Well, here we are, folks; The Book Two finale. Wanda Watts and her ill-mannered ilk may be defeated, but the fight is far from over. The Monster Arm has returned and has control over Marco's body, and Janna has gotten some strange new powers. So dive right in to find out what happens in the ultimate showdown, where the lines between hero and villain are blurred...
"MAROON AND THE EARTH-NI PROTECTORS!"
BOOK TWO: HEROES AND VILLAINS
CHAPTER EIGHT: RELENTLESS RENEGADE
Darkness. It was all Marco Diaz could see upon awakening in a mysterious place that seemed absolutely alien. He was surrounded by an inky haze of smoke, rendering his vision moot.
"Where am I?" The teen hero thought to himself. "Hello? Anyone there?" Marco looked down, and noticed two things that shocked him; One, he wasn't wearing a shirt. Two, the dark magic wound he received from the corrupted millhorse was back, and it was spreading across his whole body.
"Oh, no, no, no!" Marco cried, his heart racing. "Help, somebody help me!"
"No one can hear you..." A gravelly, frightfully familiar voice snarled. A slimy purple tentacle rose from the ground and wrapped itself around Marco's left leg, terrifying him even further.
"You again? H-how, I thought Star destroyed you!" Marco refuted, while kicking the tentacle on his leg in an attempt to break free.
"Destroyed me? Boy, I've been a part of you this whole time, feeding in your deepest subconscious. Your pain, anger, despair...all fuel in the tank." The demonic disembodied voice continued.
"What are you talking about?"
"The hurt you've gone through has kept me alive. When the princess left Earth...when that Septarian nearly killed her, and let's not forget when she was dating that demon boy..."
"Ugh! Just SHUT UP!" Marco shouted, and tried to charge towards the source of the taunting. However, three more tentacles wrapped themselves around his other limbs, holding him in place. As he struggled, the demonic parasite continued to taunt him.
"Still, I could never truly take control of you...but that stab wound was just what I needed. I would have taken over sooner, if you and your airheaded girlfriend didn't destroy all the magic!"
"What do you want from me?" The martial artist protested. On cue, he was pulled by the tentacles, revealing their source; Marco's monstrous mental captor, which now took on its true form; A grotesque, purple squid-like creature with a glowing orange eye the size of a dinner plate.
"We're going to have some fun, Marco. Carnage, chaos, destruction, all the good stuff. And we'll especially make sure to take care of that delicious Butterfly..."
"You MONSTER! If you lay even one of your slimy tentacles on Star, I'll-" Marco threatened, when the monster wrapped another tentacle around his mouth, gagging him.
"It was Star who killed me, so I'll do the same, slowly and painfully. And you'll have no choice but to watch." The dark fog then cleared, revealing a massive ovular window that showed everything seen by Marco's external body. "Now, if you excuse me, it's showtime."
The demonic creature faded away, and awoke in the plane of reality. He was meditating in an abandoned subway station, a perfect hiding spot for such a foul creature. The tentacled terror then began heading out towards the light to wreak havoc, while poor Marco was naught but a prisoner in his own mind...
In a secret office at the WattWorks Compound, the company's disgraced CEO Wanda Watts was being interrogated by none other than Mewni's former queen, Moon Butterfly. Her hands were tied to the chair so she couldn't escape scot-free after trying to kill everyone. While Moon was chewing Wanda out, Star was sulking in the corner, heartbroken over her boyfriend's tragic transformation.
"What do you want from me? You've already defeated me, so why don't you deal with that tentacled abomination?" Wanda scoffed, causing Star to tearfully sniffle.
"You kidnapped three of the Earth-Ni Protectors, experimented on countless innocents, and put our town under martial law, not to mention you nearly murdered my daughter!" Moon shouted back. "I demand to know why."
"You want an explanation, your Majesty? It's because of her." Wanda snarled, and looked back at Star.
"M-me?" Star stammered.
"What did my daughter ever do to you?"
"You want to know so bad? She's the reason my family is dead!"
Turn the clocks back to the evening of the Cleaving. The sun had set upon the English countryside, and a family of three were heading out of the quaint little town of Darby Glen in a black luxury car. Driving said vehicle was none other than Wanda Watts.
"So, how was your stay with Auntie Indra?" Wanda queried. Her question was for Andrew, her six-year-old son, who was happily playing with his robot and superhero toys in the back seat of the car.
"Good! Well, the power went out, but she fixed it." Andy curtly replied, then continued playing with his toys.
"She did fix it, because she's..." Wanda waited for an answer, but her son was zoned out in his own little imaginative world.
"An electrical engineer." Replied the man in the co-pilot's seat; Wanda's husband Malcolm, a middle-aged man of Indian descent, with curly black hair and a mustache. Malcolm was an established fantasy writer who had no interest in his father's company; However, he fell in love with Wanda, an aspiring WattWorks engineer who eventually worked her way up to the position of CEO.
"And a fine one, at that." Wanda retorted. "Glad to get some fresh air, being cooped up in London all week can't be good for-"
Without warning, a blinding explosion of light erupted, causing Wanda to suddenly swerve off the road and slam the brakes as hard as she could. When everything settled, the Watts family slowly opened their eyes. To their shock, they were in a mysterious forest that certainly wasn't there before.
"Is everyone okay?" Wanda worriedly asked.
"Wow...where are we?" Andy droned in awe. Wanda and Malcolm exited the vehicle, and helped Andrew out. Once they were outside, the family took in their surroundings; Not only were they in an enchanted-looking forest, but above them were several moons and a plethora of stars.
"Well, Blimey! Looks like a fairy tale mixed with some kinda alien world!" Malcolm exclaimed, feeling both confounded and awestruck. Hovering around the trees was an abnormally large dragonfly, which glowed a bright, bioluminescent blue. The illuminated insect caught Andrew's attention, and he excitedly chased after it.
"Andy!" Both parents cried in unison. Wanda and Malcolm both hurried into the dark forest to search for their son. They called out his name several times, when they suddenly heard a terrified scream that shook them to their cores. As they raced to find Andrew, the ground began to quake as if there was a mighty tremor.
When the couple looked up, they saw a horrific sight. Standing above them was an enormous, forty-foot-tall monster, with grey skin, and dark stripes running along his body. The humanoid creature's four eyes were yellow like a wolf's, and he had an unkempt mane of black hair, and a scraggly beard. His tail was long like a cedar tree with a hairy black tuft, and his mouthful of fangs were stained with fresh red blood.
This monster was Grendel the Grisly, an ancient, insane size-shifter feared across Mewni for centuries. Grendel was known for his gluttonous appetite; He devoured mewmans, monsters and animals alike just to sate his never-ending hunger...but this was his first taste of human.
"Mmm, new meat." Grendel slobbered, as he licked the blood of his latest victim off his lips.
"ANDY!" Wanda screamed in abject horror; She could hardly comprehend what she was seeing, and she wished it was just a horrible nightmare. Unfortunately, it was all too real. To make things worse, Grendel was now aware of two larger morsels on the ground below him.
"FLESH!" The size-shifter snapped. He reached his massive arm down to grab Wanda, who was paralyzed with fear. However, her husband courageously pushed her away, and let the monster take him instead.
"Run, Wanda, RUN!" Malcolm warned, as the titanic terror raised him up towards his mouth. The Englishwoman hurriedly fled the forest with tears in her eyes, not looking back; Her stomach churned when he heard Malcolm's last scream, which was suddenly cut off by the sound of a bone-snapping crunch. She re-entered her vehicle and raced down the road as fast as she could to escape the sinister size-shifter.
Today was the worst day in the life of Wanda Watts; She'd lost her beloved husband and son to a malicious monster, and the entire landscape of Darby Glen was now merged with an unknown alien world. Today, an innocent family died, and a powerful tyrant was born...
After hearing the reason why Wanda created her totalitarian corporate regime, both Moon and Star were speechless. Tears began to well in the former princess's eyes; For weeks she had underlying feelings of guilt for being the cause behind the Cleaving, but now it was worse than ever.
"I'm so sorry...I know exactly how you feel. When I was a girl, my mother was killed by-" Moon tried to console Wanda, but it backfired horribly.
"Don't act so sympathetic, Butterfly! I know you and your wretched kin are why the worlds have merged! The blood of my family and countless others is on your hands!" Wanda furiously ranted, then coldly gazed towards heartbroken Star.
"And you, Star...you disgust me. You act like you're an amazing hero, but with all the damage you've caused, you will never redeem yourself."
Star let out a hurtful whimper, and Moon glared at the audacious autocrat. "Now your boyfriend's a cold, unfeeling monster, who will be put down like that bastard giant before him. And once he's dead...you'll finally feel the heartbreak I have to live with every day, just as you deserve."
At this point, poor Star broke down crying. Infuriated, Moon let loose and slapped Wanda across the face as hard as she could, leaving a red mark on her cheek. Moon wanted to verbally destroy the woman just as she did to her beloved daughter, but she had a higher priority; Comforting Star.
"Violence. It's all you freaks are good at." Wanda seethed. Moon said nothing, and wrapped her arm around her crying daughter's shoulder, then walked her outside. Now that she was alone, Wanda activated her hands-free cellphone to call an important relative; Her electrifying sister-in-law.
"Indra, are you alright?"
"I left the compound, but Remus and Richard were captured."
"Forget them; There's a monster on the loose, and it's your job to kill it..."
Back in the main lobby of the WattWorks' company's subterranean level, multiple things were happening; River and Moon were comforting their heartbroken daughter, Austin was tending to Sabrina's injuries, and Globgor and Buff Frog were tying Ringmaster and Steel Wolf to a pole, so they couldn't escape.
On a bench in the corner of the room, Tom was sitting down, holding an unconscious Janna in his arms. Tom was feeling incredibly worried; Less than half an hour ago, poor Janna was injected with WattWorks' Ichor, a potent substance created by refining corrupted magic in a machine. The last thing she did before fainting was unlock a strange, seemingly magical new power...
Eventually, Janna slowly awoke with a faint, confused moan, much to Tom's relief.
"Janna, thank goodness you're okay!" The demon prince cheered, and hugged his girlfriend as tight as he could, causing her to blush; In addition, her green, eye-shaped cheek marks were now glowing a bright green.
"Ugh, what happened?" Janna inquired, feeling dazed and confused.
"Marco's gone rogue! The stuff they put in him brought back the Monster Arm!"
"Wait, that thing's back?"
"He took over Marco's body, and tried to kill Star...but you stopped him." Tom stated, surprising his girlfriend.
"Wait, WHAT? How'd I do that?"
"See for yourself." Tom opened the camera app on his phone, and showed Janna her reflection; The occult-obsessed teen gasped when she saw those emerald ocular marks on her cheeks.
"I have magic now? Holy crap, that's awesome!" Janna thrust out her hands in an attempt to use her powers once again, but to her disappointment, she was unable to use them. "Ugh, what gives? Why won't you work, stupid magic?" Looks like Janna had a ways to go with accessing her mysterious new abilities...
While Janna kept attempting to unlock her mystical powers, Austin was comforting his unfortunate girlfriend Sabrina, who had broken both legs in a fight against the dastardly Ringmaster.
"I'm so sorry, this is my fault! If we didn't go on our mission, you wouldn't-" That was far as Austin went, when Sabrina pressed her finger to his lips to shush him.
"It's okay, Austin. You did what you had to do. Besides, worse things've happened to me." Sabrina retorted, then held her boyfriend's hand to ease his stress. "I'm sorry about Marco."
"I don't know what to do. Marco's my best friend, and that monster's controlling him like a freakin' puppet. How are we going to stop him?"
"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out...you're an Earth-Ni Protector." Sabrina leaned up and kissed Austin on the cheek, then they shared a loving embrace. Not long after, Star approached the couple with her parents following close behind. Austin felt absolutely awful for his teammate; She'd dealt with Marco going rogue back when Commander Cobalt hypnotized him into attacking her. However, this case was even worse, because this time, she knew it was him.
"Austin!" The former princess called out. "We need to save Marco! What can we do to help him?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing, I've got no idea what to do!" The teen engineer replied; Since he left Echo Creek after the Dauntless Crisis, he had little experience with anything magical.
"Oh, this is awful!" Star hopelessly cried. "If I still had magic I could've saved him, but we just had to destroy it!" Upon hearing their daughters' pained, heat-of-the-moment remark, Moon and River comforted their distressed daughter once more.
"That's not true, Star. There's still some magic left." Tom spoke, and gestured to Janna.
"Oh my gosh, Janna! I forgot you have powers now!" Star joyously exclaimed; The raven-haired girl had now become a ray of hope during the team's darkest hour.
"Oh...sorry to rain on everyone's parade, but I don't even know how to use them! Sorry, Star, but right now I'm useless." Janna moaned. While Tom and Star refuted their friend's claim to make her feel better, Austin noticed something strange. Star's demolished Magitech wand was lying on the floor, and a strangely familiar fluid was leaking out from the ruined tool. He wasn't sure what it was, until everything clicked.
"Wait a minute!" Austin exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "Star, that liquid in your wand's the same thing that gave Marco and Janna their powers. They were gonna inject me too, but you saved me before they could do it!" His realization caused Star to put two and two together.
"So that means..."
"There's one dose of Ichor left. It could bring your powers back!" Janna added.
"I dunno, bringing back magic's the last thing I want to do."
"But that's the thing; It'll only affect you." Austin assured.
"And there's no one who deserves it more than you." River added, causing his beloved daughter to smile warmly.
"Alright, I'll do it. For Marco..."
While Star was in the laboratory for her much-needed Ichor injection, Austin and Moon were waiting outside, the latter now geared up in his Maroon outfit. This wasn't an ideal pairing, as Austin distrusted and detested the undaunted queen...until today.
"Umm, Mrs. Butterfly?" Austin meekly queried, breaking the awkward silence.
"...Yes?" Moon sighed exhaustively, expecting another rant over the betrayal she regretted so deeply.
"Look, I saw what you did in the fight against Wanda; You laid down your own life to save your daughter. I know we don't get along, but I just wanted to tell you...you have my respect."
"And you have mine as well." The former queen retorted, causing Austin to smile; Looks like their fences were finally beginning to mend. But all of a sudden, both of them jumped when they heard an exclamation coming from the laboratory.
"NARWHAL BLAST!"
Lo and behold, the door was broken to pieces when a cavalcade of cartoony-looking narwhals launched through it. Out of the doorway stepped Star Butterfly; Her heart-shaped cheek marks had returned, her left hand was surrounded by magical blue energy, and her right hand was gloved in a Rainbow Fist glove. She had a determined smile on her face, and she was flanked by her fellow Protectors; Janna and Tom.
"Alright, team. Let's save my boo!"
Madness! On the dark streets of Los Angeles, the now corrupted Monster-Marco was on a brutal rampage through the crowded city, terrorizing innocent civilians all the while. He swung from building to building with his long, sticky tentacles, when a brigade of police officers fired at him from the parking lot of the California Science Museum.
Marco let out a vicious snarl, and leapt down from a tall building to take on the cops. He lifted their cruiser up with ease, and was about to slam the vehicle on them, when he was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning, knocking him back. His assailant was a familiar foe levitating in the sky above; None other than Lady Lightning herself, Indra Watts!
"Well, looks like I get another chance to kill you. And the people will praise me for it." Indra spoke, feeling high and mighty.
"Unlike my host, I'm man enough to do what he never could; End your life."
"Prepare to be fried, Calamari."
"BRING IT ON, SPARKY!" Monster-Marco snapped. The mystical monster leapt up to attack Indra, who charged herself up with bio-electricity. A brutal battle had just begun; A fight of villain versus villain...
Meanwhile, the four remaining Protectors were flying through the skies, hot on the trail of their possessed teammate. Unfortunately, the Star-Tacular Seven had disbanded; Sabrina was rushed to the hospital, while Moon and River stayed behind to watch over their captive enemies. Globgor and Buff Frog took Tom's carriage back to Echo Creek, as LA wasn't as used to monsters as the cleaved city; They didn't want the cops to mistake them for the bad guys.
Star was riding through the air on Nachos the dragon-cycle, with Austin holding onto her. Tom was flying with his demon powers as usual, with Janna in his arms.
"Obviously, I'm new to this whole "magic powers" thing. Got any advice?" Janna queried.
"Well...it takes a lot of practice to get right, trust me. But there's only one spell you need to know right now...which I can't seem to remember." Star sheepishly admitted. The spell that reverses the Monster Arm affliction was one she forgot soon after the original incident, as she assumed she'd never have to use it again. Just her luck..
"LOOK!" Austin exclaimed; He pointed to the nearby Science Museum, where the team could see Monster-Marco duking it out with his electrical enemy.
"There's Marco! And that electro-girl!" Tom added.
"Come on, we haven't got a moment to lose!" Star commanded, as she steered Nachos down to the museum's parking lot. Tom followed her with Janna in tow; This could very well be their toughest fight yet...
In the science museum's expansive aerospace exhibit, Lady Lightning was on the losing end of a fight against Monster-Marco. The cloaked villainess wildly fired bolts of electricity at her tentacled foe, but he dodged her strikes by swinging on an enormous space shuttle hanging from the ceiling of the room.
The possessive parasite used the ship as leverage to swing towards Indra, then he grabbed her with one of his tentacled arms, and slammed her against a wall. Indra tried to fight back, but she was exhausted, and couldn't muster the power to defend herself.
"Looks like you've lost the fight, Lightning. But that's not the only thing you're going to lose." Monster-Marco snarled, then adhered his tentacles to his enemy's head. His orange eyes and cheek marks began to glow brightly, and an orange glow fell across on Indra's face. Her azure X-bolt cheek marks began to fade away, until they were all but gone. Injured and exhausted, the defeated, depowered villainess fell unconscious.
"Your magic was delicious, but your flesh will be even tastier." The demonic entity ravenously growled. But before the purple-skinned monster could devour his powerless prey, he was struck in the head by a Rainbow Fist Blast. The Earth-Ni Protectors had arrived just in time!
"Sorry, Marco!" Star impulsively chirped, feeling bad for hurting her boyfriend. Monster-Marco ferociously hissed and glared towards the teammates of his hated host.
"Well, if it isn't my meat puppet's battle buddies...and his little dragon-cycle, too. You're all powerless against me."
"I know you're still in there, Marco! You can fight it, I believe in you!" Star pleaded to her corrupted love.
"He can't hear you, princess. I have complete and total control of Marco's body."
"Then we'll just have to rip you out of him." Tom retorted, then cracked his knuckles.
"Bring it on, demon-boy." Marco taunted, as he bared his razor-sharp teeth. The four Protectors prepared for a battle with their fallen friend, when Janna suddenly got a genius idea; Her ace in the hole against Marco, which could end the fight before it could even begin. So, she loudly exclaimed the two words that could take down the malicious Monster Arm:
"CHICKEN BUTT!"
Surprisingly, nothing happened. Usually, that phrase would cause Marco to temporarily faint, but this was the odd exception. All her utterance did was divert the possessed boy's wrathful gaze towards her, which chilled the troublesome teen's bones.
"Foolish temptress. I'm immune to your little tricks, which caused my host such savory frustration. It's time I did him a favor, and got rid of you." The parasite then ferociously growled and leapt up to attack Janna.
"Rainbow Blast! Cupcake Strike! Kitten Punch?" Janna held out her hands and tried to cast spells, but to her disappointment, nothing worked. However, Tom came to his girlfriend's rescue by flying towards Marco and tackling him into the model space shuttle.
"Leave her alone!" The half-demon snapped. "Get the hell out of Marco's body, or I'll-"
"You'll what, Lucitor? What would Star think of you incinerating her precious squeeze?" Monster-Marco guilt-tripped, causing Tom to momentarily pause. He used that moment of weakness to throw the demon off of him, knocking him into a hanging model of the planet Venus.
All of a sudden, Marco was struck with a narwhal-blast from Star, which knocked him off the shuttle. He caught himself with his sticky tentacles, and dodged Austin's wrist-shots. Austin entangled his possessed pal in a whip-cord, but the demonic avatar quickly broke free and struck the helmeted hero down.
Star and Austin continued to tussle with Monster-Marco, and both of them were clearly holding back so they wouldn't hurt their friend. While they fought, Janna hid behind one of the exhibit's display boards, as she tried to get her powers to work.
"Abracadabra! Hocus Pocus? Alakazam?" No dice for any of those popular parlor phrases. "Darn it, what gives? I finally have real magic, but I can't even use it!" Janna complained. She peeked out from her hiding place and saw Star and Austin losing their fight against Marco. She was unsure how to help them, until she spotted Nachos nervously shuddering nearby.
Janna sprinted towards her friend's trusty steed, and hastily mounted it. However, the extraterrestrial reptile let out a discordant growl and tried to shake her off.
"Woah girl, what is it? Did safe kid train you not to trust me, or something? I really need your help right now!" Janna frustratedly exclaimed. Nachos just whimpered, and Janna quickly realized what was wrong.
"Oh, I get it. I know you don't wanna hurt your owner. But Marco's in trouble, and we need to save him. So, are you gonna help or not?"
The fight between the other three Protectors and Monster-Marco had found its way to a different part of the museum; The undersea exhibit. It was an ocean-themed room with aquariums full of fish and other sea life; Fitting, considering Marco's new, cephalopod-esque appearance.
Star, Tom and Marco all fired towards Marco with their respective ranged attacks, but the wily parasite used his enhanced speed and agility to avoid their fire, then hung from the ceiling by his tentacles.
"What's the matter? Afraid to hurt poor little Marco? He's GONE!"
"LIAR!" Tom shouted, as he flew towards Monster-Marco and tackled him.
"You need to cool off, hothead." Marco extended one of his tentacles, and used it to pull both him and Tom into the depths of one of the exhibit's cold, salty aquariums. Now that the demonic weresquid was in his element, he wrapped his arms around his demon foe, and began drowning him. Tom struggled to break free, but Marco's tentacular grip was tight as a boa constrictor's.
Star acted fast, and exclaimed "MEGA NARWHAL BLAST!" The magical marine mammals broke through the aquarium glass, causing it to spill out Tom, Marco and some incredibly unfortunate fish. While Tom coughed up water, Marco lunged at Star and Austin, and wrapped his tentacles around their throats.
"Now I have you right where I want you."
"F-fight it, M-marco!" Star sputtered, as the demon's grip grew tighter around her windpipe.
"He's gone, princess! And he'll never return!" Return! That keyword jumpstarted Star's memories, and she finally recalled the spell she needed to reverse the Monster Arm spell. However, she couldn't utter the incantation with a slimy tentacle wrapped around her throat...
Just when all seemed lost, a certain hooded savior rode into the exhibit on Nachos, and thrust one of her electrified Kali sticks towards Marco's back, shocking him and loosening his deadly vice-grip.
"Can't believe I wanted that to be my boyfriend." The Snatcher scoffed. Now that he was weakened, Star kicked Monster-Marco off of her, and wasted no time in casting the reversal spell.
"RETURNIUS ARMICUS NORMALRINO!
With those three words, a blue beam emanated from Star's hand, and struck Marco. Immediately, his skin lost its purple color, his eyes and cheek marks stopped glowing, and his tentacles reverted to normal human arms. Seemingly cured of his demonic possession, Marco fell to the ground unconscious, and Star quickly rushed to his aid.
"Marco! Are you okay?" Lady Butterfly worried. Marco slowly opened his eyes, and looked at her longingly. But without warning, his eyes and cheek marks flashed orange once more, and the heroic teen screamed as he mutated back into the monster he hated, much to everyone's abject horror.
"Nice try, Butterfly!" The parasite growled in his deep, gravelly voice.
"H-h-how did you survive that?"
"I evolved. Can't get rid of me the same way twice." Monster-Marco lashed out his tentacles, and struck Star once more, knocking her to the edge of the room. Maroon thrust his razor-sharp wrist-blades towards the magical monster, but he parried each jab, and threw him at Tom, taking both boys out. Now, only Janna remained.
"I'll kill you first, 'cause you're only human." Marco charged towards Janna, who defensively held out her Kali sticks to fend him off. But to her surprise, strange green energy emanated from the combat rods, and her eye-shaped cheek marks began glowing. Out of pure instinct, she thrust out her sticks, and fired two green energy blasts at Marco, stopping the possessed teen in his tracks.
"Holy crap, that actually worked!" The surprised vigilante exclaimed, as Marco got back up and leered towards her.
"A human with dark magic? Seems I underestimated y-" Monster-Marco remarked, when he was suddenly struck by another magic blast from Janna's Kali sticks. The fact that her attack worked again made her realize the key to her powers; Those sticks were a conduit for her powers, like a makeshift wand!
Now, Janna was starting to get the hang of her uncanny abilities. She continued to thrust green energy bolts at Marco with her sticks, then fired a concentrated beam of magic at the parasitic predator. Marco used his tentacles to tank the blast, and slowly pushed onward, getting closer to his raven-haired foe with every step, until he was near enough to disarm the magic-wielder of her conduits. Once Janna was unarmed, he grabbed her with one of his tentacles, and slammed her to the ground.
"All that power, and you've barely scratched the surface." The tentacled demon remarked. "And that power will be mine for the feasting." Monster-Marco was about to drain the magic from Janna's body, when he was struck in the back by a rainbow-colored fist.
"If you want magic so much, then take some of mine!" Star shouted, then fired a Cupcake Blast at her corrupted boyfriend. Monster-Marco wiped the cupcake frosting off his slimy violet face, and snarled.
"Petulant princess! Your boyfriend is beyond saving!"
"You have no idea what I'm capable of." Star then closed her eyes, and her cheek marks began to glow brightly. She magically transformed into an elaborate yellow outfit, grew four additional arms, and golden butterfly wings sprouted from her back; For the first time since the destruction of magic, she was in her powerful Butterfly form! Her teammates were awestruck by her transformation, especially Austin; He'd never seen her do it before. Marco, however, was unimpressed.
"You're not the only one who can transform." Monster-Marco's eyes and cheek marks lit up, and four additional tentacles burst out from the mutated martial artist's back, much to the disgust of his friends-turned-foes. He lashed all six of his tentacles at Star, but she cast a shielding spell to protect herself, then flew up and fired rays of magic at him. Marco swiftly evaded her attacks, and smashed through the museum's ceiling, then climbed up the roof. Star flew up to follow the parasite, which meant she had to fight her beloved boyfriend alone...
Monster-Marco swung across the skyscrapers of Los Angeles like a monstrous version of Spider-Man, while Lady Butterfly chased him through the air. Star cast every spell she could think of, but the agile were-squid was too quick for her.
"RASPBERRY RIBBON LASSO!" At Star's command, a red ribbon rope shot out from one of her hands, and manage to ensnare Marco's torso. She then reeled him in like a trophy trout to her position; She was hovering five feet above the roof of a towering building. Unfortunately, it backfired when Marco rooted his back tentacles to the ground, and pulled both magic-wielders down with a crash. While the mewman was dazed, he constricted her with his deadly tentacles, with a mocking grin on his face.
"Oh, Butterfly. For such a pathetic princess, you did one thing right; You created me." Monster-Marco prepared to deliver a killing bite to Star's jugular, when he was suddenly hit in the face by a bolt of green energy, stunning him. Star looked to where it came from, and became overjoyed when he saw Tom, Janna and Austin were riding atop Nachos!
While Marco was distracted, Star punched him off of her with her rainbow-gloved fist, and got back up.
"You saved me!"
"That's what we're here for." Austin replied. The trio of teen heroes leapt off Marco's trusty steed, and joined Star on the roof of the tower.
"So, what's the plan?" Janna queried.
"Immobilize Marco by any means possible; I figured out how to save him." The four heroes then worked in tandem against their corrupted comrade, attacking him as a team, whilst evading the lashes of his tentacles.
Maroon snuck up behind Marco, swept his legs and restrained two of his back tentacles with his whip-cords. Tom landed at Marco's side, and held his other dorsal limbs down with his demonic super-strength. Janna held out her Kali sticks, and cast an incantation she made on her own:
"SHADOW SERPENT SNARE!"
On that cue, a black snake made of shadowy magic darted out of Janna's sticks, and coiled around Marco, pinning down his tentacle arms.
"Your first spell! I'm so proud of you, babe!" Tom cheered, making his newly-magical girlfriend smile. Now that Monster-Marco was completely restrained, it was Star's time to shine. She approached Marco with a determined expression on her face, and placed her six glowing hands on his cheeks, shoulders and torso. Then, she leaned in close to Marco's ear, and began quietly reciting an incantation that struck terror in the magical monster's blood; The Whispering Spell.
"No! NO! You can't kill me, Princess! YOU WON'T KILL ME!" As the monster struggled to break free, the Protectors tightened their grip on him so that Star could work her magic. The violet hues began to fade from Marco's skin, and his razor-sharp teeth quickly dulled back to normal; The spell was working!
However, Monster-Marco had one last dirty trick up his sleeve. He let out a vicious growl and broke free from the grip of his captors, just as his four dorsal tentacles faded away. He then adhered his remaining tentacles to Star's shoulders, and snarled.
"If I'm going down, your magic's going with me!" Marco's orange crescent-marks glowed brightly, as he began voiding the magic from Star's body. Her whispering turned to strained groaning, but the Butterfly remained steadfast and kept repeating her spell. As Star faded out of her Butterfly form, the Monster Arm began to lose control over his host.
In the mind of his avatar, the Monster Arm was panicking in terror over his looming demise.
"No, no, NO! This is not the end! I was meant to be all-powerful! I was meant to be IMMORTAL!" The magical parasite raved, when he was suddenly struck right in his eye by a powerful kick, courtesy of Marco Diaz. The Protector was free from his mental restraints, and the crescents on his cheek were brightly shining.
"You were meant to die." Marco refuted, seething with anger for everything that bastard beast did to his friends.
"This is impossible! I'm always a part of you, there is no cur-" The tentacled demon couldn't even finish his sentence when Marco stepped on his face.
"There is a cure, and her name is Star Butterfly." Marco proudly spoke. The Monster Arm then faded to dust under Marco's feet, much to the squire's satisfaction...
Back in the plane of reality, Star had finished her final spell, which completely cured her boyfriend of his perilous parasite. Both of their cheek marks were the final remnants of magic to fade from their bodies; Once the spell was over, Star fainted on top of her unconscious beloved.
The other three heroes quickly gathered around their unconscious teammates to make sure they were okay. There were a few seconds of tense silence, when Marco suddenly awoke much to everyone's relief.
"STAR!" Marco uneasily exclaimed, as he jolted up in shock. Once he saw Star lying on the ground unconscious, his heart skipped a beat. As he began to fear the worst, Tom, Janna and Austin all tried their best to comfort him.
"Come on, wake up, wake up!" Marco panicked. Janna took a knee next to Star, and placed a couple fingers on her wrist.
"Don't worry, she's still got a pulse." The occultist assured, slightly easing her friend's tensions. Moments later, a miracle happened; Star opened her eyes, and gazed into the eyes of her beautiful boyfriend. Overjoyed, Marco hugged Star as hard as he could, and she did the same.
"Oh, Marco! I missed you so much!" Star crowed, as tears of joy began streaming down her cheeks.
"Star, I am so sorry for-" Marco attempted to apologize for all the wrongs that demon had done with his body, but Star shut him up by passionately kissing him on the lips.
"This wasn't your fault, Marco. None of this was your fault." Star hugged Marco again to ease his pain, and ran her fingers through his hair. Then, Marco perked up when he heard a familiar growl that felt like music to his ears. Mere moments later, he was tackled and lovingly licked by Nachos, who was overjoyed to finally reunite with her master.
"Nachos? I missed you so much, Boo-Boo! How'd you get here?"
"Star and I found her while you were on your mission. She was just itching to see you again." Tom retorted, as Marco hugged his beloved dragon-cycle.
"Glad to have you back, buddy." Austin kindly spoke.
"Ditto." added Janna.
"Oh, you guys are the best!" Marco group-hugged the friends who saved and redeemed him, which was a little awkward since the top half of his costume got torn up from his mutation. Still, he was glad to be free of that monster, and back with the ones he loved.
As for Star, she admittedly felt rather sad that her powers were gone, but that didn't matter. With or without magic, she and Marco belonged together...
Ten days passed since the Los Angeles Incident, and the winds of change came with it. Janna exposed WattWorks' dirty secrets to the federal government, and the supervillain trio was arrested, this time for real. Even Wanda Watts was taken into custody; She was taken back to the United Kingdom, and was placed on house arrest to await her trial.
With Watts gone, her rules and robots went with her. The company's authoritarian regime was repealed, and the displaced mewmans and monsters returned to their rightful homes in Echo Creek. Now, work was being done to give the same freedoms to the denizens of Mewni who ended up in other parts of the world.
As for Star and Marco, the Protectors' power couple have been taking it easy. After their grueling ordeal in LA, Austin let them take a much-needed "staycation," where they could relax, recuperate, and refrain from their hero duties until they were ready to take up their mantles once more.
On a bright and sunny Earth-Ni afternoon, the couple who cleaved the worlds had just left the office of Star's therapist; Star had been going to therapy since the aftermath of the Echo-Palooza battle, and Marco joined her after his traumatic experience with the Monster Arm. Currently, they were walking through the parking lot hand-in-hand, glad to still have each other after all they'd been through.
"Wow, that really took a load off our chests, eh, Marco?" Star remarked, and her boyfriend agreeingly nodded. "So, what should we do next? Explore the woods? See a movie? Play with your sweet baby sister?"
"Why don't we pay Austin a visit?"
"You read my mind, Marco, you read my mind." The mewman girl retorted. Marco loudly whistled, and his trusty steed Nachos rushed out of some nearby bushes she was hiding in.
"After you." Marco politely spoke, when Star picked him up, and sat him on the dragon-cycle's saddle. Then, she mounted the reptilian creature, and tightly wrapped her arms around his stomach.
"Ooh! Looks like someone's abs are coming back!" Star teased, making her boyfriend lightly blush. Moments later, the couple took off into the air, and Star hollered with joy as she held tighter to Marco. As they rode through the skies of the cleaved city, they saw various familiar faces on the ground below.
At the town's skate park, Jackie and Chloe were boarding it up with their skater crew. Globgor was using his size-shifting powers to build houses at Desmond's construction site. In New Monstertown, they saw familiar faces like Buff Frog and his kids, as well as Ludo and Dennis. They were particularly surprised to see their biggest critic, the artistic troll Vogg Offal, painting a beautiful mural of the Earth-Ni Protectors; Looks like their thwarting of WattWorks' regime changed his tune for the better. Lastly, they even ran into Moon and River, who were riding the latter's eagle in the opposite direction. The former royals waved to their daughter, so Star and Marco did the same.
The couple's romantic dragon-cycle ride soon came to an end, and they parked Nachos outside the front porch of the Capers household. The dynamic duo then walked up the porch and knocked on the door, which was opened momentarily by exactly the person they expected.
"Star, Marco! Good to see you, how's your day going?" Austin queried.
"Good, thanks for asking!" Star retorted.
"Star and I thought we'd pay you a visit." Marco added.
"Then come inside, make yourself at home!" Star and Marco took off their shoes, and the three teens headed into the living room. There, Eclipsa was teaching Janna a lesson in dark magic, while Tom took care of baby Meteora.
"Levitato!" Janna exclaimed, as she pointed her Kali sticks towards a stuffed animal sitting on the coffee table. A field of green energy surrounded the doll, and she used her sticks to lift it up, and dropped it next to Meteora, who was sitting next to Tom. The hybrid baby hugged her beloved toy, and everyone applauded Janna's successful spell.
"Excellent job, darling. You're a true natural." Eclipsa commended.
"That's my magical girlfriend." Tom kissed Janna on the cheek, causing her to blush as her eye-shaped marks glowed. Between dating a demon prince and learning magic from the Queen of Darkness, Janna Ordonia was living a life beyond her wildest dreams.
"I'm still not used to you having dark magic powers." Marco uttered; He was admittedly apprehensive about the only magic wielder on the planet being Janna, of all people.
"Well, as long as you don't abuse it, it's fine by me." Star remarked.
"Define abuse." Janna quipped, when Austin turned on the TV. To everyone's surprise, there was a breaking news alert; The Royals Red had just escaped from prison, and were on the loose!
"Oh, come on! We just locked them up a few weeks ago!" Tom complained.
"Hey, I've learned some new spells I've been dying to try." The mage-in-training schemed.
"Then let's get out there, and put 'em back where they belong." Austin spoke, then turned to Star and Marco. "You two can stay here if you want."
"Thanks, buddy, but I think it's time for our "stay-cation" to end. You ready, Marco?"
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"Then you'll need these." Austin reached behind the couch, and tossed some special custom-made gear to the couple. Star's gift was an ornate pink bow with gold accents, plus a quiver full of special arrows.
"You like it? Your father told me you were quite the archer. And Marco, your gift is something I'm sure you'll find familiar." Marco looked at his present with awe; It was a sharp metal sword with a custom hilt modeled after Marco's version of the Butterfly Wand.
"Woah, this is awesome!" Marco exclaimed, as he gently swayed the sword around. Austin then handed them their respective Magitech rings, which contained their repaired superhero costumes. Both teens slipped the rings on their index fingers, and knew it was time to return to their calling: Fighting for justice, peace and liberty for all. So, without further ado, the five teen superheroes exclaimed the words that turned them into the heroes Echo Creek knew and loved; The Earth-Ni Protectors.
"HERO UP!"
And that's the end of Book Two! Man, this was an absolute BLAST to write. Now that it's over, here's some behind-the-scenes info!
Originally, I thought of scrapping my plan for Book Two and going straight to Book Three, because the original plot wasn't that good. Three supervillains named Ringmaster, Lady Lightning and Meltdown, who were all enemies of Maroon, came down from Parkersburg to cause trouble in Echo Creek. However, the story got WAY better with the addition of four plot elements; WattWorks, the Sabrina x Austin romance, Janna's dark magic abilities, and the return of the Monster Arm.
Also, I'd like to announce my next upcoming project, which is sure to pique your interest. This tale is set three hundred years prior to the mainline SVTFOE series, and shines light on a dark and mysterious time in Mewni's history; The events that led to Globgor's grievous attack on the Spiderbite Kingdom, and his subsequent crystallization. Details on the fall of Eclipsa's family may be sparse, but everything will finally be revealed in a tragic tale of love, loss, revenge and regret...
"Prince of Darkness" - STARTING APRIL 21ST, 2021
Anyways, thanks for reading "Maroon and the Earth-Ni Protectors!" Be sure to leave a review, and have a great rest of your day! But before you go, there's one last special surprise: The "Post-Credits Scene" of Heroes and Villains...
The multiple moons and countless shining stars of Earth-Ni were shining down upon a land where dimensions cleaved...but not the one you're familiar with. One of the handful of places to cleave with a part of Mewni was the mountainous Bandada region of Chile. High up in the mountains was what was formerly a small village...until the Cleaving. Now, it was known as New Avarius.
The abandoned church's new owners were two quite unsightly kappas; Lord Brudo and Lady Avarius. In the chaos of the Cleaving, the disgraced royals convinced a following of impoverished monsters to overtake the village, and turn it into an isolationist monster settlement for them to rule. Currently, the two rulers were sitting on thrones in their "palace"; A large church at the northmost edge of town.
"Milord, milady, your dinner is served." A fish-like butler offered the Avariuses some plates containing a strange Earth dish the local humans enjoyed. Lord Brudo was not impressed, as he swatted the platters away as soon as he saw them.
"Bah, what is that dreck?" Brudo scoffed.
"Empanadas, my lord. The local humans-"
"The humans are beneath us, we don't eat their rubbish! Now make us some real food, or else you're out!" The butler stormed out of the royals' quarters, and Brudo turned to his wife.
"What has this world come to? One day everything's normal, and the next, all of Mewni's stuck to some horrific joke of a planet!"
"Do you think he has anything to do with it?" Lady Avarius questioned; While she didn't mention the subject by name, it was obvious who she was talking about, by the scorn in her voice.
"Of course not. That runt could never do something as momentous as that." Brudo sneered, when the whole settlement was shook to its core by a mighty explosion. The shockwave of the blast knocked both kappas out of their seats, and onto the creaky wooden floor. The sounds of screaming were heard outside, as was the yelling of unknown voices, and lastly, strange crackling noises they'd never heard in their lives.
Without warning, the doors were kicked down, and six men stormed the ramshackle church. The men were all wearing the same outfit; They had on long blue tops with black armored vests over them, black pants with various tactical pockets, dark-colored combat boots, and gloves to match. Their faces were masked by coal-colored combat helmets with blue-tinted goggle visors, and they were all armed with P416 assault rifles. The troopers all pointed their guns at the terrified royals, and prepared to open fire.
While the troopers had the Avariuses in their laser sights, a mysterious figure stepped into the building. He wore a black hooded trenchcoat that cloaked his face in shadows, and beneath it was attire similar to what his subordinates wore.
"What is the meaning of this, you savage thugs!" Lady Avarius shouted.
"Heh, they think we're the savages." One of the troopers remarked.
"We're defenders of humanity, here to exterminate the pests infesting this village." The man of mystery spoke.
"This is my kingdom, and you will not disrespect m-" Brudo jeered, when the mysterious leader pointed his arms towards the two Avariuses. He snapped his fingers, and two blue blasts of energy fired out of mechanical bracelets mounted on his wrists. The first shot killed Lady Avarius where she lay; The second had mortally wounded Lord Brudo.
The cryptic warrior stepped closer to the dying kappa, who shuddered and gasped in fright.
"W-who are you?" Lord Brudo cried. The warlord removed his hood, revealing his true face. He was a rugged, middle-aged black man, with striking features; Long, black hair grown out into a thin ponytail, a coarse beard, and a scar that ran straight across his right cheek. He scornfully looked down at the fallen lord, and activated a metal blade that jutted out from his wrist-mounted device. After all, what good was slaying his enemy without letting him know his killer's name?
"My name is Oberon Capers, and we are Cobalt Watch..."
BOOK THREE: RESURGENCE
COMING JUNE 2021
