Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Chapter 38: Upside Down
Star quickly found herself at the magic sanctuary, and she didn't like it. Her mom had dragged her there, leaving everyone else behind. Star tried to take the scissors and portal, but her mother fought her back. Her mom had never done this before. Moon either ordered her around, scolded her, or got someone to do something, which surprised Star. Moon was able to wrestle away Star from the scissors, but she also dropped the finger.
Toffee's finger lay before them, and Moon pounced on it, desperate to get it, almost even more than the scissors.
That got Star's attention.
It took some prodding, but Moon explained, "Toffee killed my mother."
Moon explained their history of how Toffee killed Moon's mother, how she made a deal with Eclipsa, and how she defeated him.
And that if he got his finger back, he'd likely finish what he started and end up destroying the kingdom. And there was nothing they could do.
Though Star would disagree, "We can't just sit here and do nothing."
"Star we-"
The well then erupted as corrupted black goo rushed out.
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The Kingdom of Mewni was in bad shape. Most of it was wrecked, and the sky had turned black from the smoke. The creatures that had attacked the kingdom were wild and vicious, like nothing they'd ever seen before. The kingdom's knights and citizens were being dragged along towards the dungeons. Some who avoided this fate hid, but none were allowed to escape the realm. The Henchmaniacs were given one order above all others: not to let a single person leave.
In the center of the kingdom, Ludo watched as the kingdom was conquered. His head felt light, he couldn't remember arranging this or anything, but he won.
"Ludo!" River growled at him nearby, and the king was chained up and forced to watch his kingdom taken over and ravaged. "I swear when I get out of this, I'm going to-"
"But you're never getting out," Ludo smirked, "I've won!"
"Won? Now what? As troublesome as you've been, you've never been this cruel. You've wanted respect! You wanted power! You wanted the wand. You wanted many things, but sheer destruction has not one of them."
Ludo opened his beak to say something, but nothing came out, there was a reason for this, but he couldn't remember what that was. His eyes flickered green, and he looked onto the destruction.
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Stan and Ford stood in the yard, looking at the sky turning red.
"Yeah, that doesn't look good," Stan muttered.
"It doesn't," Ford gulped. He wondered if Bill was back or what could be causing it. He had some ideas, but he still had too many holes in his knowledge. This Toffee was a danger, but what was his motivation?
In the other room, Hekapoo and Marco were resting in a bed. The situation was strange, and Marco provided all the energy for both of them. Hekapoo could supplement some of her power by eating, but Marco was her primary energy source. Marco would manage it with enough rest and food, but when he was drained, it nearly killed him.
Ford sighed, tired, "We might need to consider-"
The trees just beyond them tore down as they saw a familiar face, well, faceless. It was a purple beast with no face, one they met when Bill went free, and he charged at them.
Ford quickly pulled out his blaster and opened fire. The monster slapped Stan away and grabbed Ford attempting to crush him in his hand. Ford continued to fire at the beast, but it was tanking them.
"Let him go!"
Ford almost didn't notice the yell as a flaming sword hit, and the demon looked on more confused than hurt as it bounced off him. Nearby Seraph stood with her hand extended, the flame above her head blooming.
Seraph repeated, "Let him go!"
Seraph conjured more flaming swords and shot them forwards, though they did not seem to do any damage soon, the blades were gone, and the demon looked on. Even though it lacked a face, one could almost guess it smirked at the young girl taunting her for her failure. Then again, Seraph inherited her mother's power and her father's determination.
She also got their creativity and a good head on her shoulder. Seraph smirked. Pushing herself, she took a step forward and pointed up.
The faceless beast looked up to see flames forming above and taking the form of a giant hammer, which promptly dropped, knocking him out.
Seraph released a breath she didn't know she was holding, and steam plumes escaped her mouth. Seraph balanced herself against the porch that had taken a lot of effort from her, she thought this would get easier, but it was getting hard to pull that trick. It didn't help that she had to make so many swords in rapid succession, but it still felt difficult.
Stan ran to his brother to ensure he was okay as the other started to come out to make sure he was alright. As it did, the demon got up, realizing that it was outnumbered, but some other players might be able to hurt it. It growled and quickly fled back into the forest.
"This is very not good," Ford muttered.
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Mabel emptied a tub of ice cream for Seraph, who was more than quickly gobbling it out. Dipper was close by, making notes of her swords. Pacifica was calling her parents. They seemed to be seeking shelter and were okay with her staying with the Pines. At the moment, the Shack was safe. Most of the protections they had from last year were still good and ready to go.
It looked like most of the Commission was unable to help. Hekapoo was unconscious, Omni was a skull, Rhombulous and Lekmet were very weak and barely able to stay conscious.
Ford and Mcgucket were talking things over, and they were sure that Bill was gone.
They could get out of the Commission that Toffee had a wand and must have found a way to free Bill's old goons. This still didn't tell them anything much about his plans.
They thought about evacuating, but the scissors weren't working. They weren't sure if it was because Hekapoo was out or just the magical fritz. It would be possible to boost the scissors with another source of magic, but Seraph didn't seem to have that kind of power. The worst of it was that they felt the goons would keep anyone from leaving the city.
Fresh off the phone, Pacifica questioned, "What are you doing?"
"Do?" Mabel asked, "We're eating." Mabel started to pour whip cream into Seraph's open mouth.
"No, last Summer, you guys saved the whole town. Are you telling me you're not going to do anything?"
Dipper blinked, "I don't know; I'd love to do something, but Ford and Stan don't have a clue. I'm not sure what we can do. We had an entire summer to figure out what Bill was planning. This just happened. We have all sorts of issues and-"
"Can't we just leave," Mabel motioned with the spoon. "I don't think anyone in the town wants to get stuck in the middle of everything if things get weird again."
"Yeah," Dipper pointed out, "but Bill's goons will show up if we try.
"We could ask them for help." Mabel points out the window.
Outside awaited many strange but familiar faces.
Norm, the gnome, waved, "Hey."
They all went to one of the few places of safety they knew.
Little did anyone notice that a blonde girl with a dark blue and white dress was looking on.
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Step.
The Septarian in the Avian's body took a step out of the portal. He pulled out a sheet showing the precious location where he had to open the portals. Soon portals from Mewni and Gravity Falls would be ready. He stopped and watched the portal shimmer as it adjusted to the area. He did know he'd have to act against Hekapoo and Omni, and if they meddled, the plan would fizzle out.
Still, everything was going to plan.
Step.
"That's an interesting plan."
Toffee spun around, the gen in his hand glowing, and standing before Toffee was a girl in a dark blue and white dress with a silver key around her neck. She smiled.
Toffee looked around, confused; he was sure he heard someone speak.
She took another step, and she was gone, and Toffee was sure he had heard a lock somewhere in the distance.
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Star kicked the ground with her boot. It had been a few hectic hours.
Both Moon and Star found themselves shot out of the Sanctuary. They had been lucky and landed on a log and floated far enough away to be safe. Though it looked like Moon's magic was gone now. They had nowhere to run. Well, almost nowhere. Star did have a friend that was far out that no one would expect them to run to him for help.
Buff Frog.
Things didn't go great. While Buff Frog was happy to have them, Moon wasn't sure it was a great idea to trust a monster. The only reason that Moon relented was that it was better than hiding in the forest full of dangers. It didn't help that Biff Frog informed us that Ludo had taken the castle and captured River. Star wanted to rush back, but Moon stopped her. Usually, Star would have guessed her mom was crazy for not trying to help them, but she saw something in her eyes. Something Star could barely understand. The only reason she could get it was because of Seraph. Moon was desperate to keep Star safe.
While her mother and Buff Frog ended up playing a board game and talking about false assumptions about each other's people, Star snuck out.
Star found out that the tiny tadpole Katrina knew how to talk and told her what was happening in Mewni. And how to get past her father's defenses.
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"Friends! Magical Creatures! That guy!" Mabel pointed to s a random guy. None of them were sure what that guy was or who he was.
TheThe kids were standing in front of the gathered beings looking for safety.
"I'm not sure this will work," Dipper mumbled to himself.
"Look!" Mabel yelled, "There's a wizard lizard in a birdman who has made the sky red."
Dipper slapped his face.
If speaking for all the magical creatures, Norm nodded, "Okay, we're following so far."
Mabel continued, "Look, I'll put it in words easy to understand. He's behind this whole thing. So let's all team up together and beat him up before he pulls a Bill and makes us lose Gravity Falls."
"Okay, maybe this was a mistake," Pacifica agreed.
"YEAAA! WHOO!" Along with Brenda, Candy, and Seraph, the crowd of creatures cheered Mabels' "plan."
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Hekapoo was fuzzy, and she was still unsure about the whole sleep thing.
"Hey, wake up,"
Hekapoo found herself asleep in a field with a short girl gently kicking her.
Nefi gave her another kick.
"I'm up!" Hekapoo jolted up.
"Not really, but this makes it easier."
"Who are you?"
"Well- huh, I guess we've never met. I know my fam doesn't interact with you guys-" She snorted, "Different stuff, and frankly, none of us want to deal with your pops. Plus, the whole, you never actually sleep much." She huffed; her hour shifted around her to a colorful blouse and a black skirt with butterflies on it. "You should know me. You are pretty good at keeping secrets and lying." The butterfly pattern on her dress came to life, and the butterflies flew off and around them. "You kept many secrets from the party girl and everyone that followed. "Look, I'm getting distracted! I tried to talk to your- husband? Boyfriend? Baby daddy?"
"Marco."
"Yeah, what are you anyway? Like, have you guys had the talk?" Nefi leaned on Hekapoo. "No! Getting distracted! Look, things are coming towards you guys! Someone has plans for your kid!" She slapped the sides of her head. "Look! She's distracted right now! She has planned! Look, get your daughter to him! The faster, the better! He will protect her! He will get her ready! Time is already pulling them together! She will try to stop that because he might stop her plans if he catches wind of them! If your daughter is going to survive, she needs him to train her! You are going to have to trust him despite everything!"
"Seraph!" Hekapoo's eyes went wide, "She's in- Toffee!"
"Yes! No! The lizard might get you all killed if you don't leave one of two places quickly, but he's not the danger! Well, not the major one."
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Moon felt like her heart had stopped. She knew precisely where Star had gone to when she vanished. Star was headstrong, and no matter what Moon would say, she knew Star would go to the kingdom.
Buff Frog had insisted on coming to help her, and Moon was grateful, though she didn't need the help.
As she had feared, the kingdom seemed like it had been abandoned.
The Henchmaniacs had drawn everyone into the castle, and they found enough evidence of that and headed there when they spotted on the top of a tower Star and Ludo.
For the second time, Moon felt her heart stop.
"Hey, Mommy," Star waved with a forced smile.
Moon raced to find another explanation for what she was seeing. But she saw Ludo's hand with the broken shard as a small mill horse spirit wafted away.
"The Whispering Spell?" Moon mumbled. "Star! Get away from there!"
"It's too late, mom."
Light jutted out of the shard and engulfed Star and Ludo in an explosion. As the light dimmed, she saw that the tower had collapsed, leaving almost nothing behind.
"Buff Frog! We have to get there immediately."
Buff Frog grabbed the queen and jumped her down to the crater, but they didn't find Star but an unconscious. Ludo's eyes glowed pink.
"Mom?"
"Star?"
Star was able to reassure her mother she was alive. Star found herself in an endless inky black ocean.
That was when the blackened liquid rose and shaped itself into the head of a familiar foe.
"Toffee?" Star gasped, "I knew it! Uh, where are we?"
The lizard smirked at her, "Funny. You can't even recognize your magic when your swimming in it."
Star scooped up some liquid that glowed gold for a few seconds before turning black. "This is magic,"
"It was until I got it. Thank you for helping me get here."
"Star!" Moon's voice rang out.
"Mom!" Star yelled out.
"She can't hear you. I'm in control." A massive hand created a wave pushing Star away.
Ludo's pink eyes turned green in the outside world, and he spoke with a voice that sent shivers down Moon's spine, "Hello, Moon."
"Toffee"
"It's so good to hear you call my name." Toffee floated away and held out his hand, "I believe you have something that belongs to me."
He held out his hand, showing his missing finger.
A crack like thunder tore into the sky.
"Now, if you don't mind, you and your people don't have much time left." A wicked grin spread across his borrowed face.
Buff Frog tried to warn her, "Toffee cannot be trusted!"
Toffee looked over to Buff Frog, who began to glow green. He got hurled far away into the distance.
"He doesn't have anything to do with this." Toffee chuckled to himself. He used the same spell Ludo had been using on people.
"Now, why don't we finish this?"
The sky turned red as Toffee held out his hand to get his finger.
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Ford was walking out of the basement with his laser gun, and it had been the one he'd built for Bill. He fired his shot but did manage to re-power it up after a year. It was meant to take out an entity like Bill; it should be able to take out someone like Toffee.
As he got out, he found people running around.
"What's the matter?"
Stan huffed, "The kids are missing."
There was a crack like thunder, and they went outside just in time to see the sky turning a darker shade of red and-
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Hekapoo's eyes opened, and she stumbled out of bed, "Marco! Wake up!" She found him and nudged him, "I think Seraph is in dangered-"
Hekapoo winced in pain as it felt like something pushed her head into a vice. A sounds like thunder cracked the sky.
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"Hm," Seraph tapped her chin, "I think we need more people."
"It's not an army." Candy agreed.
They had a small band of supernatural creatures willing to fight with them, but that was not that many.
"I mean," Dipper began, "I got some stuff leftover from the previous Summer that can help but yeah we-"
Seraph fell to her knees, holding her head.
"Seraph!" Mabel moved to her side, "You okay? Is it an ice cream headache?"
"Something is wrong."
There was a sound like thunder that they almost didn't notice, focusing on Seraph's sudden pain. They noticed when the sky turned blood red and the winds picked up.
"What's that!?" Grenda yelled out.
"That's- that's not possible," Dipper looked on in shock.
The sky screamed as it tore open wide. As the sky peeled back, they could see hanging upside down the kingdom of Mewni.
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The Henchmaniacs stood at the borders of Gravity Falls. After they had locked everyone up in Mewni, they had come here. Their new boss knew once this had started, it wouldn't matter, and they wouldn't be able to escape. Now they just had to make sure no one here escaped. He'd picked them up and freed them to do whatever they wanted in this world. He cares about this world less than they did.
The Henchmaniacs started to walk into the town; before they partied with the rest of the world, they would get a little payback for last year.
Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay I've been busy and frankly… I don't like just redoing the same story. This chapter has a lot of stuff with the Battle of Mewni, I'm just not motivated to re-write it. If you're reading this you probably saw the episodes so I kinda just summed it down. Which in itself I don't like doing because its telling not showing but we need to cover some stuff and yeah.
But on happier news, its been 10 years since Gravity Falls. And the finale of Amphibia just aired. So what did you guys think?
Next chapter should come out faster since its mostly new stuff. I think it will be the finale for this arc, maybe one after if I feel an epilogue is needed. Anyway, leave a review telling me what you guys think it always motivates me to write. Anyway time to start the chapter I'm calling Mewni Falls.