False alarm guys. This won't be the last chapter. I thought of an ending that makes way more sense than what I first had in mind. Anyway, enjoy!

Marco looked up at the figure standing in front of his cell. The harsh, unnatural light of the torches that lit the hallways made it impossible for Marco to see the person in detail, though it was obvious that they were shorter than any of the guards that Marco had encountered. The figure seemed to be observing Marco, watching him yet they hesitated to speak. Unable to stand the quiet any longer, Marco spoke. "Uh, hi. Can I help you?"

"No, you can't." replied the figure, in a commanding male voice. "But perhaps I can help you."

The figure stepped forward, giving Marco a better view of him. He was a short man, but had a long blonde beard, similar in color to Star's hair. He had on a blue jacket, grey pants, and a long dark blue cape. What really caught Marco's attention, however, was the large crown on his head.

"Firstly, allow me to introduce myself. I am River Butterfly, king of Mewni," continued the man. Marco simply glared at him, remaining silent. "Second, I would like to apologize for my wife's actions. I know you don't remember anything that you and Star did over the last two years. In fact, you probably don't remember who Star is at all. How you managed to find your way here is beyond me.

"Having said that, I would like to help you," he concluded.

"Right… and how do I know I can trust you?" asked Marco, who was still suspicious of the King's intentions.

River chuckled, much to Marco's surprise. "Just as cautious as ever. That's one of the wonderful things about you, my boy. You can balance out Star's recklessness." He looked up to see Marco's look of confusion. "Ah, right. You don't remember. But anyway, to answer your question, the reason that you should trust me is quite apparent, don't you think? I'm King. I already have you locked in the dungeons and if I wanted to execute you, I could have already done it. I have no reason to deceive you, since I already have you."

Marco sighed. "Alright. I guess you have a point. So what exactly are you going to help me with?"

River peered down the hallway, making sure that no one else was present and capable of hearing him. "I'm going to get you out of this cell and bring you to Star," he whispered. "She may be able to use her magic to restore your memory. But we must be careful. My wife still wants you imprisoned."

Marco nodded, and with that, the King released Marco from his cell. Rather than use a key, however, River had pulled the steel bars apart and allowed Marco to squeeze through. Marco found this slightly terrifying, but just went with it.

Soon after, Marco was wandering a series of secret passages hidden throughout the castle. He and the King climbed ropes and ladders, made their way up steep staircases, and crawled through tunnels. Ten minutes later, Marco found himself standing before an ornate wooden door. Contrasting the detailed decorations carved into the wood was, written on the center of the door in large font, the name 'Star!' with each letter written in a different color.

Marco reached to knock on the door, but hesitated and looked over at the King, who leaned on the wall next to the door. River gestured to the door, indicating that Marco should be the one to knock. So Marco knocked. A few seconds passed, and there was no response. Once again, Marco looked to the King, and, once again, he gestured for Marco to knock. So Marco knocked again. They heard a groan come from inside the room, followed by a girl's voice.

"Go awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay," said Star from inside the room.

"Uh, actually, I was… wondering if…I could come in?" replied Marco hesitantly. Silence followed, then suddenly, the door flew inward as Star yanked it open. Marco immediately noticed that her bright blue eyes were red from crying. "Marco!" she yelled and before Marco could react, Star had pulled him into the room. Star's father followed the teens and shut the door, though Star took no notice of this.

As he was dragged into the room, Marco tried to speak, but was cut off as Star slapped him across the face. "That's for forgetting me," said Star. Marco was about to reply, when Star pressed her lips to his, pulling him into a short kiss. Before Marco could process what was happening, Star had him in a tight hug. "And that's because I missed you. And I love you. And…" More tears began to stream down Star's face as she buried her face in his chest.

"Marcooooooooooo…" she sobbed. "Never leave me. Please don't leave me. I need you here…"

Just like in the village, Marco found himself in the awkward position of not wanting Star to cry, but not knowing who she was. Sensing this, the King spoke up. "Star, dear. I'm sorry to say that Marco still can't remember you. Not entirely at least, since he did manage to find his way to Mewni."

Star looked up. "Dad? W-when did you get here?" she asked as her cheeks began to turn red. Marco couldn't help but think she looked cute, with an embarrassed look on her face and the hearts on her cheeks changing from pink to red.

"Wait, what do you mean he can't remember me?" Star looked from her dad to Marco and back to her dad. "What happened?"

"Well, dear, what happened was…" and the King continued on to explain that, after Star returned to Mewni, he and the Queen returned to Earth and erased the memories of everyone she had met. That they had done it to protect Star. That they never meant for her to be so torn apart by it. "I'm so sorry, Star."

Star listened quietly to her father speak. But as she opened her mouth to respond, her bedroom door suddenly opened to reveal her mother. "Star, I—Star! Marco? River!?"

Moon looked at the trio before her, surprised to see them gathered in Star's room. "What exactly is going on here?"

River stepped forward. "She knows everything, darling. I had to tell her. We couldn't keep this from her. It wasn't fair." He braced himself as he waited to face his wife's anger, but instead, all she did was sigh.

"Yes, I suppose you were right. All we'd really managed to do was make her sad. The reason I came here was to apologize." Moon turned to her daughter. "I'm sorry, Star. We really did mean for it to help you."

Star stared at her mother for a moment before replying.

"Fix him."

Her parents looked at her, confused. "Fix Marco. Give him his memories back. I want Marco back."

River turned to his wife, whose confusion had turned to guilt. "Well Star, you see, it's not that simple," said Moon, who was now looking at the floor. "If it was anyone else, it would be easy. But the spell I had to use to repress Marco's memories specifically was much more powerful than what I had used on your other friends. His mind was much more resistant, so I had to use a spell that's nearly impossible to break. I'm afraid that we simply don't have the resources to restore his memories."

All heads in the room turned to Star.

"S-so, that's it then. H-he'll never g-get his memories b-back." Star dropped to her knees. She didn't cry; perhaps her eyes simply couldn't produce anymore tears. Star sat there, shocked and distraught, staring at the floor.

Marco stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Star. If it means anything to you, you seem like an amazing person. I'm sure I was proud to say that you were my friend. If only we could somehow go back in time to stop this from happening. I don't suppose the wand could do that?"

"No," Star mumbled. "The wand can't time travel. But—"

Star jumped to her feet as the hearts on her cheeks changed to lightbulbs. "That's it!"

She ran over to her desk, grabbed a pair of dimensional scissors, and opened a portal. Then she ran to Marco and pulled him back to the portal. "I'm going to fix you. I'm going to get you back."

And with that, Star and Marco entered the portal, leaving Star's parents behind. Moon turned to River, confusion evident on her face.

"Now where do you suppose they're off to?"

Ok, for real this time. Next chapter will be the last one, but I can't say for sure when it'll be up.