Chapter 3: who died

AN: I know I don't have to write one of these every chapter but it's very important to the story that I distract you from it as much as I can because until I have someone over my shoulder telling me just how bad it is I won't be able to make the image in my head any clearer for you. Be sure to follow, favourite, and review, and we'll get through this jumbled mess together.

Star then spoke up, "ok this is clearly a dream nothing like this ever happens to me. Is Mum scared? I don't buy that so~" she kissed Marco on the cheek said, "night Marco!" And fell asleep next to him.

When she awoke she found herself alone in her room. No time travelling vampire, no flustered Marco, and no flirty Jackie and certainly no creepy Janna. She stretched herself out but still couldn't help but feel sore. Like she's had either too much sleep or too little. She didn't like the thought of either so she decided to drop the subject entirely and just get ready for her day. She got out of bed reached for a wand that wasn't there... "Oh~ no." At first, she thought she'd misplaced it, like most mornings. So she began looking where she usually did when she'd forgotten where her wand was. Under the bed, in the wardrobe, under the sink... in the medicine cabinet. Then she remembered, like most mornings, that she slept with a pretty tight grip on it and thought maybe it's just in the other hand. When she looked down to find she definitely didn't have it she ran back into her room. "That wasn't there before..." She was referring to a large metal cross looking to be tall enough to fit a certain winged individual. She tried to remember his name only to realise, "he never said his name..." She then put on an exasperated look and said to herself, " OK, ok, just because the part where I got my wand taken away probably did happen doesn't mean I still couldn't have seemed that last part"

"... you didn't" the distinct sound of a book closing punctuated his statement. She rushed up to the cross and opened it. But the contents were not what she expected. "AAAAAAH!" She cried. As the person inside was, thought dressed very much the same, a skeleton who's head had fallen into her hands upon opening the doors. At that moment Janna and Jackie rushed in dragging Marco in with them. "Star what's wrong?"

"We heard screaming and- Ahahahaaa"

"Oh cool. A skeleton" the man start originally sought to find them descended from the top of her bed with a copy of "SAO Progressive volume 3" in his hands saying, "oh good you're awake"

"No no no no no no! NO!"

"Aww come in it's not that bad. All you did was kiss Marco and cuddle with him as hot slept until he thought it was safe to go to the bathroom without waking you."

"Oh my God, I kissed Marco. OH, MY GOD, I KISSED MARCO!"

"It's ok you've been asleep for six hours."

"Six hours!? Oh geez. Oh God...Oh no... d-did I miss any calls while I was asleep?"

"Yeah..." She sighed. "From pony head."

"Aww, crap..." She slowly walked up to the mirror and said, "call mum" the mirror responded, "calling mum." The mirror connected the two and Star's mother looked at Star and then away then back to Star then back away before forming one word, "how?" That increasingly familiar voice called out, "I told you." Star's mum looked befuddled then she gave a defeated sigh and said, "I guess things worked out for the better"

"Indeed." The classy vampire then stepped into the frame once more only this time Star Butterfly herself was standing beside him caring a wand, not with the half start she'd grown accustomed to but the full star. "Is that... me?" She said looking at herself. The two vampires then began their habit of conversing with no regards for who else was in the room or what they had to say, "Ah. Talking to yourself again I see."

"You should talk you've done this twice in one day"

"'We've' fine this twice in one day. You, on the other hand, have already done this three times, this being your fourth."

"Technically it's your fourth too."

"I mean seriously is she even allowed to speak?"

"She is but you'll have to keep track as to not cause a time paradox"

"Is she even allowed to give up any useful information?"

"Not unless it's obvious"

"clearly"

"So?"

"What?"

"Can I let her speak now?"

"Better question. Did I remember to bring a pen?"

"You did but use it sparingly or you'll lose it."

"Are you allowed to tell me that?"

"Come on. You can read minds. It makes no difference whether I tell you or not you'd of known."

"Right so where is it?"

"In your pocket square" he pulled the red fabric from his best pocket and it undid itself dropping a scarlet pen with a skull top and cracked tip into his hand. He handed it to a shell-shocked Star, who stood perfectly still trying her hardest not to break time... again. After a few seconds, he produced a notepad and folded his decorative kerchief back into the shape it was before, placed it where it was, and said, rather tiredly, "proceed."

"Hello, Star. It's me Star. At first, I was scared that I'd break time if I talked to myself in the past, but then our new friend here told me it was going to work out fine cause I've already done it. Don't worry about breaking time. He said that a person's initial reaction will always be the same unless someone had gone back in time just to mess with the past. But as long as you do everything the same way nothing bad will happen. I'd like to tell you that it's ok to ask me anything but the truth is that I can't answer just anything. If you're going to ask me something it has to be for confirmation not like, about something you're really not sure about either it has to be something you know in your heart but just aren't sure about." She let out a little sigh and whispered, "nailed it" before the dapper, displeased man shouted, "COULD YOU HAVE COME UP WITH A LONGER SPEECH?"

"...sorry... it is what you wrote."

"Uh..."

"How did my wand get the other half?"

"I can't answer that."

"How'd I get it back?"

"That either."

"D-...did I kiss Marco?" she said leaning in so only she could hear herself. "Sorry... yeah...we kinda did."

"Could this day get any worse?"

"Well you did just spend your Saturday morning asleep" she got up and gave herself an angry look. "What? It's what it says on the paper."

"That doesn't make it better!"

"Hey. Stop that. You can't be scared of yourself." She picked up her dimensional scissors and all at once everyone in earshot began shouting, "Woah hey hey NO"(for example) all at once before Marco took the scissors from her hand and both of the time travelers said, in unison, "you can't be physically in the same room as yourself from another timeline or both of you will cease to exist forever."

"What why?"

"That's the rule"

"Can't you change the rule?"

"Not when our boss and the creator of the universe made that a standard across the entire multiverse. And when we say entire we mean everything. From every show to every commercial. Whether good or bad few people have ever gotten away with that crime without suffering nonexistence or worse."

"What's worse than nonexistence"

"Losing a fight you entered knowing the other would know exactly what you were planning, what to do to counter, and how best to break you." In that moment Star felt completely stupid. "This... this is just a lot of information to take in"

"You've got time" another glare. Future Star then said, "don't worry you know things will work out in the end. you saw me smiling at the start of this call. To quote a great friend, 'smile. It looks better on you.'"

"Marco said that didn't he?"

"It's that a smile I see?"

"No."

"you can't hide it from yourself you know that" present Star pouted and future Star said, "Hey cheer up things'll be just fine. You and I both know it." She then hung up on present Star. And while the room suddenly got heavy with realisation. Their new house guest had Janna put the skull back on its body and closed the cross. Star then turned to him and said, "ok first things first! Where did you come from and why did you bring that dead person?"

"First, he's not exactly dead and I don't think I can give you a name for the universe I come from."

"So if he's not dead what is he then? And don't lie to me!"

"Alright... I'll tell you but you probably won't believe me."

"Try me."

"I am a very complex individual coming from a very complicated place and though you, yes even you, would think my home strange. They think me stranger still."

"Get to the point we don't have all day."

"My emotions can manifest themselves as physical beings. He's not dead but at the same time he is."

"What?"

"Star, you just met Fear."

Afterword: sorry for making a confusing story even more convoluted. But my mental health is in turmoil so yeah sorry. I'm hoping to slow things down a little in the next chapter... if you count getting Marco a date with Jackie slowing things down. It may seem like the story is just spiralling off into chaos but, after a tiny bit more exposition, the story will, hopefully, start making sense to those of you who are unfamiliar with my favourite OC. Also, just warning you, he takes pleasure in the suffering of others and can be in a million places at the same time. And even if you don't like him it's too late to take him out now. He set all of these events in motion. There's nothing I can do. And just once before I go I'd like to try to start a new catchphrase for all of us. If you like it feel free to add it at the ends of your chapters. Remember now that I've said it, it must be canon.