'When you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go.'

Alexandra Stoddard

(Chapter 20)

Seated at the dinner table, Angie took another bite of her steak and chewed thoughtfully. She debated with herself whether or not to say anything, but then decided that should probably say something to her son.

"...Um…Marco…are…are you okay?" Angie finally asked. "You've, uh…you've been buttering that roll for ten minutes straight."

Marco ran his butterknife back and forth across the roll every half a second. He didn't blink once as he stared at the wall. He had buttered halfway through the roll at this point as he was zoned out.

"Marco?"

"Huh?" Marco finally stopped buttering his roll and looked at his mother. "What?"

"You seem a little…distracted, sweetie," said Angie. "Did something happen between you and Jackie?"

"No. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. We watched TV and that's all we did. Then she left." Marco went back to stuffing his face with food and avoiding making eye contact with anybody. "The steak is great, Dad. Real good."

"Thank you, son. I bought the sauce at a new shop in town," Raphael said. "You should have invited Jackie to stay for dinner. Shame she left before we got back."

"She stayed long enough," Marco muttered.

Angie took another bite of her steak. "You know, Raphael, I love the steak, but I think maybe we should start watching what we eat and stick to a healthy regimen. I read this thing about lean meats in this magazine called Naked Food, and-"

"I'm going to bed! Goodnight everyone!" Marco dashed away and up the stairs.

"What's wrong with that boy?" Raphael asked. "He didn't even finish his steak."

"Oh, I'll wrap it up and put it in the fridge. Marco can eat it for lunch tomorrow," Angie said.

"Mawco," said the baby in her high chair.

Marco hurried into his room and shut the door. He took deep breaths to calm down his racing heart.

"Get it together, Marco. You went to war with tribes of orcs and hordes of goblins back in the Neverzone, you can deal with what happened with you and Jackie." Marco sighed. "For God's sake, man. Most guys would kill to be able to do what you did. Show some spine."

"Marco, sweetie," Marco heard his mother call from the other side of the door. "If you're really going to bed, then remember to shower before you do."

"Dulce Jesús. Dios me perdone, porque he pecado con la hermosa sirena de cabellos platinados." Marco shuffled over and fell down onto his bed, rolling over on his back. "...It is imperative Janna doesn't find out about this. Anybody but her."

Marco rolled onto his side. "Maybe…maybe I should just call Jackie and talk to her about it. Oh, wait, right, no phone." Marco leaned over and opened his nightstand drawer. "Maybe I can text her on my old iPod. I think I still have it in here."

Instead of an iPod, Marco found the letter Eclpsa had left him in the drawer. The one with the All-Seeing Eye spell written on it.

"Oh, right. That's where I put that." Marco pulled out the letter and read it over again. "...I…suppose I could take a peak and see how everyone in Mewni is doing. What could it hurt? I'm sure they're all fine anyway. I mean, honestly, how dangerous could Miss Heinous, or Meteora, or whatever the hell her name is, possibly be?"

Rasticore and Ludo walked down the halls of the castle, with Ludo hurrying his tiny steps to keep up with the big Monster.

"Will you slow down?" Ludo begged. "What's your deal?"

"My 'deal' is that we just betrayed the psychopath we work for," Rasticore replied angrily. "I'm going to see Meteora to try to cover my tracks a little bit better. You should probably do the same."

"Cover our tracks?" Lduo asked. "If you really want to play it safe that badly, we can just tell some of the guys to speak on our behalf."

"We could do that," Rasticore said. "But first, we'd have to actually find some of the guys."

"What do you mean?" Ludo asked.

"Seriously, bird? Look around you, it's a ghost town in this castle." Rasticore gestured to their surroundings. "I haven't seen anybody since we got back."

"Meteora probably called a meeting in the throne room," Ludo guessed.

"If that's true, then we need to hurry." Rasticore quickened his pace and Ludo struggled to keep up with him. "We can't give her any reasons to be suspicious of us."

"We'll just tell her we were on the toilet because that's how bad your muffins were," Ludo suggested. "Come on, Rasticore. Lying to people isn't that hard. Especially for a guy like me."

"Neither is killing people." Rasticore gave Ludo a sideways glance. "Especially for a guy like me."

Rasticore and Ludo arrived at the doors to the throne room. "Play it cool, Avarius. Or I swear on Septarsis, I'll show you just how easy it is for me."

"Alright, alright." Ludo raised his hands in surrender. "So…we sticking with the toilet thing or what?"

Rasticore shook his head in irritation before opening the doors to the throne room. Rasticore and Ludo took three steps into the room, then they froze in terror at what they saw before them.

"No…please, no!" Bearicorn pleaded before he was blasted by a pair of venom-green beams of energy. His eyes, whites, pupils, everything, went pitch-black, and he floated up into the air like a balloon to join the rest of Ludo's henchmen. They all had black, blank eyes void of any signs of life.

Meteora, who was already huge, towering over Ludo and Rasticore with the bulk of an ogress, grew just a bit bigger. Her skin had taken on a dark-mauve coloring with stripes on her muscular limbs, making her look like a predator. When the burning, green glow in her eyes faded, one could see Meteora's poisonous yellow eyes, like the eyes of a viper. Her ears were pointed, a pair of horns perturbed out of her wild hair, and a white-tipped tail extended from her behind. The tattered dress Meteora wore was thankfully still intact enough to cover her body, with ripped sleeves to show off her muscular arms and her strong, barefoot legs. The turquoise pair of clubs on her cheeks glowed as she smiled wickedly.

Ludo, eyes wide with horror, looked up at his floating army. "What…have you done? Are they…are they…?"

"Dead?" Meteora turned and looked down at Rasticore and Ludo. "Yes…and, no, suppose. What do you call it when you not so much take a life, but rob someone of their life?"

"Dead," Rasticore answered. "What…is this?"

Meteora reached up and tapped Beard Deer, smiling in amusement with her sharp teeth as Beard Deer floated through the air like a birthday balloon. "I spent my entire life as headmistress of St. Olga's draining the life out of young girls to keep me youthful and alive,"

'Alive, anyway,' Ludo thought, not daring himself to say it out loud.

"As little as I know about the subject, magic seems to be highly instinctive." Meteora grinned and spread her arms, eyes glowing green for a moment. "I know exactly how to drain the life right out of someone. And that is exactly what I did. Their souls are mine now. And, they're only the beginning."

"You're mad!" Rasticore exclaimed. "Queen Eclipsa and King Globgor would be disgusted with this! With you!"

"Oh, Rasticore. Rasticore, Rasticore, Rasticore."

Rasticore got hit with a blast of Meteora's magic. His good eye went dark and Meteora watched with a disappointed but bored look as the Septarian floated up into the air.

"I could have made you a very happy Monster," she said. "A true shame you decided to defy me instead."

Meteora looked down at Ludo, who shook and trembled in terror. "And now, to take care of you. If it's any consolation, I really do appreciate you letting me crash in your castle and drain the life energy out of your henchmen."

"Ah…don't mention it," Ludo replied. "You know, I'm just glad you were comfortable here–HOLY CORN, WHAT IS THAT?!"

Meteora looked behind her at what Ludo was pointing at. "...I don't see it." She looked back at Ludo. "What are you-"

Ludo was already gone.

"...Well, should've seen that coming," Meteora said to herself. "Now, time to kill the Mewmans."

Marco sat on his bed and drummed his fingers along his legs as he stared at the letter on his nightstand.

"...Okay, I'll flip a coin for it." Marco reached into his drawer and pulled out a quarter. "Heads, I do it, tails, I don't do it."

Marco flipped the coin into the air and watched as it landed in his open palm.

It was tails.

"...Best out of three," said Marco.

Marco flipped the coin into the air once more. When it landed on Marco's palm, it turned up heads this time.

"Okay, there we go." Marco readied the coin again. "Now for flip number three."

Marco flipped the coin into the air. It went up high, then fell down into Marco's open palm.

It turned up tails.

Marco's face fell. "...Wait, did I say heads for do it, or tails for do it…? Oh, right. I said heads for do it. Right."

Marco stared at the coin for a minute, then titled his hand and let the coin fall onto the floor. When it hit the floor, it came up heads.

"It's heads. Heads means I do it." Marco picked up the letter and read over the spell Eclipsa wrote. "Let's see here. I summon…hole into the sky…hidden…forbidden. Okay, cool. Let's do this… I really need to stop talking to myself."

Marco stood up and held the paper in front of him. "Okay. I know I don't have the wand, but I can still do this. I can do this. Okay…okay, here we go."

Marco cleared his throat and held his hand up like a sorcerer while the other hand held the paper.

"I summon the All-Seeing Eye,"

Marco's cheek marks appeared. The red crescent moons glowed against his skin.

"To tear a hole into the sky."

A dark, almost black, purple fire ignited in Marco's palm.

"Reveal to me that which is hidden,"

Marco's eyes glowed purple, the same color as Eclipsa's eyes.

"Unveil to me what is forbidden."

The fire in Marco's hand erupted and grew. A creepy, yellow eye opened in the fire and stared at Marco.

"Good God, that's disturbing!" said Marco. "Uh…how do you work, exactly? Do I just say what I wanna see?"

The Eye just stared at him.

"...Don't talk much, huh? I think you and I are going to get along just fine," said Marco. "Now show me Mewni. I'm assuming you know what that is."

The Eye blinked, and instead of a yellow eye, it now showed a view of Mewni from way up high, so Marco could see an entirely realistic map of Mewni. He watched as a flock of birds flew here to there, and some ships sailed along the sea coasts.

"Oh, okay. That's pretty cool," Marco said. "Now, show me Star."

The Eye blinked again and showed Marco a starry night sky.

"No! That's really beautiful, but no! Show me Star Butterfly!"

The Eye blinked once more, and a blue morpho butterfly appeared in the Eye, flapping its wings through the forest.

"Okay, that's really pretty too, but not what I wanted!" said Marco. "Show me, ah, what's her full name again? Ooo, right! Show me Star Johansen Butterfly."

The Eye blinked again and showed Marco King River, sitting on his bed in fur armor, holding an axe in his lap.

"Oh, how the hell are you the symbol for the Illuminati?!" Marco demanded. "And why does River look so bummed out? Oh, I bet Queen Moon told him he couldn't go out and join the fight against Meteora. Man, that would bum that guy out."

Marco sighed. "Alright, let's try something else." He raised his free hand and swiped it in front of the Eye. The image switched to Sir Lavabo doing laundry.

"Okay, this might work. We'll do this like Tinder." Marco swiped left again. "Here's the chefs preparing, surprise, surprise, corn."

Swipe.

"Here's Margaret the Librarian kissing a framed picture of Lavabo. Good for her. Good for the both of them."

Swipe.

"Here's Pony Head's sisters, and it looks like they're plotting to overthrow Pony Head. This might make me a terrible person, but I almost hope they succeed."

Swipe.

"And here's Higgs changing–OH CRAP!" Marco quickly averted his gaze and blushed madly. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry… Man she…she definitely works out."

Swipe.

"And here's Kelly–OH GOD!" Marco looked away and blushed madly again. "God forgive me, I'm not doing this on purpose, I swear… Woollett… good name for her species… She definitely works out too."

Swipe.

"I swear, if you show me Janna, I will end it." Marco carefully peaked into the All-Seeing Eye. When he saw what he saw, his eyes widened at the image in terror.

"Oh my God. Is…is that Meteora?"

Out in the fields of Mewni, an orange portal appeared. Out of the portal stepped Eclipsa, looking quite nervous.

Hekapoo stepped out of the portal next, walking up next to Eclipsa. "Alright, this is the spot," the ifrit said. "Between Butterfly Castle and Castle Avarius, this is the path we believe Meteora will take."

Eclipsa took a deep breath. "The MHC will not interfere, correct?"

"Not unless you fail to talk her down," Hekapoo replied. "If you can't end this, then we will."

"You will not harm my daughter," Eclipsa said. "If there is no other option, then you will crystalize her."

"That's the idea," said Hekapoo. "But you need to understand, if the worst happens, we are going to ensure Mewni's protection."

"That won't happen," said Eclipsa.

"I hope so. I really do." Hekapoo turned around and walked back into the portal, which disappeared once she was gone.

Eclipsa sighed and turned around, waiting for her daughter to arrive. After seven hundred years, Eclipsa was finally going to reunite with her second-born daughter. If only the reunion were on better terms.

"I wonder if I should have brought a toy or some candy," Eclipsa said to herself to help calm her nerves. "Maybe Moon could have baked a pie for me and Meteora to share."

Eclipsa suddenly felt something: A tremor in her feet. Curious, and somewhat fearful, Eclipsa looked down at the ground, noticing that the ground was shaking with a brief pause in between quakes. Like footsteps. And the tremors were getting stronger. Eclipsa gulped and turned to the nearby forest. Whatever was causing the tremors was getting closer.

A purple giant burst out of the forest, taking down a bunch of the trees as she exited the forest. The sight of the terrifying giant Monster made Eclipsa quiver in fear. But when she saw the clovers on the giant's cheeks, Eclipsa gasped in shock.

"Oh my word," the Queen of Darkness whispered. "...Someone hit a growth spurt."

Meteora looked off into the distance at Butterfly Castle. She snarled menacingly before stomping toward the Castle Town.

"Wait! Wait!" Eclipsa ran after Meteora as she stomped away, swinging her arms in an attempt to get her attention. "Meteora!"

Meteora stopped and turned around, looking confused. She looked down and saw Eclipsa run up to her. The half-Monster princess blinked down the Queen of Darkness.

"...Who…who are you?" Meteora asked softly.

"I think you know who I am," Eclipsa replied. "Hello, Meteora. I've missed you. You've gotten big, sweetheart."

Meteora stared down at Eclipsa for a long time. Then, she knelt down and picked up the startled Eclipsa.

"...Momma?" Meteora asked. "Are you…Momma?"

"Well, actually, I think I would prefer 'mother' if you–you know what? 'Momma' works just fine." Eclipsa smiled warmly at Meteora. "Yes, Meteora. I'm your momma."

"But…how?" Meteora asked. "How did you escape from them?"

"I…had a little outside help," Eclipsa said. "But, none of that matters anymore. We're finally together again, after all these years. Let's go get your father, and then we'll leave this place."

"Father?" Meteora asked. "Babba?"

"Yes, Babba, yes," said Eclipsa. "I made a deal with Queen Moon. She'll set your father free, and then we leave Mewni and never come back."

"But…but they need to pay for what they did to us," Meteora said. "They destroyed our family!"

"They are our family," said Eclipsa. "You and I are Butterflies, sweetheart, and so are they. Like it or not, Queen Moon and Princess Star are your sister's descendents."

"Half-sister," Meteora argued.

"That hardly matters. She was my daughter just as you are." Eclipsa placed her hand on Meteora's giant hand. "Despite what happened to us, they simply aren't worth it, dear. There's no need for any violence."

"Don't you want to hurt them for what they did to us?" Meteora asked. "Don't you want retribution?!"

"No, I don't. And neither should you," said Eclipsa. "Meteora, sweetie, the important thing is that we're together again. Forget about Mewni, forget about St. Olga's, forget about all of it. Let's just go get your father, and we can be a family again. We'll start a new life somewhere else. We can be happy, Meteora."

Meteora stared at Eclipsa. Then she closed her eyes as she began to tear up. As Meteora held her mother closer, Eclipsa smiled gently and held her hand against her daughter's massive cheek.

"Shhhh, shh-shh-shh," Eclipsa sang. "It's okay, dear. It's all over now."

Meteora opened her watery eyes and looked down at her mother.

"...It's not okay," Meteora said softly. "It never will be. Not until they pay."

Eclipsa frowned. "Meteora-"

Eclipsa was hit with a blast of Meteora's green magic. Meteora cried as Eclipsa's eyes went dark and she floated up into the air. Meteora grew bigger as she absorbed Eclipsa's life energy.

"I'm sorry, Momma. I'm sorry." Meteora angrily wiped away her tears. "But nothing will be right until the Mewmans pay for what they did to us. They can not be allowed to exist any longer."

Just then, four orange portals appeared on the field, and the Magic High Commission each stepped out of a portal. Hekapoo brandished her dimensional scissors, Rhombulus's crystal head glowed, Lekmet flapped his wings, and Omnitraxus Prime's skull floated into the air and formed a large body made of cosmic energy, with a galaxy in his chest and mountain on his back. He grew until he met Meteora's height.

"YOU!" Meteora shouted with rage. "You destroyed my family! You put me in that school! You ruined my life!" Meteora pointed up at Eclipsa's floating body. "Look what you made me do!"

"That was you, not us," said Hekapoo. "Meteora. We made a mistake all those centuries ago. And, we're sorry. There's still time to resolve this peacefully."

"Sorry? Sorry?! You're not sorry!" Meteora's eyes glowed venom-green. "But you are about to be. You all are."

"We weren't about to put a baby in a crystal." Rhombulus stepped forward, snakes hands and crystal head glowing with power. "I don't have a problem putting you in a crystal, though."

Meteora narrowed her eyes at Rhombulus. "...I recognize you from my nightmares as a child. Growing up in that school, I was beaten into the image of Olga's satisfaction. Every day was the same, soul-crushing routine of becoming 'proper.' I had to hide everything that I was, from my tail to my cheek marks. 'Flaws' they were called. Not even the nights brought any comfort, all because of that same nightmare. The one you were in."

Meteora ground her teeth. "You all put me through that."

"Enough, Meteora!" Rhombulus aimed his snake arms at the purple giant. "This ends-"

Faster than a blink, A beam of magic energy shot out of Meteora's eyes and hit Rhombulus square in the chest. The blast was powerful enough to send the jailor flying back, crashing into the ground with his crystal eye now as black and empty as a starless night sky. After he left a tear in the ground, he limply floated up into the air.

"Rhombulus!" Hekapoo shouted.

Meteora laughed wickedly. "You have no idea how good that felt."

Omnitraxus Prime let out a roar and charged at Meteora, ducking to avoid another beam of green energy before running up and slugging Meteora in the face. Meteora stumbled back with a cry of pain.

Hekapoo opened a portal and leapt through it. A dozen orange portals appeared around Meteora, and every second, a Hekapoo would leap from one portal to the other, leaving a cut into Meteora's flesh with every passing.

With Meteora occupied, Lekmet made his way to Rhombulus in the hope of reviving him. Meteora let out an angry roar and managed to land a backhand on Hekapoo as she leapt out of one of the portals. The strike sent Hekapoo flying right into Lekmet, sending them both stumbling painfully to the ground.

Omnitraxus Prime punched Meteora right in the stomach, causing the half-breed to double over in pain. Omnitraxis Prime then put Meteora in a choke hold, keeping her from blasting him with her magic.

"Give it up, Meteora!" Omnitraxus Prime. "We gave you a chance to leave peacefully with your family, but now we will ensure Mewni safety!"

"You put my parents in a crystal, I won't let you put me in one!" Meteora wiped her tail and struck the side of Omnitraxus Prime's face. During the momentary stun, Meteora drove her elbow into the Time Master's skull. After he stumbled back from the blow, Meteora grinned evilly and blasted his skull with her green magic. Omnitraxus Prime's cosmic body faded away and his skull floated into the air. Meteora grew a little bigger.

Lekmet helped Hekapoo back to her feet, only in time for another of Meteora's magic beams to strike Hekapoo. The Scissor Forger's eyes went blank and lifeless. Lekmet bleated woefully and grabbed ahold of Hekapoo to keep her from floating away.

"One more to go." Meteora gave a toothy grin as she fired another magic beam at Lekmet.

Lekmet bleated frightfully and took to the air with Hekapoo in his arms. Meteora's beam of magic followed after Lekmet as he flew through the air.

As he soared and maneuvered through the air, dodging Meteora's attack, Lekmet tapped Hekapoo's forehead. Life was infused back into the fire genie and she blinked as her eyes returned to normal. Right in time for Lekmet to be hit by Meteora's magic. Lekmet's eyes went dark and he floated in the air, with Hekapoo holding onto him. Before they could hit with another blast of magic, Hekapoo used her scissors to open a portal, which she and Lekmet floated up into.

After they went through the portal, Meteora growled angrily. She watched as a portal opened up by Rhombulus's body and Omnitraxus Prime's skull, and a white arm pulled them in. A portal appeared next to Eclipsa's floating body as well and a white arm reached out and pulled her in. Meteora reared her head and let out an enraged roar.

"Okay, so you're in?" Star whispered into her compact mirror, hiding behind a support column. "...Okay, great, thanks. I knew I could count on you."

"Star?! Where are you?!"

"Up. Mom's calling for me," Star said. "Gotta go. You know where to meet me. See ya then."

Star hung up and walked out from behind the support column to join her mother on the balcony overlooking Mewni. King River and Mina Loveberry were with the Queen on the balcony.

Queen Moon, still donned in her battle armor, turned around and eyed her daughter suspiciously. "What were you just doing?"

Star tugged on the red hoodie she was still wearing like a cape. "I was just…looking through some of the pictures I took of me and Marco."

Queen Moon sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. Just stay close to your father and I."

"Why? What's happened?" Star asked, looking worried. "Is Eclipsa okay? Did something happen?"

"We don't know for sure, but it's been a while now, and the MHC has not reported back." Queen Moon looked out across Mewni. "We'll wait a little bit longer, then go see for ourselves what's happened."

"You never shoulda trusted that Monster-smoocher, Queen Moon," Mina chided. "Eclipsa can't be trusted for nothing! She's a traitorous deserter who abandoned Mewni and shamed Queen Solaria! Why, I bet she's planning to team up with her daughter and backstab the lot of us!"

Suddenly, four orange portals appeared above them. Hekapoo and Lekmet fell out of one of them while Rhombulus, Eclipsa, and Omnitraxus Prime's skull fell out of the other three. Hekapoo was the only one who actually fell to the ground. The others all just floated in the air, limp and lifeless.

"Oh no," Queen Moon whispered fearfully.

"You were saying, Mina?" River asked.

"Eclipsa!" Star pulled out her wand and summoned a pink ribbon whip, wrapping it around her ancestor and pulling her down to her. Star grabbed Eclipsa and held onto her. Queen Moon used her own magic in the same manner as Star did and pulled the MHC down from the air. "What happened?!"

"Meteora." Hekapoo stood up off the ground, looking ashamed and defeated. "She did this to them. Even to her own mother. She's gotten really big, really powerful, and really vengeful. Meteora's not going to listen to reason. She won't stop until all the Mewmans are dead."

Queen Moon took the ribbon rope that held Eclipsa from Star and tied everyone that was floating to the balustrade. She stared up at the four of them in dread before taking a quick second to recompose herself.

"...Mina," said Moon. "Let's go."

"Yes! Finally!" Mina burst into her Solarian form. "Let's do this!"

"River. Star. You both stay here with Hekapoo," Queen Moon ordered.

"Wait, shouldn't I come with you?" Hekapoo asked.

"I assume you know how to enter the Magic Sanctuary?" Moon asked.

"That thing with the crocodiles, yeah."

"If I don't come back, then I'll need you to take everyone here to the Sanctuary, where River and Star will be safe and you can revive Eclipsa and the other MHC members," Moon instructed.

"Shouldn't we get them to the Sanctuary now?" Hekapoo asked.

"As a Butterfly, it should be me to open the portal before you. By Magic Law, that cannot be helped, and I have to deal with Meteora now, and no later," Moon explained. "You have my permission as Queen of Mewni to enter the Magic Sanctuary if I am not able to."

"If you're not able to?" Star stepped forward. "Mom, if you think you're not gonna come back, then I don't want to hide like some wuss. Let me help you. I have the wand and I know how to use it!"

"...I know, sweetheart," Moon said gently. "But, my job as Queen is to protect Mewni, and my job as your mother is to protect you." Moon walked up and cupped Star's cheek. "Stay here with Hekapoo and your father. Please."

Before Star could reply, Moon turned around and walked to the edge of the balcony. She closed her eyes in concentration, cheek marks glowing, and then transformed.

Four stunning, decorated, blue butterfly wings sprouted from the Queen's back, and two extra pairs of arms sprouted from the Queen's sides. Her hair flared up and a pair of antennae with blue diamond ends sprouted from her hair. Her skin developed a blue hue and she grew a couple feet taller as she floated into the air.

"Woah." Star's eyes sparkled as she marveled at her mother. "Can I do that? I thought the whole 'turning into a butterfly' thing was just what happened when you went through mewberty? Boy, was that crazy day."

River stared up at his wife in her Butterfly Form. It was hard to read the expression on his stunned face. "...There exists not a single sight in this world that can make me feel such a strange combination of blood-chilling fear…and brain-melting desire."

Moon smiled down at her husband. "Our wedding night was certainly memorable, wasn't it, dear?"

"Oh my corn! Gross, gross!" Star shut her eyes tight and looked away, waving her arms in front of her. "Stop! Just stop! Please, no more!"

"Be safe, the both of you," Moon said. "Let's go, Mina."

Mina's helicopter hair spun and Moon flapped her wings, and the two of them took to the air. Star, River, and Hekapoo all watched as they flew away with worried looks on their faces.

Hekapoo sighed and hung her head. "...Well, this sucks."

"Eh, you girls wait here for a moment," said River. "I'll bring back some lawn chairs and something to eat and drink. Hekapoo, anything in particular you want?"

"I'm cool with whatever you got," Hekapoo said.

"Grand. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." River walked off the balcony back into the castle.

Hekapoo turned around and stared sullenly out across Mewni. Star walked up next to Hekapoo to join her as the Scissors Enforcer brooded.

Star looked up at Eclipsa and the MHC. "I'm sorry about your friends."

"They were…more like siblings that I didn't hang out with," said Hekapoo. "I'm sorry about Eclipsa."

"Thanks." Star bit her lip. "You…wouldn't happen to know how Marco is doing, would you?"

A dark shadow passed over Hekapoo's face. "Marco…is right where he thinks he belongs."

Star blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said." Hekapoo looked over at Star. She kept a blank mask on her face. "...You meant a lot to him, you know. He really cared about you."

"He cared about you too," Star said. "Heck, he loved going with you to the Neverzone."

Hekapoo returned her gaze to the fields of Mewni. "...Not enough, apparently."

Star sighed and turned to face Hekapoo directly. "Listen, Hekapoo. You and I…don't really have a lot of reasons to like each other. I can accept that."

Hekapoo turned to face Star and raised an eyebrow at the Princess.

"But, despite everything, we can still work together to help save Mewni." Star smiled. "If you're willing."

"What exactly are you proposing?" Hekapoo asked.

"I've…been making a few calls."

River came back to the balcony pulling a cart with snacks on the top tray and a beverage bucket filled with ice and drinks. Tucked under his other arm were a couple of foldable lawn chairs. "Alright, I brought back a little bit of this and that. I tried to gather a variety, I hope you two like-"

Star and Hekapoo were gone.

River's eyes widened and his face frowned. He dropped the chairs and left the cart behind as he hurried onto the balcony, looking around for the two girls.

River let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand down his face and beard. "...That's my girl." The King chuckled to himself. "My wife is gonna kill me."

Meteora stomped her way to the castle, her feet leaving a crater in the ground with each step she took. A look of pure anger burned was onto her face as she neared Butterfly Castle. With a clenched fist, Meteora brought her arm up and wiped away some tears that made their way out of her eyes.

A blast of blue energy hit Meteora in the chest and knocked her back. She looked up to see Queen Moon and Mina Loveberry fly down at her from the air. Mina swung her arm and crashed her fist into Meteora's jaw. The half-Monster princess fell painfully onto her back and shook the ground. While she was down, the ground formed over her wrists and ankles. Meteora struggled madly and roared with rage as she attempted to break free of her restraints.

Queen Moon flew down and landed on Meteora's chest, two of her arms outstretched to either side of her, and the other two aimed at Meteora's face. Each of Moon's four hands was glowing with magic power.

"Enough, Meteora," Queen Moon commanded. "I am ending this."

Meteora tried to blast Queen Moon with her magic, but the ground beneath her head formed over her neck and held her head back, so the green blast that shot out of her eyes simply went into the sky.

"You really gonna do it?" Meteora growled. "Go ahead. Prove who the real beast is."

"Meteora, I don't want this any more than your mother did," Moon said. "I'm sorry about what happened to you and your parents. I truly am. But that doesn't change the fact that you and I are kin. I saw what you did to your own mother. Is that what you want? To punish everyone, guilty and innocent? Stop fighting us, Meteora Butterfly. There is still hope left. We can still fix this."

Meteora's struggle seemed to calm down a little bit. She took heavy breaths in and out of her mouth as she stared up into the sky.

"...It is far too late for that now."

Meteora let out a mad, feral roar and one of her arms broke free of its restraints, with her slamming right into Moon, who was able to conjure up a shield the moment she was hit and sent flying off of Meteora's chest.

After Moon was punched a half-mile away from her, Meteora burst out of the ground that held her and stood back up. Mina flew up and landed another punch to Meteora's face, leaving a bruise on the giant's face. Meteora growled and swiped at Mina as she flew around and landed punch after punch on her body, each blow making Meteora cry out in pain.

"Man, I wish I was able to hold on to my old Solarian armor. Would have made this whole thing a whole lot easier and way cooler," Mina said as she waled on Meteora. "Your grandmama really knew how to make 'em, ya know. Now there was a Queen!"

"I! Don't! Care!"

Meteora landed a solid punch to Mina, who crashed into the ground like an asteroid. Before Mina could get back up in the air, Meteora planted her foot down on the Solarian Warrior, staring down at the mad, anime-looking wack-job with eyes that began to glow with green magic.

"Uh-oh."

Mina was hit with a blast of green energy. She shifted back into her regular form as her eyes went black and blank, and Meteora grew a little bigger.

"And so dies my grandmother's legacy." Meteora grinned. "Now, time to destroy my sister's legacy."

No sooner than she said that, a giant boulder slammed into Meteora's face. By the time she was able to recover, boulder after boulder slammed into Meteora without mercy.

When the boulders finally stopped, Queen Moon floated down from the air and hovered above Meteora. A rapid-fire beam of magic shot out of her six hands and left a trail of singe marks along Meteora's body. The purple giant roared in pain and anger and shot a beam of green magic at Moon, who flew through the air and evaded the beam with the skill of an expert flier.

Meteora plunged her fist into the dirt and pulled out a chunk of ground, which she hurled at the Queen. Moon swiped her arm and sliced the projectile in half with her magic, but as soon as she had thrown it, Meteora sent another blast of her green magic at Queen Moon. Without enough time to fly out of the way, Moon clapped her six hands and summoned a blue, magical, V-shaped barrier, and Meteora's continuous torrent of green magic flowed over and to either side of Moon like water moving past a speeding ship. Moon leaned into the barrier and gritted her teeth from the intense effort it took to hold it against Meteora's magic.

"So much rage," Moon said as she held her barrier. "All you have is anger, Meteora! Is that all you want?!"

"It's all I have! It's all Mewni has left me with!"

Meteora let out a mad roar and the torrent of magic that shot out of her eyes intensified. Moon struggled to keep her barrier intact. A couple of cracks appeared along the barrier.

"Let's see how you like losing everything!"

One more roar and Meteora broke through the barrier.

Star took a deep, calming breath. She stood right outside of the border of Castle Town and the rest of Mewni, looking across the green fields of Mewni.

Hekapoo walked up next to Star and crossed her arms. "Okay, Princess. I was dumb and desperate enough to let you talk me into helping you out. You wanna maybe tell me and the rest of your, ah, 'recruits,' what the plan is exactly?"

Star narrowed her eyes at Hekapoo before turning around to face everyone that had shown up. Pony Head had been the first to arrive, wearing a custom-made horn with a pair of serrated edges. For some reason, though, she had decided to apply some makeup as if she were going out. When questioned about it, she argued that this was technically 'going out.'

Kelly was there too. The Woollett wore a helmet on her head with a dark-magenta, long hair tie that held her hair up with a small bit of her hair sticking out from under her helmet, making it look like a hairy, turquoise cloud was hovering just above her head. Underneath the magenta scarf around her neck was lightweight body armor that showed off her arms, which had white cloth wrapped around her forearms like make-shift bracers. She wore maroon breeches and black boots with long, turquoise socks, good for quick movement. She held her large greatsword over her shoulder casually as if it were her weekend umbrella.

Kelly had brought a friend with her. A giant, purple, wolf-like creature with tiger stripes wearing steel armor stood behind the Woollett. It had antler-like horns and its ears resembled fins. Its eyes were yellow and its teeth and claws were sharp. Jorby, he said his name was. Star talked to him for introductory purposes and despite his vicious appearance, he seemed cool.

Star was also able to talk Higgs into coming as well. Mounted atop a gray warnicorn, the red-headed girl was wearing armor similar in fashion to the armor worn by the Knights of Mewni. Bluish-gray, steel armor with a yellow star decorated that showed off her arms which were bare save for a pair of steel gauntlets, each with a yellow star on the back of each hand. Chainmail legging and iron greaves over brown boots protected her legs. The Greek-style helmet she wore hid her red hair but showed her green eyes and focused frown. Higgs sat straight on her mount with Marco's sword, Rebanador, strapped to her back.

Star took a look around. "Oh, come on. Where the hell is-"

Everyone got in a fighting stance when a column of fire suddenly erupted out of the ground. Out of the fire walked the Prince of Hell himself, wearing a wicked-looking, black, red, and orange armor set, making him look like the samurai from hell. He even had his hair set in a bun as if he were a ronin.

"You're late, Tom," Star scolded. "What is it with you and never being able to be on time?"

"It's called being fashionably late," said Tom. "As the heir to the throne of the Underworld, people expect a certain amount of show from me."

"I would like to point out that I was, like, the first one to meet you here," Pony Head reminded Star. "I even beat Earth Turd's freckled intern here, and she lives in these parts."

"One: I wasn't Marco's intern, I was his squire. Two: I don't have dimensional scissors like you do, I had to ride my warnicorn twenty miles from my house to get here," Higgs said. "And three: I would've gotten here sooner, but I took longer than I should have changing into my armor because I…I don't know, it felt like someone was watching me change."

"You too?" Kelly asked.

"Oh my corn, we're all gonna die," said Hekapoo. "This is such a bad idea."

"You got a better one?" Star asked. "We need a team and you know it."

"You call this a team?" Hekapoo asked. "We have your ex-boyfriend wearing a man bun, your childhood friend who doesn't even have a body, the turquoise, four-eyed hairball, and a squire who got fired. I mean, sure, Jorby there looks pretty formidable, but that's about it for this little army."

"No, we have a demon prince, the future Queen of the Cloud Kingdom, an armed Woollett fighter, and a trained and skilled Knight's squire," Star said. "And yeah, we have Jorby the super-wolf over there."

"Man, I'm getting a lot of compliments today," Jorby said happily. "This is a good day."

"And then there's us," said Star. "A member of the MHC who kicks her feet back in the Neverzone and the Princess of Mewni armed with the Butterfly magic wand."

"No offense, kid, but you don't really have the best track record with that thing," Hekapoo said. "Queen Luna the Child was better at using the wand than you are."

"Yeah, well, maybe if you hadn't destroyed Meteora's family and put her in that school, none of this would even be happening," Star snapped, getting fed up with Hekapoo's attitude. "How about that?"

Hekapoo flinched at Star's remark with a look of guilt and regret. "Yeah, well…that kid we ditched at St. Olga's after putting her parents in a crystal left the closest thing I have to a family floating lifeless in the air. And the worst part? It's honest-to-corn retribution. I should be floating up there with them."

Star's face softened significantly at the Scissor Forger.

"...Meteora is as much a victim as she is a menace," Star said. "I wish we could help her, I really do. But, we have to protect Mewni."

Star turned to face the group. "Some might argue that Mewni doesn't deserve to be saved. And heck, they might be right. Just ask any Monster, they'll agree that we kinda suck. Mewni has made a lot of mistakes. Too many mistakes. It's like we're stuck in the mud and we can't move forward, but that's because no one bothers to get out of the wagon and push. We just stick to the one spot. We stick to what we know, not even bothering to try to evolve or improve. It's just easier that way."

Star clenched her fists. "But that needs to change. And it needs to change today. This isn't about Mewni's past, not anymore. This is about Mewni's future, and where we go from here. We can't just keep being too dumb and lazy to pull ourselves out of the mud. That's not an option anymore. No matter what happens, there is no going back to the way things were. Yeah, it'll be tough. Honestly, I am dreading the amount of work it's gonna take to turn this kingdom around."

Star turned to Hekapoo. "But in order to make amends for the sins of the past, we need to make some miracles happen, so there can at least be a future to save. This is my kingdom. This is my home. And these are my people, Monsters and Mewmans alike." Star turned back to the group. "And as the future Queen of Mewni, it's up to me to make those miracles happen, starting with Meteora. I know I can't do it alone, though. I'm glad to have you guys here to offer your support and your strength. Thank you for that."

Star raised her wand in the air. "For the future of Mewni!"

"For Mewni!" everyone shouted.

Star turned to Hekapoo and smiled smugly. "How was that?"

Hekapoo shrugged nonchalantly. "I've seen better. Don't sweat it, I've seen worse too."

"Oh, screw you," said Star. "Now take us to Meteora. That is an order from your Princess and your future Queen."

"Uh, first off; I work with the Queen of Mewni, not for the Queen of Mewni," said Hekapoo. "Second; don't you think we should make a game plan before we take on the twenty-foot-tall, half-Monster psychopath who took out the entire Magic High Commission, the Queen of Darkness, and quite possibly Mina and your mom by now as well?"

The thought of something happening to her mother made Star take a moment to rethink her strategy. "...If she's coming for the castle, we need to set up an ambush," Star said. "Which way is she coming from?"

Hekapoo pointed.

"That's good, I know a place not too far away in that direction that'll be perfect for an ambush," Star said. "Let me see your dimensional scissors for just a moment, I'll take us all there."

Hekapoo handed the Princess one of her scissors. Star turned to face the group again.

"We need to move quickly. Once we're on the other side, we'll come up with an attack plan and set up our ambush," Star ordered her team. "Anybody wanna back down before it's too late?"

Nobody said anything.

"Perfect. Let's roll!" Star turned to open up a portal, but hesitated, looking back to take a look at Jorby. "...Help me out here, would ya, Hekapoo? This needs to be a big one."

Upon seeing everything that had just occurred, Marco stared in disbelief and shock at what the All-Seeing Eye had shown him.

"Oh, crap. They're all gonna get themselves killed!" Marco shook his hand and canceled the spell, causing the All-Seeing Eye to fade away like a dying flame. Marco grabbed the sides of his head and began to panic. "Meteora's gonna turn them all into lifeless, dead-eyes, ghost balloons. Higgs, Kelly, Hekapoo, that wolf-thing, Tom…Star."

Marco ran a hand through his hair. "I gotta do something. I gotta help them!"

Peenk

Marco blinked. "What the?" He took a look around his room.

Peenk

Marco looked at his window, certain that was where the noise had come from.

Peenk

He opened the window and looked outside, only for a pebble hit Marco in the forehead. "Ow."

"Whoops. Sorry, Marco."

Marco looked down at the ground below him. "Jackie?"

Jackie smiled up at Marco. "Hey, Marco. Glad you're still up."

"W-what are you doing here?" Marco asked, cheeks beginning to tint. "I…I-I wasn't expecting to see you again tonight."

"What's wrong, babe, you miss me already?" Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow and a teasing grin. "I already know just how passionate you can get for me."

Marco's whole face glowed beet-red. "...I-I-I'm gonna come down now." Marco climbed out of his window and began to shimmy down the wall to the ground.

"Uh, Marco? Maybe you should just take the stairs-"

Marco slipped and with a yelp, fell to the ground on his back. He took a moment to recover from the pain and stared up at the surprised Jackie.

"...Or that. That works too. It's quicker, even." Jackie helped Marco up and dusted him off a little.

"Thanks," Marco said. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Well, you don't have a phone, and I thought we should talk," said Jackie. "Okay, look, about what happened. I understand it was sudden and maybe a little bit too soon, yeah. I just… Marco, my eyes are up here."

Marco flushed red again and met Jackie's gaze. "Sorry! Sorry!"

Jackie chuckled. "By the way, you're allowed to ask about the tattoo."

"Why does it say 'Marco's Angel?' How long exactly have you had it?"

"Eh, it was Janna's idea. She got a matching one that says 'Marco's devil.'"

"Say what now?"

"Nevermind. Forget I brought it up." Jackie raised her hand and gently cupped Marco's face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. "I figured we should talk about it. I'm sorry if I…you know, spooked you or whatever. It's just that you seemed really down about being kicked out of Mewni, and I wanted to cheer you up. And aside from that one kiss, you've been really good to me as a boyfriend and really loyal and reliable, and I figured you deserved something…special, I guess?"

"Jackie, it's fine. Really, it's fine." Marco took Jackie's hand in his hands and took a moment to breathe and recompose himself. "Listen, Jackie…I'm going back to Mewni."

Jackie's face fell and her eyes widened. "What?"

"It's a long story, really tragic, thirst for vengeance, that kinda deal," Marco said. "To make it short, there's a giant maniac in Mewni with frickin' laser eyes who already took out Mewni's best forces and wants to rip Mewni apart brick by brick and person by person. And now, she's going to take out Star and a bunch of my other friends from Mewni. Once Star and the gang are out of the way, it's goodbye Mewni."

"How do you know all that?" Jackie asked.

"I used a…not important. But Jackie, I can't let that happen. Mewni will be destroyed and Star is going to die if I don't do something."

"You don't have magic scissors anymore. How do you even plan to get to Mewni?" Jackie asked.

"Same way I did last time without scissors. Although, I'm not really looking forward to it." Marco kissed Jackie's cheek before letting go of her hand and walking past her. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Woah, hold on!" Jackie turned and grabbed Marco's arm. Marco, startled by Jackie's sudden reaction, stared into his girlfriend's eyes, which stared back with what looked like distress.

"Marco. If you go back to Mewni, then…will you come back to Earth?"

Marco blinked. "What do you mean? Of course I will, I live here."

"That's not what I meant," Jackie replied softly. She held Marco's arm with both her hands. "Marco. If you go back to Mewni. If you go back to…to her. Then what? You and the Princess save the day, shake hands, and then go back to your normal lives? Do you honestly believe that if you go back and be Mewni's hero, you'll be able to just come back to Earth, back to me, and continue your life like nothing happened?"

Marco stared at Jackie. He tried to hide it, but the uncertainty was visible in his features. "I…I don't see why I couldn't?"

"Because there's no 'normal' for you, Marco, not anymore," Jackie said. "You have tried so hard to keep your feet planted here on Earth with me, and I love you for that."

The 'L' word caused Marco to blush a little.

"But, let's face it. Mewni is a part of who you are now. It's not something you can just shut off," Jackie shut her eyes and sighed. "I…I really thought that, after getting banned from Mewni, you would just…readapt to your natural environment, you know? But it's been killing you, hasn't it? Being away from Mewni?"

"Jackie, I never wanted to leave Earth for Mewni. I just…" Marco took a deep breath. "…I wanted to be able to go to school, get a degree in whatever, and also become a Knight of Mewni and try to make that place a little better. I wanted to play DnD with my friends, babysit Mariposa and feel sad when she gets older and starts hanging out with friends, and then take my mind off of the fact that she's getting older by letting loose in the Neverzone. I wanted to introduce a bunch of other crops other than corn from around the globe to Mewni and respond to every accusation of blasphemy with a well-aimed middle finger, starting with the Castle Chefs."

Marco looked away. "I never wanted to choose one over the other. I…wanted both. As…as greedy or selfish as that might sound."

"Marco…I can't do both. And, neither can Star." Jackie released Marco's arm and took hold of his hands, looking him directly in the eyes. "It's heads or tails, and you're trying to land the coin right on its edge. I'm sorry, but you just can't do that. You have to pick one or the other. Do you want to be with me, and start a life here in our world together? Or do you want to go back to Mewni and start a life with her, attempting to balance your life on Earth with your life in Mewni?"

Marco shut his eyes and hung his head.

"...I have to go back, Jackie."

Jackie flinched, but in the manner of one who was expecting the blow. "...Yeah. I figured you did."

"Jackie," Marco looked back into her eyes. "I will always care about you, until the day I die. I wish for you nothing but a happy life. I'm just…I'm sorry I can't be the one to give you that life."

Jackie smiled, despite the fact that her eyes were getting a little misty. She pulled Marco toward her and grabbed either side of his head, pulling him in for a kiss. Marco got over the shock pretty quickly and wrapped his arms around Jackie's waist as they kissed. When they finally came up for air and parted from the kiss, the two of them stared into each other's eyes.

"...Goodbye, Marco."

Jackie backed away from Marco a couple steps, taking a moment to just smile at him, before turning around and walking away. Marco watched sadly as Jackie picked up the skateboard she had left by the mailbox and skated down the sidewalk.

"...Goodbye, Jackie."

Oskar whistled to himself as took off his apron and hat and tossed them both aside. The thin boy with dark hair that hung over his eyes switched to humming to himself as he closed up Britta's Tacos. He pulled down the metal roll-up gate and put in the pin before turning off the lights and walking out of the taco stand. Oskar pulled out the key and stuck it in the keyhole, turning the key and locking the door.

"And, we are closed," Oskar announced. "Thank you, goodnight." He turned around to head back home.

"Oskar."

Oskar shouted in fright and jumped back, pressing his back against the door. He calmed back down when he recognized the guy in the red hoodie.

"What the? Marco?" Oskar asked. "What the crud, man? You trying to kill me?"

"Yeah, nice to see you too," said Marco. "Oskar, I need you to let me in. I gotta get into the basement."

"What, you tryin' to bum some toppings or something?" Oskar asked.

"No. I just need to get into the basement," Marco said. "'Why' is not important. Now let me in. Please."

"Um…I'm not sure I should," Oskar rubbed the back of his neck. "You don't really work here anymore, and, I could lose my job if I let people in after hours."

"You don't even like this job," said Marco. "And let's be honest, you're not the best worker."

"That doesn't mean I don't need this job," said Oskar. "Sorry, man, but I can't let you-"

"Up-bup-bup-bup-bup. Zip it, bangs." Marco narrowed his eyes. "Listen to me very carefully, because I am in no mood to repeat myself. Not tonight I'm not."

Marco walked up closer to Oskar, who backed up against the door again.

"You're gonna unlock that door, you're gonna let me in, and then you're gonna go home and forget this ever happened." Marco leaned forward. His eyes and the crescent moons on his cheeks glowed with red light like four cursed rubies. "Understand?"

The way Oskar shook in fear parted his long bangs so you could see his emerald eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you…y-you got it," he replied in a voice that was higher than normal.

"Good," said Marco. "Unlock the door."

Oskar spun around and, with shaky hands, took his key out and unlocked the door.

"Thank you," said Marco. "Now leave."

Oskar took off like a bat out of hell. Marco took a calming breath and let the glow in his eyes and his cheeks marks fade away.

"That was new."

Marco yelped and spun around, getting in a fighting pose.

"I mean, there's a side of Marco I never thought I'd ever see," Janna said. "Don't get me wrong, it was totally doing it for me. It was just entirely unexpected is all."

"Janna?!" Marco cried. "What are you doing here?!"

"Following you," Janna replied like it was no big deal. "Sorry about you and Jackie, by the way. That had to suck. But I gotta hand it to ya, Diaz, congrats on starting up the tally with that little beach hottie."

Wha…?" Marco's face flushed with red. "You… How'd you know about that?"

"You wanna have a personal heart-to-heart conversation? Don't have it on your front lawn. That was hardly my fault." Janna shrugged. "I really am sorry about the breakup, though. What you and Jackie had was pretty solid."

"Well…thanks, Janna," Marco said. "Wait, did you follow me here just to tell me all that?"

"No. I wanna go to Mewni with you."

"What?" Marco blinked. "Why?"

"Hey, Star's my friend too. I wanna be there to help her," Janna said. "Well, that, and, I can't summon Tom anymore with this dimensional lock-down you got set on our world. And, I really wanna see him again."

"You're not coming with me. I don't care if your heart burns for Tom," Marco. "This is going to be dangerous and I'll be damned to the darkest depths of Hell, courtesy of your crush, before I let anything happen to you."

"Awwwww, you do love me." Janna crossed her arms. "Is that why you were about to sneak off to Mewni without so much as a note saying why you were gone? What happens when your parents wake up in the morning and realize you're nowhere to be found?"

"I…didn't even think about that." Marco looked away and bit his lip. "Damn."

"Don't worry, I left a note on your front door explaining how you're going back to Mewni to save Star," Janna said. "I got you covered, Diaz."

"Um, okay, I guess that covers that. Thanks," Marco said. "Still, you're not coming with me."

"Marco. Marco, Marco, Marco. You've known me for a while now. We went to kindergarten together, we grew up together." Janna walked up to Marco and grinned, placing a hand on his chest. "Do you really think you can get rid of me?"

Marco let out a groan and rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. You can come with me. But you are not joining the fight. Once we get to Mewni, I'm putting you somewhere safe and that's where you're gonna stay."

"Sure, if I feel like it."

"Oh, for the love of," Marco turned around and opened the door to the taco stand. "Um, by the way. You, uh…you got a tattoo did you?"

Janna replied with a toothy grin before walking into Brita's Tacos. Marco pulled on his collar and cleared his throat before following her into the stand, closing the door behind him.

Janna found the light switch and flipped on the lights. "So, if you're trying to get back to another dimension, then why are we in the taco stand you used to work at?"

"Since we can't use dimensional scissors, we have to get to Mewni the same way I got to Mewni the first time." Marco headed over to the door to the basement. "Where do you think magic comes from, Janna?"

"From the heart?" Janna asked.

"No. It comes from a place called the Realm of Magic." Marco tried to open the door to the basement, but it was locked. "Dammit. When did they start locking the basement door?"

"Here, let me." Marco moved aside as Janna knelt down and pulled a hairpin out from under her beanie. "So, you were saying something about the Realm of Magic or whatever?"

"It's the source of all magic, it's where the stuff comes from," Marco explained as Janna picked the lock. "The Realm of Magic connects to every dimension in the infinite multiverse through a series of wells like some kind of pump system."

"And, what, you fell into one of those wells?" The lock clicked open and Janna stood back up. "You're telling me the well is in the basement of Britta's Tacos?"

"That's right." Marco opened the door for Janna before following her through the door. "In fact, I fell into the only magic well in this entire dimension. Most known dimensions have at least a handful of wells, but ours only has the one."

"So, you fell in the well, and it brought you to Mewni?" Janna asked as she and Marco walked down the steps to the basement.

"Not exactly," said Marco. "The well brought me to the Realm of Magic. And from there, I somehow got to Mewni."

"What, you don't remember?" Janna asked.

"After being pulled into the well by…something, things get a little fuzzy. All I can really remember is waking up on the side of a river in Mewni. Between the well and the river, it's hard to recall much. There were…golden waters and…waterfalls that fell from the sky…" Marco brought a hand to his head. "Trying to remember it all makes my head hurt."

"Wait, was that how you got magic?" Janna asked. "From the Realm of Magic? Like, wading through a radioactive field and becoming the Hulk or whatever?"

"Well, I had to jumpstart it by using Star's wand to kill a lizard man, but yeah." Marco and Janna made it to the bottom of the stairs. "It's in the back."

"So, if I go into the Realm of Magic, will I get dark magic?" Janna asked excitedly.

"I'm not sure. I wouldn't think so," Marco replied as he made his way through the basement storage room. "I was like…chosen or something, I think. Blessed by a magic spirit called the Blood Moon."

"Well, that's unfair," Janna whined.

Marco laughed without humor. "Honestly, Janna. If you want my magic so badly, then do me a favor and find a way to take it from me."

Marco walked up to the magic well that had started all of this. He stared down at the stone well with a fearful look on his face, remembering what had happened the last time he had opened the well.

"Scared?" Janna asked teasingly.

"Hey, the last time I opened this damn well, it was this whole creepy, terrifying thing with an arm covered in gold goo grabbing me and pulling me in." Marco shuddered. "I still remember the feeling of even more arms grabbing hold of me as I was struggling to keep myself from being pulled under. It was like when man-eating mermaids like the ones from Pirates of the Caribbean try to pull you under so they can eat you."

"Talk about a sick fantasy," said Janna. "So are the arms gonna drag us in? Is that how it works?"

"I'm not sure. I hope not," Marco said. "Last time, there were voices in my head. I don't hear anything now."

"Well, let's open this freakin' Bone Eater's well and hop in," said Janna. "It worked before, it'll work again. Right?"

Marco sighed. "Fine. Just…stand back." Marco reached his hands down to the wooden lip of the well and, with shaky hands, flipped the lid open.

Janna walked up and stared into the well with eyes wide with wonder. "Woah, dude, it's beautiful. Like, what billionaires take their baths in."

Marco stared down into the golden, glowing liquid. It was just as Marco remembered, the magic goo sloshed around gently in the well. No arm shot out of the goo this time, but Marco stayed alert and on guard nonetheless.

"So, once this well takes us to the Realm of Magic, then what?" Janna asked. "If the Realm connects to every dimension, how do we find our way to Mewni from the Realm?"

"Look, there's a lot of guesswork with this, Janna. Using the well to get to Mewni is not a good idea," Marco explained. "It's just my only idea."

"Okay, so…who's going first?" Janna asked.

"We go together. Less chance of us getting separated." Marco raised his hand up to Janna. "Give me your hand."

Janna grabbed a hold of Marco's hand and gave him an impish grin.

Marco's cheeks tinted red. "Come on, don't be…you know, Janna about this."

"Ah, you and I would have had a lot of fun together, Diaz," Janna said. "Too bad for you I'm saving myself for the demon of my dreams."

Marco rolled his eyes before leading Janna over the edge of the well. The two of them sat down on the edge of the well and stared down into the magic.

"So…we really doing this?" Janna asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Marco looked over at Janna. "Last chance to back out of this. You really wanna risk getting killed or worse?"

"Star's my friend. And…" Janna looked away. "And, so are you. I…I care about you, I guess. I want to be able to help you. And Star, Star too."

Marco blinked at the spooky girl in surprise. "...Janna…whatever happens. Whatever goes down. I want you to know that…I…care about you too."

Janna looked back at Marco and gave him a kind, genuine smile. The first one he had ever seen on her.

"Alright." Marco looked down into the golden goo. "Time to go."

Marco and Janna took a deep breath, then they hopped off the well's edge and plunged into the magic. After they were under and gone, the wooden lid slammed shut behind them.

Until next time.