Notes: Okay, so this is a pretty short chapter - I go back to college tomorrow but I wanted to get something out today :)

Reviews:

Slimster22 - Thanks for the compliment, perhaps, it was just something I thought of as typing the end notes :P

SugarQueen97 - I did wonder if it might've been pushing it a little too far, I didn't want the boys to actually see anything detailed so I kept it rather short with them actually in the company of the girls. I think Marco disappointed himself as well, I'd like to explain a little more of how I imagined his character to be and the reasoning for him doing such a thing. I used the idea of the Id, Ego and Superego - if you're not familiar with it, it's the idea that your consciousness is split up to those 3 parts, the Id is the animalistic instinct every human feels i.e. mating and aggression, the Superego holds what is to be morally correct - the moral compass, the most humane thing to do, while the Ego acts as a bridge between those two, looking at what is realistically possible. Imagine it to be like the devil and angel on your shoulders, with the devil being the Id, the angel being the Superego and you being the Ego. Marco's superego told him he needed to free people of the 'assumed tyranny of King River and help star- yada yada yada.' His Ego thought this to be a realistic goal, however, it didn't work - it took a huge blow to his idea of morality, he just sentenced people to death in an indirect manner. While his superego is down, that's where the Id comes in and tries to make him forget: Repress the memory. In this, his Ego is mostly run by his Id which tells him to indulge in more animalistic desires e.g. the whole peeping scene. This was only encouraged by Tom who seems to have less of a moral compass than Marco and so Marco ended up giving in to his animalistic desire and went along with the plan, once he received the slap/push by Emilia he came to his senses again and his superego returned saying "That was wrong." I could talk more but that's the basic run-down of his mentality in that point and why he did what he did :) And yes, it was a stereotypical trope from the anime genre.

brody Putnum - Thanks for the compliment, I think you're asking "Did Star and Marco ever officially become a couple?"? The answer would be, I don't think so - it's a strange point because they're in a place between friends and lovers. They've shared at least one passionate kiss, slept together and all that. But I don't think I've ever included a part where they confront their feelings to each other: Again, there's been so much going on for the two it wasn't a thing that they had the luxury to talk about.

With that all said,
Enjoy~

Kelly & Tom

Kelly was pissed at Tom for what he did, the two entered the room.

"Floor." Kelly commanded, pointing to it.

"Yeah…" Tom had already accepted his fate, he kind of felt bad for getting Marco caught up in the shenanigan but what's done is done.

Emilia & Samantha

"Hey Emi..." Sam started, causing the older woman to look back – the two were already settled in bed in fresh garments, "Why was everyone so annoyed at Marco & Tom?"

It was a little hard to explain to a ten-year-old about the situation so Emilia decided to just avoid the entire conversation, "You'll understand when you get older." She responded before turning back. The girl wasn't satisfied with that answer.

"Everyone always says that!" She cried, pouting and crossing her arms; now sat up.

"Marco and Tom did something that was very naughty, and it was rude." She responded, still trying to avoid any land mines. It wasn't that she hated the two… Well… At least she didn't hate Marco – hell she barely knew Tom. The maid felt like she had to be strict with the teen, not wanting him to turn out to be some sort of social deviant. The lass had known someone like that before… Before the castle, he wasn't a bad guy; in fact, he was funny, smart and witty but the good old saying 'Just one bad day can make the sanest person insane.' Seemed to be proven right on him. After that day, Emilia lost most of her family, granted, Marco would never go down this path but she refused to let him even approach that edge.

"Hmm…" The little girl thought it over a while, eventually seeming contempt with the explanation, "Okay…" She finished before laying back down and wrapping herself up into a ball, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. However, Emilia didn't sleep then, she had seemed to have remembered something rather hurtful about her past. The woman had a little struggle to get it off her mind, images of the scene she was a part of years ago, the strewn bloodied bodies across the floor – faces smudged from the repression. Eventually, the servant broke out of her trance with a shake to the head, she went to the bathroom to splash some water in her face.

Emilia entered the bathroom; the rusted tap made a creak as it was swivelled around slowly, she caught a handful and splashed it on her face – inducing a newfound adrenalin rush to her body before grabbing a nearby towel and patting her face dry. 'Huh, that's weird.' She noted, looking in a nearby cracked mirror to see more water still on her face, but that wasn't just any water – streams seemed to be flowing down her rosy cheeks. Emilia took a deep breath, trying to shake the thoughts from her head. She sniffled a bit but managed to get it under control and returned to bed with Sam.

Tom & Kelly

It had been a few minutes since the pair settled down, Tom had laid on the floor with a small pillow to support his neck. Kelly was comfortably wrapped in the bed, trying to get some shut-eye. However, Tom wasn't ready for that yet, "Hey Kelly." The girl opened her eyes and sighed quietly, "When you… Do you, still get bothered by death?" The question honestly surprised the little minx, she propped herself up on her arms to get a better look at Tom but he was facing the other way.

"… No. Not really." She replied, it shocked him, how could someone care so little about ending other people's lives?

"What was your first time like?" He asked, realising his immediate mistake as he heard a growl, "No! That's not what I meant… How did you feel after the first time you saw death?" He asked, still somewhat prepared for a knife to get thrown his way.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"It was over so quickly, there was this guy… He was crazy, and he came into my house – he grabbed a knife and started waving it around, demanding some random-thing about… God and whatever, he then started going for my mother. I was 11 and, in my panic, I just charged at him, I had a pair of scissors in my hand and the rest is history: I didn't stop. I knew he was down and dead, but I was scared that he'd get back up – so I kept going, and going, it took my mother and father to drag me away, but I guess the damage was already done… I was fucked up by that point. Or hell, maybe I was fucked before that and I just exploded there." Tom wasn't sure how he felt about the story, he could hear something resembling sadness in her voice, but more melancholic. "I uh… They didn't look at me the same, they tried to reconcile me – tell me it was okay but I was just so on-edge after that. Then a guy came, I don't know his name, he never told me… He said it was 'Stream' but that was just a nickname, he taught me how to do this – how to be an assassin… It helped me deal with the… The overflowing rage and - Wait why am I telling you this?" She asked, there wasn't any real show of emotion on her face, only in her tone. "Why, what's up with you?"

Tom prepared himself, he kind of owed her the explanation from how much he told her about her life. "Back in the castle… I lost the only real family I ever knew."

"Wow that's rough." She added on.

"Yeah, we all knew that some of us would die going into it – but, it was a lot easier when I thought I'd be the one to die, or at least, it wouldn't be just me and Marco that made it out."

"How many?" Kelly asked.

"19 of us went in… Only two made it out. There were some really good people, I used to butt heads with D all the time but he was a good guy – genuinely wanted to do the right thing… Susan, Sam's auntie, deserved better than a sword through… Her heart."

"That's rough buddy, I can't even imagine what I'd be like if I lost my family."

"Didn't you say that your family disowned you or something?"

"Hehe, yeah… But I still love them, you know how family is?"

"Well my real brother betrayed us and got them all killed." Kelly stopped; she had just realised that the girl had stood on a landmine. An awkward silence is what then consumed the room. "We should get some sleep." Tom added a little later, Kelly agreed, "Oh and Kelly… I'm sorry about earlier, I wasn't trying to get a peep on you – it was—"

"Shut up, I still hate you." She responded coldly.

"Okay." He whispered.

Butterfly Castle – Royal Chambers

Moon and River were in their bedroom, as usual – River had been pacing around all day, still furious that the peasants had the audacity to steal his daughter. To make it even worse, she had the rightful claim to the throne. If they managed to introduce her to the masses then it could turn his rule on its head. "Dear, I think your overestimating—" Moon tried to get a word in, but the King was too stuck in his head to listen.

"Shh." He commanded, "Those bastards took Star… She's the one with the claim, not Ophelia – we can't allow her to be free."

"Sweetie, she's a little girl and it's a group of teenagers – maybe we should just leave them. She's our daughter, you can't mean you intend to send a manhunt after her…" The Queen pushed for her agenda once more.

"The girl, could possibly become the most powerful person in the country. Does that sound like a threat we can ignore? The only thing she inherited from us was power, but that is a good idea for a manhunt…"

"You can't be serious! Mercenaries would go after her, trained killers!"

"Maybe that isn't so bad." River added, Moon's face was disgusted with her husband, "That girl – if given the crown could send the country to depravity! You saw it yourself, you said it yourself! The girl is too much of a loose cannon, she shares too much with that bitch we took this crown from."

"Yes, I did, but maybe Star changed. We haven't had a real conversation with her in years!"

"Ophelia is crowned Princess and that's final. Star is an inconvenience in every meaning of the word."

"She's your daughter—"

"She's a failure!" He shouted back. "I had hoped my attempts at beating sense to her would trigger something, but the coward only wept at it—"

Moon's blood began to boil, the thought of River doing that – hoping it would've led to her attacking back was sick! It was twisted, and she had seemed to finally reach a tipping-point, "Are you that twisted you need to beat your only daughter to try and get her to fight back?! You have scarred her! Ophelia has scarred her- maybe you didn't notice because you were too busy being 'parent-of-the-year' but your daughter – Star was in the infirmary most days, hiding from you! Hiding from Ophelia, the only person that helped her stay sane was Glossaryck, he's gone! Why would she ever want to come back to this country?! She's probably already crossed the border!" Moon forgot herself: That was her mistake. Or so it seemed, but River remained silent.

"We need to find her… Quick." The King said before storming out the room, leaving Moon alone.

Matthew & Ophelia

Now that the two were a couple, they had a new room to call home, for the two of them. They were on the royal floor now; it was one level higher but had a much grander style and outlook onto the castle. Purple danced through the cracks between wood in the furniture, magnificent chandeliers (2 for their bedroom) dangled with crystals hanging in symphony. It was a real hassle to get the candles lit and unlit, but that's the price you pay for beauty I suppose.

Matthew had spent the last day thinking a lot about what he'd done. Sure, it seemed like the guy had won, he got the girl. That was the point of this whole thing: To win her hand in marriage. So why did he still feel so annoyed at himself, he tried to warn Al it wouldn't end well – he tried to stop Ophelia from cutting him down, 'I did everything I could.'

"Watcha thinking about?" 'Phe asked, combing her hair before bed. She wore a silky pink gown – it matched her hair in that respect. Matthew was wearing a black and white chequered pyjama shirt and plain black shorts.

"You didn't have to kill Alfonzo you know…" Matt responded, not making eye-contact.

"This again?" She seemed fed up, "I told you, I needed to set an example."

"You say that, but there are other ways to set examples than hacking everyone to pieces that doesn't agree with you, they'll be no subjects left to command if you kill them all."

"Who's going to miss a few rebels and a peasant?"

"I can understand the rebels but he was just a peasant, he didn't need to be killed. A few days in the dungeon would've sufficed, he only spoke out against—"

"That's it, he spoke against me. I won't have that in my kingdom." She finished brushing and began to walk to Matthew who was on the bed, sitting down next to him.

"Ophelia please, if this is going to work – I want you to confide in me, talk to me… Let me advise you, you're the most beautiful, smart person I've ever met. I see something in you, something that most don't. But if this is going to work, I need you to trust me." He gently caressed her hair, moving it above her ear.

"You think flattery is going to work?" She asked.

"I hope so." He responded with a gentle smile.

"… Yeah well… Perhaps I'll try. I'll try to confide in you, you're something special yourself ya'know." She replied with a small smile.

Star & Marco

Star had just returned from the reception, a new piece of clothing in hand – she moved into the bathroom and began to strip, slipping into the new tunic. Much better. She happened to glance at herself in the mirror, Wow. She thought, the girl had never seen herself in commoner clothes before, it was certainly a change of pace for the Princess. "Looking like this you'd think I was from another country." She chuckled to herself. From another country huh? Glossy's words ran through her head again, how he suggested that she needs to get out of Mewni. At the time, she felt obliged to stay in the castle, thinking that she had a chance to take the crown. I could leave, start a new life… No. No! You promised you'd stay and help, you can't let those people die in vain… It'd destroy Marco. She took another look at the unconscious bulge in the covers of the bed, I can't do that to him. Stop it head! She shook it off before climbing under the covers and drifted to sleep.

Morning

It was about 9:30 A.M. when all the group were ready, Star and Marco didn't prepare at all – they were ready to go explore at 8:30, but Tom and Kelly required some extra time, apparently something happened with the turn order for getting dressed and a slightly-unconscious Tom might've jump-scared Kelly by trying the door knob when she was in there. Emilia and Sam were the last ones to arrive, the duo had simply slept in too long.

"What's the game plan then?" Tom asked.

"We need to recover our strength first, I don't think anyone here is in the mental state to attempt something yet…" Star had assumed most had been suffering with the traumatic events from a few nights ago, the slight nod from people in the group encouraged that thought. "I think we should take it easy for a while, try not to draw too much attention to ourselves." She said while staring at Kelly.

"What?" The greenette shot back.

"Shall we go looking around the town then?" Emilia asked, "It's a lovely day outside." The sun was beaming down, and there was a severe lack of clouds in the sky, the mud was still damp from last night's rain and there were a few dark patches on the streets.

"I want to!" Sam added, rather energetically.

"Alright, I guess we're going out." Star said, the group ate a little bit of bread and took off, they were probably going to buy some basic street food – hoping it didn't kill them – from the town streets. The team had left the Swann Inn and began to march onward; they were invited to the outside world by a stench of death once more, Kelly and Emilia seemed to have gotten used to it by now, Sam was still pinching her nose and making a disgusted face. A few minutes after walking, the group passed a notice board, a few similar posters got her attention. "What are those?" She asked before approaching them, the closer the got – the easier it became to make out the main title. "WANTED."

Marco's jaw nearly dropped off when he saw his notice, there were only ones for: Star, Marco, Emilia and Kelly – they were drawn to paint them in a bad light, Star's small birth marks on her cheeks had been changed to scars and she donned a grizzly gangster look. Marco had one of his eyebrows raised and looked like he killed someone. Kelly had an evil smirk and Emilia looked as if she had fangs, but they were close enough to their actualities that it would be hard to mistake them if caught together. They were wanted alive, which I suppose was a good thing, the crime was simply 'Treason'. It wasn't a huge bounty, so hopefully the big-named bounty hunters would ignore it, however, if some bar schmuck were to see it: Who knows what could happen?

"I think we should find disguises." Marco whispered; Emilia nodded.

"Let's go…" Star said, a little worried at how quickly those wanted posters were put up – who knows how far they've already travelled. Perhaps there's nowhere safe anymore in Mewni.

End Notes: Like I said, much shorter chapter. I didn't spell-check it today so, whoopsie me, but I hope it was understandable regardless.

What'd you think? Review, suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome and hopefully I'll reply in the next chapter to you :)

Thanks for reading,
vK