Unbroken Bonds

by FlameyTheSnowman

"Cleaved? Now that's a funny word. You can cleave something apart, or you can cleave something together." (Glossaryck) After the cleaving of Earth and Mewni, Marco and Star are tasked with navigating the rough road ahead. Under the watchful eye of a dangerous government, the rebellious Mewman public, and an unnamed shadow, how will the two persevere? - Post-Cleaved.

5. Venture Into What Remains

A/N: Howdy y'all, Flamey here! Listen, I'll be frank which'a; my writing style is all over the place. Sometimes it feels a bit too modern, sometimes it feels a bit too eighteenth-century ish. All I do know is that I'm cranking out these chapters like never before, and while my quality might be tanking a bit, the quantity I'm writing is through the roof.

So, in synopsis, I'm dedicating a bit of daily routine to catching up on some of the latest SVTFOE fics out there. Those who have been with us for some time know I'm a true connoisseur of the great works of Lordcornwalis and Ronald Reagan (great reads, would def recommend), and I'm planning on re-reading some of their biggest hits. Not that I want to copy their style, but more so I want to educate myself on how to make my chapters a bit more reader-friendly.

Oh, and before I forget. Comments! Please, the more the merrier. I already explained how more reader feedback would greatly boost my productivity and product quality. So, if you have a few spare seconds, would you be so kind as to comment?

Anyway, here's Wonderwall.

Unbroken Bonds

Chapter 5

Venture Into What Remains

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ms. Richards, all we want is answers."

Turning the light to shine away from her face, Edmund lowered himself into the seat opposite of the spooked young woman. He'd gone to fetch her some coffee to give her some space to collect herself. To be fair, she was being held against her will, in a place she had never seen, and by people she had never met. What wasn't expected, however, was that she was strangely reluctant to say anything at all, almost like she had committed a crime and pleaded the fifth. And again, to her point, she was being held up in the same room they used to interrogate terrorists, so her desire to stay silent wasn't all that unreasonable.

"Listen, Sarah. You're not in trouble, not at all. We just need to know what, and how much of it you saw." Out of the many professions he had mastered, interrogation was a relatively new one. Not that he had any doubts in his ability to coax a response out of the mute girl, he had no reason to believe he wasn't up to the task in the slightest. He had just read through a few books on the art of persuasion afterall, which might not sound impressive to the average person, but to him, it was all he needed to get what he wanted.

"Please, Sarah, we're on your side, we all are. Your boss, Mr. Hobbs, he's here and he showed us the report you gave him. We know you saw what happened at site 83."

"S-Site 83?" mumbled Sarah with a shaky voice.

"Echo Creek. The place we've asked you to keep an eye on since October of 2020." Bingo, he thought, his complex planning having miraculously worked. Thinking back to a passage in The Complete Idiot's Guide To Persuasion, he figured that since Sarah was clearly quite bright, bringing up a mysterious term like 'Site 83' would solicit a response from the girl in the form of a clarifying question. And that it did.

"Y-You were the ones asking for pictures of central California?" she asked, her eyes wide revelation.

"Yeah, that was us, at least it should've been for around forty days," Started Edmund who had reached down to his laptop bag to pull out a stack of documents. "Since our 'visitors' came on such short notice, he didn't have a choice but to use public satellite imaging till our own private satellites were up and running. But unbeknownst to me, no one asked NGIA to stop sending 'em, since apparently nobody has half a brain around here."

"But… But I wasn't working there back then. I started last November," she squeaked out, still very timid due to the whole 'kidnapping' thing.

"Huh, really? Nobody told me that…"

"You're not gonna kidnap them too, are you?" she asked, worried now that her actions would get three people abducted.

"Okay, first off, we didn't kidnap you. You were called in for a government scheduled examination, it's no worse than getting jury duty. Second off - do people say second off, never mind - Second off, since they didn't see anything, they won't be dragged in: don't worry." Edmund flipped through his notes a second time, stunned again at the incredible mismanagement surrounding the fact that he was never told Sarah wasn't the only person to fulfill the role of the program's public satellite operator. Not that it matters, he said internally, As long as… Rich Purnell didn't see anything when he was working there, we're all good.

"So… So," started Sarah, who was trying her best not to botch up her words into an incoherent mess, "So, the only reason I'm here in the first place is because you guys suck at your job?"

"Yeah, yeah, to be honest, I didn't know we were this shit," chuckled Edmund, who abruptly stopped upon noticing how unfunny the statement came off as Sarah.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but because you saw what you saw, you're gonna have to be staying with us for a while."

The statement broke Sarah, who up until then still had closeted hopes she'd get to walk out a free woman. Hearing the news, she started to bawl up in tears, her hands flying to her face to hide the emotion from her interrogator. It wasn't uncommon for Sarah to get emotional when faced with bad news, but she was certain just about anyone in her position would react all but the same.

"Hey, hey, it isn't all bad. You're not gonna be locked in some cell for the rest of your life. You'll still get to see your friends and family, but you'll be primarily residing with or around the program," he reassured Sarah, leaning back from the table to give her the illusion of personal space. He found it almost humorous how the reactions of the two co-workers were practically stark opposites. Having already questioned her boss, Stephen Hobbs, he was almost fearing for his life as the noticeably taller man berated him with all sorts of slang and insults targeting his hair to his mother.

Hearing Edmund's reassurance, Sarah stifled her sobbing and whipped the tears from her eyes. "I-I'll still get to see my family?"

"Yes, one hundred percent. All we're gonna do is fly you out to central California while we get this whole… ordeal under wraps. I promise, the moment this thing gets declassified, you'll be totally free," stated Edmund, his voice sympathetic and caring.

"California?" she asked, confused as to why she would be moved to the other side of the continent for no apparent reason.

"Yes, California. Don't worry, not LA or any other major metropolitan area, just rural, plain old California."

"But why?" she insisted while cleaning her glasses on her sloppily thrown-on blouse.

"Just… You'll find out once you get there, okay? I'm sorry, we can't tell you everything; not here, not right now. I promise, in a few days, everything's gonna turn out fan dabby dozy."

"I'll…" she started, fitting her glasses back on her ears to properly focus her vision, "I'll take your word for it, Mr. Brands."

"Edmund," he restated, shooing away the need for formalities, "Just call me Edmund."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Letting his hair fall forward, Marco took the comb and flattened out any stubborn tufts of hair, leading to his iconic 'Diaz' haircut. There wasn't much to his morning routine, his nigh-perfect skin genetics and award winning hair doing most of the heavy lifting. All he ever did in the morning was spray on some deodorant and style back his hair, save for the occasional shave every other week. Having only experienced acne in his early stages of pubescence, he hardly ever used anything other than body wash on his face, put aside the special occasions where he'd use a dab of cologne here and there.

Star, on the other hand, had absolutely no self control in regards to earth-based skin care. Having for all intents and purposes limitless funds, she'd drag Marco out every week to splurge on the newest lotions and ointments, shocking the misfortunate teen with just how much she would spend on a bi-weekly basis. In reality, she needed practically zero skin care products to keep her appearance flawless, her Butterfly genetics keeping her looking like a model even on the worst of days. Unfortunately, any time Marco brought up the idea that she was just 'throwing away money at something totally useless', she'd clap back with an excuse along the lines of 'if ya got money, why not treat-yo-self'.

"Almost done, boo?" called Star from the other room, who was waiting patiently for Marco to finish up in the bathroom. It had taken quite the amount of effort to pry Star away from him, seeing as letting her stay in the room while he showered was a sure fire way of getting himself into something he wasn't quite ready for. Hell, even their mild intimacy was a bit much for him, only agreeing to such acts under the provocation of Star.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done, why, gotta use the bathroom?" he called back, wetting a washcloth and whipping down his face before giving himself the all clear to go on with his day.

"No, I need help zipping up my dress, I think it's caught on my hair."

"How incredibly surprising; gimme a second," he responded while drying his hands. Opening the door, he was actually surprised by the fact that Star was being completely honest and not just making up the scenario to lure him into another amorous exchange. There she was, sat on his pull-out bed with her head cocked to one side and her dress half zipped up. Having already done this numerous times, he wasted no time pacing over to fix the problem. Holding the snagged hair in his hands, he slowly lowered the zipper, partitioned the caught hair around her shoulder to stay out of the way of said zipper, and zipped the dress up to her neckline.

"Thank yooooooouuuu," Sang Star, whipping around to give him a quick smooch on the cheek. She was wearing her usual teal green jellyfish dress, completed by her purple and pink leggings and tooth boots. It was an unusual choice, seeing as it was a cool ninety three degrees out, the measurement courtesy of Marco's wrist watch. But nonetheless, her outfit's were known for their practicality, and this specific dress was no exception. He had grown a new appreciation for just how well she dressed, realizing just how delightful her clothing combinations were.

"Have I ever mentioned how beautiful you are?" he said in a cool manner, surprising even himself with his question.

"Mmmh, once or twice," she said, leaning in to whisper in his ear, "But it'd do you some good if ya mentioned a bit more often."

In his mind, Marco was bewildered with how well he was handling Star's amorosity. He had expected from the beginning she would be the one running the show, especially during their more private moments. But what he hadn't expected was just how fervorous she was in trying to advance their relationship. Ever since they had entered the castle, their private moments had mostly consisted of Star advancing on him in some way or another. Not that he didn't mind, he was her boyfriend after all. It was all just a little bit too fast for his liking.

"Oook, let's save this," he paused while pointing between Star and himself, "For later. M'kay?"

"Awww," she groaned, backing off to give her partner his space. "I just wanted to give you a little reward for a job well done…"

"I know, I know. And… not that that wouldn't be, *ahem*, welcome. It's just, let's take our time, please? I don't want to rush things and end up ruining this."

"Marco…" she sighed, stepping closer to take his hands in hers. "I don't want you to be afraid of me, Marco. Emotionally speaking, not physically afraid, like a skunk."

"A skunk?" he asked, confused as to why the foul-spraying animal was a topic of conversation.

"What! They're scary, and I don't like 'em. Can you please let me carry on?"

"Didn't think a magical princess would be afraid of an oversized squirrel," he joked under his breath, receiving a disapproving stare from Star, "Uhh, what, yeah, proceed."

"Anyway," she started, flipping her hair and scoffing at the misbehaving teen, "What I was trying to say before I was so rudely interrupted is… I don't want you to be afraid of what we have, Marco. You're really special to me, and I wouldn't give you up for anything, anything in the whole multiverse. I've been waiting for this to happen for, golly, almost a year and a half now. And I'm never, ever, ever letting you go." She exclaimed while throwing her arms around his torso and hugging him with a megawatt smile.

"So, please, Marco. If it feels a little fast, that's probably because it is. Why wait for things like normal, when what we have is anything but normal."

"Ok, Ok," he conceded while gently pulling her off his chest and holding her by her shoulders, "I will admit, this does feel kinda like a dream, as in, us actually being a thing. Well, what I'm trying to say is, I know what we have is special, and I understand you wanting to take things to the next level ASAP."

"Just… Promise you'll tell me if we're going a little too fast, ya know," he said while flashing her a warm and understanding smile.

"Yeah, like you'd be the one to take me out of my comfort zone," she giggled aloud before hitting him playfully on the shoulder." But, yeah, promise."

"Good, good. That makes me feel a lot better," he said as he pulled her into a loose embrace, "For now on, if you want to do… things, I'm all for it."

"I mean, to a reasonable extent. Like, I love you Star, but there are some things I'm not gonna wanna do." Why he mentioned that which should have gone unmentioned, he had no clue. There was absolutely zero need on Marco's part to introduce the idea that he had limitations when it came to these matters. It wasn't as if Star would actually encroach on the border of what was and what wasn't allowed, but more so the fact that she would relentlessly tease him over the activities he'd labeled off-limits.

"Oh really," she giggled, sliding her arms under his arms to tighten around his rear end, "Don't worry, you'll come around eventually."

"What?!" he said, pulling away from Star to stare down at her in an almost disgusted look.

"Kidding!" she chuckled, moving closer to stand on her tip-toes to plant a quick kiss on his lips before turning around and backing off. Pacing to his bedside, she picked up her purse by its strap and satchel it around her shoulder. "Ready?" she called out, striking a very cute 'Star Butterfly' stance with her hip tilted slightly in one direction and her hands held together in front of her..

"Yep," he said, starting off to join Star by his bedside. Instead of following her towards her room's exit, he reached down under the bed and grabbed a free scabbard, strapping it to his belt before reaching down again to reveal Atlas.

Turning around to see what was taking him so long, Star stood shocked in the presence of quite possibly the most infamous sword in her people's history. She herself had only ever had the privilege of seeing the sword a few times, having visited the Comandante hall once with her father, and the rest via showcases during parades and the like. Being a weapon-nut, she was well educated on the history, use and even the forging of Atlas, all the way down to the location of the tree that was used to craft the handle.

"Where the hell did you get that?!" she screamed, pointing towards the immaculate messer.

"Huh? Oh, Atlas, yeah, your dad just kind of gave it to me." He said as he slid Atlas into the scabbard attached to his belt, making sure to fasten the button that kept the sword in place.

"What? I mean, when. How!" she repeated, her eyes dashing between the holstered sword and Marco's innocent expression.

"I don't know. He showed it to me yesterday in the Hall Of The Comandantes, and before he left to go to bed last night he pulled me aside and basically just gave me it."

Star stood in utter disbelief, her world rocked by the unbelievable assertion that her father simply 'gave up' their species's most prized possession. Not that Marco wasn't someone who could be trusted with Atlas, who else but the 'Safe Kid' could bear the responsibility of welding and looking after such a prized artifact. It just seemed so alien to her that something so valued by her people could be handed down without some special kind of ceremony or parade, almost as if River was deliberately breaking tradition and trying to hand off Atlas without anyone else noticing. This is pretty bizarre, even for daddy, she thought while holding her chin with her hand.

"He just… gave it to you, just," Star topped to mimic dropping Atlas on the floor while making a *pop* noise with her mouth, "Like that?"

"Uhhh, sort of? I-I can go and give it back to him if you want," he Marco said while fiddling to undo the scabbard strapped to his belt.

"No, no, it's ok. If he gave it to you, he must have had a pretty good reason."

"Alrighty then, with that settled," he started as he paced over to Star to offer his arm, "Shall we begin our day, my princess."

"Eeehhh, I really don't want to ruin the moment, bud, but I'm not a princess anymore," Star said as she slowly interlocked her arm with Marco's.

"Oh, sorry, forgot about that. Well, shall we begin our day, my dearest," he corrected himself in his best impression of a royal posh.

"Oh, why we shall," she retorted, trying out her own posh accent before bursting into a contagious fit of giggles, ones that spread rampantly over to Marco, leaving them both wracked with laughter.

"It's weird, really," choked out Marco in between laughs, "This is possibly the most disastrous thing that's ever happened to us, and we're here, laughing about it."

"That's why we're so special, Marco," gleamed Star, who tightened her grip around Marco's arm with both hands, "No matter what, as long as we're together, nothing in the whole universe can slow us down."

"Alright, alright," he said, fidgeting around with Star to give him the leeway he needed to walk, "Com'on, let's go join the party."

Walking arm-in-arm, the two navigated their way down the barren hallways of Butterfly Castle. Somewhere around the halfway point, Star reorientated herself to lean her head against Marco's shoulder, making it both far more comfortable and difficult to walk as a pair. Nonetheless, he didn't mind in the slightest. Save for when people were around, he had promised himself not to freak out anytime Star breached his personal space, something that had been happening for quite some time even before their eventual relationship.

It took some navigating to get down to the main foyer, the stairway they took last night having collapsed in on itself, reminding the two lovebirds just how dangerous the decrepit castle actually was. But finally having reached the entrance, the two were surprised to see groups of hazmat-suit cladded men shuffling in and out through the large bulkhead, carrying small boxes of god knows what and neatly stacking them beside the door. Having never seen such a suit, Star stood bewildered at what kind of aliens were shuffling around her home, having previously thought Earth was alone in its 'relative proxinima'. Marco, however, saw the protective gear and instinctually pulled out his phone, unfazed that at the same instant, he received a call from an unknown caller.

Accepting the call, he placed the phone next to his ear and listened for a familiar voice, "Hello, Marco, you there bud?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here, Edmund," he sighed, his fingers tapping impatiently on his phone case.

"Hey, so sorry I couldn't make it, something came up over here in Virginia so I won't be on site for a while. Anyways, you're at the castle, right."

"Yep, yep yepyep. Ohh, Star's here by the way," he said, allowing the phone to stagger between him and Star.

"Hi Emundddd!" Sang out Star who was always happy to chat with Marco's mysterious phone-friend.

"Anyway," he started while raising the phone back to his ear, "What'r- Why are there guys in hazmat suits over here?"

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry, they're with us; we called in the national guard to help deliver food to Echo Creek, seeing as you guys have an extra…", he paused, presumably to flip through sheets of paperwork, "fifty thousand visitors."

"Jeez, that many," sighed Marco, surprised at how high the numbers of Mewman refugees were. Echo Creek itself had a modest population of around thirteen thousand, originally fifteen thousand before Star arrived, seeing as some families opted to opt out of the whole 'intergalactic magical princess experiment'.

"Yeah, I think they brought enough food to last till… June 18th, just about four days worth of supplies."

"Really? Why so little?" he asked again, pushing his luck at obtaining an actual answer.

"We've scheduled a hearing on Thursday. We're gonna decide if the Mewmans are gonna stay in Echo Creek."

"I'm sorry, run that by me again?" pleaded Marco, "why would the Mewmans NOT stay in Echo Creek."

"That's what I said! Their reason being Echo Creek is a pretty small town and, at the moment, the infrastructure is almost completely ruined, save for the places that were mostly unaffected by 'The Merge'."

"The Merge?" repeated Marco who had paced over to inspect what he now knew were boxes of food rations, with Star having followed his cue and walked side-by-side with him.

"Yeah, 'The Merge', that's what we're calling the interwebular quasi-consolidation."

"Inter whatty what?" Star repeated, apparently having eavesdropped on their conversation despite the call not being on speakerphone.

"It's a fancy, sciency way of saying parts of Mewni got slapped together with Earth, atleast to a degree. The containment field seemed to stop the entire universe from being cleaved together, thank goodness for humans, am I right?"

"Eeeehhhhh…" Argued Marco before conceding to Edmunds point, realizing that bringing up all the bad things humans were known for just wasn't worth the effort.

"So, are these guys just regular national guards, orrrrr" asked Marco while waving to a group of men, who apparently, due to their masks, couldn't see him in their peripheral vision.

"Oh, no, heavens no. We've had these guys on standby ever since you went to Mewni. Oh, speaking of which, since you two are still in the castle, I assume you haven't been outside since yesterday."

"Yep," answered both Star and Marco at the same time, Star now having an easier time eavesdropping ever since Marco turned the call on loudspeaker.

"Ok, well here's the rub; Section 31's in action right now, and according to the guard, it's being followed out to the tee. Every Echo Creek citizen is confined to their residence and have been given the OK to start using their emergency reserves. The Mewmans have all been hoarded together, counted, and are now safe and sound in the recreational center just off of Main street. And the monsters…"

"What about the monsters?" asked Star, whose interest peaked upon hearing the mention of monsterkind.

"They're being held in Plymouth's park just off of I-5. They're ok, Star, don't worry," reassured Edmund, who knew via Marco that Star had a fascination with helping the Monsters of Mewni.

"Alright, ok. So in other words, no one should really be on the street right now, right?" Marco asked as he leaned over to see out the half opened castle doors, only to have his vision obstructed by the passing national guardsmen.

"Nope. Well, for the most part, yeah. But a few local organizations have been approved to go out on the streets and offer aid in any way they can; something we set up just in case the national guard couldn't make it in time."

Thinking for a second, Marco came up with a plan for their originally empty day. Even though he had been instructed by Moon to lay low and stay off his feet, he felt terrible being cooped up and unable to help his town, seeing as it was partially his fault that they were in the midst of a huge humanitarian crisis. "Hey, do ya think Star and I could offer any assistance."

"I'm not so sure about that one, buddy. I don't really know where Star falls in this category, but you're still technically a minor, and it would be a HUGE fiasco if you turned up dead because the government told you to head outside during the largest recorded alien sighting of all time."

"Oh, com'on, Edmund," argued Marco, throwing his hand up in the air in indifference, "The two of us have spent tons of time on both Earth and Mewni, who else but us should be the ones out there on the front lines?"

"I'm not dismissing your experience Marco, all I'm saying is that you two are still kids, and you're both very susceptible to danger."

Immediately after hearing Edmund's words, the pair simultaneously burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. The sheer amount of indescribable chaos the two had gone through together over the past eighteen months had practically redefined Marco's definition of the word 'danger', making things on Earth look like a walk in the park compared to the troubles of the cosmos. In his eyes, the most dangerous thing he could imagine in their scenario was what would happen if the Mewman refugees started pushing back against the well-intentioned humans, something that could easily be avoided if the two were given leave to roam the streets of Echo Creek.

"Edmund, Edmund, Edmund. No offense, but it's gonna take a bit more than this to put Star and I in any sort of danger whatsoever," he boasted, now feeling a little bad at how he was disparaging Edmund's intent to them out harm's way.

"And I imagine you're still going by how strong you guys were before magic went kaput, arentcha?"

The two were totally silenced by the phone's words, having not expected to be confronted by reality in such a head-on way. Up until that point, neither Star nor Marco had really given any thought to the fact that, for the most part, their invincibility had expired. It wasn't as if they were totally helpless without the failsafe that was Star's wand, seeing as both of them were pretty quick with a sword or any other form of weaponry. But they couldn't deny the utter indefeasibility that magic presented itself with, a luxury that was now unobtainable to both of them.

"Listen, I'm sorry for bringing up the whole 'magic' with you guys. I know it's gotta be hard for the two of you to process, and I probably shouldn't have brought it up. Look, you didn't hear this from me, but I'm sure you won't get in any trouble helping out around town. Just look after yourselves and don't die, that should be priority number one for you lot."

Hearing this, Star silently threw her hands up in the air and hopped up and down in celebration, having been more than galvanized after Marco asked Edmund if they were able to help out. Reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, Marco cleared his throat and replied to Edmund's divulgence. "Alright, we will, we will," he reassured him before having his phone ripped from his hands by Star.

"Hey, Edmund, why are all the guard guys wearing weird masks?" she blurted out through her smile while also rocking back and forth on her heels in excitement.

"Oh, yeah that. Star, do you remember how you got really sick about two weeks after arriving on Earth?"

"Yeah, what about it?" she asked, her heels rocking slower and slower as she reminisced about her terrible flu she caught after moving to Earth.

"Well, since Earth doesn't get many visitors, other species aren't used to our diseases. So when you arrived here, the reason you got really sick is because you had no immunity to our pathogens. The same holds true for humans and Mewman diseases. Once you arrived, we pumped out a bunch of new vaccines that would protect the citizens in Echo Creek from Mewman pathogens, but since you guys decided to drop by and fuse worlds without as much as a heads up, we didn't have any vaccines ready to ship out. So our solution was just covering up the workers so they don't fall ill and create an even BIGGER problem for us."

"Okey Dokey!" touted Star, who was growing increasingly impatient with how long their phone call had become.

Seeing this, Marco snatched his phone back from the paws of Star and placed it up against his ear, making sure to turn off speakerphone to keep from blowing his eardrums out. "Alright, alright. Well, we're probably gonna go rendezvous with Star's parents, and after that we might hit the streets. Thanks again, Edmund."

"No problemo, Marco. Stay safe, I'll be flying out to Cali once I finish up with this whole ordeal over in Virginia."

"Ok, talk to ya soon, bye," finished Marco before ending the call and re-holstering his phone in his pocket.

Turning to face an eager looking Star, Marco reached out and grabbed her hand to pull her close so he could throw his arm over her shoulder. "You do wanna go outside and help out, right?" he asked, soliciting a feverish nod from Star in response.

Almost on cue, the two ex monarchs emerged from an adjacent hallway, wearing their morning garbs and carrying what appeared to be loose sheets of parchment. They had been keeping up a quiet conversation before intruding on the main foyer, presumably something or other regarding their rations supplies.

"Oh, morning Marco, Star," spoke Moon as she noticed the two lingering teens inspecting the pile of rations.

"Are these all for us, seems like a lot if you ask me?" touted Marco as he recounted the number of boxes in his head.

"Well, from what I've been informed, there's a day's worth of rations in each crate, so for each person that's already four. And since there's… six of us, we should have at least a couple dozen delivered."

"You guys knew about this?" It took a second for Moon to reach into her gown's pocket to reveal an old mobile phone, something more akin to a blackberry than any modern electronic.

"Aww, you guys get one but I don't?" groaned Star as hunched over and let her arms fall limp against her sides,

"I've had one since the day you started your tenure on Earth," scoffed Moon, who had made her way over to watch as the suited workers shuffled their way out of her castle, "If you do truly yearn for one, just know that I've always kept a spare atop the desk in my study, if you have the patience to-"

Moon couldn't finish her sentence before Star bolted off in the direction of her study, which coincidentally was no further than a few hundred feet from the main foyer. Even from multiple rooms away, the three knew exactly when Star came in contact with the phone, as a loud ear-piercing screech of excitement tore through the airways of the castle. Following this, Star bolted back into the room, panting and sweat ridden from her quick excursion.

"Igotit, Igotit, I got it!" she yelled, holding the immaculate white box high in the air, almost like she was offering it to whatever higher power governed Mewni.

"Star, if you have always sought an Earth phone, why not just purchase one when you had the chance?" reasoned Moon.

"That's… actually a pretty good point. You used to drag me out shopping all the time and yet you never asked me to take you to an Apple store. Or an android store, both are equally valid options,"added Marco, who had walked over to co-inspect Star's freshly stolen phone.

"Oh sweet, dumb Marco."

"No need to call me dumb, Star," whispered Marco, only for Star to reach up and pinch his cheek, which only deepened his embarrassment to an entirely different level.

"Why buy a silly Earth phone, when I already had my handy-dandy compact?" beamed Star, who had let up on badgering the red-faced Marco.

"Never felt the need to have a backup in case anything went wrong?"

"Nahh, I don't really care to get caught up in the whole 'preparing' mumbo jumbo. That's your job, not mine." Her words elicited an eye roll from not only Marco, but her parents as well, both clearly having the same experience with Star and preparedness that he had.

"Alright, well, we can sort out your phone later. Moon, River, you guys mind if Star and I go on out and help around town?" Marco redirected his attention to the two ex-monarchs, who seemed to resonate with the idea of giving Star some space to exercise her newly found excitement.

"Got Atlas with ya?" asked River, whose words seemed to fortunately gleam over Moon who was too busy checking between her aforementioned parchments and the pile of delivered rations.

"Right here," quipped Marco, who jostled his scabbard to signify that he was armed.

"Alright then, off with the two of you," bellowed River who swiped his hand through the air to signify giving the green light to the two anxious teens.

"Alright! Operation 'go around and help people', begin!" shouted Star, who quickly grabbed Marco's arm and dragged him rather vigorously towards the door.

"You two be safe, come back some time before dusk," added Moon, who, at the moment, was still preoccupied with counting her rations to give a full-hearted farewell to the young couple.

"So, where to?" asked Star as the two sorted their way out of the confines of the looming castle.

"Well, as much as we could help, I'm guessing the refugee camps are off limits.. School's probably got some student-organized cleanup or whatever, so that could be pretty fun. And I've got a feeling Reverend Phillip's set something up at the church, so that's a pretty solid option as well." Marco rattled off potential locations of interest as the two made their way down the cracked steps, which deposited them into a slightly overgrown nook that they had painstakingly navigated through the day before. Using his foot, he pressed down a patch of prickly bushes, signaling to Star for her to pass through before carefully withdrawing from the patch and following suit.

"Any ideas?" he asked, walking up to her side to take her hand in his.

"There's a good chance we'll see our friends if we hit the school, so there's that. On the other hand, I kinda wanna see what this whole 'church' place looks like."

"It's your call," he said warm heartedly as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Why not hit both?" replied Star rather hopefully.

"I don't see why not. Is there one you'd prefer to stop by first?" he asked while stopping Star to look her in the eyes.

"Uuuuh, got a coin on ya?" she asked.

"Do I have a coin on me? What is it, 1908?"

Instead of a laugh, Star only tilted her head in confusion to Marco's quip. Even after nearly two years of knowing her, it wasn't uncommon for him to just completely forget that she was, in fact, an alien. To be precise, an alien that knows practically nothing about historical economics and the phasing out of commodity currency.

"Oh, uh, nevermind," he corrected himself sheepishly, "No, I don't have one on me."

"Drats!" she barked, hammering her fist into her palm in faux vexation.

"Let's just hit the church first. I'd bet the school thing's not gonna till later in the day anyway." To be frank, Marco wasn't all that comfortable with taking Star to the church. Even during the days prior to Toffee's arrival, the Diaz family refrained from dragging Star out to mass, and with good reason. He knew the Mewmans had their own distinct religion, and a rather serious one at that, and forcing her to tag along on a non-secular activity just didn't feel right.

"Hey, you're fine going to the church, right?" he stammered, hoping that Star would be honest in her answer.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" she replied in a confused tone, almost like Marco was delusional to assume otherwise.

"Well, it's just, I know there's a bit of a… difference in religion between us, and I don't want to force anything on you."

Stopping in her tracks, Star tried her best to contain her laughter, only to fail miserably seconds later. She knew her reaction was a little over-the-top, and even somewhat cruel seeing as Marco only asked out of good will. Realizing this, she gathered together her bearings and looked up to match her gaze with his. "Marco, why would I feel like you're forcing something on me? Yeah, I'm not catlick like you, but-"

"Catholic" he corrected her under his breath, seeing Star cringe at her mistake in real time.

"Sorry, my bad. Look, even if I'm not catholic, I'm totally ok with going to help people out. Heck, maybe I'll even learn something about your earth religion. If eight billion people believe in something, it's gotta be pretty reasonable, right." It was Marco's turn to laugh as Star's totally genuine words transformed into arguably humorous satire, forcing a chuckle out of him as he recuperated from her statement.

"What? What'd I say?"

"Star, Star, not everyone on Earth's a catholic, not even close!" he reverberated, while being very livid with his hands. Having seen just how different the cosmos was compared to Earth, he didn't have much of a right to be surprised by Star's presumption. Even though they had shared a global studies class during Star's first year at high school, he imagined she had little to no interest in concentrating on the course subject, seeing as her parents were already backing her enrollment with copious amounts of money.

"Huh, ya learn something new every day, right?" she joked, throwing an arm around Marco's shoulder and flashing him a megawatt smile.

"Yep, we sure do…" he said in response while glancing around at their surroundings, "And I'll bet we're gonna learn a whole lotta new things today."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"When you said you had an army on standby, I had assumed it would consist of… soldiers." Toffee's voice was low and cool, not overly aggressive, but still clear enough to voice her audible displeasure surrounding Mina's so called 'army'.

Having just formed their alliance the day before, the atmosphere of their allyship was still governed by their excessively brutal past. It had been quite a gamble in the first place to try and enlist the crazed warrior to his cause, knowing full well that if anything had gone awry in his proposal, he would have created another, much more threatening enemy compared to the one he already had. However, luck seemed to favor his side as Mina begrudgingly accepted his allegiance, seeing the relationship more as symbiotic than parasitic on her part. For Toffee, he really didn't have a use for her, other than positioning her as a front in order to continue his escapades while remaining illusory to his adversaries. He could easily muster up tens of thousands of demons and monsters to sack the Human's world, seeing as the hairless primates were a much more primitive and fragile species. But alas, his need for sublimity overrode the easier option, forcing him to seek help via a third party to do his bidding.

"Oh really, now," scoffed Mina as she stepped aside to halt the Septarian in his tracks, "And what army've you got, reptile!"

"Just because an army doesn't consist of soldiers, doesn't mean we can't mold them into such." Toffee spoke gently with a hand on the Solarian's shoulder, moving her aside gently to continue walking down the elevated platform overlooking the entrenched barracks.

Despite her clear lack of cognitive ability, she had a knack for military intelligence. Having been a victim of 'The Merge', she had wasted no time at all in finding her fighting force a safe place to lay low, with that place being an obscure set of cave systems just north of the Human's dinky town. They weren't glamorous in the slightest, but they were a mild improvement when compared to the decrepit hideout that was Butterfly Castle. Not that Mina was in the market for anything that would soften her rag-tag group of farmers and traders, if anything even could degrade their fighting capabilities even further. Her quote-on-quote 'warriors' were anything but, almost as if their uselessness was an insult to her military prowess.

"Speaking of which…" she growled in a low tone as she picked up her pace beside the tall reptilian, "Where's my breath, gangly."

"I've ordered the fulfillment of a dozen quarters; enough to keep your forces invigorated for around a week." Toffee didn't bother looking down at the pigtailed girl, instead keeping his steady gaze aimed for the approaching stairway.

"A week!" halted Mina, who stomped her foot on the ground and thrashed her arms up in exasperation. "The deal was six months worth!"

"It was six months worth, but I've taken the liberty of altering our time frame."

Hearing his words, Mina jumped in his way, unsheathed her sword and aimed the tip just inches from his jugular. Her intuition had already advised her not to trust such a barbaric inferior animal, and from her current perspective, it was dead-on. However, Toffee stood unfazed by her act of aggression, opting to keep his gaze fixated just above Mina's head, not even giving her the satisfaction of a reaction.

"I knew it! I knew I couldn't trust you. Not even twelve hours, and you've already fucked me!"

Instead of responding, he raised his finger, placed it on the tip of her blade, and slowly shifted the toned steel away from his neck, feeling the resistance in Mina's grip loosen the further he redirected it. Finally, he shifted his gaze to stare down at the still enraged Solarian, who despite having lost her physical threat, was still certainly livid.

"My dear Mina," he started, his left hand still on her blade, and his right correcting his tie. "I've delivered a week's worth, because all it will take is a week."

"You will have your revenge; I will have my retribution."

Hearing this, Mina yanked her sword out of his grip, and after pausing for a second, sheathed it in her scabbard. Her doubts surrounding the Septarian were still very vocal within her conscious, but the temptation of the shorter time frame seemed to work on her. How on Mewni he could fit several months of devastating training regiments and intricate planning into the span of just a few days was beyond her comprehension. Even so, the situation for her was a success either way. On the off chance the lizard could keep up with his word, her vengeance would only be a few days away. But in the much more likely scenario in which he fails to deliver within a week, she had the pleasurable vision of slicing open his abdomen to look forward to.

"Alright then, lizbo," she sneered while turning away from the tailored monster, "A week it is."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The harsh sun glared down on the two sweaty teenagers as they dangerously navigated the path forward. Their new world had turned out to be much more perilous than they could have imagined, the worst of two worlds merged into one. Nonetheless, they had their mission, and they were destined to complete it. Be it out of guiltiness, or sheer boredom, they had their eyes set on finding their way to Echo Creek Public High School.

Hearing a rustle in the nearby bushes, Marco stepped in front of Star and shielded her from the impending danger, holding his arms out as if to intimidate the ferocious creature. And as if on cue, a colossal, floral beast staggered out from within the flank of the walking path, bushing trees and the like out of its way as if they were nothing but twigs. Just like the rest before it, its anatomy consisted of an eye-less bulb, with four faults splitting its surface which lead to its razor entrenched mouth. Along with the bulb were thorn-ridden vines that crept alongside the monstrous entity, having already spread across the gravel path before the teens could prepare for the upcoming battle.

Acting fast on his instincts, Marco unsheathed Atlas from its scabbard, and held it in a low alber guard. Sensing the act of aggression, the hideous plant let out a rebelling roar with its serrated mouth before raising its vines menacingly, all ready to bore down on the innocent youths. Unfortunately for the beast, he was prepared, since as soon as the flora unleashed its wrath on the poor couple, he had already made to grab Star and decamp from their vulnerable position to hide behind a fallen tree.

"Dammit," he said through gritted teeth, having reached his daily limit in venus flytrap related incidents, "what is this, number four?"

"I shoulda brought a sword," cringed Star as she chanced a peak over the decaying wood of the tree.

They had figured out not too long ago that the undergrowths relied on feeling the movement of its victims, rather than seeing it. This meant that, as long as they sat perfectly in place, they were practically invisible to the lumbering plant. Unfortunately, sitting around wasn't a very practical battle tactic; they would have to attack it sooner or later, with sooner being the preferred time frame.

Turning to face Star, he whispered under his breath, "You break right, I run left. Grab its attention and I'll swoop in for the kill."

Sharing a nod in unison, both teens sprang into action. Leaving the security of the log first, Star dashed along the running path away from the monstrous beast, flailing her arms and screaming taunts to attract the plants attention. "YOOHOO! OVER HERE, CATCH ME IF YA CAN!"

Having caught its attention, Star snagged a small rock from beside the gravel path and hurled it at the large bulb, eliciting a terrifying roar in response. It crawled out from the sanctity of the bush with the use of its serrated vines and started grappling its way over towards her, progressively opening its jaw to reveal its terrifying array of jagged teeth. Seeing his opportunity present itself, Marco rolled out from behind the log and dashed towards the plant's vulnerable backside, having Atlas held out in front of him in preparation for his attack.

Feeling the movement of its adversaries, the colossal plant switched its focus from Star to Marco. He was still a good distance from the floral growth as the several vines gripping the surrounding trees redirected to come flying at him, barbs readied with lethal intent. He dropped into a low stance and deflected a vine with his blade, slicing off a decent chunk of its green hide before ducking down to avoid a shot aimed directly for his cranium. Seeing two more vines barreling down at him, he rolled to the side and jumped to his feet, perfectly evading the two attacks while positioning himself near the plant's weak spot.

Time seemed to slow down as he dashed towards the beast, jumping from left to right in order to confuse the plant as to where his location actually was. Finally having gotten near enough to his opponent, Marco coiled his legs and sprung up into the air, Atlas raised above his head, ready to dig into the green hide of the monstrous undergrowth. Being just inches from the bulb of the plant, he saw from the corner of his eye a stray vine darting towards his position, watching as it grew ever closer to his vulnerable form. The two came in contact simultaneously, with Atlas wedging itself deep into the green flesh of the plant, and the barbs of the vine slashing the side of his right calf. Both combatants let out shrieks of pain as their assaults tore into each other, staining the battlefields with blots of red and green. Having lost his downward momentum through Atlas, Marco kicked off the plant and fell backwards hard against the gravel road, leaving the beast to flail its appendages vigorously before falling down to the ground to lie lifeless.

"Marco!" shouted Star, who had just witnessed her bloody boyfriend fall injured onto the ground. Coming to a screeching halt by his side, she bent down and swept him into her arms, picking up his head to lie elevated above his fatigued form. His blurry vision gave way to a gruesome sight at the end of his leg. The thorns of the plant had dug deep into his right calf, leaving its side void of most of its skin, with just a few tattered pieces left covering up the insides of his leg. He was bleeding profusely, with a blot of crimson growing around his wound. Seeing the situation as dire as it was, he willed his hands to wrap around Star's head and pull her close to listen to his fleeting breath.

"Purse! bandage!" he squeaked out before falling silent due to a terrible tremor of pain. Confused at what he meant, she unleashed her purse from around her shoulder and dumped out its contents, completely surprised to see a roll of gauze fall out beside her phone and lip balm. Acting as swiftly as she could, she unrolled the gauze and wrapped it around Marco's leg, watching as the boy squirmed in pain as the material came in contact with his raw wound. Star could only ignore his howls as she continued her work, wrapping his leg with the remaining bandage before pulling it tight around his leg, eliciting an even worse scream of pain from her partner.

With his wound taken care of, Star leveraged a nearby stone to elevate his leg above the rest of his body. She'd done all she could to apply aid to his injury, having had to think back to the first-aid course she and Marco had attended during her stay on Earth. Seeing just how much pain he was in, she reached over and took both of his hands in hers, feeling the grip of his fingers bear down against her soft hands. She rearranged her position to lay her leg beneath his head, keeping it elevated from the painful earth below.

"Shit, Marco," she mouthed as she took in the situation, "What are we gonna do."

"I'm so sorry, Star. This is all my fault," he cried in response while tilting his head to gaze into her tearful eyes. "I shouldn't have led us down the walking path, the streets would have been safer…"

"No, no nonononono, shhhhh, Marco, it's alright," she comforted the injured boy as she picked up his head to hold close to her chest. "It's not your fault, you couldn't have known this was gonna happen."

"Do you remember how much longer till we reach the school?" she asked, chancing a glance down the gravel walking path ahead.

"It should be just around the next curve. What fucking luck, am I right?" As the moment dragged on, the pain in his leg started to gradually subside. Even with it being wrapped in bandages, he could tell he had gotten incredibly lucky. He could still move his foot, which meant his muscles and tendons were fully intact. All that had been damaged was his skin, which for the most part, was still the vast majority of what was visible on his leg. The bandage had done an admirable job in stopping the profuse bleeding, which gave his body wiggle-room in replenishing the volume he had lost.

"Can you walk?" she asked with optimism, glancing back and forth between his sweat ridden head and his dressed leg.

"Maybe," he breathed, picking his leg up from the rock and moving it about, feeling only a slight tinge of pain as the bandages shifted around his leg. Sitting up from her leg, he made to stand up, feeling slightly dizzy from his depleted levels of blood. Star swiftly swooped in to stabilize his shaky body, sliding his arm around her shoulder to lean on her for support.

"You ok?" she asked, letting the Latino teen collect his bearings.

"Yeah, yeah. Here, take this." With her help, he bent down and grabbed Atlas, wiping off the green residue on his shirt before handing it over to Star. She wasted no time in gripping the sword and holding it out in front of her, almost as if to intimidate any other beasts from revealing themselves. The pair started off down the gravel road in silence, contemplating the absolute disaster they had placed themselves in. It was an inconceivable notion, but perhaps Edmund was correct. Before 'The Merge', practically nothing could stand up to their combined strength, atleast to a reasonable extent. They had overestimated their strength without magic, so much so that Marco was hurt because of it.

"Guess Edmund was right, huh," said Star with a sigh as she hung her head below her shoulder.

""I just… I don't get it," Marco asserted with a grunt.

"Say what now?"

"I mean, how'd we lose to these guys, we're better than this," he groaned, wincing as he stepped down hard on his injured foot.

"Marco, it's ok, we're not as strong as we were with magic." Star's words were said in vain as Marco let them wander in one ear, and out the other. She was a little bemused at how he was more aggravated at their loss than thankful they made it out alive.

"Maybe, but we're not weak either. I mean, you've been fighting monsters way before you got your wand, right?"

Yeah'huh," she answered, reminiscing of the blissful days of monster-fighting and warnicorn-riding.

"And I made it through the Neverzone without magic, right?"

"Uuuh, I guess…" she affirmed, not having any Earthly idea what he had gotten up to in his time away.

"So if we can already both kick some serious booty without magic, then why the hell did we just lose to a blind venus fly trap." Marco's words left Star mute, stealing her rebuttal from her lips and silencing her with his conjecture. The more she thought about it, the more her own anger grew. He was right; he was absolutely, positively right. They were both incredibly dangerous even without her wand, not to mention Marco had already proved he was as lethal as Star even prior to the cleaving of magic.

"That's…" she started before her voice gave out, "That's a good question…"

"Let's just… Let's just get to the high school, I'm sure I can get some help there."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Say cheese, Diaz!" The flash of light forced Marco to spring his arm up to his eyes, shielding his identity from his attacker's image.

"Janna!" he growled, swatting blindly with his open hand in hopes he'd knock the Filipino girl's phone from her hands.

"I think it's a good look for you, man. Real gallant-knight kinda vibe," teased Jackie as she helped sit the boy down near the medical table. Having taken a few first-aid courses in the past, she had promptly volunteered herself to re-dress Marco's wrappings, not expecting to find it as humorous as it turned out to be.

"Can ya just fix me up, please?" begged Marco as he switched his gaze between the two giggling teens.

"Jackie, I'm no doctor, but I'm thinkin' a full body cast would do the job."

"Oh, 'a hundred percent, dude." Snickered Jackie as she fitted her hands with the first-aid latex gloves. "But in all seriousness, this doesn't look good, Marco."

"You can say that again…" he sighed, remembering the excruciating pain he felt as the serrated vine ripped up his calf.

"Need me to knock him out, Jacks?" quipped Janna, finding it humorous how Marco's gaze switched from annoyed to terrified as he remembered just how effective her hypnosis was.

"Nah, he's a big boy, he can handle it." Hearing the words slip out of her mouth, she turned her gaze down to shield her blush, realizing now that calling her ex a 'Big Boy' might be a bit of a blunder on her part.

"So how'd this happen again?" asked Jackie, switching the subject as the air started to grow stale from discomfort.

"Big plant monster thingy, typical Mewni stuff," said Marco coolly, trying to portray his battle with the undergrowth as a heroic endeavor, which, to his credit, it practically was.

Laying out the first-aid kit, Jackie pulled out a pair of bandage shears alongside a small stack of four-by-fours. She then elevated his right leg on a nearby chair, and pulled up his pant leg, reeling back at the sight of the red and green stained bandages sloppily fastened around his calf.

"What's the news, doc?" Janna piped, finding her reaction to Marco's injury somewhat amusing.

"The news is his leg's gonna be infected in no time if he keeps these bandages on," she sighed, pointing to the blots of green liquid and dirt painting the area around his injury.

"But you can stop that, right?" Marco asked nervously.

"Duh-doy, dummy. Why else would I have the med kit?" She replied with a scoff as she lined her shears up with the bottom of the wrappings. Starting off slowly, she carefully cut along the length of the bandages, surprised to see Marco not even so much as flinch to her cutting. "Ok so far?" she looked up to see Marco sign her a thumbs up. Finishing the long cut, she withdrew her shears and placed them on the table. Then with both hands, she peeled the wrappings off his leg, shocked at what she saw beneath them.

"Uhh, Marco?" she asked, her eyes not moving off his calf.

"Yeah?" he asked sheepishly, afraid something was terribly wrong.

"You said you were injured, right?"

"Ahh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that once or twice."

"So then why is there nothing here?"

"Whaddya mean there's nothi-" His words were silenced as he leaned over to take a gander at his calf. Low and behold, where there once was a sickening wound renting his leg, was now nothing more than slightly-tan skin. Reaching over, he tore off the rest of the bandages and lifted his leg, surprised at the total lack of pain or fatigue he felt before. "Wha- No, no, no. I swear, I was hit. That thing hit me- it tore off…"

"I mean, obviously, something had to have happened," quoted Jackie as pointed to the numerous blood-soaked bandages, "But, it's just… not there."

And then, it hit him. His mind lit up with unlimited worries as he sprang from the bed, taking a second to reel from a modest bout of vertigo. His memory flashed with chapters of his late-night discussion with Moon, glimpses of the book and its illustrations scattering across his mental landscape. The two once relaxed girls perked up at his rapid movements, Janna going so far as to spill a volume of her matcha tea on herself in distress.

"Dammit, Diaz," she scolded, whipping off the wetness from her canary skirt.

"Whoo, dude, you ok?" Jackie dispersed as she stood up to help the dazed teen. Marco shook off her assistance and stood up straight, still holding his pounding head as he let out an orate of illegible words. "Yeah, good here. I, uhhh. Moon, need to see Moon. Gotta ask about the stuff."

"Huh?" Jackie let out a chuckle before lending her hand to Marco's forehead, pressing against it with the back of her wrist. "Been taking those Mewman mushrooms, Marc?"

"N-no, it's-it-it-it-it's something else. Listen, I-I gotta go, thanks for the whole leg. help. thingy… Ok, bye!" gaffed Marco before speeding out of the medical tent, again making Janna spill her drink in shock of his rapid movements. With his exit commentated by Janna's second scornful remark, he weaved his way through the populated school foyer, his eyes darting from location to location trying to find his girlfriend.

He was pleasantly surprised at just how many people they had come across today, at both the school and the church. Not only that, but even on their way to their destinations, they passed by flock after flock of people, all bearing construction equipment and cleaning up the refuse from the streets and walkways. It did his moral some good seeing just how charitable his town really was, with people deciding to forego the government's warning to hit the streets and help out their fellow neighbors. What didn't do him any good was the thought of those terrible plant-monsters roaming about the suburban woods of Echo Creek. If we saw 'em, I can't imagine who else did.

Spotting a tuft of golden hair from the corner of his eye, he came to a screeching halt and bounded towards it, the full form of Star now coming into view. His speed decreased from an urgent sprint to a brisk walk as he noticed her cheerily conversing with a young man, the two chatting while unloading bags of rice from the back of a Humvee. For an Earthling, he was dressed pretty weird. He wore a leather chest piece with two polished shoulder bracers flanking his sides, underneath which two cotton sleeves covered up his arms down to his elbows. He had on a pair of worn work pants, held up by an intricate brown belt which held a variety of pouches and loops, presumably ones to hang tools off of. What made the outfit make a bit more sense was the obvious shortsword hanging off his right hip, the length safely secured in a velvet scabbard, strangely fancy compared to his grubby attire. A Mewman, here? I thought they were all at the rec center.

"Hey, Star, how's it going?" Marco said as he closed the distance between him and Star, the look of confusion on her face being very evident.

"Hey babe… Uuuh, isn't your leg supposed to be all… gashed up?"

"Oh, yeah, that," he spoke, lifting his calf forward to present its undamaged hull. "Yeah, long story. Anyway, who's this?"

"Who's this? Who's this!" she started, building up an unnecessary tension, which the young boy clearly found humorous. "I'll have you know that this is none other than the one, the only, Viscount Calvin Marquis Reinheart. Or Cal; that's what I call him."

"Ohhh," started Marco, smacking his forehead shame, "Your cousin! How could I forget?"

"To be fair, you have only met me once," he said in a cool, British voice. When side-by-side with Star, it was pretty obvious that the two were related. They both bore the trademark blonde hair and fair skin, not forgetting the pearly blue eyes, a sign of their shared Johansen heritage. He did look vaguely familiar from a distance, especially since he was dressed like he was summoned from the mid-eighth century.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," he apologized, offering a handshake, which Calvin accepted. "Marco Diaz. You probably knew that, though."

"If my memory serves me right, this was the young man who tore it up on the dance floor, cousin?" Star rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, blowing a stray tuft of hair from her bangs out of the way of her face.

"He sure was, Mr. I'ma Go Dance It Up With A Bunch Of Single, Noble Princesses And Expect To Get Off Scot-Free." She punctuated her jab by poking her finger into his chest.

"Hey man, to my credit, I didn't know that dancing's a bit more… personal on Mewni than it is on Earth."

"Well, you're not the only one who's made that mistake, I'm afraid," joked Calvin as he unloaded another bag of rice. "Though, some men care to indulge in it, like a sport. I'm sure Star could name a few."

"Rey…" Breathed Star under her breath, displaying a mix of indifference at the thought of what Marco could only assume was another cousin.

"Precisely," smirked Calvin, who in the time it took Star to grumble the name of her promiscuous cousin had unloaded another bag of rice.

"So, Calvin. Uhh, whatcha doin' out here? I thought the Mewmans were all at the rec center."

"Oh, they are," answered Calvin, who took a breather to wipe sparse sweat from his brow. "But, being a capable, fit young man, I took it upon myself to offer anything I could. That's why you two are out here, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, for the most part," murmured Star, who had taken a respite from unloading the Humvee to bask in the coolness of the shade. "The, uhh, the new guys in charge. They didn't really have any questions for us, so we kinda just went off and did our own thing."

"Hmm, and I heard that didn't work out too well for Marco here." Calvin leaned over the large pile of rice bags to catch a glimpse at Marco's calf. "Or not, apparently."

"Oh, that reminds me," blurted Marco, his trepidation returning to him. "Ahh, Star; we gotta go see your mom."

Star froze in place, dropping the bag of rice she was carrying directly on Calvin's foot, who in turn dropped his in shock. Having seen Marco's healed leg, she at first credited it to some advanced Earth medicine. But hearing his urgent plea to speak to her mother, her mind finally caught up to a realization she didn't even know she feared.

"No… No, you don't think-"

"It's gotta be, Star. Look, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can find out."

Taking a quick breath, Star turned around to give the still in pain Calvin a tight hug, before grabbing Marco's hand and pulling him towards the exit. "Nice seeing ya Calvin, gotta go!" she called out, glancing back to see her cousin curse his foot under his breath.

"Alright, minging rice, till next time!" he shouted back, punching the stack of rice-bags in retaliation for what they did to his foot.

Turning the corner, Marco caught up to Star's side and continued down the crosswalk. The two navigated their way through the barren streets of Echo Creek, occasionally coming across groups of hard-hat wearing civilians cleaning up the overgrown streets. The harsh summer sun bore down on the two teens, forcing them every once in a while to seek shelter under an awning or bus stop. But eventually, they finished their silent jog with a knock on the two looming doors of Butterfly Castle, happy and surprised to see Eclipsa answer the door.

One look at the disheveled pair, and she opened the door and pointed down the nearby corridor. "She's down there. Moon, that is."

Brushing by the short woman, the two exchanged pleasantries before sprinting down the hallway, sliding to a stop before the looming archway of the royal dining hall. Peaking their heads in, they noticed Moon happily enjoying a solemn grapefruit, her face obscured by a sheet of unravel parchment.

"Mom, mom!" Called Star, grabbing Marco by the wrist and tracing him across the room.

With a sigh, Moon lowered her parchment, glanced at her wrist watch, and turned to face her tousled daughter. "Yes, my angel?"

"Marco! Leg! *pant* Marco's leg is magic! I mean, his leg got hit, and then, it, *gasp*, oh gee willikers I'm gonna faint." Star swooned against the back of a nearby dining chair, fighting her lungs to suck in a breath as Marco and Moon exchanged worried glances between each other and the enervated girl.

"Star," started Moon, who rose from her chair to place her hand on Star's back. "Star? Are you alright, dear?"

"Yeah, yeah, mom, I'm good," she squeaked out, turning around to face her two perturbed loved ones. "Just gotta catch my breath, *pant*, is all."

"Ahh, I think what she's trying to say is…" Marco started, the look of fear in his eyes disseminating. "We had a… a run in, with a plant-monster. And, uuhh, I got… hurt."

"Oh sweet Ryon," breathed Moon, who sat herself back down in her chair and cradled her head with her hand. "You two couldn't go a day without mixing yourselves in trouble, could you?"

"Well, that's not what we're worried about," Star added, having regained her breath. "Look, after he got hurt, I bandaged him up and we waddled our way to the school. Aaaand when we got there, some of our friends took him to get all stitched up, but when they took the bandages off-"

"-There was nothing there," he finished, holding his elbow in his hand and looking down in shame. "It… healed. I mean, it was a pretty nasty hit, and it just, poof, healed." Marco mimed his onomatopoeia with a hand gesture of something exploding. Retelling the story wasn't the difficult part for him, nor was it keeping a watchful eye to make sure Star didn't hurl out of fatigue. It was the fact that their shenanigans, which were all set in motion by Marco opting to take the walking path rather than the streets, only added to the disarray spewn around Echo Creek. Moreover, his whole magic conundrum only helped to add more stress on his family and friends. It was as if the only thing he had done since 'The Merge' was annex new problems for everyone else to clean up.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Moon; this is all my fault," he voiced, dropping his arms to let them hang limply by his sides. "You're right, I really do know how to fumble things up, don't I."

Seeing the young boy's expression grow more and more dejected, Moon stood up in a hurry and moved to comfort him. It was odd, her immediate urge to get up and console a child that wasn't even hers. Even throughout Star's childhood, she rarely felt the need to offer support in times of disparity, often citing 'Tough times build strong characters' . But for some strange, uncanny reason, she felt the compulsion to do just that.

"Marco, forgive me, I… I spoke out of line," she stammered, placing a gentle hand on the somber boy's shoulder. "These things… Happen. I'm certain it wasn't your intention to step in harm's way, and… I'm sure you did all you could to prevent anything worse from occurring." Despite her best efforts, she felt as though her words came off as disingenuine, like she was forcing herself to comfort him. Not that that was the case, not at all. It was simply her inexperience shining through her practice. Despite having to deal with children on a regular basis - the people in question often being over the age of eighteen - it was difficult for her to show genuine concern over someone else's feelings. But to Marco, her words felt as genuine as the sky was blue. Seeing such a confined person comfort him, even without knowing the context of the situation, instantly improved his mood and leveled his gloom.

"Thanks… My bad, I shouldn't've gotten so gloomy over what you said," he sighed, a small smile tugging at the ends of his mouth. "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful for now on, Ms. Moon."

"Just Moon, Marco," she smiled seeing the young boy lighten up at her words. "And, there's no need to apologize. I know you, and I trust you. And even though you were injured, I trust you nonetheless."

Star could barely contain herself seeing Moon genuinely care for Marco, the glee of her mother treating her boyfriend like her son threatening to seep out and ruin the moment for the two. Even though her relationship with her mother was, for lack of a better word, totally bonkers at the moment, she couldn't help but feel overjoyed at the silent confirmation she was receiving. Not that she hadn't also noticed his melancholy the second he replied to Moon's joust; she had a keen eye for picking out and correcting any negative emotion Marco was feeling. But just the sight of the two legitimately conversing like he was part of the family filled her with a feeling of unmatched happiness. Her need to express her joy overpowering her will to let the moment drag on, Star opened her arms and encircled the two in an affectionate hug, smiling ear to ear as she pulled them in. "Huuuugggssss!"

"Star!" Marco squeaked, having been caught off guard by Star's embrace.

"Oh my! You certainly have your fathers strength, I'll lend you that," chuckled Moon, as she tried to free herself from Star's clutches, only to be pulled back into the frey.

"You two are getting along so awesomely! It totally took my mind off the fact that Marco's leg healed with magic!"

Her words slipping out of her mouth before she could care to think, she was jolted back to reality as the realization slapped her like a brick to the face. "Ohh, yeah, that..."

Stepping back, Star took a second to collect her thoughts before vocalizing them, this time making sure to properly convey just exactly what her worries were. "Umm, Mom, not that Marco's injury isn't important. I mean, it totally was, but that's not what we're concerned about at the moment."

"Yeah… See, on our way to our first stop, I filled Star in on what you told me earlier today, with all the Fluke and Quake stuff. And then, when I got hit, and it miraculously healed on its own… Do you think there's a chance that it's got anything to do with the whole magic situation?"

"I mean, this just reeks of magic, Mom. Wounds like… Wounds like his don't just go away on their own." Star silenced herself mid-sentence as the thought of Marco's leg re-entered her mind, showing itself in graphic detail which made her stomach turn upside down. Having only ever seen a handful of injuries like the one he had sustained, she fought the urge to display her discomfort as she battled with her brain to erase the image of her boyfriend, bloodied and beaten, lying down on a red stained gravel walkway.

With a sigh, Moon took a second to glance between the two anxious teens, breaths bated like her next words dictated their sentence. Feeling her need to break the uncomfortable silence in the room grew, she had no choice but to admit the truth. "Star, Marco… I have absolutely no clue."

She felt defeated admitting her shortcomings, the looks on her company's faces doing little to help her disappointment. "I'm sorry, I truly am. I agree; it seems as if magic had a part to play. But to be frank, little's out of the question. Moreover, in the little text I found pertaining to these concurrences, nothing points to expedited healing as a symptom of anything of the like. It could be that, since you've come into contact with magic more than once, your human biology rewired itself to recover quicker. Or maybe your leg brushed some strange plant, and it transferred some salve that prompted you to heal quicker. Try as we might, there's no chance we'll be able to connect what happened last night to what happened to your leg, Marco."

Letting her words drift off into the silence of the dining hall, Moon watched as the stone faces of the two teens contemplated what they had just heard. She felt a growing awkwardness begin to swell as neither of them opted to respond, instead choosing to stare at her in quietude. After what felt like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, Marco let out a hefty sigh and glanced between the two girls.

"So, that's it, huh?" his was voice monotone and downcast.

"It's not bad news, I guess," Star shifted to stand side by side with Marco, their elbows touching as she reached down to take his hand in hers.

"I mean, it coulda been a lot worse," she added, changing glances between her mother and Marco.

"As long as you're ok; that's all I was concerned about," Marco looked up to catch the sight of a smiling Star, returning her display of kindness with a smile of his own and a squeeze of her hand.

"If that's all," chimed Moon, feeling the conversation shift to solely encompass Marco and Star, "I have a few parchments from the scattered nobility I have to tend to." She leaned over to plant a peck on Star's cheek, happy to see her daughter content with her relationship. Even though she could still sense the terrible divide between them, she knew she was on track to regaining her trust, be it within a few weeks, or even a lifetime. All that mattered to her at the moment was atoning for the wrongs she had committed.

"If anything else happens, you must let me know." She ruffled the hair of the two gently before retreating back into her seat, her attention now returned to her half-eaten grapefruit and pile of parchment.

Having gotten an answer they didn't anticipate, the two made their way to the dining hall's exit. Stepping back out into the tarnished, the two rejoined their hands and started off down a random hallway. They had accomplished everything they had set out to do, in one way or another. They reunited with their friends, explored their new environment, helped out whenever and wherever they could. Ignoring their terrible walking path experience, and the idea of those plant-monsters simply roaming around the numerous wooded areas of Echo Creek, the day had been pretty enjoyable. But yet, it was as if there was still something left to do, like they had forgotten a key plot point they had marked on their agenda.

"Got the time?" Star asked, trying to finagle her way into a few sprouts of small talk.

"Yeah, one second." Pulling out his phone, he flicked up the screen and took in the time, only to be distracted by an immense line of notifications. "Uh oh."

"What's up?"

"Take a look," Marco lifted his phone for Star to see, scrolling through the torrent of urgent messages and calls he had received in the last eighteenteen hours.

Seeing this, Star burst out laughing, folding over and holding herself up on her knees as laughter racked her body. It was one thing to have a few unread texts, but having over fourty two pings was something she found endless humor in. Her laugh turned contagious as Marco let loose and joined her in mirth, putting his phone down as giggles ran through the two of them.

"Mar-*laugh*, Marco! How did that even happen!" howled Star, the thought of ignoring several dozen notifications causing her to throw her head back and cry with laughter.

"I think, *laugh*, I think I put my phone on mute before I left to meet up with River in the armory! Jeez, I'm never gonna hear the end of this."

Taming his laughter, he let Star finish up before reopening his phone. Tapping the call icon, he hit Angie's contact and opened a call, signaling to Star to try and contain her guffaw. The phone didn't ring twice before an urgent voice answered the call. "Marco, Marco! Are you there!"

"Yes, mom, I'm here," heaved Marco, opting to satisfy Star's obvious curiosity by holding the phone out and switching to speaker phone.

"Oh sweet jesus; oh my gosh," Angie's ardent breathing echoed through the phone, causing the two teens to feel a slight tinge of regret having caused the mother so much distress.

"You ok, mom?"

"What the H E double hockey sticks, Marco! Why even bother buying you a phone, if you don't even use the darn thing!"

"I know, I know, this doesn't look great," calmed Marco, feeling his mothers distress turn into rage as she continued on, knowing that whenever she invoked the act of spelling out curse words, she meant business.

"I called you fifteen times last night, Marco. FIFTEEN TIMES. Do you have any idea what you've done to your poor, worried mother?"

"Mom, I'm sorry! The phone was on mute, I didn't even know you were trying to get a hold of me!" Marco's attitude turned defensive as Angie bore down on his radio silence, glancing at Star to see her nervously biting on her worn nails.

"Jeez, Marco. We let you out into god knows what, and the first thing you do is put your only line of communication with us on mute!"

"Why didn't you just call Moon?" returned Marco, a feeling of guilt bite him as his tone was clearly strained.

"I did, and you know what she told me?"

"Uh oh," the two mouthed simultaneously, exchanging glances of worry between each other.

"She told me you went off and had a duel with King River, and you ended up passing out! Really Marco, really?"

A sigh of relief blew out from the two of them, the strange reality of Moon evading his magical mishap saving them from causing Angie to implode with worry. Clearing his voice, Marco carried on.

"I know, I know, It wasn't a good idea. Just… Just now that I'm safe now, and I'm with Star."

"Hi Ms. Diaz!" yakked Star, assuming her usual cheery voice to introduce herself.

"Oh, h-hello, Star," she stuttered, feeling slightly self conscious having berated her son over speaker phone. "Where are you two, are you with Star's parents?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're at the castle," chimed Marco.

"We went out for a little while, we basically just made it back," added Star, deciding not to bring up the topic of Marco's injury.

"Alright, as long as you two are safe," breathed Angie, her voice clearly calmer and more relaxed. "Is it safe outside, are the streets ok?"

"For the most part, yeah," spouted Marco, looking over at Star to silently beg her from mentioning the monster plants.

"Are you two able to come home? I don't want to pull Star away from her family, but Marco, you've gotta get home ASAP."

"Uuuh, yeah, yeah we can make it over there," said Marco, "Do you think maybe I can wait till a little later, maybe dinner?"

"Why?"

"Oh, you know, there's still some things we gotta do over here, ya know. Castle isn't very 'fit for habitation' at the moment, so there's that." In reality, Marco was simply panning for an excuse to buy more time with Star, even at the risk of misinforming his mother. It had been an unexpectedly wild day, and all he was asking for was spending just a little bit of alone time with Star.

Hearing a sigh come through the speakers of the phone, he knew Angie had conceded. "Fine, but if I call you, or text you, or try to get a hold of you in any way, shape or form, we're gonna have a problem mister."

"Yep, ahuh, understood," squeaked Marco, an embarrassed smile stretching across his slightly rose face.

"Alright then, would 5:30 be ok?"

"5:30 is great, mom," he replied.

"Alrighty then, you two behave yourselves, don't get into trouble, and don't be late. I'm cooking up a feast for you two and I don't want you bunch to miss it."

"Understood mom, we know." Saying their goodbyes, Marco ended the call and stashed his phone in his pocket, letting out a deep breath as he reclined on his heels.

"Why'd ya as if we could stay?" questioned Star, moving closer to stand just a few inches from Marco's side.

"Listen, Star. It's been… a pretty weird day. And taking yesterday into consideration, all I wanna do is just chillax for a little bit, if that's fine with you."

"Movie time?" beamed Star, raising herself on her tippy-toes to stare her partner directly in his eyes.

"Movie time," replied Marco, extending his hand to again take hers, holding it tight as he leaned in to plant a quick peck on her lips.

"Mhhh, maybe a little extra something too, huh?" a sly smile encompassing her face as her eyes fell half lidded.

Fighting the need to resist the invitation, Marco released her hand, and threw his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against her side to plant a long kiss on her cheek. "If you're good, I'll think about it."

"Mmmmm. Don't worry, I'll behave myself," she chirped, leaning her head into the crook of his neck and letting out a cute little purr.

"Alright, let's get a move on, Butterbutt. Mackie Hand's not gonna watch himself, now is he." And with that, the two walked off adhered together, exchanging quick pecks as they made their way down the disheveled hallway, both beaming with joy as they held each other close.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Pheww, another fourteen thousand words? And in under eighteen days at that! Not that I'm trying to toot my own horn, but if I can keep this speed up, we'll be getting back to where the original Unbroken Bonds had left off.

For all of you readers out there, please let me know if the chapter's I'm writing are a bit too long. Also, Looking back on it, I've stuffed nearly fifty thousand words into the time frame of just under twenty four hours, which makes me assume that I'm either A: Doing an ok job at weaving an interesting story, or B: Totally over detailing everything and making it extra difficult to enjoy. Either way, let me know of any improvements I can make that'll elevate the reading experience.

Please, if you have a few seconds, would you mind adding a follow, favorite, kudo or even comment? The more reader feedback I get, the more motivation I have to write these things.

Thank you all, and adieu.