AN: I started writing this story during the middle of season 3, so there are definitely inconsistencies with the show. I tried to supplement the new information where I could without destroying the plot, but there are spots where I couldn't. Regardless, I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

-G

Chapter 1

Master of Puppets

You know that feeling when you've royally screwed up? Not like the 'I stepped into a puddle with my socks on' or 'I set the kingdom on fire' kind of screwed up, but the big kind. The kind where no matter what you end up saying or doing, it will come back and haunt you for the rest of your life, because there's no way to change it. The kind of screw up where each night you wake up in a screaming terror, heart racing and drenched in sweat, only to find yourself focusing on those events that got you there. There is no worse fate than being forced to relive the psychological trauma which haunts every crevice of your mind, body, and soul for the rest of your mortal life. Even so, death won't fix what has already been done. It's the coward's way out. Leaving your own mess for someone else to either clean up or pass on to the next person, until someone might decide to do something about it. This isn't something which should be left for others to deal with. This is my own mess, and I'll be the one to fix it. There is no length I wouldn't go in order to save the love of my life. I just hope that what I'm about to do doesn't doom us all.

/ ... - ... / ... - ... / ... - ... /

A large shadow-cloaked figure entered the dark room and started making its way toward the lone, dimly lit table at the center. The room was encompassed in swirling vortexes of vibrant hues which flowed like the twisting arms of galaxies. The shadow spoke to a small, cloaked, one armed creature who was already seated and rhythmically tapping against the wood in front of it.

"So, I see you've finally made it to The Aether. It's a miracle that you've gotten this far. Your feeble body shouldn't have remained in one piece during the rematerialization process. Regardless, you will not be able to bear the burden this dimension requires of its inhabitants." The shadow spoke condescendingly as it pulled out a chair across from the small creature and stared down at the creature. "Before this is through, you will be dead, and I will reclaim what was taken from me." The shadow glanced at the checkerboard pattern centered on the table and hummed. "But for now I suppose we're stuck with this. You know, it's quite interesting where this game originated. During the creation of this dimension, the gods wanted a simple way to determine the fate of mortals. Though, those times have passed, and the old have forsaken this trivial competition."

The small creature met the gaze of the shadow. Its stature mimicked that of a statue; strong, rigid, and unwavering. Though its eyes told a different story entirely. Someone who had seen the worst reality had to offer, and was left to tell the horrid tale. Exhaustion and misery were engulfed by inner turmoil and regret, much like their own.

Small, mirror image pieces materialized on both sides of the board, one in red and one in green. The creature picked up one of the red pieces and examined it. As the piece was twisted and turned, it came to a realization. "It's chess. An old Earth game from over a millennium ago." Placing it back down, the creature looked across the table to the shadow, glaring at the board with discontent. "So, I suppose you've come here wanting to change the events as well?"

The shadow raised its eyes back up to meet its competitor.. "Of course." The creature pulled itself closer to the table and placed both of its elbows on the surface. "But enough with the formalities, if you've gotten this far, then surely you know of the rules to the game."

"Right to business, as always. Of course I know the rules. After collecting the life essence from both of us, we each choose mortals to represent our pieces. We move the pieces according to chess rules, but only the mortals the pieces represent can interact with one another in face to face confrontations and choose whether or not to attack their intended targets. The winner is determined when either player is unable to make a move resulting in their king's freedom.

"If nothing else you're well informed." The shadow started to radiate a dim dark green aura. It drew its thumb up and bit it, allowing blood to spill. The shadow placed its thumb over the top of the game board and let the droplets fall, tainting the pristine board.

The creature followed, but instead became illuminated in a faint red aura. It bit its thumb and let the blood drop and soak into the board.

"And I am sure that you are aware of the cost if the battle is lost?" The shadow questioned.

"I am. But at this point, I'm willing to pay any price to fix what I've broken."

"Very well, then let us begin. Since you arrived first, you may have the first move."

Both competitors began speaking in unison "I hereby place my soul to thee, As I willingly consent to-"

"Woah woah woah!" A floating blue man wrapped in beige robes appeared holding both of his hands up towards the players.

"Glossaryck? What're you doing here? And why are you almost normal sized?" The creature spoke, obviously surprised by the sudden appearance of the blue man.

"Don't start with my size. And ever since those jerks left this little game here, one which I would highly recommend against playing by the way, I was the one 'chosen' to referee any following matches." He crossed his arms and slightly puckered his lips as he recalled the events leading to his delegation. "They should know that all powerful magical beings have too much on their plates to begin with anyway. I can barely have a minute of peace and quiet with my pudding before some schmuck wants to go and change the timeline! No offense my liege." He hunched courtly and the creature nodded back. "Look, all I'm trying to say, is that you should really think twice before entering this sort of agreement." He pointed an accusatory finger.

The creature let out a hefty sigh. Having thought through its plan day and night for weeks on end, it was more than accepting of the fate which would present itself if the creature lost. "I appreciate your concern. I really do. But you know as well as I do that no amount of conduit, normal, or even royal magic can fix this. I need celestial magic. I've tried every other way I could possibly find. I searched far and wide for anything that could help me, but in the end, it didn't even matter. Nothing was changed and none of my wrongs were righted. I can't do this any other way, and I know what'll happen to me if I lose, but I need to do this. I need to do this for them." The creature pulled out a small picture and looked at it with guilt and regret in their eyes and a hollow feeling in their chest. It smoothed its thumb over the varying faces reliving fond memories with each of them. "They may not seem worth trying for to you, but they were my friends. My best friends. My love. I can't turn my back on them when they need me most. Even if it costs me everything, I'll have to try. If I lose, at least I'll know that I gave it my best shot."

Glossaryck sighed and put a hand on the creature's back. "Well if you insist on this incessant stunt, I should at least give you a friendly hint. Sometimes the best move, isn't in your head." He looked back over to the shadow across the table and nodded. Its eyes began to glow green as it stared back at the tiny blue man with an expression of pure hatred. "Why can't these things ever be simple?" Glossaryck muttered. "Alright. I see that you've both paid the price to partake. Have you selected your mortals?"

"Yes." They replied in unison.

"Okay then. I already know that I'm going to regret doing this, but take your oath, and begin."

The shadow and the creature both began, individual auras glowing brighter with each word.

"I hereby place my soul to thee,

As I willingly consent to free

My will and life unto the victor,

Knowing no contract may be stricter.

The changes made will not be known

Those affected cannot be shown

Give me the power of the plane,

To alter reality and play this game."

As the last words were spoken a bright flash of light encompassed the entire room, painting everything angelic white for a split second. As the light retreated, bands of mixed green and red appeared on both player's left wrist.

"Well, now that you're both stuck until someone wins, and more importantly I'm stuck here until someone wins, you'd better start." Glossaryck stated rather impatiently while pulling out a pudding cup. "Seeing as how my other warning fell on deaf ears, I shouldn't be wasting my breath, but, my liege, it's best you don't get attached to your pieces. That could lead to… Let's say, less than stellar outcomes."

"What do you mean?" The creature asked inquisitively.

"Well," Glossaryck began while pointing his cup at the creature "the last time someone was in your position and became rather.. attached to a game piece, they were sucked into the game as a new piece, never to be heard from again. The gods wanted no part of the mortal's fates intertwined with their own, and so it's an unspoken rule that any player violating these conditions does not deserve to hold that power, and is punished accordingly." He shoved a rather large spoonful of pudding into his mouth. "Scho…" He swallowed, "just don't do it, okay?"

"They… Huh?" The creature raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Enough!" The shadow commanded, slamming its fist on the table which emitted a loud echo through the room. It straightened its posture and fixed its shirt, freeing any wrinkles. "This exchange of information is trivial and should've been addressed before the start of the game. The only reason we're here is to duel for our own paths, and unless you decide to resign this instant, we will begin the game." It pointed a finger at Glossaryck "And you. I will hear none of your incessant rambling. Unless your next words are specifically regarding regulations, you will speak no more." Glossaryck put his free hand and cup in the air showing surrender.

"You're right" the creature confirmed, giving full attention to the looming shadow across the board. "And you said that I have the first move." The creature looked down at the board and back to the opponent. 'This is going to be a long game. But there's no game long enough that I wouldn't play to fix what I did and bring you back. I'm coming for you, and you'd better be damn sure that I'll destroy anything in my path to get to you.'

"F1 E3."

/ .- . - ... . .-. /

"Star!" Marco cried as he frantically ran behind her in a desperate attempt to keep pace. Even though Marco was stronger and faster than at fifteen, twenty years old still wasn't quite enough to handle their current situation. The rapid padding of his shoes against the forest floor was strong and elegant as they dashed through brush which began to accumulate on his black pants and red hoodie. "Why would you think that grabbing a stupid jewel from a cave protected by a five-story lizard, bird… THING, would be a good idea!?" Star and Marco continued to dash through the thick jungle, dodging and weaving between the trees. "Your family's rich! Why risk our lives for that thing?" He pointed to the small gemstone glowing in Star's hand. It was pitch black with swirls of deep purple and blue, and speckled white throughout. It glowed with a deep blue aura surrounding it.

"Well if you really must know Marco, it's called Orion's Buckle, and it's not like I can just go out and buy one. Besides, what's better than getting what you want through good old fashioned hard work?" Star gave a bubbly smile to him. They rounded a particularly large tree and ran behind it, pressing their backs against it. Despite their heavy breathing, they heard no sign of the monster chasing them. After a few seconds Star spoke back up. "I think that we gave him the slip."

The monster cried out with a deep bellowing roar that shook the ground they were standing on, causing them to stumble and grab the tree for support.

"Then again, this wouldn't be the first time I was proven wrong…" She shrugged and gave a sheepish smile.

"RUN!" They both screamed. Vibrations from the roar pulsated through their bodies and rang in their ears. They continued to run through the forest in a desperate attempt to lose their pursuer.

A quick look back gave them their first full view of the monster chasing them through the thinning tree line. It stood close to twenty feet high and over five times that in length with the scaly body closely resembling an alligator, but colored a light shade of red. Long sharp spines ran down its back and tail, and massive claws extended from all of its digits. It looked as though it were in plenty of battles before with the multitude of scars all over its body. And if its serrated teeth weren't enough, it began to unfold its dragon-like wings that spanned farther than a jumbo jet. With another deafening roar, it started to beat its powerful wings, snapping any nearby trees as it rose into the sky.

Star skidded to a stop and turned around to face the beast. "Hell Heart Hurricane!" A swirling storm of fire and hearts spiraled out of her wand and raced towards the monster, licking the trees as it expanded. The fire engulfed the flying behemoth as smoke poured out on impact, but only for a moment as it quickly flew out of the attack. The red gator dove directly at Star, stopping about twenty yards from her as it swung its tail towards her. The strike took a chunk out of the ground between them. Star jumped to the side, barely escaping the destruction that was just feet from her. She looked back towards where the tail scraped the ground to see a trench where she was just standing.

The creature dropped to the ground and cried out as it spun its body, whipping its tail at Star. But this time it made contact and propelled her through a few nearby trees. She tumbled across the ground before skidding to a stop in a cloud of dust.

"Star!" Marco saw her lying limply on the ground, too far out of reach. He started running towards her only to be stopped dead in his tracks by the monster landing in front of him. It let out a deafening roar as it touched down. The large creature stared him down with its sharp black eyes and began crawling towards him. Marco tensed up, barely able to breathe with the lump in his throat growing and his stomach in sickenly tight knots. With each passing stomp the creature took the ground sook more and more until a snout was mere feet from Marco, encasing him in heat with each exhalation. Marco closed his eyes tight and turned his head away from the beast expecting to be today's lunch, but nothing happened. He opened his eyes and slowly turned his head back to the beast, silently pleading it to go away. The creature continued to stare him down for a few moments and with one forceful breath, knocked Marco to the ground. The massive reptile opened its wings and with a few mighty beats, began to take to the air. Marco watched from his back as the strong winds ruffled and dislodged the leaves on the surrounding trees as the creature cleared the tree line, flying back toward the temple from which they came.

Marco stood there in shock. He did a quick pat down to make sure that he was actually there and it wasn't just the illusion of death. "I don't understand…" He whispered to himself. "Why would that thing just fly away? I couldn't do anything to it. Especially since Star-" he stopped wide eyed at the sudden realization that his best friend was lying motionless a couple hundred yards away. "STAR!" He yelled as he took off sprinting towards her motionless body. He slid on his knees a few feet away from her and angled her upward as he checked her neck for a pulse, and placed his ear to her mouth where he heard soft but raspy breathing. "Oh thank God." He said while letting out a heavy sigh of relief.

He took a moment to look around and realized that her wand wasn't in her hand. "Better grab that before we leave though." Marco stood up and started looking around for her wand. Not being able to find it anywhere close by, he started moving towards where Star was knocked back by the creature. He spotted something shimmering by the small break in the ground created by the creature's tail and walked over to it to see the gemstone that Star was dead set on retrieving. "All of this for what? A stupid little stone? I guess it looks kinda neat, but definitely not worth getting killed over." He put the stone in his pocket and continued looking around for Star's wand. He found it a few feet away from the small trench and began walking back over towards her. When he got closer he could hear her mumbling something and picked up the pace to get close to her.

"No, the.. Cela- Marco? But..." Star mumbled as she began to stir more and more.

"Star!" Marco yelled as he ran and hunched beside her, helping her sit up.

"Marco? Where- Where are we?" Star's eyes softened as she looked straight up at him. He looks like an angel she thought to herself. Her eyes widened as she tensed up. "Oh no. Did I die?" She began to panic, quickly looking around and then down to her slashed and bruised arms.

"No Star, you're not dead." Marco chuckled. "We're both still alive in this jungle. But that flying alligator thing left. I still don't know why..."

"Wait." She stared at him and pulled him in close. "You beat that thing all by yourself? How?"

"Hey! First off, I'm a little offended that you think I couldn't take that thing on by myself." He half boasted, loosening her grip on him. "And second, I didn't actually do anything. It just landed in front of me, looked at me for a few seconds, and then took off. Almost like I wasn't worth it…" He sighed.

"Oh Marco, I'm sure you could've held your own against the Guardian. I mean, you couldn't have done that much worse than I did." She gave him a big grin, eliciting a small chuckle from Marco.

"Wait." Marco furrowed his brow. "The Guardian? You knew that thing would be there?" He asked accusatively.

"Wellll…" Star began "From what I understood, it would be guarded by a hundred foot flying lizard monster. But come on, those stories are told so often and so differently that I figured it was just some little bird that people had mistaken for a giant monster. I guess they were right after all though." Her gaze fell to the ground and her shoulders slouched. "I'm sorry Marco, I put your life in real danger here. Not like some typical fight against the mediocre monsters we usually face, but against something that could have actually killed you… Killed both of us."

"Hey." Marco crouched down and put a hand on her shoulder, "If I could only go on routine mediocre monster missions with you, then life really wouldn't be all that exciting anyways. I'd much rather have these high risk adventures. I'm a misunderstood bad boy remember?" He smiled at her.

She looked down at the hand on her shoulder then back to where it came from. "Thanks Marco." She said, giving him a soft smile.

"But I'm still the safe kid too. And with the way you're beat up," he gestured to her "I think we should get you back and looked at. Just in case, you know?" Marco stood up and reached his arm out towards her.

"Psh. You're a safe kid through and through." Star laughed, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet as Marco rolled his eyes. "Hold on" Star said as she patted herself down. "Where's my wand? And Orion's Buckle?"

"Oh, while you were passed out I went and grabbed them from where the Guardian hit you." He pointed back to where Star got drilled across the forest. She looked over then back to him and he held both items out for her to take.

"Good. Because if we went through all of this and didn't come back with what we came here for, I would be sooo mad." She grabbed both the wand and gemstone from Marco, placing the stone in her pocket. She looked down at her bruised arms. "I think I might be able to heal myself. I have been getting pretty good at medical spells." She twirled her wand confidently between her fingers before it bounced off her thumb and fell to the ground.

"Mhm." Marco just looked at her, his disbelief highly prominent. "You know, even with your improved skills, I still think that you should leave the healing to the professionals. We wouldn't want another Monster Arm incident." He said while rubbing his right arm.

Star rolled her eyes "Cause temporary damage, and endanger the life and bowels of a child one time and you never get to live it down."

Marco chuckled "Yeah okay, that may have been a low blow. But still, it's probably better you see the healers anyhow. You may have gotten hurt more than you know."

"Ugh. Fine." She said annoyed. Though she continued to stare at him, just waiting for him to move.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He started feeling all over his face trying to find anything that could be wrong.

"No." She deadpanned. "You're the one with the scissors." She pointed to his pocket.

"Oh yeah…" He chuckled sheepishly, pulling out his dimensional scissors and giving them a quick snip. "Well! Let's get you healed up!" He tore a hole through the air, manifesting a portal of swirling blue and white colors and gestured for Star to make her way through.

"Why thank you, my squire." She spoke courtly as she patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" He retorted defensively "You know damn well that I'm a knight now."

Star just giggled and hopped through the portal, fully ignoring Marco's opposition.

/ ... . -. - .-. -.- /

Star and Marco appeared out of the portal in Star's room of the castle. Star stretched and flopped down on her bed face first with Marco in tow. She flipped around onto her back and looked down to see Marco standing directly over her with arms crossed giving her a disapproving look.

"I know I said I'd go, but I'm fine Marco. Really. There's no need for me to go to the medical ward and see the mages there. All they're going to do is tell me to take it easy and drink a healing potion, which I have plenty of lying around in my room." She gestured to the few bottles lying around the room. Some with small amounts of red liquid still in them. "I've had plenty of experience with hurting myself on mini adventures before I even came to Earth, not to mention all of the ones we took together." However, Marco continued to stand there, his glare still piercing down onto her.

She sat up and stared back into Marco's brown, unforgiving eyes, and for the next moment they were locked in ocular combat. Marco knew that she could do this all day, and frankly, after the near death experience he was put through today, he was not in the mood for it. Going against the friendly, but serious, competition that they both knew would end in his defeat, he decided to bite the bullet and let her off easy. This time.

"Fine." He replied, clearly annoyed at her takeback. "But you have to take one of your potions. And pick up these bottles too. You look like an alcoholic." He grabbed one of the nearby bottles and attempted a free throw towards the trash can across the room, but missed it and shattered the bottle against the wall instead.

"Nice shot, Michael Jackson." Star said condescendingly, as she stood up and stretched.

"Jordan." Marco replied sternly. "It's Michael Jordan. Michael Jackson was pop singer who was one of the greatest showmen who lived. He was most certainly not a basketball player."

"Well from that toss, neither are you." Star smiled and patted him on the back as she walked over to her shelf pulling a bottle of red elixir. She popped the top of the bottle off and began to chug the potion like college student five drinks in.

"So, you never actually told me, what's with this Orion's Buckle thing anyway? Why did we risk our necks to get it? It looks like a really cool stone, but I'm sure you could've commissioned someone to do that sort of design and just paid them right? I mean, we almost died there. Like, actually died. Is it some sort of intergalactic beacon, or can it let you control the minds of other people? Oh! Or is it some sort of magical jewel that can let you see into the future for-"

"MARCO!" Star slammed her empty bottle on the desk next to her. "Must you ramble like that? Wouldn't 'What is it?' be a good enough single question?" She let out an exasperated sigh, but felt a little bad at the outburst. After all, she acted that way on occasion too. "If you must know, Orion's Buckle was thought to be a long-lost artifact of the ancient Mewmans. It was a part of the beginning of civilization as we know it today. This one crystal was used not only as a power source for ancient technology, but also as a source for the improvement of health and wellness of the people of that era. Those who were guardians of the crystal were given increased life spans from just being near the crystal, and they never got sick, hurt, tired or even sad. It brought nothing but good fortune to the citizens of ancient Mewni." Star wandered back over to her bed and pulled out the gemstone, looking at it with a smile.

"If this thing was so great and powerful, then why wasn't it kept by them until now? Did they misplace it? Because I would hate to be the guy who lost the greatest thing that ever happened to a society in their known history." He spoke grimly, imagining all the ancient Earthen torture methods which were imposed on those who have done far less than that. Stonings, floggings, crucifixion, the iron maiden, rat torture, the breaking wheel. He shivered and shook his head trying to get away from the cruel methods polluting his mind.

"Well it's a long story and honestly, I'm just not feeling going through the whole thing right now."

Marco frowned and the sight of it gave Star a slight pain in her chest. "But, how about I just give you the abridged version, okay?" She reluctantly asked. He nodded in response, visibility peeking up. Star sat on the bed and patted the spot next to her, which Marco gratefully accepted. "Okay, so… Basically, there was a massive Monster uprising centuries ago against the kingdom, since, you know, we kinda stole their land and drove them out. For a few weeks there were unorganized rogue attacks on the kingdom. Just your little get together of mercenaries and Monsters who wanted the fall of the kingdom. And just like now, there was a major defense mechanism to the kingdom. But back then it was called the Wretched Automatic Suspensive Propulsor, and the stone was used as the major power source for that, other minor defenses, and some offensive mechanisms too. So, back to the incoming monster attacks on the kingdom. The stone was set to power the defensive functionality, and was doing a pretty good job at keeping the smaller pinpointed attacks on the flanks at bay. But the queen at the time, Queen Galexa, caught word of a massive all-out attack in its final stages of planning. So, trying to be swift and find a solution since the Monsters heavily outnumbered the Mewmans, Galexa summoned her most trusted mage, Maren. Maren was tasked with finding some sort of super weapon that could aid the troops in fighting an all-out assault. Something that could make even Ludo a force to be reckoned with. She worked day and night after being tasked with such a high priority mission. Some say she was killing herself with the amount of work, and lack of sleep and eating she went through in those few weeks."

Star adjusted herself and sat cross legged towards Marco. She held the stone out towards him insisting he take it. He grabbed it and turned it all around attempting to find some answers within its galactic confines. How could something so miniscule exert such power? It was almost as though he was holding a supernova in the palm of his hand. He looked up to Star, feeling a bit anxious over what she was about to tell him. She continued.

"But nobody could argue with her results. What Maren came up with was that of Mewman legend. Maybe a little too much so... She created a sword, so powerful, that not even her own intense magic could contain the energy radiating from it. Mainly because it used Orion's Buckle as its power source. Her eldest apprentice also tried to contain it with a world-renowned containment spell. Unfortunately, he was wrapped up in a swell of magic which drained his life force and turned him to ash. Maren claimed that when he did that there was a surge of intense light followed by a pile of dust with the sword on top of it. She told Galexa, and soon enough word of it spread through the kingdom, but nobody was brave enough to touch it, not even the Queen. So, Maren went back to work on a less powerful version, hoping to make something that wouldn't kill its user. But it was too late. The monsters began their attack on Mewni. The Mewmans were outnumbered, and without a trump card like the first sword, their fate was sealed. The reserve troops were hailed, young and old, weak and strong, to defend our home... They ended up getting slaughtered. It was like the Monsters were ripping through wet tissue, leaving nothing but silence behind them. There was no chance for us."

Marco sat there for a moment, trying to absorb the density of the old Mewman's situation. He bit his lip and hunched over before speaking again. "Wow. And Mewmans are incredibly powerful as it is. Like, your dad carried us how many miles to Old Youthful when we were out camping in like 10 minutes."

"Yeah. My dad is pretty great." Star said with a small smile on her face. "But that's not the end either. Obviously." She gestured to the room around them.

"Right. Sorry for interrupting. Continue."

"So there they were, dropping by the thousands, when an enormous flash of light emerged from behind the Mewman troops. Atop the hill behind them, engulfed in a blinding glow, stood the newest knight of the Queen's Guard. Lady Celacia. Holding Maren's first sword. She looked over the battlefield while engulfed in a bright red glow, without the repercussion of an ashy demise. She made her way to the front line and began carving down the attacking monsters with finesse that would've impressed even Solaria. Some even called her the Celestial Wind for how she blew through the troops. All it took was one slash and they were down. Nobody stood a chance against her. Nobody except the leader of the monster army, King Rahczar. There are so many accounts and stories of the battle between them that nobody knows the true details, but he was able to match her strength with the sword, no matter what version you hear. Eventually she won, though not by that much from what I've read. But it was enough that they were able to keep Mewni under Mewman control. It was a great victory that day, and from that point forward, Celacia was deemed the sword's one true holder. She was hailed as a hero and the legendary sword was named 'Celacia's Sword' after her. There were a few more incidents where she used it in battle, but they all paled in comparison to the first time."

"So, what happened to the crystal? By the sound of it, it should have just stayed in the sword. It seems like they were good enough at protecting it." Marco pointed out, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah… That's the weird part. When Celacia died, the stone disappeared along with her. She was holding the sword when she died and as soon as she took her last breath, the stone vanished right out of the sword, and she and the sword shortly followed. Nobody knew what happened to it so they started blaming each other. Some blamed it on those in the room where she died. Some blamed it on Celacia herself, saying she cursed the stone to vanish when she was no longer able to use it. It sparked distrust among the nobles and no matter how hard or how long any of them tried, they were never able to find it."

"Well it's here now, so it obviously didn't disappear. And you said there were people trying to track it down before us, right? They must've known that it didn't disappear either. So, it was just teleported to a random location so someone else could find it?" He furrowed his brow. "That's weird."

"I know, Marco. But nobody knew where it was, and yet, here we are, with the thing in our hands. So maybe we just had the best luck, or maybe it's just fate saying that we're the ones who need to have it. Either way, we found a powerful piece of ancient history, and now I just need to figure out the right time to inform everyone about it so we can continue to prosper." She gave a small smile to the stone, which Marco returned to her.

Balling her fist with the stone inside, Star bounced up off the bed and smoothed out her dress as she walked over to a small jewelry box. "I'll just place you in here, little guy, so nobody catches wind of you." Closing the box with the stone now safely inside, she patted it and walked back over to Marco. "I think it goes without saying that this is going to be our little secret. I do plan on letting one more person in on it, but for now it stays between us, okay?"

"Okay…" He said skeptically. Marco trusted Star with what she was doing, but knowing who else would be in on this wouldn't be the worst thing, would it? He figured he should just drop it and trust his best friend. He would know soon enough anyway. Though with curiosity overpowering him, he decided to press just a bit more. "But hey, I've kept plenty of secrets. Like that one time at the wedding when we-"

"Yeah let's not talk about that one." Star interrupted. "And you didn't even keep it for that long." Marco seemed to accept her choice after her call out.

"Regardless, as your personal knight, I will not let anything stand in the way of your wishes, my princess!" Marco proclaimed dramatically, putting a fist over his heart. "For it is my sole purpose in life, to ensure that no harm, be it physical, emotional, or psychological, will come to you!" Star rolled her eyes and pushed Marco onto his side, both of them laughing.

Knock Knock SLAM!

"STAR!" King River bellowed as he stood above the now broken door which lay on the floor. The stout king was covered in his royal blue robes complete with grey pants, black boots, and golden cape. "Your ex-boyfriend, Thomas? I can barely even think straight anymore! He's been in the royal chamber clamoring on about seeing you for the past half an hour! It's driving me mad! I had no idea where you were, and I tried getting him to leave peacefully-" River moved close to her and began to whisper "between you and me, I wanted to kick him out of the room like I have your aunts and uncles while playing flags, but your mother wouldn't have any part of it. Says it's 'improper' or some sort of nonsense like that." He cleared his throat and moved back a few steps continuing at a normal volume. "But he wouldn't go. So I need you to come with me right away so I can get him out of here. My hunt is coming soon, and I need to be fully prepared for it!" He grabbed Star's wrist and began pulling her out of the room.

"Dad! I was in the middle of something with Marco!" She countered, trying to free herself from her father's iron grasp.

"You can get back to making out after you get rid of Tom." Her eyes grew three sizes as her face erupted into a vibrant shade of red. She snapped her head directly away from Marco. River stopped in his tracks for a moment. "Hmm. Actually, Marco, he mentioned you too. You'd better come with as well. I won't have him staying longer looking for you too." He turned around and grabbed Marco by the wrist with his other hand, dragging them both out the door.

"Woah!" Marco cried as he was pulled to the ground, drug beside Star, who was refusing to look at him.

Stuck being pulled by the king and ignored by Star, Marco decided to look around the halls for some entertainment. He saw the same old portraits that he always had when he ventured to see Star, but something felt off. Like there was something missing. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Deciding to ignore it for the time being, he looked over to Star who was sharing the same bored expression he was, blankly staring at the shrinking halls being left behind. He smirked and looked forward again, waiting for whatever kind of 'nonsense' awaited them in the throne room.

/ .- .- .-. / -. . ...- . .-. / -.-. ... .- -. -. . ... /

"Thomas!" River bellowed while forcefully opening the doors to the throne room. "Here they are. Now please make this quick because I have important matters to take care of before my trip!"

Having let go of them during their trip through the halls, Star and Marco strolled into the large room behind River murmuring to one another.

"It just seems like a dumb concept for a show. I mean really. What's the point of watching a show about someone who always wins after one attack? It's super predictable and you know the outcome of every battle. Honestly, it just seems like a waste of time." Star shrugged.

"It's not the outcome of the battles that are important. It's about the journey in getting there. About how the situation improves character development and how they each learn and grow from every encounter. Not to mention the other battles are awesome between different characters and you don't necessarily know the outcome of those." Marco argued back.

"Ugh. I just don't feel like-"

"Star! Marco!" Tom yelled from across the room. He began walking toward them with a big smile plastered across his face. "How are two of my favorite people doing on this fine day?" He was dressed up in a black tuxedo trimmed in white with a white burning tie, searching his internal pockets for something. He pulled out two envelopes from them and handed one to both Star and Marco.

"What's this?" Star asked, looking down at the envelope with 'Star' written in large wavy writing.

"Well open it up. Both of you." Tom pushed, seeming a little too eager.

Star and Marco tore open their respective envelopes pulling out a card with a demonic red brick castle on the front, surrounded by pillars of fire and thunderstorms with various corpses of all types of Monsters and Mewmans plaguing the foreground. They opened the card and began to read.

You have been cordially invited to the 20th birthday celebration of Prince Thomas Lucitor, held within the confines of the Underworld Kingdom Castle. The celebration begins on the 28th day of Cerulia at 8pm. You may bring one additional guest of your choosing who must also adhere to the night's theme: A Dark Day in Mewni. Please RSVP by no later than the first day of Celadon.

Yours in Death,

Thomas Lucitor

"I hope you'll both be there. And I spent a lot of time going back and forth on whether or not I should have included all the corpses on the front given that I'm trying to be a more down to Mewni man, but I figured that because the theme is 'A Dark Day in Mewni,' the whole mass amount of dead people would fit. Plus, death, it's kind of my thing, ya know?" Tom gave a cool smile, slipping his hands into his jacket pockets. "So, what do you say? Are you guys going to come? It's going to be a killer party." He walked behind them both giving Star and Marco a nudge.

"Gee Tom, I don't know. Whenever something at your parties goes even slightly aloof, you always overreact and end up fizzling out the whole place. Like at your party last year when that one guy stole your spotlight on the dancefloor. You knocked him clear across the room and he was in the hospital for three days. Those things just don't end up keeping the whole 'party' feeling going, you know?" Star ended feeling a little upset with herself, using that specific example to get her point across. But it was the most memorable occurrence.

"Yeah." Marco agreed. "Not to mention the whole unconscious part followed by bills that took out all of my savings." He stared Tom down, having successfully buried those memories until now.

"Hey, I can't apologize enough for what happened that night." Tom began sympathetically. "And I did end up giving you back that money since I was the one that caused it. But I've really been trying since that incident to better myself. I've gone to all of my anger management classes and I've also been doing very well in keeping my anger in check on a day to day basis. I've also gotten myself another pocket bunny and a portable demon shield to try and suppress or expel my rage when it begins to overwhelm me. And just because I was having a rough time that night, doesn't mean I should have taken out my frustration on you. Again, I'm very sorry." He met Marco's gaze, truly filled with the remorse of his misdoings.

Marco was hesitant about accepting the apology; he looked him up and down trying to gauge on if he was actually regretful of his actions. The demon prince seemed as though he had bettered himself after his first fall off the wagon in years, and Marco sighed, knowing full well how much effort Tom put in afterwards.

"Well..." Marco began, "I have gotten a lot better at fighting. And I'm pretty sure I'd be able to take you on if you're lying to me." Tom cracked a challenging smile. "I'll go, but if you start causing havoc, I'm taking you down."

Tom's grin widened at the last remark and stuck out his hand towards Marco. "Deal. Though, I want to see how good you've gotten regardless. I think we should have a sparring match."

"I don't think you'd want to go home a loser." Marco retorted.

"Oh, don't think I won't take you on right now. I may be in a suit, but if anyone can fight with finesse, it's me."

"Boys, boys, you're both beautiful, but let's not do this right now. Though when you do, my money's on Marco." Star patted Tom on the back as she started to walk towards the large entranceway to the throne room.

"Hey!" Tom griped, a sour look plastered on his face. "Ugh, whatever. So, Star, are you going to be at the party? You never actually answered." He asked optimistically, still bracing himself to be told off.

Star hummed, overexaggerating her thoughts. It seemed important to him so she figured what harm could come, especially when she could shut him down pretty easily. But why not have some fun with it? "Yeah, I guess I'll come too. Can't have Marco be the only one that beats you up if you lose it." She smirked.

"Awesome!" Tom triumphantly balled his hand into a fist. "I'll see both of you in a few weeks then! If not a little sooner for our sparring match, Marco."

"I can't wait for it." Marco smiled.

A loud crash echoed throughout the chamber where the three of them stood.

"Moon!" River bellowed from somewhere down one of the halls. "Have you seen my loincloth!? It seems I've misplaced it, and if I don't find it soon I'll have to cut my losses and just go like this!"

"Let's get out of here. Now." Star said, horrified at the thought of whatever 'this' was.

"Right behind you!" Tom and Marco agreed.

The trio ran out the door, but Marco decided to take a peek behind them, curiosity unfortunately getting the better of him. As they rounded the corner into the next hallway he ran face first into a woman, knocking them both to the ground.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I should have watched where I was going! Are you okay?" Marco asked as he scrambled to pick himself off the floor and help the woman back on to her feet.

"Yes, I'm quite alright." The woman remarked, taking Marco's outstretched hand and hoisting herself off the floor. She looked him over with piercing blue eyes, as she rose. After a few moments, she brushed herself off, tucked her bright blonde hair behind her ear, and began walking away. "Sir." She stopped and turned her head back slightly towards Marco, who gave her his attention. "An active mind leads to a broken heart." She turned around and walked out of sight.

What?

"Who was that? What's that even supposed to mean?" Marco quietly questioned to himself.

"MARCO!" Star yelled from down the hallway. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah!" He answered back, still looking in the direction of where the woman went. Whoever she was, she was kind of creepy. And if he was being completely honest with himself, sort of his type. "Just got into a little accident is all!"