Marcocrushed

by Jack Coffison

Follow up to 'My Dinner with Buff Frog'. Post 'Monster Bash'. Marco's feelings are tearing him apart, and now more than ever... He needs his friends.

5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Marco vs Jerkius

Marco breathed a heavy sigh as a stream of water washed over his weary frame. The water was warm and refreshing. For some reason, it seemed to remind him of a simpler time. A time when moments of relaxation weren't so few and far between. A time when the biggest problems he faced involved studying for a test or working up the courage to speak to Jackie Lynn Thomas. Or fighting off a roving gang of monsters.

It wasn't that he missed those times, necessarily. Those days had been difficult and challenging in their own way. He only wished that those happy days had lasted a little longer than they had. That he could have spent just a little more time hanging out with Star... Enjoying every new day together, and making it as fun as it could be.

When was it exactly that things began to change?

Was it the night that he was kidnapped by Toffee?

Or the night that Star lost her Spellbook?

Marco turned his gaze downward. He could see his reflection in the water pooling around his feet. He looked older than he thought he did. His eyes were weary, and his hair had grown out a little more than he usually let it. He had a few more hairs on his chest now... Along with a few scraggly hairs poking out around his chin.

Marco flinched a little as he rubbed at his burgeoning facial hair. His little experience with growing facial hair in the past had effectively scarred him for life. All he had wanted to do was groom his peach fuzz into something at least a little impressive so that he could catch the eye of Jackie Lynn Thomas. Star had wanted to help- which, as always, had led to disaster.

Marco shuddered a little at the memory of being tangled up by the hair of his own beard for hours while Star slowly scraped at it with a razor. It was funny in a weird kind of way that all of his favorite memories seemed to involve Star, right along with some of his worst memories. The beard incident wasn't the only thing he occasionally had nightmares about. There was the Mewberty incident where he thought that he had lost her forever... The 'monster arm' incident, where he was almost eaten by his own evil appendage... And much more.

Of course, all of the nightmares and the bad memories were far outshone by the good ones. Such as the day they spent hanging out while time was frozen around them. Or the day they went out to the beach together. Or all of those long nights they spent hanging out in her room, while Marco did his very best to teach her the basics of the school curriculum. Any time they spent together, even outside of all the crazy, wacky adventures... Those were the best memories he had. And he would keep them, always... And dread the day that they inevitably began to fade.

Marco ran his hands through his hair and leaned his face upward to feel the water wash over his face.

'I... I won't forget her... Will I?' he thought. '...I-... I mean... It's gotta be... Impossible... Right?'

Marco sighed and slowly shook his head. '...No... No matter what happens... After tonight... At the very least, I'll always remember her.' he thought. '...I-... I wonder if she'll do the same...'

A surge of guilt and pain rose up to his chest at that thought, and he quickly bit it down. There was no need to think about that stuff. Whether she wanted to remember him or not... That would be her decision.

'...And honestly... I can't really blame her if she just wants to forget about me...'

Marco turned the shower handle and water immediately came to a stop. Taking a deep breath, Marco took a moment to drip and stare off into space before finally making his way out of the shower stall. The towel he had been handed was rather dainty, but luckily he seemed to have had the showers all to himself.

With a heavy sigh, he made his way into the changing area. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable as he struggled to cover up as much of himself as possible with the tiny towel. Eventually, he found the small basket that he had left his clothes in. While he had been showering, he had heard someone enter and drop off what sounded like a heavy suit of armor.

As he approached it, Marco sighed a little.

The past half hour or so had passed by like a blur. One minute he was angrily confronting the Royal Knight that had hurt Anastasia, one of the Buff Kids... The next minute, he found himself being ushered down the halls by a pack of heavily armored knights- and then pushed into the knights showers and told to wash up. They had told him that it was because they didn't want the armor getting dirtied before his so-called duel with Sir Jerkius the Golden.

Marco had rolled his eyes at that, but nevertheless decided to go with it. After all, he hadn't had a shower since the night before- and it had been a long day. Plus, enjoying a nice warm shower for once would no doubt prove to be relaxing and refreshing.

And it had. Although not as much as he had hoped.

Breathing another small sigh, Marco picked up the basket and froze.

"...Oh. You-... You've gotta be kidding me..."

---

Kelly breathed a heavy sigh as she leaned back into her comfy chair. Hundreds of people were pouring into the arena from seemingly every direction, and it wasn't long until almost all of the seats were filled with loud audience members. The Royal Knights sitting in attendance appeared to have finally changed out of their bulky suits of armor in favor of the light blue tunics that they usually wore over chainmail. The rest of the audience appeared to be mostly made up the upper-class citizens of Mewni. All decked out in fancy robes and feathered hats.

The seats in the back row were filled with the poorer citizens of Mewni. Most of them were wearing old looking clothes with patches sewn onto them, along with fingerless gloves. A few of them were wearing fancy looking top hats that appeared to have had a bite taken out of them at some point.

Kelly smiled a little as she saw the excited faces of the people sitting in the back row. She had heard that it was Queen Moon herself who had decreed that some portion of the seating at the Gladiatorial Arena be saved for 'those with fewer means' as she put it. Queen Moon had often been accused among certain circles of a certain level of classism. And to a certain extent, that was true. But even still, she had been known to show great compassion for the so-called lower class in the past.

Part of that might have been due to her relationship with King River. Who had always had more in common with the 'lower' class than the 'higher'.

No matter what the cause, Kelly couldn't help but smile at the image of some stuffy upper-class Mewmans looking uncomfortable in their proximity to the rambunctious 'lower class'. And her smile grew even wider when she saw a some of the upper and lower class citizens mingling and laughing together. There was nothing quite like a battle to the death to bring people together.

"Lady Kelly, is your seat adjusted to your liking?" asked Sir Lavabo, as he took a seat next to her. "You know these 'VIP' chairs were installed rather recently... And they have this most amazing little trick to them... Watch..." he continued, as he flipped a switch on his armrest. All of a sudden, his chair began to vibrate- and Lavabo let out a long, shaky moan. "Ooooh, yes... She does wonders for the spine..." he groaned.

Kelly slowly adjusted her glasses as she watched Lavabo seem to melt into his chair. At the moment, they were both sitting in a special, cornered off area of the arena. Their seats were as close the actual battlegrounds as possible, a fair distance removed from the rest of the audience, and the seats themselves were made of the most comfortable fabrics in all the known dimensions. They were even equipped with their own mini-fans, with both a warming and a cooling option.

It was the first time Kelly had ever sat in a VIP area in a Gladiatorial arena. Every other time she had gone to an arena, she had gone with her siblings. She could still remember going to her first game of 'Explody Ball' when she was very young. She had lost her hearing for a little while afterwards- as did everyone else. But it was still one of the most exciting nights of her life. And part of the fun had been about sitting with her siblings along with a group of total strangers and yelling and cheering altogether.

Even with the incredible chairs, sitting away from the rest of the crowd felt... Wrong. Of course, she wasn't at the famous Butterfly Gladiatorial Arena just to enjoy herself. Not this time. Kelly took off her glasses and began to fiddle with them, as she did her best to ignore the clawing anxiety slowly tearing away at her from the inside.

She had been separated from Marco just over half an hour ago. After being ushered by a group of knights into a stagecoach, she had come very close to pulling her sword out of her hair and fighting her way back to Marco. But, somehow, Sir Lavabo had made it into the stagecoach before her. And he was able to talk her down.

After being taken to the Butterfly Gladiatorial Arena and following Lavabo into the VIP area, Kelly had spent the rest of her time either sighing or worrying. Usually both.

Marco was about to fight a Royal Knight who regarded as legendary among his peers. One of the strongest warriors in Mewman history, and the current strongest warrior in Butterfly Kingdom- outside of the royal family, of course.

Kelly had absolute faith in Marco. He was going to win. She was sure of it. But she also knew that there was no way he was about to get out of this unscathed. And she dreaded the idea of watching Marco get hurt and being forced to sit at the sidelines and do nothing about it.

"He will be okay, Lady Kelly." said Sir Lavabo.

Kelly blinked a few times and quickly slid her glasses back onto her face. "I... I know." she muttered. "...I just wish I could go down there with him. We came here together, after all..."

Lavabo chuckled to himself. "I see... Sir Marco is quite lucky to have such a loyal and thoughtful friend." he said.

Kelly gave an absent-minded nod as her thoughts quickly began to drift elsewhere. Lavabo watched Kelly start to stare off into space and fiddle with her glasses again with a look of quiet amusement. Turning to the chair on his other side, he found Demonicus sitting as still as a statue.

Her dark red armor looked all the more striking in the brighter lights of the arena. And her intricately designed helmet seemed all the more menacing. The helmet had two large, spiraled horns sticking out of either side and curling upwards into sharp points. Her face was entirely covered by a thick red faceplate, with two thin eyeholes. Even staring directly at it, it was impossible to see her eyes through the little holes. All one could see was a deep, black abyss.

Lavabo smiled a little. "...Lady Demonicus, these seats do have a reclining feature..." he said, in a voice barely above a whisper.

Demonicus seemed to give a small, appreciative nod before leaning back in her chair and making an appreciative noise when a footrest suddenly came folding out from inside the chair.

Things were quiet in the VIP area for a little while, as more Mewmans continued to pour into the seats- talking excitedly amongst themselves. Lavabo couldn't help but be impressed by how quickly Jerkius had managed to slap together his so-called 'emergency show'. It had been less than hour- and already, most of Butterfly Kingdom seemed to have been notified. In fact, upon scanning the audience again, it appeared that there were even a few people from some of the other kingdoms in attendance. Every now and again, Lavabo would spot a demon or a member of the 'Waterfolk'- or some other non-Mewman creature that had been arbitrarily labeled as 'not a Monster' sometime in the past.

Jerkius wasn't going to be very happy about seeing so many 'non-Mewman' faces in the crowd. And Lavabo was quite looking forward to seeing the Golden Knight struggle to keep his hostility under wraps when he addressed the audience. Lavabo had never been one to enjoy misery or frustration of others, but with Jerkius he often made an exception.

"Hey! Oh, wow! The new seats 'ave come in! Awesome!" exclaimed a loud voice, as the curtains around the VIP area were suddenly pulled to the side.

Kelly and Lavabo blinked and turned their attention to the source of the voice, while Demonicus remained perfectly still.

Prince Johanson shot Kelly and Lavabo a wide grin as he made his way over to a seat next to Demonicus. "Oh, yeah... That's cool. Check it out! It's even got cup-holders! Can you believe it? They're like holders, but for cups!" he exclaimed, before quickly climbing into a seat and leaning back. Prince Johanson breathed a long, satisfied sigh and Kelly and Lavabo both shared a quick glance.

"How're you, Demonicus? You still the most fearsome being in all history?" asked Prince Johanson, as he pulled out his compact-phone and began to fiddle around with it.

Demonicus gave a long, unintelligible growl and Prince Johanson chuckled to himself. "Oh, yeah? That's pretty cool." he said. "By the way- the rest of the young royals'll be showin' up any minute. Well, most of 'em anyway. Some of 'em have a harder time sneakin' out than others."

Kelly slowly raised an eyebrow as she watched Prince Johanson continue to fiddle with his compact-phone. Prince Johanson was a short, tubby young man dressed in clothes that always seemed a little shabby for someone in a position of royalty. He also wore a long bear-fur cape, and had what appeared to be a pair of long tusks sticking out of each shoulder. Kelly had met Prince Johanson only a few times before. He was Star's cousin, after all. However, she hadn't seen him since the big 'Monster/Mewman Dance' fiasco.

He hadn't really changed much since then, although he did appear to be sporting a new scar along the top of his scalp.

Prince Johanson slowly looked up from his compact-phone and met Kelly's gaze. It seemed to take a moment for him to recognize her. But when he did, he quickly cracked a smile. "Oh, hey! Your that forest-dweller! Star's friend!" he exclaimed. "Good to see you again. Hey- can you tell me somethin'? I got this notification letter about this whole 'Emergency Battle' thing... But all it said was that Sir Jerkius'd be fightin' some guy called 'The Worthless Loser'. Is that the guys actual title, or what?"

Kelly frowned. "...He's fighting Marco." she muttered.

"Wait- you mean Star's squire? The 'Karate Boy'? That Marco?" asked Prince Johanson, looking surprised. "Wow... I'm glad I made my way over, then. This'll be cool- I always wanted to see that guy in action again. I wonder if he'll use the sword hands..."

Kelly opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted when the curtains suddenly came flying open once more. This time, Rich Pidgeon strode into the VIP area looking tidy and proper in his bulky 'leg suit'. "Hello, friends! Ah! Johanson! I see you're here already!" he exclaimed. "And hello to you too, Kelly!"

Kelly offered Rich Pidgeon a friendly wave, as she watched him loudly introduce himself to Lavabo and Demonicus. Rich Pidgeon was quick to take a seat next to Prince Johanson, and before long they were both talking loudly amongst themselves. They had just begun discussing who they were going to bet on winning, when the curtain suddenly flung open once more.

"Ah! Princess Spiderbite! It's most wonderful to see you again!" exclaimed Rich Pidgeon, as Princess Spiderbite made her way into the VIP area, looking a little nervous. Behind her, stood a knight in black armor with a large silver emblem of a spider on its chest. The black knight's armor seemed to hang rather loosely, as if it were several times too big for whoever was wearing it. Its helmet was fastened shut, with only one thin line across the top for the knight to see though. And as the knight followed Princess Spiderbite into the VIP area, it looked like the knight was having trouble seeing where it was going.

Princess Spiderbite gingerly took the knights hand in her own to help lead it toward a set of chairs directly behind Prince Johanson and Rich Pidgeon. As she lead the knight forward, she did her best to hide the soft flush of red in her cheeks. "H-hello, Rich Pidgeon. It's nice to see you too." she muttered, as she helped the black knight into a chair. "You too, Johanson." she added, regarding Prince Johanson with a quick nod.

"Hey, Spiderbite! Glad to see you could make it!" exclaimed Prince Johanson, looking up from his compact-phone with a grin. "Who's your knight? He looks cool!"

Princess Spiderbite lowered her gaze and blushed a shade darker. Kelly raised an eyebrow as she noticed Princess Spiderbite glance over at the black knight before suddenly clearing her throat and doing her best to collect herself. Princess Spiderbite was wearing a long green dress with a thin white pattern sewn over it that resembled a spiders web. Her wooden crown had grown a few extra branches, with small white flowers cropping up all over. And her long brown hair had been braided with a collection of multi-colored flowers of varying shape and size.

It looked like Princess Spiderbite had put a lot more effort into her appearance than she usually did. And when Kelly's gaze fell onto the black knight, she quickly began to develop a suspicion as to why that might be.

Like the Johanson's, the Spiderbites weren't overly concerned with looking 'fancy' the way most royal types were supposed too. Instead, the Spiderbites seemed to spend all of their time obsessing over their namesake. The enormous spider bites that were usually seen protruding from their heads like over-sized sores. As always, the Princess' sore bulged out from the side of her forehead. But upon closer inspection, something about her sore seemed a little... Different. It wasn't pulsing in it's usual disturbing manner, for one thing. In fact- it looked almost... Fake.

Princess Spiderbite nervously cleared her throat as the red tinge in her cheeks seemed to refuse to fade. "Ah- He's, uh... He's not a knight... He's actually my Royal Squire." she explained. "...I-... I figured that if Star could have a personal Squire, then I could too- y'know?"

Rich Pidgeon cocked his head to the side. "Don't you already have servants? Why would you need a Squire?" he asked. "I'd been meaning to ask Star the very same question... Doesn't it seem a little... I dunno-... Superfluous?"

Princess Spiderbite huffed a little. "There is nothing at all strange about a princess requiring her own personal confidant. Being royalty can be very stressful... And exhausting. Sometimes... It's just really nice to know that you have someone around that you can count on... Someone you can lean on when the weight of your kingdom comes to be a little too much to bare..." as she spoke, her voice got progressively quieter, and she quickly began to shrink in her seat.

The black-armored Squire slowly and carefully reached out his hand and placed it on top of hers. Once again, Princess Spiderbite blushed a little as she gave the hand a light squeeze.

Prince Johanson slowly rubbed his chin. "...Huh... Maybe I should ask my Ma if I can get a Squire too..." he muttered.

Rich Pidgeon chuckled loudly to himself. "My, it seems as though Princess Butterfly is quite the trendsetter!" he exclaimed. "By the way- Princess Spiderbite, your Squire has yet to introduce himself! Surely he has a name other than 'Squire'."

The black-armored Squire seemed to flinch a little and quickly cleared his throat. "O-oh... Right. Sorry about that... My name's... Uh... It's-... G-... Gel. Y-yeah. Gel. Gel... Green." he muttered, his voice lightly trembling with nerves.

Princess Spiderbite looked equally nervous, and the two quickly squeezed each others hands in an attempt to reassure each other.

Rich Pidgeon gave a boisterous laugh. "Ah- I see! What a curious name!" he exclaimed. "You know- it's funny... I have a terrific memory when it comes to the sound of people's voices... And I must say, you sound remarkably similar to a slime monster that I met briefly during Princess Butterfly's Monster/Mewman party!"

Both Princess Spiderbite and the black-armored Squire gave an audible gasp, in perfect unison.

"Wha-whaaat?"

"That's crazy!"

"Yeah!"

"I-... I mean... Whoever heard of a slime monster disguising himself in a suit of black armor?"

"Exactly! The very idea- It's... It's ridiculous!"

"What she said! Ridiculous! I-... I'm just a regular old Squire! Definitely not a slime... Definitely!"

"Definitely!"

As Princess Spiderbite and the black-armored Squire quickly began to devolve into just repeating the word 'definitely' while fervently nodding at each other, Kelly had to resist the urge to chuckle at the farce that was playing out in front of her. Meanwhile, Rich Pidgeon and Prince Johanson simply nodded along with them- both looking extremely confused.

After a few minutes of this, Kelly finally decided to interrupt them. Lest the young royals find themselves stuck in a never-ending cycle of nodding for the rest of the night.

"So! Gel! Is this your first time coming to the Butterfly Gladiatorial Arena?" she asked, her voice loud enough to make the young royals jump a little. All four of them turned to face Kelly with looks of utter confused etched on their faces. There was a moment of awkward silence between, until Kelly eventually frowned and shot the black-armored Squire a look.

"That's you." she muttered, as she gestured toward him.

"O-oh! Right! I'm Gel. Yeah... That's what I said..." muttered 'Gel', as he awkwardly cleared his throat. "Uh... Yeah. It's-... It's my first time coming to one of these big arena things... It's... It's kinda nerve-wracking, actually... I've never been around this many Mewmans at once before... "

Prince Johanson gave a light chuckle. "Yeah, there sure are a lot of us, huh?" he said. "Believe it or not- this isn't even the biggest Gladiatorial Arena on Mewni. I heard that there's a secret one somewhere down in the Underworld. Lucitor says it's just a myth- but I heard his Dad mention it a couple of times while he was arguing with Uncle River."

Rich Pidgeon thoughtfully rubbed the underside of his beak with his wing. "Hmm... Very interesting." he muttered. There was a brief lull in the conversation, as Rich Pidgeon seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment. "...Say- There's a certain question I've been pondering in my free time... Regarding Prince Lucitor... You and Princess Spiderbite have known him a while, have you not?"

Princess Spiderbite breathed a heavy sigh. "...Yeah. Our whole lives, actually. We 'Royal Kids' get forced into a lot of dances and dumb social events... And if you're first in line for the throne, then it's even worse." she grumbled. "We always wind up getting stuck into little groups, and we're always expected to play nice with each other."

Prince Johanson nodded. "Yeah- It get's kinda frustrating sometimes. And exhausting." he added. "Like, me and Spiderbite- we've never really liked each other much. Yet we always had to dance together and stuff... And I hate dancin' enough as it is. I mean- at least the lame 'swaying' kinda dancing. I don't mind the kind where you get to let loose a bit."

Rich Pidgeon and 'Gel' cocked their heads to the side, looking curious.

"You guys don't get along?" muttered 'Gel'. "Wha-... Why is that? I mean, you're both Mewmans- right? Plus, you're royalty..."

"Indeed. And I've seen the two of you interact on more than one occasion... Neither of you have seemed anything less than civil with each other..." added Rich Pidgeon.

Once again, Princess Spiderbite breathed a heavy sigh. "...It's kind of a long story..." she muttered.

Prince Johanson gave a small shrug. And then, he winced- and quietly frowned at the long tusks jutting out of his shoulders. "...It's not all that complicated, really. Back when we were kids, there was a lot of talk about 'consolidating the kingdoms' or whatever... And some of our parents got kinda carried away. They started pairing us off- and there was a bunch of talk about 'arranged marriages'. Spiderbite and I got paired up... and so did Star and Lucitor." said Prince Johanson. "Obviously, it didn't work out for anybody. Spiderbite and I are just super different... And we kinda got on each others nerves in a bad way."

"Ah... I suppose all of this occurred before my family and I took up the title of 'Royalty'..." muttered Rich Pidgeon.

Prince Johanson nodded. "Yeah. But all that stuff is in the past as far as I'm concerned." he said. "Of course- there are some wounds that'll never fully heal..." he continued, gesturing toward the tusks that were embedded into his shoulders. "You know... Like boating related wounds, for example..."

Princess Spiderbite frowned. "...I said I was sorry." she grumbled.

"No you didn't." growled Prince Johanson.

Sensing an incoming dispute between the Prince and Princess, Rich Pidgeon loudly cooed- and then cleared his throat. "Er- Getting back to my question from before, regarding Prince Lucitor..." he said.

"Just ask him yourself." snapped Princess Spiderbite, her mood having soured a little. Noticing this, 'Gel' softly placed a hand on her shoulder. Princess Spiderbite's sour expression softened a little at this, and she soon returned the sentiment by placing her own hand on top of his. As they shared a quiet moment together, Rich Pidgeon breathed a heavy sigh.

"...Yes, I suppose it might be best to simply approach him myself... Although, I must admit- I do find the demon prince to be rather... Intimidating. I often feel as though he may roast me alive at any moment..." said Rich Pidgeon.

"Aww, he's not so bad." said Prince Johanson. "Especially since he got back together with Star. He's really really startin' to turn himself around. You shoulda seen him when we were kids! He'd always laugh maniacally and do this thing where he spun his head all the way around just to freak us out. Also, he'd just start breathing fire at random while he was tryin' to speak. He burned off my eyebrows more than once."

Rich Pidgeon winced a little. "...That does not exactly fill me with confidence..." he muttered.

"What is it you need to ask him, anyway? Is it about ancient demonic secrets and stuff? 'Cuz Lady Demonicus could probably help with that..." said Prince Johanson, as he gestured toward Demonicus, who was snoring loudly in her chair.

Rich Pidgeon shook his head. "No... Not quite. Actually, my business with Prince Lucitor involves a certain wager between Princess Ponyhead and I..." he said, as he leaned forward and lowered his voice. As Rich Pidgeon and Prince Johanson began to whisper amongst themselves, Princess Spiderbite and 'Gel' leaned a little closer to each other and began to do the same.

Kelly watched them for a little while, with only a passing interest. As time passed, Rich Pidgeon and Prince Johanson's expressions seemed oddly severe, while Princess Spiderbite gave 'Gel' a playful shove before they both tried and failed to stifle a laugh. Kelly smiled a little at the image of Princess Spiderbite and her 'Squire' laughing amongst themselves. It reminded her of what Star and Marco used to look like.

Kelly sighed. She could still remember the first time she had heard Marco's name. It was a lazy afternoon at her treehouse. She had spent most of the day lazing around with Tad, doing nothing. Then, all of a sudden, Princess Ponyhead came bursting in through the ceiling. This wasn't an unusual occurrence, of course. Princess Ponyhead had made a habit of making loud and dramatic entrances for as long as she remembered. Kelly had barely had time to greet her before Ponyhead suddenly launched into a long-winded tirade about someone she referred to as 'Earth Turd'. Neither Kelly nor Tad had any real idea what it was that she was babbling about- but then, that was business as usual with Ponyhead.

Eventually, Ponyhead got to the part about how this 'Earth Turd' was obviously plotting to steal the title of 'Star's Best Friend' from her. Apparently, Star had turned down yet another invitation to hang out at the Bounce Lounge in favor of something called 'Friendship Thursday' with the aforementioned 'Earth Turd'. As she launched into yet another rant, Kelly and Tad exchanged a weary look. Kelly and Tad had always been very different people. For one thing, Kelly had a near-insatiable thirst for adventure. While Tad was all about 'chilling out'. These opposing traits of theirs actually worked together pretty well. For the most part, at least. Kelly often encouraged Tad to be more active, and Tad was good at encouraging Kelly to take time to relax. Their differences actually complimented each other pretty well. Which was part of the reason their relationship had lasted so long in the first place.

Sometime during Ponyheads third rant, she mentioned the 'Earth Turd's real name. Marco Diaz. According to Ponyhead, he was a rather nerdy and unreliable person from the 'Earth' dimension. Apparently, Star had moved in with his family at her parents request- and she had taken quite a shine to him. Ponyhead was not at all shy about expressing her jealousy and outrage at this. First, she claimed that Marco was 'tricking' her somehow. Then, she claimed that Marco was a hopeless idiot, and had to rely on Star just to survive. And finally, after almost an hour of talking non-stop, she finally got around to admitting the real reason that she felt so strongly about him.

"This is going to be the whole Tom thing all over again! You just watch! He's gonna hurt her, and then she's gonna spend a whole month in the dumps!" she exclaimed. "Then what'll I do when I need a dance buddy at the Bounce Lounge!? I can't rely on you guys! Your moves are terrible!"

Kelly remembered rolling her eyes a little as Ponyhead spoke. For some reason, Ponyhead always seemed to have trouble admitting that she cared about people other than herself. So, she whenever she expressed concern for another person, she always had to frame it in selfishness. She seemed to do it completely by instinct at this point. Never allowing herself to express genuine empathy for others for anything longer than a minute at a time. It was one of the many 'quirks' that made Ponyhead Ponyhead.

Eventually, Kelly and Tad found themselves being forcibly invited to go to the Goblin Dog truck the next day. Apparently, Ponyhead had hatched a plan to have Kelly and Tad run interference on Marco while she spent some quality time with Star. Naturally, Ponyhead left before either Kelly or Tad could agree to this. And the next day, they found themselves following Ponyheads orders- to varying degrees of success.

During that day, as they stood in line for their Goblin Dogs, Kelly and Tad had both learned a great deal about the so-called 'Earth Turd'. It had taken literally no effort at all on their part to get Marco to suddenly open up to them. And before long, he was pouring out his entire life story to them. Kelly had never been particularly good at talking to new people, so she had simply stayed quiet the entire time. Tad simply followed suit.

"I mean... Sometimes, it feels like they're the kids... And I'm the parent... Y'know?"

Kelly remembered the exasperated look that Marco had worn throughout the entire day. From what he had told them, he had already been through quite a bit with Star- and to a lesser extent, Ponyhead -during the relatively short time he had known them. And on that day, he seemed to be coming close to reaching his wits end. Eventually, he seemed to turn all of his frustrations into a near unstoppable drive to finally get his hands on a Goblin Dog, so that he could finally eat and go home.

Things spiraled out of control pretty quickly after that. Mostly because Roy couldn't help but indulge in his habit of annoying his customers until he drove them close to insanity. Ultimately, they did finally manage to get their Goblin Dogs. Which meant that in the end, things had mostly worked out for everyone involved. Ponyhead got to spend a little one on one time with Star, and Marco had gotten an opportunity to let a few things off his chest that seemed to have been weighing on him for quite some time.

Kelly had been happy to help. But if she was being honest, she couldn't really see what Ponyhead had been so worried about. At least, not during their first meeting anyway. Kelly's first impressions of Marco were pretty shallow. All that she really learned about him was that he seemed to worry a lot, and he was prone to stress. That, and he seemed to be a lot more physically capable than he appeared at a glance. It was possible that Kelly's impression of him might have stayed that way forever. Heck- it was even possible that their paths would never cross again.

But then, they did. During another lazy late afternoon, Kelly had been drowning herself in Goblin Dogs after having broken up with Tad for the third time that week. She very well might have put herself into another 'Goblin Dog coma' that day, if Star hadn't shown up when she did. Desperate for something else to put her mind on, Kelly agreed to help her in her newfound endeavor to keep the Bounce Lounge from shutting down forever.

That evening had turned into a rather fun night, as she soon found herself reunited with the old 'Bounce Lounge Crew'. As things began to happen at a chaotic pace- as they so often did when Star was involved- Kelly noticed a new side to Marco. She saw him smile and laugh together with Star. Even though it was obvious that he would rather be doing anything other than hanging out with Ponyhead in a nightclub filled with near-deafening music- he still did his best to stand with Star. And support her with everything he had, as Star continued her obsessive fight to keep the Bounce Lounge alive.

Through her depressed haze, she couldn't help but be a little impressed as he watched him throw all of his energy into helping Star. Apparently, this was something he did quite often. And Star would return the favor- although it was usually with something on a smaller scale, like helping him talk to a girl he had a crush on.

Watching Star and Marco work together had actually made her feel a little jealous. Looking at them made her think about her relationship with Tad, and how fragile it often seemed. In comparison, Star and Marco looked like the strongest pair she had ever seen. It was obvious, that night, that they shared a special bond. Watching them had made her want to try and build something similar between Tad and herself... So, she and Tad made up once again- and that night, it almost seemed like they really might be able to finally find whatever it was that was missing in their relationship. Unfortunately, the moment passed pretty quickly. And her relationship with Tad went back to how it was before. And things would continue that way for a few more months.

As she remembered that night at the Bounce Lounge, Kelly slowly adjusted her glasses and leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh.

How old was that memory by now? It felt like a relic from a distant era. So far away and different that it almost felt like some kind of dream when she thought back to it.

For a while now, Kelly had been doing her best not to get caught up in nostalgia. Especially now that she had rededicated her life to moving forward, and trying to find a new pathway for herself. One where she could be happy with or without a significant other. But in the time since the whole 'Stump Day' incident occurred, it was getting more and more difficult for her not to think back to a time when everything seemed much simpler.

If only she could have done something different... Maybe-... Maybe if on the night that Star called an emergency friend meeting and finally admitted her burgeoning feelings for Marco out loud... Maybe if she had stopped her from leaving that night... Or-... Maybe if she had tried to talk to Marco... Or if she had just put a greater effort into keeping them from splitting up somehow... Even if it meant shoving them both into a room and forcing them to talk things out... Then, maybe things would be different. Better. For both of them.

Kelly sighed again and quickly shook her head.

No. The truth was... There was nothing she could have done to prevent the fissure between Marco and Star from growing into what it had. It felt almost inevitable. But that didn't make it any less heartbreaking to watch one of the strongest relationships she had ever seen slowly dwindle and fade away.

It was funny to think that in the aftermath of Stump Day... Some part of her had actually thought that things might finally change for the better between Star and Marco. After all, he had finally revealed to her at least some part of how he felt. All it would take would be that next step... For Marco to tell her exactly why he had been so depressed recently. Kelly was confident that Star would find a way to fix things between them. And even if it didn't result in some big dramatic development... Even if Star decided to stay with Tom... At least she and Marco would have finally started being honest with each other. And from there... Maybe, just maybe... They could start to rebuild the incredible friendship that they had lost some time ago...

But things hadn't worked out that way. Instead, they both seemed to have doubled down on the whole 'not communicating' thing, and it was obviously making them both utterly miserable. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing that anyone could do to help them... They had to figure out things for themselves. And no amount of prodding from others was going to make that happen. Star or Marco- preferably both- had to be willing to take the first step. And with every passing day, it became less and less likely that it was going to happen. They were both stubborn, angry and hurt... And their bond was more fractured than ever before.

Kelly bit her bottom lip and frowned. Watching two of her best friends suffer like this was difficult. Painful. But it was probably nowhere near as painful as it was for Star and Marco... And possibly even Tom. Some part of her was glad not to be stuck in the middle of all the drama... While another part of her wished that she was. Just so she could try and really change something.. Before it was too late.

"I must say that I wholeheartedly disagree! Obviously, Prince Lucitor is the correct partner for Princess Star. Just think about it! They have everything in common. They share a long history, they are both two of the most powerful creatures in all of Mewni, and they truly care about each other!" exclaimed Rich Pidgeon. "Think about it! Has there ever been a pairing more perfect than those two? Why, if they were to take the throne together, they would no doubt be the most incredible leaders in Mewni's history!"

Kelly blinked, as she turned to find Rich Pidgeon and Prince Johanson in the midst of a heated argument.

Prince Johanson scoffed. "I can't believe what I'm hearing!" he exclaimed. "Maybe it's 'cuz you don't know my cousin like I do- but lemme tell you something! That whole Star and Tom thing? It's doomed from the start!"

"Do not start with that! You sound just like Princess Ponyhead!" exclaimed Rich Pidgeon, his feathers ruffled in frustration. "I may not have known them for as long as you have, but perhaps that's just the point! You cannot seem to see their relationship without having it tinged by memories of the past! Try looking at the two of them objectively! Tom is a troubled young man, yes, but he has obviously done everything in his power to change!"

Prince Johanson frowned. "Oh, that's rich comin' from you. Didn't you just tell me that you were worried about Tom puttin' you on a rotisserie or somethin'? Turnin' you from Rich Pidgeon to Barbecue Pidgeon?"

Rich Pidgeon huffed once more and ruffled his feathers even further. "My own primal fear of demons has little to do with this! I've seen those two together! Haven't you? Tom resembles an altogether different person when he is by her side! He radiates a love and care for that girl that is written about only in the most beautiful of love poems!" he exclaimed. "Of course, I've heard the stories... Ponyhead has taken it upon herself to ensure that I am fully informed about his past misdeeds. But let me ask you- Does that disqualify him from receiving a second chance? Does that somehow cheapen the incredible depths of his love and affection? Of course not!"

Prince Johanson grit his teeth and crossed his arms over his chest. "I ain't sayin' that he doesn't deserve a second chance! I never said that! And I didn't say that his feelings for her ain't real, either!" he exclaimed. "What I am saying, is that they just don't belong together! And I don't care how much you insist that they do!"

"Oh- Are you truly pretending that there is such a thing as a predetermined outcome? Are you going to argue in favor of such concepts as 'destiny'? Because let me tell you something, Prince Johanson! There is no such thing! At all! I do not care what the rumors say about the fabled 'Blood Moon Ball'- nor do I buy into such cheap romantic notions as predestined soul mates!" exclaimed Rich Pidgeon. "Such things belong between the covers of a book! Notions such as these cannot be entertained in the real world! If such thing were true, then why even try to seek out a partner? If such things are truly predestined, then they will simply 'happen'- no matter what you do! Or don't do!"

"That ain't my point either! Forget about the Blood Moon stuff! Forget about the red string of fate, and all the other junk! When it comes right down to it, Star and Marco are just better for each other! They lead each other outta their comfort zones, and they've both changed each other in a deep and fundamental way already!" exclaimed Prince Johanson. "I'm not tryin' to take anything away from them as individuals- and hey, maybe they'd have changed all on their own. But think about it! Star never woulda started thinkin' about Monsters the way she does if it weren't for Marco! Heck- if it weren't for Marco, she'd probably still be runnin' away from her future as Queen of Mewni, instead of facin' it head on like she is now! And then there's Marco! A weak little kid from a dimension void of all magic! You think there's any way he coulda become the guy he is now without Star?"

Rich Pidgeon huffed and cooed at the same time. "Yes, exactly! Think about what you just said! Marco would be nothing without Star!" almost as soon as the words escaped his beak, Rich Pidgeon suddenly paused and shook his head. "No... That is unfair. I'm sure that Marco would have the capacity to grow into an impressive man even without her influence. But it is undeniable that they are simply mismatched! Totally and completely! I mean- think about it what you just said! Marco is utterly devoid of magic! And his entire dimension is just the same as he! The fact that he has managed to adapt as well as he had is nothing short of incredible! But how long will it take for him to reach his limit? How long with it take for him to simply crumble under the weight of everything around him? And that is to say nothing of the possibility of him becoming King someday! Can you possibly think of someone any less equipped to support her as time goes on? He can barely support himself!"

Kelly grit her teeth when she heard this from the other side of the VIP area. And she was suddenly overcome with the urge to walk over and give Rich Pidgeon a piece of her mind. And possibly her sword, just for good measure.

Suddenly, Princess Spiderbite leaned forward in her chair- breaking away from a conversation with 'Gel' to send a withering scowl in Rich Pidgeon's direction. "Hey! Don't you go bad mouthin' Princess Turdina! I'll have you know that he's done more for more people than you ever have!" she exclaimed. "Heck- the fact that he's not some all-powerful demon oughtta make you realize just how amazing he really is! He's an inspiration to Princesses everywhere!"

Prince Johanson and Rich Pidgeon stared blankly at her for a moment.

"...He's a princess?" muttered Rich Pidgeon.

Princess Spiderbite gave a proud nod. "You bet your feathers he is! He single-handedly ignited the revolution that eventually tore down Saint Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses forever! And he became the face of protest for all Princesses across the dimensions!" she exclaimed. "It doesn't matter that he's a boy- or that he's not technically royalty. His words and actions have touched the hearts and minds of Princesses everywhere! Plus- and let me just be real for as second- he is much cuter than Tom is."

At this, Rich Pidgeon and Prince Johanson gave an overly dramatic gasp. 'Gel', meanwhile, shifted around in his chair a little- looking a little uncomfortable with the gleam in Princess Spiderbites eyes as she spoke about 'Princess Turdina'.

"That is preposterous!" exclaimed Rich Pidgeon.

"Yeah! Have you even seen Tom? He's, like, one of the best-lookin' guys of all time!" exclaimed Prince Johanson. "I mean- don't get me wrong, I like Marco and all- but let's not pretend that Tom doesn't have him totally beat in the looks department."

Rich Pidgeon nodded. "Indeed. Tom is superbly handsome- if I do say so myself. He has that classic dangerous and suave flair to him that is quite simply irresistible." he said. "Why, if Princess Ponyhead weren't already clearly at the very top of the 'Most Attractive' list, I dare say that Tom would be number one! Above even myself!"

Prince Johanson nodded. "Exactly!" he exclaimed.

Princess Spiderbite rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "You two couldn't be more wrong if you tried. Princess Turdina is crazy good looking! And it doesn't even matter if he's wearing a dress, a hoodie, or even that grey jacket he was wearing at the Monster/Mewman thing! He's always the perfect mixture of handsome and cute. Right, Sli- I mean... 'Gel'." she said, as she gave 'Gel' a soft nudge with her elbow.

'Gel' shifted around uncomfortably as all of sudden, everyone's attention turned to him. "Uh-... I dunno..." he muttered. "I mean- I think they're both good lookin' guys..."

At that, Rich Pidgeon, Prince Johanson, and Princess Spiderbite all rolled their eyes.

"Oh, take a stand!" exclaimed Prince Johanson. Both Rich Pidgeon and Princess Spiderbite seemed to nod along in agreement with Prince Johanson.

'Gel' breathed a heavy sigh. "...I dunno, you guys... I mean- It doesn't even matter, right?" he muttered. "Looks aren't everything... Besides, Princess Star's already made her choice. So there's no use arguing about it. The choice was her's... And she made it. Right? I mean-... If she really did want to be with Marco more than Tom... Then she would've made it happen by now, right?"

Princess Spiderbite stared at 'Gel' for a moment, before finally relenting with a heavy sigh. "...You're right..." she muttered, as her hand slowly made its way up to the 'spider bite' on her forehead. Unbeknownst to anyone but her and 'Gel', her current spider bite was a fake. Something she had been wearing ever since the night that she had her spider bite 'cured' by a very sweet slime monster. Princess Spiderbite flashed 'Gel' a soft smile, as she slowly lowered her hand.

"...She's made her decision. Maybe... Maybe we oughtta respect that." she said. "I-... I know how frustrating it can be... When people start makin' a big show of 'disapproving' of the person you've chosen to be your partner. Maybe we should just... Mind our own business, y'know? And not just us- but Ponyhead, too."

Rich Pigeon sighed and slowly shook his head. "...Although I do happen to agree with you, Princess Spiderbite... I'm afraid it's already too late. You see- Princess Ponyhead and I... We have been participating in a certain wager together... Something called the 'King-pool'. And it is not just Ponyhead and me, either. I've heard that the participation numbers for this King-pool are somewhere in the thousands... Possibly more. And included in that number, are people from across of all the dimensions... Far and wide." he explained. "Of course- it is supposed to be something of a secret... Which I suppose explains why Prince Johanson here had never heard of it..."

"I'm still on Ponyhead's side, by the way." said Prince Johanson. "All my money is on Marco Diaz. And I won't be changin' my mind."

"...I wish I could convince you two otherwise... Especially Ponyhead. She seems to have her heart set on what she refers to as 'Star-co'. And I'm afraid... That she is going to find herself deeply disappointed. As are you." said Rich Pigeon.

As the royals finally began to talk at more reasonable volume, Kelly quietly removed her glasses and slowly rubbed her temples. All throughout their loud conversation, Kelly had done her best to resist the urge join in. Especially when Rich Pigeon had started talking. Ultimately, however, she couldn't help but feel like talking about the whole 'Marco and Star' situation would be a betrayal of Marco's confidence. Even though his feelings for her had become glaringly obvious to anyone looking in from the outside, it was still a precious secret to him. And not something to be talked about lightly. Especially not with a group of people she barely even knew.

Kelly sighed.

'...I wonder just how many people know about this by now? Is it literally everyone but Star?' she thought. Kelly bit her lip a little, as she felt a pang of guilt. It didn't seem right that Star was the only one totally in the dark. Frowning a little, Kelly breathed another long sigh. 'I wonder... I wonder how long it'll take for her to figure it out on her own... She's usually pretty perceptive with that stuff, but... Well... Maybe Marco's her blind spot...'

Kelly didn't get much time to think any deeper on the subject, as her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud high pitched whine. Kelly grit her teeth and clutched her ears, as everyone else in the arena did the same. Some hissed in pain, while others loudly cursed. All around the arena, there were a series of large speakers with lights on them. The lights were flickering erratically from red to green. After another high pitched whine, followed by the sound of a scuffle, the loudspeaker lights finally settled on green.

A woman's voice suddenly filled the entire arena, amplified by speakers.

"Welcome, one and all! Sorry about the little mishap! We're not really used to the controls... And someone spilled a bunch of cheese and cream all over the place!"

Suddenly, a male voice cut in. "That was you! You were practicing your pie-juggling again! Don't try to pin this on me!"

"Too late!" exclaimed the woman's voice. "Now, then! Ladies, Gentlemen and other! I am the Royal Fool-Duke of the Butterfly Kingdom! Joining me is world renowned genius... The Mime!"

"..."

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by some scattered applause among the crowd.

"Aaaand, also joining me is some stupid, lazy songstral. Now then-" began Fool-Duke, only to be hastily interrupted once again by the male voice.

"Hey! Don't just-"

"Come on, Ruberiot! We've got a schedule to keep! You wanna get back to your lonely one bedroom apartment at a reasonable time, don't you?" exclaimed Fool Duke.

"...Yes. Of course. But- I did happen to write a lovely poem that I thought I might-" began Ruberiot- only to be interrupted.

"Nope!"

"Oh, come on! Why must you be so difficult?"

"Hey, you promised that if I let you into the announcer's booth that there's be no songs and no poems!"

"...Yes, well... What if I were to read just one... One little poem... I'm sure both you and the audience will greatly appreciate it."

"You know what I think the audience will appreciate?"

"What?"

"NOW ENTERING THE GLADIATORIAL ARENA; SIR JERKIUS THE GOLDEN!"

The crowd immediately erupted in a deafening cheer that seemed send a tremor running across the entire arena. Kelly's features stiffed, while everyone else leaned forward in their chairs to get the best view of the combat area as possible. The actual combat area below them was nothing more than a field of dirt. It didn't look like a particularly pleasant terrain to fight in. There were hundreds of small rocks scattered across the dirt, along with a few discarded packets of corn chips and old bottles of corn syrup. Apparently, in all the excitement to set up the so-called 'emergency fight', no one had taken the time to clean up the combat area. There were some blood splatters spread across the big metal walls that surrounded it.

The metal walls that encircled the combat area were tall enough to make sure that no-one could climb out in a fit of desperation. And the top of each wall ended in a series of long metal spikes that also appeared to be covered in barbed wire- just for good measure. There were two large metal doors on either side of the ring. One door was painted red, while the other was painted bright gold. Naturally, the golden door was the first one to open. It did so very slowly, as if to savor the drama of the reveal.

Eventually, the door finally lowered into the ground, and Jerkius stepped outside to meet a wave of cheers from his adoring public. His golden armor shined brilliantly under the lights of the arena, and the various jewels that decorated his chest plate glimmered gently as he moved. His face was covered by his golden helmet, just as it had been when Kelly saw him last. But even still, it wasn't difficult to imagine the smug on his face as he happily absorbed the adulation from all around him.

As he made his way toward to the middle of the combat area, he raised his hands into the air gesturing for the crowd to cheer even louder. The crowd happily accepted the challenge, and before too long Kelly found herself having to block her ears with her hair as the entire area began to quake from the sheer force of the audience's enthusiasm.

Somewhere amidst the loud cheers, voices continued to talk amongst themselves through the speaker system.

"I can't believe you just did that! I had a whole opening song prepared for Sir Jerkius- and you just announced his entrance without any semblance of build up! Do you know nothing about the world of theatre?" muttered Ruberiot.

"Pfft- I've played for theatres bigger than you could even dream of, Ruby-rot." said Fool Duke.

"Oh, please. No one is impressed by your filling a room with drunken idiots and spending an hour waving a rubber chicken in front of them." said Ruberiot.

"You know, you're a sour enough guy as it is without adding jealousy to the mix, Ruby-rot." said Fool Duke. "Your just jealous 'cuz I can do what you'll never do. Make people smile and laugh."

Ruberiot huffed. "...There's more to art than making people happy." he grumbled.

"Oh, sure. The thing is, you can't do any of the other stuff, either." said Fool Duke.

"Why you rude, uncultured-" exclaimed Ruberiot, before being interrupted by the sound of a pie being thrown. The sounds of a small scuffle quickly followed, along with a series of insults from both Ruberiot and Fool Duke. Eventually, the sound of a near deafening 'smack' filled the air. Followed quickly series of pained groans from both Ruberiot and Fool Duke.

"Ow! Mime- That mallet is supposed to be used for comedy! Not violence!" exclaimed Fool Duke.

"Is there even a difference?" grumbled Ruberiot.

Fool Duke made a sound that made it seem like she was about to respond- only for her to suddenly fall silent. As the cheers of the crowd slowly died down, the entire arena was suddenly let in an eery silence- save for some mutterings from among the crowd. Eventually, Fool Duke spoke up again.

"Alright, alright- I'll stop taking jabs at Ruberiot. But only if he promises to do the same!" she exclaimed. The speakers squeaked a little as she spoke, and the entire audience began to trade confused looks.

"..."

Another brief pause. Then, Ruberiot reluctantly cleared his throat. "...Okay. Fine. I'll do that... And I'll keep my poems and songs to myself... Just as I promised." he muttered.

There was yet another brief pause, followed quickly by the faint sound of someone clapping.

Kelly smirked a little as she watched Jerkius cross his arms over his chest, obviously frustrated with the fact that the audience's attention was no longer focused on him. As Jerkius looked over the crowd, Kelly noticed him suddenly stiffen. Jerkius went still for a moment, and then slowly moved his arms to his sides. His hands slowly tightened into fists, as he seemed to shudder in disgust. Or rage.

He had obviously just noticed all of the so-called 'non-Mewmans' in the audience.

Kelly clenched her teeth. '...Marco. I hope you knock some sense into that twisted jerk.' she thought.

"Well- With that settled... Welcome everyone, to another Grand Gladiatorial Battle starring Sir Jerkius, the Legendary Golden Knight!" exclaimed Fool Duke, through the speakers.

Once again, the crowd burst into cheers. This seemed to soothe Jerkius, but only a little. With a slight huff, Jerkius rose one hand into the air and motioned to someone in the crowd.

"Ah- That's right! Sir Jerkius requested that he be able to say few words before we all get started... Does anyone know where we put the new microphone?" asked Ruberiot.

"What does it look like?" asked Fool Duke.

"Are you kidding me? Wait- Don't answer that." said Ruberiot. "It's a microphone, okay? It looks like a microphone."

"Hmm... Uh oh."

"What?"

"Well, I just finished eating this silver ice-cream... And it was a little crunchier than usual..."

"What- Are you-... How!?" sputtered Ruberiot.

"Oh, no, wait- here it is. Thanks, Mime. HEY! SOMEONE GO TAKE THIS OVER TO SIR JERKIUS!" bellowed Fool Duke. "WHAT? I DUNNO! THROW IT AT HIM IF YOU HAVE TO! NOW HURRY UP! WE DON'T HAVE ALL NIGHT!"

There was a brief moment of silence in the arena, until a short Squire suddenly popped out from somewhere in the crowd. With a loud grunt, the Squire threw a wireless microphone into the battle area. Jerkius seemed to give a small sigh as he lazily caught it with his outstretched hand. Wasting no time, Jerkius brought the microphone up to his helmet, pressed a small button on its side and loudly cleared his throat.

"Good evening, everyone." he said. "How is everybody doing?"

The crowd cheered loudly in response, some members of the crowd even pumped their fists into the air while others waved banners and flags that read 'Jerkius 4 Life' or 'I Heart Jerkius'.

Jerkius gave a soft chuckle as he waited patiently for the cheers to die down. "Excellent. Now then, in case a few of you are unaware... Allow me to explain why it is that this emergency Gladiatorial Battle is being held..." he said. "You see, we Royal Knights were in the midst of an important meeting... When our challenger suddenly burst into the room, making a series of ridiculous demands, and disrespecting not just myself- but all of our royal knights..."

Members of the audience gasped, booed and hissed as that. To which Jerkius gave another small chuckle.

In the VIP area, Kelly clenched her teeth and dug her fingers into the armrests of her chair. The young royals were all sitting forward in their seats, paying full attention. Demonicus appeared to be asleep, while Lavabo simply stroked his beard and seemed to lose himself in thought.

"Yes, yes... Quite the fool, indeed. But of course, things didn't end there... Because then, the boy actually dared to challenge me to a battle!" exclaimed Jerkius, feigning surprise. "It was quite the development... Of course, I cannot let such disrespect go unpunished... And so, I graciously accepted his challenge- and here we are, only a short time after... Thank you all for coming on such short notice, by the way. I'm always happy to share my victories with a crowd."

The crowd cheered once more.

"Now then... I believe that time is of the essence. So, announcers... Please feel free to introduce the challenger." said Jerkius. With that, Jerkius pressed the button on the side of the microphone once more and then threw it back into the crowd- where it landed with a hard 'thud' in the face of a half-asleep Squire.

"Alright, then! NOW ENTERING THE ARENA! THE CHALLENGER!" exclaimed Fool Duke.

As the large metal door opposite Jerkius began to open, the audience had already begun to hiss and boo. Kelly quietly held her breath as she watched the door slowly lower into the ground. Prince Johanson and Rich Pigeon began to bounce up and down with childish excitement, as Princess Spiderbite gave 'Gel' a gentle nudge and then offered him her hand. He took it, and she gave it a tight squeeze.

Lavabo shifted forward in his chair, with a small smile. 'Show them what you are made of, my former Squire...' he thought.

Demonicus was still fast asleep.

Once the door had fully opened, a small figure took a few small steps out of the shadows. Kelly squinted. She couldn't quite see him properly. As the crowd continued to hiss and jeer, the figure paused for a moment. Then, finally, he stepped out into the light. And very quickly, the crowd went silent.

Marco stepped into the battlefield with a bright blush in his cheeks. His cape fluttered behind him, as he slowly made his way to the center of the field. He was wearing a small pair of white boxer shorts, covered in small red love hearts.

And his cape.

And nothing else.

The crowd was silent for long.

"...He-... HE'S IN HIS UNDERWEAR!" bellowed a voice from the crowd. A wave of chuckles began to rise up from the audience, which quickly turned into outright laughter. Before long, the entire arena was filled with the sounds of uproarious laughter.

Marco's blush reached his ears as he stood in the middle of an arena filled with people pointing and laughing at his nearly naked body. It took every ounce of willpower he had not to clutch at his cape and try to wrap it around himself. Or to simply run and find a cold, dark place to hide in for the rest of his life.

Marco felt a tremble in his hands and knees, as tears threatened to well up in his eyes. Marco quickly closed his eyes and drew a few sharp breaths. In that moment, he was living one of his worst nightmares. Marco had always felt insecure about his own body, especially after entering puberty. He always felt a little too chubby. Or scrawny. Or sweaty. It was why he had never gone to a public pool without a shirt or a hoodie. He'd always felt the need to cover up. He'd even been known to bring his own shower curtains into the school showers after gym class.

It had gotten a little better recently. His experiences with Star had helped him gain some measure of confidence. And during his sixteen-year long quest in Heckapoo's dimension, he had even managed to grow all the way out of his insecurities and flaunt himself a bit. Of course, part of the reason he could do that was because he had grown out of his awkward, teenage body and into a body that could be objectively labeled as 'hot'. Or 'rockin'. Which were both compliments that Heckapoo had thrown his way more than one in order to distract him during their long battle.

Dating Jackie Lynn Thomas had also given him a slight boost in confidence. After all, she had seemed to really like him- even with his awkward, sweaty body. Of course, that confidence boost was short lived. After he had ruined everything with her, and then made his way back to Mewni only to be rejected by Star... Any shred of confidence he might have gained, swiftly evaporated.

He had tried to gain some measure of confidence by being the best Squire he could be... And he had failed swiftly at that, as well. For an entire year now, his confidence had been at an all-time low. More than once, he had found himself staring into deepest depths of despair. Deeply considering his own self-worth. Or lack thereof.

Kelly and Buff Frog had been there to help pull him out of the abyss more than once. And so had the Buff Kids. After Stump Day, he had spent more and more time with them. Teaching them how to read and write, and telling them stories. He had even had them over at his house on Earth to watch movies with Kelly and Janna. They were like family to him now.

And Jerkius had hurt one of them. Anastasia. He might have even killed her if she hadn't run away when she did.

Marco took another deep breath, as he slowly tuned out the sounds of laughter from all around him. Some of the audience members had started pointing and yelling at him.

"He looks so weak!"

"I ain't never seen someone look so pathetic!"

"Put on a shirt! No one wants to see your gross body!"

Marco clenched his hands into fists to stop the trembling, and help his breath. It took a great deal of willpower to keep the tears at bay, but he did. '...Don't worry about it...' he told himself. 'It's not important. None of this is important... The only thing that matters, is getting this so-called 'Royal Knight' to apologize. Not just to Anastasia, but to all the Buff Kids... And Buff Frog. I'll make him look right into their angry eyes...'

'I know... That it won't change Jerkius. But... I don't want Anastasia to be afraid of Mewmans. I don't want that for any of them. They have to know that no Mewman will get away with treating Monsters that way. Or, at the very least... This one won't.' thought Marco, as he breathed a heavy sigh. '...That's why I'm here. For them. I'm gonna make this guy apologize, all by myself. And hopefully... Seeing this guy bow in front of them, and apologize... Will spare Anastasia a nightmare or two. I hope so, at least.'

Marco opened his eyes as he heard the sound of a low chuckle. Looking up, he found Jerkius standing just a short distance in front of him. Marco couldn't see his face- or even his eyes. But it wasn't difficult to imagine the twisted smile on the man's face.

"Well, well... It would appear that someone stole away your 'Earth' clothes... How unfortunate." said Jerkius, with a small snicker.

Marco sighed. "...Yeah. I figured this was your doing." he muttered.

"I'm surprised that you were stupid enough to enter the ring, at all. Surely you're aware that changing your armor once you're inside the battle area is strictly against the rules?" asked Jerkius.

Marco twitched a little. "...Of course it is." he muttered.

Jerkius joined the crowd in laughing for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, as the laughs died down, the sound of Fool Duke's voice echoed throughout the arena, via the speakers.

"Hey, isn't that Marco!?" she exclaimed.

"Why- it is! I didn't recognize him without his red hoodie..." added Ruberiot.

"Ladies and gentleman... It appears our challenger is none other than Marco Diaz! Squire to the Princess, and hero of Mewni!" announced Fool Duke.

"Yes! He is one of the founding members of 'La Resistance'... The organization that I created in order to overthrow the evil tyrant Ludo and his army of rats!" exclaimed Ruberiot.

Fool Duke scoffed. "You didn't create 'La Resistance'! Marco did!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I suppose I simply remember things differently..." said Ruberiot.

"You mean you remember things wrong!" exclaimed Fool Duke.

The crowd mumbled words of confusion, Jerkius quietly cleared his throat and motioned with his hands for the Announcers to move on. From wherever they were, Fool Duke and Ruberiot seemed to get the message.

"A-... Anyway! It's time for our fighters to select their weapons... SQUIRE! WHEEL OUT THE WEAPONS!" bellowed Fool Duke, directly into her microphone. The speakers squeaked and whined under the power of her voice, causing the audience to wince and clutch their ears.

Another Squire suddenly made his way into the battlefield from the same entrance that Jerkius walked in through. The Squire was pushing a wooden cart filled with weapons of all shapes and sizes. There were several large swords, axes, hammers, spears and even a range of crossbows. The Squire stopped the cart directly behind Jerkius, and took a moment to cough and wheeze as he wiped a pool of sweat from his forehead.

Jerkius quickly spun around and ignored the Squire as he quietly rifled through all of the weapons. Eventually, he retrieved a long golden sword and lifted it into the air. The lights of the arena gave the golden sword a majestic sparkle, and the crowd immediately launched into another loud cheer.

"Oh, my! That appears to be the very sword that Sir Jerkius used to slay a magical dragon just a few years ago! Notice the intricate detail on the blade, and the dark purple handle... It is said that this golden sword was crafted by one of the first Queens of Mewni, whose name has been lost to time!" exclaimed Ruberiot.

"Huh. I didn't expect you to know that... Then again, I don't expect you to know anything, so it's no wonder I'm so surprised." said Fool Duke.

"Oh, I happen to know quite a lot. That's what happens when you take the time to read a book or two, instead of spending all your time telling fart jokes and juggling rubber chickens!" growled Ruberiot.

"..."

There was a brief pause, followed quickly by a nervous chuckle from Fool Duke.

"Come on, Mime! That was just playful banter! There's no need to hold the mallet that way..." said Fool Duke.

"Y-yes... Look, see! I'm fine. Everything's fine. Okay?" muttered Ruberiot.

"..."

Both Fool Duke and Ruberiot breathed a sigh of relief, as Jerkius swung his sword out in front of him. With a satisfied nod, he turned to face Marco. "...You should know... This battle... It will be by far the most painful experience of your short life." he said. "But- I am a merciful man. If you would just get down on your knees, and begs for forgiveness... Then, I may very well allow you to live."

Marco walked past Jerkius without saying a word. Jerkius quietly growled as he watched Marco walk away from him, and towards one side of the arena. At one point, Jerkius thought that he was about to make a break for it. Which would have made him very happy. But instead, Marco came to a stop in front of one of the tall metal walls that surrounded the battlegrounds, and slowly craned his neck upwards.

He was standing just below the VIP area.

"...Hey, Kelly." said Marco, with an awkward wave. Above, Kelly blushed lightly as she quickly cleared her throat and leaned over the guardrail to greet Marco with an awkward wave of her own.

"H-hey... Nice boxers..." she muttered. There was a deeply awkward moment of silence between the two of them, as they both blushed and avoided eye contact.

"...Sorry. That was weird." said Kelly.

"N-no, it's... Don't worry about it." said Marco.

Kelly quietly cleared her throat, ignoring the curious glances from the young royals. "...So, what's up?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice as even as possible.

Marco smiled a little. "Oh, you know... Just preparing for a good ol' fashioned Death Match." he said.

Kelly returned his smile. "Oh, I see... So, the usual then." she said.

Marco nodded. "Yeah. The usual."

The two friends shared a laugh, as they felt the awkwardness between them quickly dissipated.

"So, what can I do for you, Marco Ubaldo Diaz? Shouldn't you be picking a weapon or something?" asked Kelly.

"Well, actually... That's kinda why I came over here. You remember how we stopped by my room to pick up my cape on the way here?" asked Marco.

Kelly nodded.

"Well, while we were there- I also asked you to carry something in your hair... Just in case I needed it. And- well... Now, I think I do. Need it, I mean." said Marco.

Kelly thought for a moment and then blinked. "...You mean your gauntlets? You're gonna use those?" she asked.

Marco nodded.

"Ah- I'm afraid that it is against the rules to change your armor once you have entered the ring..." said Lavabo, as he got up from his seat and joined Kelly at the guard rail.

"Oh, I won't be using them as armor. They'll be my weapons." said Marco.

Lavabo raised an eyebrow, and slowly stroked his beard. "...I see. The rules do make certain allowances for outside weapons... But only if they are inspected and certified by at least two Royal Knights." explained Lavabo. "Which means that Jerkius and I will have to inspect them, first."

Marco nodded. "Okay. No problem." he said.

Kelly plunged her hand into her hair and retrieved the gauntlets. Since the big confrontation with Libraria in the Diaz families backyard, Marco had only used the gauntlets during sparring sessions with Kelly. They were both covered in dozens of scratches, courtesy of Kelly's broadsword.

Kelly quietly handed the gauntlets to Lavabo, and Lavabo carefully studied them for a few minutes before giving a satisfied nod. "I see no secret runes inscribed either inside or outside... These appear to be a rather ordinary set of silver gauntlets... Did you perhaps purchase them at Quest Buy?" he asked.

Kelly nodded.

"I see. Well, I see no reason not to let you use these..." said Lavabo, before dropping the gauntlets into Marco's waiting arms. "Of course... It is required that Sir Jerkius give them an inspection of his own..."

Marco nodded and made his way over to Jerkius. Jerkius gave an angry huff as he snatched the gauntlets out of Marco's arms and gave them a quick once-over. "...Cheap metal outside with a cheap magical cushioning material on the inside..." he muttered. "I see no tricks... No runes... Nothing special whatsoever. They would appear to match their owner quite perfectly." he said, before tossing the gauntlets to the ground.

"Very well. If you insist, you may use your little gauntlets as your weapons." said Jerkius.

Marco nodded, and quietly picked up his gauntlets and began to put them on. Both gauntlets fit over his hands and forearms and were fastened into place by long leather straps. As Marco quietly tightened the straps and fiddled with a few metal clips to keep them in place, the speakers suddenly burst to life.

"Alright! It looks like both sides are ready to go! SQUIRE! WHEEL THE REST OF THE WEAPONS BACK AND THEN FLIP THE SWITCH TO CLOSE THE METAL DOORS!" bellowed Fool Duke.

Ruberiot gave a weary sigh. "...You know... You are speaking into a device that was made to amplify your voice... There is no need to yell into it..." he muttered.

Fool Duke scoffed. "I know that." she muttered.

The Squire hurriedly disappeared into the metal door behind Jerkius, dragging the weapons cart along behind him. As soon as he was gone, the metal doors on both sides of the battle area began to rise from the dirt.

Jerkius and Marco made their way back to the center of the battle area and stood in front of each other.

"Now! Are both fighters ready to begin!?" yelled Fool Duke.

Jerkius gave a small nod, and Marco did the same.

"OKAY! THEN! LET'S BEGIN IN THREE!" bellowed Fool Duke.

As soon as Fool Duke began to count down, she was quickly joined by Ruberiot, along with the entire crowd

"TWO!"

Kelly clenched her teeth and glanced over at Lavabo, who simply offered her a reassuring smile.

"ONE!"

The Young Royals exchanged nervous glances and took a deep breath.

"FIGHT!"

---

As Higgs stood in front of Butterfly Castle, she was filled with a sense of awe and dread. As if to match her mood, a cold, ominous breeze swept through the land. The castle was bathed in the brilliant glow of Mewni's twin moons, making it seem to sparkle throughout the night.

Butterfly Castle was made up of several towers, all clustered together. All varying in height and width. Upon closer inspection, it was rather easy to tell which towers were new additions. All of the new ones sported a fresh coat of paint, no cracks or imperfections, and stood just a little bit taller than all the rest. The older towers were a little smaller, their colors had faded, and some of them appeared to be falling apart.

Altogether, Butterfly Castle was utterly enormous. It dwarfed the town that surrounded it, and it was the biggest castle in all of Mewni. No doubt a reflection of just how powerful the Butterfly name truly was. According to legend, one of the very first settlers of Mewni had been a Butterfly. And supposedly, it had been a Butterfly who was responsible for splitting up the land into various Kingdoms.

The Butterfly's were regarded as some of the most powerful figures in Mewman history, and their legacy lived on even now. Every child in every kingdom had heard the tale of Moon the Undaunted. And there were already stories being told about the so-called 'Rebel Princess', Star Butterfly.

Higgs had heard only a few of those stories, and most of them seemed a little hard to believe. What she did believe, was that the Royal Butterfly family were the last people in all of Mewni that one would want to make an enemy of.

And she was about to break into their castle.

'...I-... I can't believe I'm doing this...' she thought, with a frown. 'This is all that idiot Marco's fault... Barging into the Royal Knights meeting room... Getting me in trouble... Getting himself in trouble... And now I gotta find the princess and have her help bail him out...'

Higgs breathed a heavy, frustrated sigh. '...I'm never gonna let that guy hear the end of this. If I get caught and executed, I'm gonna make a pact with a demon straight away and haunt him 'till the bitter end...'

Higgs grumbled angrily to herself as she approached the castle's entrance. She had already managed to make her way through the castle gates by climbing over them. Which meant that she had probably already done enough to land her in the dungeon for the rest of her life. As she approached the castle's entrance, she quietly and desperately hoped that she would find a familiar face standing guard. If it were one of the royal guards that she knew, or one who was friends with Sir Stabby, then there was a good chance that everything would go over smoothly.

She could just approach the guard, tell them that she had a message for the princess, and be escorted to her without much resistance.

But if it was a guard that was unfamiliar to her- or worse, one of Jerkius' followers, then she would have to do things the hard way. And unfortunately, the hard way would take more time and carry an even greater risk. She knew that the big 'duel' between Marco and Jerkius had probably started by now. Which meant that she only had a small window of time to find the princess before Marco was killed and she lost her squireship forever.

Higgs sighed. Despite her misgivings toward Marco, she didn't want to see him get killed. And losing her squireship would be nothing short of devastating. She had worked so hard, for so long. Enduring harsh treatment and training, along with the attitudes of some of the knights and squires who believed her to be unworthy of knighthood due to her background. Not all of the knights and squires thought that way- just enough to make her life a little bit harder.

Higgs gently shook her head. 'Focus.' she told herself. 'You gotta get your head in the game... Or else you really will lose everything...'

Higgs drew a deep breath and felt another cold breeze sweep across her face. After taking a moment to calm her nerves as best she could, Higgs focused her attention on the guard standing by the entrance. The torchlight that the guard was standing in was very dim, making it difficult to make out any facial features. Higgs frowned a little, as she approached the guard, moving as quietly as possible.

Eventually, she drew close enough to make out a small crest on the guard's chest plate. A golden letter 'J', with a small crown on it. Higgs rolled her eyes a little. Why did Jerkius' followers insist on identifying themselves like that? Moreover- did they not think they were going to get in trouble eventually, when it was found out that they were professing their loyalty to a Royal Knight over the Queen herself?

'I wonder why the Queen hasn't cracked down on that yet...' thought Higgs. '...I guess maybe it's a political thing... After all, even the Queen has to show some measure of respect for Mewni's legendary heroes... Even the jerk ones...'

Holding her breath, Higgs quietly retreated back down the pathway. Once she was out of earshot, she released her breath and muttered a curse along with it.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to do things the hard way..." she muttered. "...Story of my life..."

Doing her best to keep her movements as quiet as possible, Higgs broke away from the path and made her way towards the tall stone walls that surrounded the castle. Once she had made it, she followed the wall around the castle. She found herself creeping along for quite awhile, until she heard the sound of voices approaching in the distance. Higgs instantly froze, and desperately looked around for someplace to hide.

Her eyes finally on a nearby bush. Moving as quickly as she could without making any noise, she crept over to the bush and leaped inside. Naturally, she had failed to notice all of the thick red thorns jutting out in every direction. Higgs had to quickly slap her hands over her mouth in order to muffle a pained scream.

As the voices approached, Higgs quietly ran through every curse word she could think of as she did her best to remain still and not make any noise. From the distance, two guards approached. One holding a torch, while the other held an enormous halberd.

"See, I dunno... The whole thing seems kinda melodramatic to me. And a little self-indulgent. And it just goes on, and on, and on... It's like- okay, we get it- you can write a lot. But how about you take a minute to pause and consider whether what your writing is even any good. I mean- hasn't he ever heard of quality over quantity?" asked one guard.

"...Yeah, I kinda have to agree. I really don't think anyone needed Ruberiot to write a whole book about that whole 'Song Day' incident. I mean- the whole riot thing really had nothin' to do with him. I don't know why he thought everyone'd be excited to read his perspective on things... Although, I will say- all of those handwritten excerpts taken from what the princess told him about her 'best friend'... Those were really adorable." said the other.

"The crazy thing is, most of those are in her handwriting! Can you imagine writing all that stuff about... Well... Anyone? She must've really been in love with that kid." said the first guard.

"Well, yeah- I mean, it was a part of the song, right?" asked the second guard.

"Yeah... I will say this about Ruberiot... He did a really awesome job on that song. I just don't know why he had to capitalize on the whole incident with that book... And guess what? I hear he's writing another one. Supposedly, it'll be about what he did during the whole 'rat invasion' thing..." said the first guard.

"What 'rat invasion' thing? I didn't hear about that-... Y-you... You're not sayin' that there are rats around here, are you?" asked the second guard.

"Well, not anymore..." said the first guard. "Also- are you tryin' to tell me that you don't remember that time the kingdom was overthrown by a little green guy and his army of rats? It was only, like, over a year ago..."

"...I think I musta been on vacation then." said the second guard. "And I'm glad, too. Little green guys I can handle- but rats? No way."

There was a brief moment of silence of silence between the two figures that had been talking, and for a moment- Higgs wondered if they had spotted her. Finally, one of the guards spoke up once more.

"Anyway- you wanna know what the title of the next Ruberiot book is gonna be?" asked the first guard.

"...Sure. The first one was what... 'A Songstrall's Passion: The Story of a Princess and the Song Day Riot'... Right?" asked the second guard.

"Yeah, that's right. Supposedly, the second one'll be called 'A Songstrall's Defiance: The Tale of La Resistance'." said the first guard.

"...Huh. Y'know, the title's not so bad. I mean, it seems kinda interesting at least..." said the second guard.

"Yeah, well... Let's just wait and see if the second one is as bad as the first..." muttered the first guard.

As the guards finally passed by and as their voices faded in the distance, Higgs breathed a long sigh of relief. As she made her way out of the bush, she muttered a few more curses as she plucked a few thorns out of her skin. Clenching her teeth, Higgs continued to follow the wall in the opposite direction to where the guards were headed.

Eventually, she stopped when she noticed one of the nearby towers. It was an older looking tower, with faded colors and a series of tiny chips and cracks running down its surface. Looking up, Higgs noticed an open window near the top of the tower. Higgs paused for a moment, as she seemed to lose herself in thought. Eventually, she slowly approached the tower and placed her hand on it. After taking another moment to think, she produced a knife from her belt and stabbed it into the surface. The knife embedded itself pretty nicely, and while removing it took a little bit of effort on her part, she seemed satisfied with it.

Higgs took a deep breath and nodded. She had made her decision. With a knife in one hand, she used her free hand to retrieve another. Then, she proceeded to embed one knife into the surface of the tower, pull herself up a bit, and then embed the other knife. As she felt her feet leave the ground, Higgs felt a bead of sweat run down her forehead.

Feeling her feet leave the ground, she grit her teeth as she continued to climb her way up the tower with her knives.

'...Alright... This is-... This is good...' she thought. 'I've got a way in... Well, almost, anyway... Let's just hope that Marco can hold on until I make it back with the Princess...'

---

A flash of movement.

A flicker of gold in his peripheral vision.

Marco clenched his teeth and crossed his arms over his head. The sound of metal meeting metal filled the air, as Jerkius' golden blade swung downward and met with the surface of Marco's gauntlets. Marco felt his knees threaten to buckle under the force of the blow, but he pushed through it.

The crowd roared in excitement, as Jerkius slowly withdrew his sword. "...Well, well... Looks like you've survived the very first attack..." said Jerkius, his voice low and emotionless. "...I wonder how you'll do with the rest..."

"Woo! Startin' things off with a bang! Jerkius sprang into action right away, but it seems he wasn't quite quick enough to catch Marco off guard!" exclaimed Fool Duke, through the speakers.

The crowd continued to cheer, as Jerkius calmly walked around Marco in a circle and inspected his sword. "...Hmm. No chips. No dents." he muttered. "...Good. I'm glad that those cheap little things your wearing aren't strong enough to damage my equipment. Wouldn't want to waste a perfectly good sword on the likes of you, after all."

Marco sighed. "...Wow. You must really love to hear yourself talk..." he muttered.

Jerkius chuckled. "Oh, but I do. After all, my voice is quite lovely, if I do say so myself..." he said. "Smooth and deep... Unlike the pubescent squeaky toy you speak with."

Marco rolled his eyes. "...You know, I feel like you'd be more at home in one of my cheesy action movies. Or maybe an old TV show with cheap, rubber costumes and poorly written dialogue..." he said. "Of course- even shows like that have standards..."

Jerkius seemed to scoff. "You do realize that I won't be able to recognize any references to Earth's pop-culture... Correct?" he asked.

Marco shrugged. "It really doesn't matter if you understand what I'm saying, Jerkius. I've got a feeling that nothing I could say would get through to you..." he said, as he slowly took a karate stance. "And sadly... I'm probably not gonna be able to punch any sense into you either... But at the very least... I can make you apologize to the child you hurt..."

"That child was monster scum." growled Jerkius. "And the only thing worse than them... Are the traitors who side with them."

"Uh-huh. Whatever." said Marco. "Look- Can we just get this over with? I've got stuff I need to do tonight..."

Jerkius gave a low chuckle. "Perhaps it would be wise not to make any plans for the future just yet..." he said.

Marco took a deep breath. There was a chill in the air. The dirt felt rough under his feet and the entire arena seemed to quake under the cheers of the crowd. Marco breathed out slowly, as he did his best to focus all of his attention on the shining, golden knight standing in front of him. Jerkius took a step closer to him, and Marco immediately snapped back into a fighting pose.

Jerkius chuckled again, as he held his sword in one hand and kept his other by his side. There was a moment of silence between them. Then, in a golden blur of movement, Jerkius swung his sword from the side. Marco grit his teeth and moved his hand as quickly as he could, blocking the strike with his left gauntlet. As the sword made contact the silver surface, sparks flew up into the air. Marco was given no time to breathe. As soon as the sword made contact with his gauntlet, it was quickly withdrawn and then swung around from the other side. Marco blocked this swipe with his right gauntlet, only to quickly find himself blocking once again with his right.

Sparks flew in all directions, as Jerkius' sword was blocked once again with Marco's gauntlets. Jerkius swung his sword from one side, and then another. For the first few strikes, he appeared to be purposely telegraphing his movements. Going from one side to the other in an almost rhythmic pattern. This continued for a little while, and then Jerkius' began to swing his sword from in a few other directions. Each swing was blocked, and Jerkius chuckled to himself as he slowly increased the speed of his swings. Very soon, it felt to Marco like Jerkius' golden sword was coming in from all directions at once. Marco moved his hands quicker than ever before as he met the blade every angle.

Marco did his best to breath through clenched teeth he moved his hands in a silver blur, to match the golden blur of Jerkius' sword. Sparks flew in every direction, and Marco focused everything he had into moving his hands. Everything else seemed to fade into the background.

His heart was beating so hard against his chest that it hurt. But he ignored it.

The force of Jerkius' sword strikes were making his arms and hands go numb underneath the gauntlets. But he ignored it.

Jerkius was silent, as he continued to swing his sword around with only one hand. Keeping his other arm still and by his side at all times.

"Sweet corn on the cob! Look at that speed! I can't believe that Marco's keepin' up with that!" exclaimed Fool Duke, as the audience cheered on the action.

"Yes, but... It would appear that Sir Jerkius is merely toying with him..." muttered Ruberiot. "And Marco is getting tired already..."

Marco didn't hear the sounds of the audience, nor the sounds of the announcers over the speakers. All he could hear were the constant 'clangs' of metal colliding with metal. Eventually, Jerkius drew his sword back and thrust it forward. Aiming the tip of his sword for Marco's chest. This sudden change in movement was enough to catch Marco off-guard momentarily, but he still managed to bring both his hands to his chest just in time to block the strike. Marco gave a short gasp, as he felt the end of Jerkius' sword meet with his gauntlets with enough force to knock him off his feet. Marco was sent reeling backward, and had to quickly turn it into a duck and roll in order to dodge another swipe aimed for his neck.

Marco rolled backward across the dirt, and then swiftly got back to his feet just in time to find himself forced to jump aside in order to avoid another sword thrust from Jerkius. As Jerkius transitioned from sword swipes to thrusts, Kelly watched the battle from the VIP area in total silence. All of her attention was focused on the fight. The young royals were cheering loudly, and Lavabo made a few impressed noises as he casually stroked his beard. Demonicus had stopped snoring a few minutes ago, but she remained perfectly still.

Marco moved from one side to the other as best he could, narrowly avoiding sword thrusts. As they began to pick up in speed, Marco clenched his teeth as he struggled to think. Then, an idea popped up in his head and he sprung into action without a moments notice. Another sword thrust came his way, and Marco moved backward- narrowly avoiding it. As Jerkius drew his sword back, Marco instantly snapped into another fighting pose. He had no time to think about what he was doing- he just did it.

As Jerkius thrust his sword forward again, Marco gave a primal yell- and met the tip of Jerkius' sword with his fist. The forces connected with an incredible bang, as the force of Marco's punch canceled the force of the thrust and pushed it back. This was enough to stun Jerkius for only the briefest of moments- but it was enough. In the blink of an eye, Marco had closed in on him, wound his other fist back and punched square in the face of his helmet. There was a loud crunching sound as Jerkius' faceplate crumpled around Marco's fist. Jerkius reeled backward, and Marco wasted no time in winding back his fist and, in a silver blur of motion, landing another punch directly into Jerkius' chest plate. Then, another. And another.

"RAAARGH!" bellowed Marco, as he pummelled Jerkius' chestplate as hard and as quickly as he could. Jerkius' golden, jewel-encrusted chestplate cracked and bent under the force as Marco unleashed a flurry of punches in the same area. Then, Marco shifted his footing as best he could and, while Jerkius appeared stunned, Marco wound his fist back and gave out yet another primal scream as he launched his fist into the face of Jerkius' helmet one more time, with all the force he could muster.

Jerkius stumbled backward, as the cheering audience slowly grew quiet.

Marco was breathing heavily as he held his fists out in front of him in a fighting pose. Sweat was pouring down his body, as his cape fluttered behind him.

Jerkius quickly regained his footing, and let out a primal scream of his own as he launched himself forward and swung his sword down on Marco like a hammer. Marco grit his teeth, and closed the distance between them himself. Moving quickly, Marco stepped slightly to the side and avoided the blade of the sword, before moving in closer and grabbing Jerkius by the arm. Then, in one fluid motion, Marco used Jerkius' forward momentum to his advantage and flipped him into the air and slammed him into the ground. The sound of the impact echoed throughout the arena and sent a thick cloud of dust into the air.

As the dust settled, the arena fell completely silent. Marco wiped the sweat off his face with his cape and took a few shallow breaths. His entire body was buzzing with adrenaline, and his heart was beating so hard that it threatened to burst from his chest. Marco took a few steps back as did his best to calm himself down.

"...Woah... H-... HOLY MOTHER OF CORN! JERKIUS IS DOWN!" exclaimed Fool Duke. Her voice, amplified through the speakers, was loud enough to snap some of the audience out of their awe inspired stupor. There was scattered applause among the crowd, while others frowned and muttered to themselves.

Kelly leaned against the guardrail and cupped her hand around her mouth. "WAY TO GO, MARCO!" she bellowed. "YOU CAN DO THIS! SHOW EVERYONE WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!"

Marco blinked a few times, and turned to face her. Kelly rose her hands into the air and cheered. And she was quickly followed by Prince Johanson, Rich Pidgeon, Princess Spiderbite, 'Gel' and Lavabo. They all grouped together and cheered his name. Demonicus slowly rose her fist in solidarity, but she remained in her chair.

Marco felt a blush creep up to his face, as he watched the enthusiasm emanating from the VIP area quickly spread to the rest of crowd. Very quickly, more and more audience members began to loudly applaud and cheer. However, among the audience, there remained a few sour faces. Many of them were royal knights, still dressed in their armor but lacking their helmets. The most sour looking of the knights were wearing small golden crests on their chest plates.

As the cheers continued, Jerkius slowly rose up from the dirt. His helmet was mangled, and his chest plate had been cracked and dented all over. Marco took a deep breath and took a fighting stance as he focused all of his attention back on to his opponent.

Jerkius gave a low chuckle. This one much deeper than before, and brimming with malice. "Well... It would seem... That you've taken me by surprise..." he muttered. As he spoke, he briefly paused between every few words in order to keep the intense rage that was twisting around inside of him from leaking out.

It wasn't working.

"I suppose, then... I've no choice... I-... I'll have to kill you now." said Jerkius, his voice overflowing with a powerful malice. "I'm sure... The Princess... Will be disappointed... But-... I'm sure she can find another Squire..."

Marco remained silent and held his fighting stance. A cool breeze swept across the battlefield, picking up some of the dust and dirt into the air and causing Marco's cape to flutter behind him. Jerkius gave a low growl, as he held his golden sword out in front of him. Marco frowned a little, as he heard Jerkius start to mutter something under his breath. Then, Jerkius gripped the handle of his sword with both hands and slid his armored feet across the dirt as he took a stance of his own. Holding the handle of his sword up to the side of his face and keeping the tip of the blade aimed directly at Marco, Jerkius bent his knees ever so slightly as he prepared to launch himself forward at any moment.

Marco slowly opened and closed his fists, and drew a deep breath.

Jerkius closed the distance between them in almost an instant and gave a loud roar as he swung his sword down at Marco. Marco barely managed to step aside in time to avoid the blade. His cape wasn't so lucky, as Jerkius' blade cut through a portion of it before crashing into the dirt. More dirt was flung into the air, and the combination of the dust and his mangled helmet made it difficult for Jerkius to see. Still, he moved without hesitation- pulling his sword from the dirt swiping the cloud of dust with enough force to make it disperse.

For a brief moment, it seemed as though Marco had disappeared. Then- Jerkius noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. He moved to lunge at it- but it was already too late. There was a resounding crunch as Marco's fist met with his helmet once again. This time, however, Jerkius had better footing and did not stumble. Instead, he roared as he swung his sword at Marco from the side, and once again Marco had to scramble to meet the blade with his gauntlets. The force of the impact to his gauntlets sent Marco flying backward, and he had to twist his body around in mid-air in order to catch a sudden sword thrust from Jerkius with his gauntlets. The force of this extra impact sent Marco flying backward even further, right into the metal wall behind him. He slammed into the wall with his back, the force of the impact causing his neck to jerk backward and slam the back of his head into the wall as well.

All of his senses were rattled, as a small trickle of blood was left pouring from the back of his head. Unfortunately, he had no time to regain his senses. There was a golden blur of movement in front of him, and, moving almost entirely by instinct, Marco twisted himself to the side and avoided a powerful sword thrust that left Jerkius' sword embedded almost all the way into the metal wall.

As Jerkius struggled to pull the sword out of the wall, Marco took the opportunity to land another punch directly into Jerkius helmet. This time, the force of the punch made Jerkius stumble slightly to the side. With a frustrated growl, Jerkius gripped the handle of his sword with one hand, and swiped at Marco with the other. Marco quickly caught Jerkius' free hand and twisted it around. Jerkius hissed in pain, and then gave another growl as he struggled to pull his free hand out of Marco's grip, while simultaneously trying to free his sword with his other hand.

Marco twisted Jerkius' arm even further, and then held it to the side while unleashing a flurry of one-handed punches to Jerkius' head. There was a sickening crunch as the metal from Jerkius' helmet crumpled and cracked under the force of each blow. Pieces of his helmet were forces into his skin, causing small trickles of blood to start flying in all directions.

Jerkius gave a thunderous roar as he pulled against both Marco and the sword. When the sword finally came loose, Jerkius was sent stumbling slightly backward before swinging the sword around at Marco. Marco quickly let go of Jerkius' arm before ducking to avoid Jerkius' sword and then rolling backward to create some distance between them. As Marco scrambled back to his feet, Jerkius seemed to go still.

"...I've let this farce go on for too long..." he muttered, as he slowly drew his sword up to his helmet. "It's time I ended this..."

Marco took a few shallow breaths, as he watched Jerkius start to whisper something to his sword. As he spoke, a small symbol appeared on the blade of his sword. Followed by another, and another. Each one was shaped like a letter from an ancient language. Marco frowned a little, as the symbols spread across the golden blade. He was sure he recognized them from somewhere... But the details seemed lost to him.

As he watched the symbols on Jerkius' sword begin to glow, Marco's frown deepened. All of his memory's felt like a blur. But as he thought deeper into it, he felt a small spark somewhere in the back of his mind. And suddenly, a memory flashed before his eyes. A memory of a small white room covered on all sides with golden symbols. The same room where he had his first encounter with Libraria.

"Woah! Jerkius has started using magic! This is crazy!" exclaimed Fool Duke, her voice only barely cutting through the raucous cheers of the crowd.

"...Yes, it is..." muttered Ruberiot. "And it is very bad news for Marco..."

Jerkius chuckled, as he held his golden sword into the air. The symbols on the sword began to glow bright enough that it was difficult to look at directly. Marco winced and squinted as he watched golden flames begin to envelop the blade. The flames began to rise into the air and crackle loudly. The ground began to tremble as the flames grew higher and higher, until they eventually formed the head of a dragon.

The audience loudly cheered as the head of the dragon rose into the air, dragging behind it a long serpent-like body. The dragon was made out of crackling, golden fire and it shone so brightly that it was impossible to really make out any of its features. All that Marco could really make out were a series of large horns jutting out of its head and running down the length of its body, along with some long, jagged teeth. The dragon's body curled around is it rose higher into the air.

"This is the soul of a magic dragon." said Jerkius, with a small chuckle. "Try punching this."

Marco sighed, as he stood in fighting stance once again. "...Sure. Okay." he muttered.

The dragons head gave a deafening roar, before lunging down at Marco like a snake. Marco jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the dragons head as it crashed into the ground. As the dragons head pulled itself out of the dirt, Marco quickly scrambled back to his feet and ran. The powerful heat emanating from its fiery body was enough to leave a charred crater in its wake. Marco clenched his teeth as he felt the dragons head follow close behind. His cape fluttered behind him, and as the dragons head drew closer, the end of his cape began to singe and burn.

Marco ran as fast as he could, all the way to the other side of the arena. Once he had reached the wall on the other side, he took a quick left turn. The dragons head was sent crashing into the metal wall just after his turn, and exploded in an enormous golden fireball. As he ran, Marco glanced over his shoulder just in time to watch the dragons head reform itself and turn to face him. Marco gave a weary sigh as the dragons head rose higher into the air, and then lunged at him. Marco clenched his teeth as he felt the dragons head quickly close in on him. As he ran, Marco lifted his arm into the air to block the dragons strike. He had expected to be rammed by it- and couldn't suppress a surprised yelp when he felt the dragon's mouth catch his gauntlet protected arm and yank him into the air.

Keeping its hold on Marco's arm, the dragon lifted him up and then swung him down- slamming him into the dirt. Then, it swung itself to the side and slammed him into a metal wall. There were several sick cracks and snaps upon each impact. Then, the dragons head snapped upward and flung him far into the air. The audience alternately cheered and gasped as they watched him fly up until he bounced off the ceiling.

Kelly screamed as she watched Marco's bloody form fall through the air. Below, the firey dragons head opened its mouth- as if it were prepared to swallow him whole.

Marco's entire body was limp and flooded with incredible pain. The gauntlet that the dragons head had caught was charred and melted, and the rest of his body hadn't fared much better. He had at least two broken ribs, and the rest of his bones had been bent and bruised severely. His chest was covered in scrapes, courtesy of his contact with the dirt. And he also had a few more scrapes along his side and on his feet. Sliding and rolling around on the coarse dirt without wearing any kind of protection had not been a particularly bright idea. Luckily, his cape had least provided a small amount of protection in that regard.

As he Marco fell through the air, his eyes fluttered open and closed. As he stared down at the fiery dragon's maw, he felt a wave of helplessness. Along with the temptation to simply close his eyes and embrace the inevitable.

'No.'

Marco clenched his fists and his teeth.

"No." he muttered.

Time began to slow. And everything around him faded to black.

---

The hallways of Butterfly Castle were a complicated labyrinth, lined with a vast array of statues and portraits. It was quite similar to the halls of the Royal Knights Headquarters- only a lot more... Regal. Unfortunately, Higgs didn't really have time to stop and observe her surroundings, as she was currently being chased by a savage monster.

Several of them, actually.

Higgs muttered a long line of curses under her breath as she ran down the halls. A cacophony of playful yipping sounds followed close behind. Higgs ducked down and rolled across the floor, narrowly avoiding a barrage of lasers. As she scrambled back to her feet, the laser puppies continued to bound towards her- making a series of excited barking and yipping noises before they unleashed yet another barrage of lasers. The lasers went off in every direction, leaving burn marks all across the walls, the ceiling and the floor.

Several paintings and curtains had already been ruined by the passing onslaught of lasers, and it was getting more and more likely that they were going to set the entire castle on fire as they chased the intruder.

Higgs clenched her teeth. 'Where did these things come from?' she thought, as she made a sharp turn into yet another corridor and ran as fast as she could. Glancing behind her, she watched as the puppies chased after her- their cute little faces brimming with enthusiasm as they bounded towards her. 'Are they some kinda new-fangled security system from Quest Buy?' thought Higgs. '...Or... Or are they just a bunch of weird... 'Laser-pets'?'

Higgs hissed in pain as she felt a few stray lasers hit her in the back, adding to the series of smoldering burn marks scattered across her Squires uniform. Higgs shot the puppies a dirty look, which only seemed to make them even more excited. 'Either way... They're a lot more dangerous than they look...' she thought.

As if to prove her point, a few of the puppies crashed into a tall suit of decorative armor that had been standing against the wall. The puppies quickly surrounded it, and began to growl as they tore at the metal with their teeth. A few others hung back to shoot lasers at the armor until it began to melt under the heat.

Higgs shuddered a little, as the few remaining laser puppies continued to give chase. Eventually, she turned another corner and noticed a big door nearby, covered in a mess of glitter and stickers. Higgs gave a short gasp. She had patrolled the halls of Butterfly Castle only a few times before, alongside Sir Stabby. And there was only one door in the entire building that looked like that.

The Princess' bedroom.

Without thinking, Higgs raced for the door and yanked at the handle. The door opened without any trouble, and Higgs quickly raced inside and slammed the door behind her. Leaning against the door, she held her breath as she listened to the sounds of the puppies yipping excitedly on the other side. For a moment, she wondered if they were about to break down the door and continue the chase.

Higgs breathed a slow sigh of relief, as she heard the sounds of the puppies slowly fade into the distance.

"...I lost them..." she muttered. "...If I never have to see those things again, it'll be too soon."

Breathing another heavy sigh, Higgs took a moment to collect herself. It was hard to tell how much time had passed since she had first crawled her way into the castle through a window, but she guessed that it had been over an hour. "...I wonder if Marco's been cut to pieces yet..." she muttered. "...He'd better not have... If he had, I just know I'll wind up getting blamed for it somehow... Then, not only will I have lost my Squireship... But I'll have an angry Princess to deal with..."

Higgs frowned a little and shook her head. Hoping to find something to keep her mind off the feeling of impending doom, she turned her attention to the room she was standing in. The Princess' bedroom was much bigger than the Squire's barracks, and there was even a set of stairs that appeared to lead up to a second floor. Higgs rolled her eyes as she took a few steps further into the room.

The room was in complete disarray. With various items of all kinds spread all across the floor. Some were even stuck to walls. There were empty pizza boxes, piles of fuzzy plush toys, bear traps, maces, swords, big fluffy dresses, piles of board games...

'This... This is crazy...' she thought. '...I can't believe that the princess just has all of this stuff just lying around... When I was a kid, I would've killed for just one lil' Fluff Bear... Or even just a real sword to practice with...'

Higgs sighed. "...She's probably gone her whole life getting whatever she wants..." she muttered. "...I guess this is what happens when you draw the lucky straw in terms of life... She's probably never even had to go to bed hungry before..."

Higgs carefully stepped over a pile of sugar covered burrito's and demonic video games as she made her way over to the Princesses bed. It was enormous, and more comfortable looking than any bed that Higgs had ever seen. Of course, it was also covered in a mess of magazines, glitter and, for some reason, a disco ball. Higgs carefully picked up a few of the magazines to make room for herself, and then sat down.

Even just sitting on it, the bed felt more comfortable than anything she had ever come across. Higgs had spent most of her life sleeping on mattresses filled with hay and mud, and the beds in the Squires' barracks weren't much better. The Princess' mattress, on the other hand, felt like sitting on a cloud. A messy cloud, yes- but a cloud nonetheless.

Higgs breathed a small sigh as she placed the magazines on her lap and flipped through them half-heartedly. Higgs had taught herself how to read some time ago, but she had only really grasped the basics, and it didn't exactly come easily to her. Sir Stabby had promised to teach her further, but so far that hadn't happened. Higgs had even gone so far as to purchase a few books of her own with her meager savings, in the hopes of reading them someday. Those books were currently gathering dust under her bunk.

Still, she could recognize some of the words in the magazine. Just enough for her to tell that they were all the same 'Teen' magazines that some of her fellow Squire's read in their off-time. Covered in glossy headlines about young pop stars, and articles promising 'perfect dating advice'. Higgs rolled her eyes a little. Many of the magazines appeared to be from different dimensions, and yet they all seemed exactly the same. Even the ones that appeared to be written in different languages.

Higgs lazily threw one magazine to the side and began to flip through another. She was about to throw this one to the side as well, when she noticed something about one of the articles. It appeared to have been circled several times with a multi-colored pen. Mildly curious, Higgs held the magazine a little closer to her face and squinted as she did her best to make out the words.

"...What to do... When... Your friend... Is feeling... Depressed..." she muttered, aloud. "...Huh. Something tells me this is about Marco... Unless the Princess has some other sad-sack in her life..."

Higgs was just about to move on to the next magazine when an enormous pillar of fire suddenly burst into existence in the middle of the room. Then, almost as quickly as it appeared, it dissipated. Leaving Tom and Star standing in its place. Higgs' eyes widened and she quickly stood up- letting the magazines fall to the floor. 'O-oh cornstarch!' she thought. 'I-... I just broke into the Princesses royal quarters, didn't I!? People get catapulted for that kinda thing!' With her reason suddenly overwhelmed by panic, Higgs quickly slid under the bed to hide.

Star and Tom laughed as they held each other in their arms and stumbled across the room. Higgs quietly peaked out from under the bed, and raised an eyebrow when she noticed how they were dressed. Tom was wearing a clean white jacket over a pink dress shirt, with matching white bellbottoms and pink dancing shoes. The collar of his jacket was flipped up, and the first three buttons of his shirt were open- revealing a good portion of his chest. His hair was puffed out into a large afro, making him look like some kind of disco demon.

Star was dressed in an oversized sparkling blue shirt and long black pants with fuzzy, rainbow-colored legwarmers. She was also wearing platform heels, a rainbow colored headband over her forehead, and comically large orange-tinted sunglasses. Her hair was curlier and frizzier than it usual, no doubt to go along with her 'disco' outfit.

Both Tom and Star were coated with a layer of sweat. Their clothes were disheveled, and their laughter felt almost delirious. Eventually, the laughter died down, and they both made their way over to Star's bed to sit down. Higgs held her breath, as she felt the mattress lower ever so slightly under their weight.

'Great... Now I'm stuck... Corn-starch...' she thought.

"Thanks for tonight, Tom. I had a blast." said Star, as she slid her oversized sunglasses off of her face.

Tom smiled. "Hey, no problem... I had fun too. Besides... You kinda looked like you needed a nice distraction." he said. There was a brief moment of silence between the young couple before Star let out a long, heavy sigh. "Yeah... I kinda did..." she muttered.

"...Are you... Are you ready to talk about it?" asked Tom, his voice quiet and brimming with concern.

Star offered him a soft smile. "...Yeah... But-... I mean... It's not-... It's not really that big of a deal..." she muttered.

Tom gently placed his hand on top of hers. "...It doesn't matter if its a 'big' deal, or a 'small' one... If there's something bothering you, then... Then I wanna help, however I can." he said.

"...Thanks, Tom." muttered Star.

As Tom and Star spent a moment staring deeply into each other's eyes, Higgs rubbed her temples and groaned inwardly. '...Oh, for corn's sake... What've I gotten myself into?...' she thought. '...Now I'm stuck listening to one of my top ten least favorite things... People talking about their feelings... Can't I just go back to being chased by those laser dogs? Getting torn apart sounds a whole lot more pleasant...'

"...So, I talked to Eclipsa today..." said Star.

At this, Higgs suddenly froze- and barely managed to choke back a gasp. '...Eclipsa... As in the Queen of Darkness Eclipsa!?' she thought.

"Oh, yeah? Did she tell you anything this time?" asked Tom.

Star slowly shook her head. "...No. Not really... I mean- not about the whole 'true history of Mewni' thing, at least... We, uh... We kinda talked about something else..." she muttered. "...We, uh... We kinda talked about... Marco..."

"...Oh." muttered Tom, his voice barely audible.

"...I-... I told her... About what's been going on with him recently... About how distant he's been... And-... And about how... He still won't tell me... What's bothering him..." said Star. "I kinda unloaded a bunch of stuff onto her... Mostly about how frustrating he's been... And-... And how... It feels like I'm... Losing him..."

Tom clenched his teeth ever so slightly, as he did his best to keep the familiar surge of jealousy and frustration at bay. "...Did-... Did she... Say anything? I-... I mean... Did she have any suggestions... As to what might be bothering him?" he asked.

Star slowly shook her head. "...Not really... All she really said... Was that... Things were going to be okay..." she muttered.

Tom gave her hand a gentle squeeze. There were a lot of complicated emotions swirling around in his chest, but Tom did his best to push past them. "...I think she's right, Star." he said. "Things might be kinda... Tense... Right now... But-... But I know someday, he'll... He'll tell you the truth. And when he does..."

Tom's voice faded, as he felt a lump form in his throat.

Star gently squeezed his hand. "...I hope he does..." she muttered. "I-... I just want things to be... To be good. Like... The way they were." she muttered. "...I... I don't want to lose my best friend again..."

A long, heavy silence filled the air.

And in that moment, Higgs felt her eye start to twitch.

Just as Tom opened his mouth to say something else, Higgs suddenly slid out from under the bed- causing him to let out a high pitched shriek. Star yelped and quickly jumped on to her bed and pulled out her wand. "Intruder!" she exclaimed, as her wand began to glow with power.

Higgs quickly put her hands in the air. "Wait! Stop!" she exclaimed. "I- I'm here because of Marco!"

Star suddenly froze. "...Wha-... What?" she muttered.

Higgs breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the glow in Star's wand slowly dissipate.

"...He's in trouble." she said. "And... And he needs your help."

---

I was right about you.

Marco was silent, as he watched the creature slowly emerge from the abyss. A grotesque mass of tentacles and teeth squirming amongst themselves in a giant ball. Among the tentacles, small black slits began to open one after another, revealing dozens of dark purple eyes.

You are pathetic.

You always have been.

The squirming mass began to grow. Overtaking everything around him. Surrounding him. Smothering him.

That girl... You owe her so much... And yet... All you are capable of doing is disappointing her. You've done it countless times already...

The tentacles began to writhe all over him. It's teeth piercing his skin... Tearing him apart.

You have nothing. You are nothing.

You've nothing to offer that girl... Nothing to offer the people around you... Who have blessed you with their kindness...

They don't need you. None of them do. Especially not her...

And yet- That's what you want, isn't it? That's what you've always wanted... For her... To need you.

The pain quickly overwhelmed his senses. Leaving him profoundly numb.

How pathetic. How truly, deeply pathetic.

You came here... To this place... Hoping to be needed... And then... You were disappointed to find... That she doesn't need you. And never did. That realization... Along with the sudden understanding of your own capacity for selfishness... And foolishness... It sent you spiraling all the way here.

To me.

And now... It's about time I take back what's rightfully mine.

Don't worry, Marco Diaz. I will make a much better you than you ever could.

I mean... At the very least... I'll be a whole lot more fun.

Marco sighed.

"Are you finished, Monster Arm?"

The writhing tentacles suddenly paused.

Uh... What?

An explosion of light bathed everything around them in a soft glow. The tentacles shrank and hissed underneath the intense light.

A figure emerged from the light. Followed by another. And another.

Kelly.

Buff Frog.

The Buff Kids.

Mr and Mrs Diaz.

Even Janna.

And it didn't stop there. One by one, more and more figures emerged from the light. Friends and family from as far back as he could remember. Among the crowd of people were figures of Jackie Lynn Thomas. Alfonzo and Ferguson. Marco's Karate Sensei. Heckapoo. And Tom.

And finally... Star.

You... You would use other people to fight me away? Really? Are there no depths to which you will not sink? Are you really, truly this pathetic?

"Shut up, Monster Arm." said Marco. "...Look. My power... It comes from the people around me. By myself... I'm not that special. But my friends... They make me strong. They make me want to keep going... And I will. For them. And for me."

YOU-

"Enough. I already know all that stuff. And I'll work on it, okay? Now go away. I've got a fight to wrap up..."

The mass of tentacles gave a high pitched scream as they whithered and dissipated into a cloud of smoke. Once they were gone, the figures of light approached him one by one. Each figure reached out a glowing hand and placed it upon his battered form.

A cacophony of voices filled the area. All of them saying the same thing...

"Marco..."

"You do have strength inside of you..."

"And it's time..."

"To bring it to the surface..."

"All you have to do..."

"Is dip down..."

"And find it..."

---

The sounds of cheers, gasps, and screams resounded throughout the arena as Marco fell through the air. Below, the head of a dragon made of fire waited with an open maw. Time slowed to a crawl, as Marco fell ever closer to a fiery demise.

Then, his eyes fluttered open. There was a flash of blinding light as Marco met the dragons head with his fist. The dragons head exploded, sending a sea of golden flames flying in all directions before quickly dissipating. This was followed by an impact that shook the arena to its core. Sending audience members reeling back in their seats as the battlefield cracked and crumbled below.

A massive cloud of dirt and debris filled the arena, causing many in the audience to cough and sputter.

Jerkius had been sent reeling backward along with everyone else. It took him a moment to pick himself up and get back to his feet. And when he did, he couldn't help but gape at the series of long, deep fissures that were spread all across the battlefield. All stretching out from the same spot in the middle of the field.

Jerkius squinted through the dust and felt his heart skip a beat when he noticed something standing out in the middle of the battlefield. All he could really make out was a dark outline of the boy... A silhouette. With two bright, glowing red eyes... And glowing red crescents beneath them.

Jerkius clenched his teeth and tighten his grip on his sword. Jerkius quickly whispered another long line of incantations, causing his sword to glow even brighter than before. A bright golden flame erupted from the blade, and once again took the form of a dragon with a long serpent-like body. This time, however, the dragon stayed close to Jerkius. As Jerkius continued to mutter to himself, the firey dragon slowly curled itself around his blade. The golden flame burned ever brighter, as massive sparks of electricity erupted from the blade.

The entire sword began to tremble in his hands as it struggled to contain the massive amounts of energy being poured into it.

"...I don't know what kind of trickery you are using, Marco Diaz..." muttered Jerkius. "...But it's not going to work. No feeble power of yours could ever match my own."

With that, Jerkius launched himself forward. Bellowing a powerful roar as he raced through the cloud of dust and swung his sword down at this silhouette. There was a flash of movement, and just as Jerkius' sword threatened to meet with the silhouette, it was met with a fist.

Just as Jerkius' sword swung down to meet its target, the blade was suddenly met with a fist. There was a thunderous bang, followed by a flash of blinding light as the fist shattered the blade upon impact and continued to travel forward until it finally met with Jerkius' chest plate.

The impact sounded like an explosion, rattling the entire arena once more. Jerkius was launched back into a metal wall at an incredible speed. The wall bent and crumpled upon impact, and large pieces of his armor finally broke and fell away. Save for the remains of his helmet, which continued to hide his face.

As the dust finally began to clear, Marco slowly closed his eyes. The glowing crescent marks on his cheeks quickly dissipated, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"W-WHOAH! I COULDN'T SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED WITH ALL THAT DUST IN THE AIR, BUT-... BUT IT LOOKS LIKE BOTH MARCO AND JERKIUS ARE DOWN!" exclaimed Fool Duke.

"Simply incredible! I believe I know just the poem to go along with this exact situation! It-" began Ruberiot, only to be interrupted.

"QUIT RUINING THE MOMENT, RUBERIOT!"

Once the dust had cleared, the audience fell into a state of confusion. The moment of confusion was quickly forgotten, however, when they noticed Marco start to stir. The crowd exploded into wild cheers, as they watched Marco slowly forced himself back to his feet. As he took a few clumsy steps forward, the cheers from the crowd only grew in intensity. Especially the cheers from the VIP area.

Marco blinked a few times, as he struggled to piece together what had just happened. Everything felt like a long red blur... Frowning, Marco slowly shook his head as he stumbled towards Jerkius' limp form.

"MARCO IS UP! MARCO IS UUUP! IF JERKIUS IS DOWN FOR THE COUNT, THEN THAT MEANS WE HAVE OUR WINNER!" exclaimed Fool Duke, the arena speakers trembling under the power of her voice.

Jerkius was collapsed in a heap, with his back leaning against the metal wall. Most of his armor had been broken, revealing large patches of pale white skin. His helmet was a crumpled mess, and the hilt of his sword sat loose in his hand. There were still a few thin, jagged remains from the golden blade sticking out from the hilt. The rest of the blade had been scattered across the arena in several pieces.

Marco stared down at Jerkius' battered form for a little while, before breathing a slow sigh.

"...There." muttered Marco, his voice tired and rasped. "...Now... You have to apologize to Anastasia."

"...Never."

Marco gasped and stumbled backward as the hilt of Jerkius' sword began to glow with power. Jerkius launched himself forward, as the jagged remains of his sword were suddenly engulfed in golden flames. Marco instinctively squeezed his eyes shut just as Jerkius slashed at him, catching him across his left eye with the firey remains of his sword. Marco clenched his teeth and growled in pain as he continued to stumble backward, doing his very best to avoid Jerkius' desperate attacks. As he moved, Marco felt his entire body whine in protest.

"JERKIUS IS UP AGAIN!" exclaimed Fool Duke.

"Indeed... And it looks like things are beginning to get desperate for both Marco and Sir Jerkius... It looks like they're both about ready to collapse at a moments notice..." added Ruberiot.

Jerkius slashed and stabbed at Marco with his broken sword a few more times, and as Marco struggled to avoid each attack, he could feel his senses start to dull. Eventually, Jerkius caught Marco's cape with his sword- giving it another long tear.

Marco clenched his teeth, as he felt his surrounds continue to spin and blur. Jerkius thrust his broken sword at Marco once again- aiming directly for his heart. Suddenly, Marco stepped forward and caught Jerkius' hand. Wasting no time, Marco twisted Jerkius' arm as far back as he could- causing a sickening snap. Jerkius dropped his broken sword as he hissed in pain. Thinking quickly, Jerkius ignored the arm that Marco was holding, and focused on attacking with his other arm. Jerkius landed a solid punch to Marco's ribs, causing Marco to howl in pain. In response, Marco forcibly pulled Jerkius closer, wound his head back, and then headbutted him in the face.

Marco let go of Jerkius' arm as he reeled backward. Then, he took a short breath before launching himself forward and into the air. Twisting his body around in the air, Marco landed a spin kick directly into Jerkius' bare chest. This sent Jerkius stumbling back even further until he finally fell on his back. Marco landed on his feet, and wasted no time in launched himself into the air once more. This time, Marco landed with his knees on Jerkius chest, before raising his hands up into the air and clenching them both into a ball.

Marco roared as he swung his fists down into Jerkius' face.

The sound of the impact echoed throughout the arena, rendering everyone momentarily quiet.

Jerkius had gone limp and still.

It was finally finished.

Suddenly, Marco gasped and let out a pained yell. Looking down, he found what appeared to be a small knife embedded in his side. Marco clenched his teeth and groaned as blood poured out from around the knife. He wasn't sure exactly when it had happened, but if Marco had to guess, he would say that it was just before he had delivered the finishing blow.

Marco gave an angry scowl as he slowly climbed off of Jerkius and got to his feet, clutching at the knife in his side. As the blood poured down leg, Marco gave a long, pained groan.

"MARCO IS UP! JERKIUS IS DOWN! Oh! But it looks like Marco's hurt! Marco! Stay up on your feet!" exclaimed Fool Duke.

"If you don't stay standing through the whole countdown, it'll be a draw!" added Ruberiot.

Marco groaned as he slowly limped away from Jerkius, clutching his side. As the crowd begun to chant backward from ten, Marco felt everything around him continue to spin and fade to black. A small trickle of blood flowed down his face, and Marco winced as he gently placed his free hand over his left eye. Jerkius' broken sword had been covered in magical fire, which had apparently cauterized most of the cut in an instant. But there was still a small trickle of blood running down his face, and it still hurt tremendously.

Marco clenched his teeth as he slowly forced his left eye open. And was relieved to find that he could still see through it. The broken sword had just barely missed his eyeball.

Doing his best to ignore the pain and dizziness that had taken over his entire body, Marco focused all the energy he had on staying on his feet. Time passed by very slowly, and as the crowd continued to chant, Marco found his gaze wandering toward the sea of faces sitting in the audience. Eventually, his eyes came to a slow stop at the VIP area. Where Kelly was loudly counting down along with everyone else, with tears in her eyes.

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

Marco stumbled forward a little, as he felt his legs threaten to give out from under him. Marco groaned and took a few shallow breaths.

"Two!"

"One!"

"..."

A moment of silence fell over the arena, as everyone seemed to collectively hold their breath. Then, finally...

"THAT'S IT! MARCO DIAZ IS OUR WINNER" bellowed Fool Duke, followed quickly by a flood of cheers and shouts that shook the entire arena.

Marco groaned as he slowly sat himself down. Ignoring the cheers and adulation of the crowd, Marco turned his attention to the knife jutting out of his side and frowned. '...Okay-... So... Do I remove it... Or-... Leave it in?' he pondered, quietly. 'Come on... I'm sure I saw a safety video about this once...'

Sweat poured down down his bruised and bloody form as he struggled to think and to keep himself from passing out. Marco felt his breath hitch in his throat as a powerful wave of nausea came crashing down him. His whole body began to tremble, and all he could do was let out a long, pained groan as he slowly grabbed at the end of his cape and gently pressed it around the knife. Blood quickly began to seep through the blue fabric of the cape, turning it red in big messy patches.

'...I think... I leave it in...' he thought. '...It-... It might... Help... Stop... Some of the-... The bleeding...'

As he did his best to apply pressure to the wound, Marco drew a few shallow breaths as he did his very best to think about anything other than the knife in his side. Or the dangerous amount of blood he had already lost.

Meanwhile, a sense of discord was beginning to develop among small segments of the audience, as the cheers for Marco continued. Eventually, a loud voice cut through the cheers.

"Cheater!" bellowed one of the Royal Knights. This caused the cheering for Marco to pause, as a few scattered sounds of agreement arose from small segments of the crowd. Suddenly, an audience member stood up on his chair. He appeared to be an older Mewman, and he was wearing a big foam finger with the words 'Jerkius is Number One' scrawled across it. "Yeah!" he bellowed. "There's no way that little punk won fair and square!"

Slowly, one by one, a few more audience members stood up on their seats in order to voice their complaints.

"It's impossible!"

"Exactly! He's not even Mewman! He's from some 'non-magical' dimension!"

"He probably used some kinda forbidden magic or something! While we were all distracted by the dust and stuff!"

"I'll bet he stole the magic from the Princess!"

"I concur!"

As the rumblings of dissatisfaction began to intensify among the crowd, a few angry audience members began to throw things into the battlefield. A collection of half empty bags of popcorn, empty soda cans and various other pieces of trash landed in a heap, just a short distance away from Marco. Things quickly began to spin out of control, as the belligerent behavior spread across the arena like wildfire. Several audience members did their best to protest in defense of Marco. But their voices were quickly drowned out in the noise.

"Hey! Everbody calm down!" yelled Fool Duke, over the speaker system.

"Yes! Please! Don't make me be a part of another riot! It'll seriously harm my reputation!" exclaimed Ruberiot. "...I mean, then again... I suppose I could turn this into another book deal..." he muttered.

"...You are literally the worst, Ruby-rot." muttered Fool Duke.

Before Ruberiot could respond, someone from the crowd threw their corn shake at one of the speakers. As the corny liquid drenched the speaker, a series of sparks burst into the air, followed by a high pitched hissing sound. The rest of the speakers suddenly cut out, as the crowd continued to yell angrily. A few members of the crowd began to argue amongst themselves. As did a few members of the Royal Knights. Finally, one audience member stood up out of his chair, and then picked it up and threw it at a nearby pair who had been vocally defending Marco.

"Go back to the forest, you Non-Mewman sympathizers!" he bellowed.

And with that, the entire arena descended into a full-scale riot. Audience members and Royal Knights began to fight and argue amongst themselves, and with each other. While many of members of the audience and Royal Knights found themselves falling on either Marco or Jerkius' side, some others seemed to be just taking the chaos as an opportunity to start breaking things.

Kelly completely ignored the chaos erupting all over the arena, and kept her focus trained squarely on Marco. "Hey! Why aren't there any medics down on the field yet!?" she exclaimed, her voice overflowing with desperation and concern.

Sir Lavabo frowned. "...I fear that they may have found themselves 'interrupted' by some of Jerkius' followers... They can quite... Bothersome... At times." he muttered. "...Come. We shall attend to Marco ourselves."

With that, Sir Lavabo pulled a small glass bottle of liquid out from underneath his armor and gently poured its contents over the guardrail. As soon as the liquid touched the ground below, a massive pile of bubbles began to froth up from the dirt. Wasting no time, Lavabo vaulted over the guardrail and bounced off of the pile of bubbles, pulling off a double flip in the air before landing gracefully on his feet.

Kelly quickly followed suit, albeit somewhat less theatrically. Once she was on the battlegrounds, she rushed over to join Lavabo at Marco's side. Upon kneeling down next to her bruised and bloodied friend, she offered him a reassuring smile. "...H-Hey there, Marco Ubaldo Diaz..." she said. "...Lookin' a little rough around the edges, aren't we?"

Marco gave a soft groan and a slow nod. "...Yeah." he muttered, sounding mildly delirious. "...My edges... Have definitely... Been roughed."

"That might be a slight understatement..." muttered Lavabo, as he pulled a small bag out from under his armor and began to rifle through its contents. With an air of impatience, Lavabo finally just poured the contents of the bag out on the ground. Marco slowly raised an eyebrow as he watched Lavabo sort through a rubber duck, several small bottles labeled 'fabric softener', and one labeled 'fabric hardener', along with a pile of clothespins, a scrubbing brush, an expired Goblin Dogs coupon, and finally, a vial of sparkling purple powder.

"I bought this along just in case... And I am most glad that I did..." muttered Lavabo, as he held the vial of purple powder up in front of him. "Now then... Marco... You may want to lay down for this... And, be aware... It may cause you some... Extreme discomfort."

Marco slowly laid himself down in the dirt, with Kelly's help. Before he could even begin to ask what exactly Lavabo meant by 'extreme discomfort', Lavabo suddenly pulled the knife out of side. Marco let out a pained yell, as Lavabo gently pushed Marco's hands to the side and poured the purple powder directly on to his wound. This led to a loud shriek of pain from Marco, as the powder seemed to sizzle and sink into his wound.

Everything around him began to fade into big patches of patches of darkness.

It was a familiar feeling to him by now. But it didn't make it any less disorientating.

Chaos continued to run rampant across the arena. The sounds echoed from all sides. And once again, Marco felt the world around him begin to spin out of control. Marco's eyelids fluttered a little, as he suddenly realized that Kelly and Lavabo were trying to speak to him. But for some reason, he couldn't quite make out the words.

Marco frowned a little and tried to focus. But his brain was too tired.

He had reached his limit. In fact, he had pushed far past it some time ago.

All of a sudden, there was a massive explosion of light from above.

Marco winced, and everyone in the arena suddenly froze. All at once, everyone looked up and gaped in awe as they watched the winged form of their princess hover in the air. Bathed in a brilliant golden glow. Radiating with such incredible power, that it made many in the audience fall to their knees.

This was the power of true royalty.

For a brief moment, Marco wondered if he was dreaming again. A familiar sense of warmth came crashing over his weary frame, and Marco felt his mouth twist into a soft smile. "...Star..." he muttered, as his eyes fluttered closed.

As Star slowly sank to the ground, the golden glow around her suddenly dissipated. And her wings and extra arms seemed to shrink and disappear. Ignoring the wide-eyed stares from all around the arena, Star raced over to Marco, desperately calling his name. As she came to a sliding stop in front of his bloody, unconscious form, she was immediately overwhelmed by a wave of intense emotion. Tears quickly began to form in her eyes, as she turned her attention to Kelly and Lavabo.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" she bellowed. The power of her voice rattled the entire arena with such intensity, that it seemed as though the entire building might collapse in on itself.

There was a long, awkward moment of silence in the arena. Eventually, the silence was broken when Kelly cleared her throat.

"...Well... It's, uh... It's kind of a long story..."

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To be continued...

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(AN: ...Sorry about the awkward ending. I'd originally planned to end this chapter in a different way, but it was already going too long... So, I decided to end it here. This was another very difficult chapter to write, and I'm kinda unsatisfied with its overall quality... Of course, I always feel that way- so it's nothing new.

Anyway- I wrote and then rewrote portions of the chapter several times, and I think this is about as good as I can make it. I apologize if it's a little disappointing.)

(PS: If you wanna read something written by someone with a more talent than me, let me suggest 'Forever' by Ngame, 'Is Different' by realfakedoors, 'The Sign of the Moon' by blackwolfwrites, and 'Uniting Crescents and Stars' by robertkellett. All of these are great Starco stories. And if you're in the mood for Kellco, then, of course, check out 'Marco and Kelly vs The Universe' by Kirdei Antares, if you haven't already.)

(PPS: Also! Someone was kind enough to draw something based on this lil' story! Check out artist ALDAL on DeviantArt. The picture is entitled 'Marcocrushed art', and features Jerkius, Marco, and more!)

(And, as always, special thanks to robertkellett for once again having the patience to deal with me and my long winded story.)

(( Also- I apologize if I've been lax in responding to reviews, as well as reviewing other stories. Unfortunately, writing this chapter has taken up quite a bit of my attention recently. I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, and to all those who continue to do so in the future. It means a lot, and it makes me feel a whole lot better about spending so much time and energy on this thing. Thanks again, and I wish you all the best.))