowered his hands in a moment of truce, his yellow eyes clear and steady as he muttered, "please."
No one said a word for a long time, Vartek's request, his actions, his history, all of it hanging in the air like dirty laundry before Star ultimately shook her head. Though she wasn't mad, actually. She looked at him with a sadness she rarely expressed to strangers, despite her knowing more about him than she ever cared to know. "Vartek, you can't bring her back, you know that, right?"
He was quiet for a moment, his hand curling back into a fist as he lowered it to his side. "I take it...that you wish to do this 'the hard way?'" He asked tentatively, clearly looking to give her one last chance. One more out to end it all, and give him what he wanted. Honestly, he had the High Commission, and all the magic in the universe at his disposal; he didn't have to ask nicely, but he wanted to.
Star shook her head, keeping her eyes on him. "It's not that. If it meant saving everyone and ending this, I'd...I'd gladly give you my life...and my wand," she countered, "but you know it's not possible- that it would destroy everything, right?"
"You don't know that. It will work. I will have her back, and despite Mewni's transgressions your people can-"
"Vartek, you can't bring someone back to life with Magic," Star interrupted with clear desperation, hopeful to get through to him, "you can create the perfect spell to do anything, but there are some things Magic just can't do, you have to know that by now."
Now it was Vartek's turn to reign in his silence, watching her, studying that arrogant little girl that continued to defy his will and obstruct his one, single goal in life. She had to be wrong, he knew more about magic than she could ever hope to, he had done things most would consider impossible just to get here, and Merina was powerful enough to make the journey back. She was with him, waiting in that temple of time in a dimension since forgotten by life, and she would soon be rebuilt. He wasn't bringing her back to life. He knew that. But he was recreating her from oblivion, and the Magic would see it done.
He looked from Star, to his own hands, the deep cracks that lined his veins glowing with power. He was too forgone to stop now. To abandon his mission. "You. Know. Nothing!" He hissed, his eyes shifting back to green, and burning with anger once again. Vartek took a step back, stepping into the deep pool of Magic, letting it burn against his healing skin. "She will be saved, and you will help me to return her to the living. One way, or another."
Star readied her wand in anticipation, waiting for him to make a move as negotiations failed, even Moon changing to her Butterfly mode to fight at her side. Dennis took to removing himself from the fight, and as the room charged with energy for the oncoming battle, Vartek plunged both hands into the Magic well.
Immediate, immense power flooded his veins as his own toxic green overtook the pure gold. Vartek arched his back as the burning sensation and tsunami of Magic paralyzed his body. He couldn't even scream, corrupted magic flooding from his mouth to the pool below as the last bit of Magic in the universe was given to him. All the power in the universe at his disposal.
Star readied her wand and charged forward, not waiting for whatever horrors were happening to come to fruition. But when she swung her wand and shouted "Heart-throb hammer!" nothing happened. Her wand remained dormant, it's crystal since changing shades from golden, to gray in her hands.
'Alright then, looks like we're doing things a little more hands on,' she assessed before clasping her hands together. In a geyser of flames, her body was overtaken in a blinding light as she shifted into her butterfly form, her blazing azure wings flaring. Vartek hardly reacted, his face twisted in pain as he gasped for air, so Star took the moment of weakness to move on her target. Wand in hand, and ready for the spell to end all spells, she burst forward in a blazing blur of blue.
But just as she neared her target, there came a wave of grey that seemed to suck all color from the air, and all the power from her body. The only thing left that she could feel were the Flames of Passion, and even that was fading the closer she flew to Vartek. And as he opened his eyes, relaxing his muscles and drawing a rigid, coarse breath, it only reaffirmed her burning desire to see him wiped from this dimension along with her. He flicked a wrist and fired a blast strong enough to dismantle the shrine wall behind her, and as she arched her back, soaring even closer to his vacuum of magic, she readied an attack of her own.
But it never came.
Six violet arms wrapped around her from behind and threw her off course, sending her careening closer to Dennis. She curled her wings and braced against the force somehow strong enough to push her down, and as Vartek stepped from the pool with Ludo, she tumbled into the wall with whatever had taken her by surprise. After dislodging herself from the arms, and sitting up fast enough to pull her wings, she found Moon, her arms as black as night, standing to face Vartek alone.
"Wha- Mom! What are you doing? I had him!" Star shouted, her face twisted in frustration, "I was gonna use like, the only spell that can actually kill this loser!" But Moon simply glared at her before turning to Vartek, drawing all six arms at the ready like a coiled python. She would stand between them even though her life depended on it, and not a force on Mewni would break her resolve. "I know. That's why I stopped you," she muttered under her breath, watching Vartek carefully as he stretched and shook his frills, "You can't use his own magic to force him into the wand. And he'll kill you before you even get the chance, trust me."
Star looked down at her wand and was shocked to find that it was no longer grey and dormant, but was instead green like Vartek, and covered in a web of cracks overflowing with magic. "Just grab Dennis and run," Moon all but ordered, not waiting for an idiotic answer, "Keep running until he can't find you, and then keep running. Run until you collapse and just. Survive." She was on fumes as it was, the magic in her body fading faster by the second, and hope was all but lost. There was no way they could stand up to Vartek as he was before the Magic, and facing him now was almost certain suicide. But if Star could survive at the very least, he could never truly win, and she could face his judgement with as clear of a conscience as a failed Queen could get.
Star stood, flaring her aqua wings as if ready to fight beside her mother. There was no way she'd run and hide after everything she'd endured till now, especially now that magic was in the hands of the enemy. With Marco stuck on Earth, her kingdom destroyed, and all of its citizens turned into puppets, the only option was to fight. Running would save no one, and there was no way she could escape- *Fwoosh*
Vartek was gone, vanishing in a pixelated blur before his cool, collected voice sounded from behind along with a terrified yelp. Both turned to find him standing behind Dennis, a pixelating portal arcing even further. "You can't run from me," he stated, resting a hand on Dennis' shoulder to sprout a web of corrupted cracks that spread all over the Avarius' body, "I am everywhere, and I alone control this universe." Dennis gasped and coiled his body, but it was useless. He Turned before Moon or Star could utter a breath, and without a care Vartek pushed him through the pixels, his body disappearing from view. "You have lost."
"RaaaaaaAAAAAHHHHH!"
Star flinched as Moon burst forward, the wind displaced enough to push her aside as the Queen of a fallen Mewni tackled Vartek, pressing him against the stone wall as best she could. With her last ounce of strength, with all the dark Magic she could muster, she bound him in a storm of Hell's Thread, desperate to buy even seconds for Star. "RUUUUUN!" she screamed, her voice booming throughout the shrine loud enough to startle her daughter, and shock Vartek long enough for the spell to bind him to every surface in the room. It had worked last time, so she just needed a little more. One last chance.
But as she struggled and gasped to hold Vartek, his body shifting and materializing in a wash of pixels to escape her grasp, Star didn't move. Not to say that she couldn't, but her emotions came in waves ranging from rage, to terror, to grief, and a growing pit in her stomach. She would fight till her last breath, and now that Moon had immobilized him, she could finish Vartek off once and for all, like she should have done in that cave months ago.
Now was her chance, and she had every intention to take it, surging forward with a boom, her wings propelling her at impossible speeds. She was on them in an instant, and for a moment, Vartek's eyes widened in surprise, his face twisting into anger to fight his restraints. Star swung her wand to his chest, pressing the half-star emerald to his chest as she furiously whispered, 'Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop the magic. Break the bond, tear the fabric, cleave the stone, stop-"
She stopped.
Nothing was happening, not even to the wand, and as she looked from its bell, up to Vartek's face, she understood why. He was smiling, none of the surprise evident in his glowing eyes, and to everyone else's surprise, he actually laughed. He bellowed with raw joy as Moon's Magic faded, the Hell's Threads all snapping as their prisoner shook his head in pity. Vartek met Star's look of horror before softly whispering, "Don't be scared, girl, it was never going to work, and you were never going to escape. It is my will that she returns to me, and I am a God compared to you."
Vartek grabbed Moon's hand, only a split-second of struggle from the Queen before her arm was engulfed in dark cracks running up to her face. Her eyes shifted to black like Ludo's, and as quickly as Star could gasp, she was Turned, her body stiffening to stand silently. Star stared at her, speechless as Vartek pulled the remaining threads from his arms before turning to her with a look of sincerity. "Last chance to be a heroine for your people," he offered genuinely, though his eyes remained a glowing, solid green, "Accept your fate, help me bring her back, and your people will live."
It was such a bittersweet offer, and had there been no other conditions, Star would have taken it in a heartbeat. If it meant saving everyone, even Merina, ridding the universe of Vartek's terror, she would have done it. But as Ludo had warned, 'the spell will destroy everything.' She realized that there was no way she could surrender, and with that realization came offense, a rage burning in her gut to do whatever it took to stop him. Star readied her hands with tufts of blue fire, and in a low growl she whispered, "I have a god of my own."
She flared her wings and turned fast, sending three fists into his gut hard, using all of her strength to try and push into him, to move him, but his body was as tough as Iron Oak. He didn't move an inch. Seeing that, Star jumped back and prepared a follow up, bringing all six arms together to pool her magic in the middle. A ball of blue flames rolled with what little power she had left to command, and with a Mewni-shaking yell, she fired it at point blank range into his chest.
The entire shrine washed with blue light, the sound of the blast roaring louder than an Elder Dragon and hotter than the sun itself. She pushed everything she had into it, forcing it to flare brighter and hotter for as long as she could, before finally she dropped her hands. She was just about out of Magic, only enough left for flight, and as the smoke cleared she smiled in satisfaction. Vartek was gone, everything behind him having also been wiped from existence. Even the forest was leveled for at least a quarter mile in an ever-stretching cone of ashes.
But what struck her as odd, was that Moon was also nowhere to be seen. She had been standing just to the side, definitely clear of the blast, 'so where could she have-'
"Your gods are dead, Child," Vartek whispered behind her, and as she whirled about, she found both he and Moon standing beside Ludo unscathed, "I killed them, and I am all that remains. Now… Surrender."
As if possessed, Star felt all the energy leave her body, all of her strength dissolving at his single command. She fell to her knees, her wings wilting as what little remained of her Magic dwilded into embers. And only then did she realize just how right Moon had been, how futile it was to fight back against the man who controlled everything. Vartek approached her, not even the will to speak left in her bones, and wordlessly, he rested a hand on the top of her head.
Immediately, she felt weightless as a darkness unlike any other consumed her senses.
She saw nothing, felt nothing, there was nothing.
Except, of course, for the thousands of screaming voices reverberating from everywhere and nowhere. Thousands of terrified screams that filled her ears and rattled her skull with one word: Fight. And fight she did, desperate to find a foothold, desperate to keep that terrifying darkness from enveloping her completely. It felt like the weight of the world on her shoulders, an inescapable force, was slowly being pushed back as she struggled to find a way out.
"So you can resist the will of a god?" she heard Vartek mutter before her vision slowly returned, her body searing with heat as she looked up to find a displeased look on his face, "Impressive, young Butterfly. Let's see if that fighting spirit lasts longer than you do." Out of nowhere, his fist slammed into her chest, the force of a bomb nearly ripping right through her as she was sent flying through the fountain of Magic at the shrines center.
She arched her back and gasped for air as she sailed across the cathedral of Glossaryck, but Vartek was suddenly there, a sinister smile on his lips before he kicked her up with even more force than the punch. It was strong enough to make her vision flash with stars as she was sent straight up through the roof of the shrine, bits of rock and swamp refuse blasted everywhere. Again she struggled to draw even a breath to scream, but Vartek was there, pixelations buzzing behind his back as he stepped through.
"A move you once used on me in your little school," he whispered to her as time seemed to pass slowly, Star's body screaming in pain from the contact, "Tell me how it feels, would you?" He clasped his hands together and raised them over his head and cracked a grin, just as she once had, before sending them down, straight into her gut with more force than she would have ever thought possible. It robbed her of her vision, even her thoughts, her entire world flashing white before fading to black entirely.
When she opened her eyes again, she was lying in the middle of a self-made crater, once again inside the shrine, layers of rock and dirt nearly burying her. She struggled to draw air, but a stabbing pain in her midsection told her that wouldn't be easy with broken ribs. Though the pain in her back wasn't any better, she could at least still feel her wings, even if all she could feel was immeasurable pain.
Suddenly, a hand wrapped itself around her throat and pulled her from the dirt, lifting her off of her feet as her wings hung limply behind her. Vartek pulled her closer, her eyes level with his as he squeezed, cutting off what little air she could hiss through her teeth. "You. Will. Submit!" he roared, holding her higher as a wave of magic flowed up his arm and against her skin. His spell, it was stronger and burned like hot iron against her neck, but still she fought the encroaching void with everything she had.
The darkness was eternal and vast, and still she heard a thousand voices screaming from everywhere, pleading with her to resist, to run. But it was too much to fight, the immeasurable force that threatened to bury her in her own mind. It was everywhere, it demanded all of her focus, and it was taking everything she had just to stay conscious of her slipping willpower.
And just as the darkness was almost around her, she saw it.
A light.
Small, and red against the void, it came closer.
It was almost warm against the chill of the darkness, and it whispered but one thing to her alone against the roar of voices beyond it.
"I love you, Stardust."
Star forced open her eyes to push back the darkness, the spell loosening its grip on her mind as she gripped Vartek's wrist. She had to escape, she had to see him again, to make things right and try one more time with him.
As a last ditch effort, Star forced an ember of her Magic into her hand to form a thin blade of golden light, just barely strong enough to hold. But it would be enough.
She grit her teeth against the black dots in her vision, and with all of her strength, she forced the blade forward. She swung her arm in a wide arc and plunged the Magical blade up to her palm into Vartek's left eye.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He screamed loud enough to shake the earth and dropped her, bringing his hands to his face as a blinding green light fought to escape between his fingers.
Star wouldn't waste her chance, flaring her wings against the searing pain that threatened to consume her. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she burst forward, recovering her wand before blasting into the air with everything she had left. She flew, fighting against the pain, against the raging fury in her chest, propelled further by the fear of the dark. She didn't look back, she didn't worry about if he was following her, she only focused on getting as far away as she could before he warped to her.
But he never did.
Star didn't let herself think about it, her wings flapping sporadically due to her broken ribs, a fresh taste of blood in her mouth. She just needed to get away, to survive long enough to… she wasn't sure what she should do. Portaling was out, Hekapoo would make her exit wherever she wanted, which would likely be wherever Vartek was.
"Marco…" she breathed, his name the only thing clear in her mind as the forest below began to blur. She needed to get to him, however possible, even she she died in his arms the moment she… got… there… "Mar….cooooo," she huffed as the treetops loomed closer, her back aching and tired, the flaps of her wings slowing gradually until everything went black.
She felt a force knock into her as she was back in that same darkness, but this time she wasn't alone. There was a woman, her hair a forest green to frame her sapphire eyes.
"Survive," Star whispered to her, the woman nodding above a freckled smile. She leaned down and cupped Star's cheek gingerly, her hand warm against the approaching cold, and in response she offered only one word: "Surrender".
O - O - O - O - O - O - O
How long had she been laying there, Star wondered, shifting as much as she could to try and get comfortable. Thankfully, the couch beneath her shifted as well, giving a little against the fabric on her back as she turned. A quick sniff of the air reminded her that her surroundings in the forest smelled like musty water and dirt, and as she struggled to crack an eyelid, she found the ceiling above to match the smell perfectly. It was dirt with bits of reed woven together for support, and clearly a little watered from the rain outside. Not the Ritz, but it was fine.
'Waywhut?' Star shot upright, immediately regretting it first due to the pain, and second as she found the bandages wrapped around her bare chest and ribs weren't exactly secure. She hissed in pain as she shifted her weight to a barely passable 'comfort', and looked around. Thankfully, by the grace of corn, Star found that she actually recognized the room she was in.
It was Buffrogs living room. And as she inspected it further, she found that she wasn't alone! There, sitting on the other side of the room with a large, toothy smile, was Marco! "OhmygodMarcoyou'rehe-!" She began, but immediately stopped as the burning pain in her side threatened to put her back to sleep, "ow ow ow owwww…" Star held her chest, a throbbing cavity under her clavicle, before she finally stopped to inspect him further…
He was ghostly white, and his eyes… they were as black as night with two pinpricks of green glowing at the center. His teeth were jagged amidst his grin, and as she struggled to form a cohesive sentence, Marco leaned forward and frowned. His chest was as bare as hers, a scar resting above the red-soaked bandage over his stomach, and as Star looked his many wounds over, he whispered to himself, "I figured you'd show up here too, after he kicked your ass like mine."
He stood from the chair, Star sinking a little into the couch to get as far away from him as possible. He wasn't Marco, he was that...that thing, parading itself in Marco's body, and it made her fear for what might have happened to Buffrog, riiiight before the parasite called out, "Hey, Buffrog! The bitch is finally awake!"
AUTHORS NOTE
Sorry for schedule issues, work is picking back up as the new year revs itself back into fiscal swing. More companies get phat budgets and want planes fixed, and that means Hella work for me. Which is good, but also not so good when I'm trying to write. Also also not good that I can't really let yall know what's up. Sooo, if I'm late on the next one check the reviews, I'll leave an explanation or an update there, and delete it after the chapter is released. Nancy says hi, I hope you all have enjoyed this story, I hope you all like the looming ending, and I hope to see many of you in my other works!
Also also also, I plan on going through at some point after the End to rework the early… ametuer(atleast more than now) chapters into something a little more professional. If that's something yall would like, lemme know! I've come a long way, I have a lot more to learn, and I want to make sure my first story is better than it was when I started. That being said, enjoy your day! BUH BYYYEEE!
~Mr. Ronald Reagan