It was the night after the heartbreaking concert. Marco was sound asleep, his snores being heard by the two other underage residents of the household that were not deep in slumber. Scott was downstairs, writing notes into his rugged diary, while Star was lying in bed, unable to close her eyes, deep in thought. It wasn't anything in particular, just that Sandman was avoiding her at the moment. She got up, grabbed her dimensional scissors, opened a portal and, without getting dressed, jumped to a random dimension.

Scott felt that and without any more thought he went to her room, to inspect what's wrong. When he saw the room empty, he immediately pulled out his notebook. Now that he didn't have control over all the dimensions, because his selves were reunited, he had to rely on deduction work in order to find out where she went. Even though he lost his knowledge, he regained his humanity…He accompanied every crossing out of a layer of reality with a heavy sigh, unable to not show his grief. He knew he had a lot of mistakes on his résumé that involved lying and deceiving, but now he felt as if he had the opportunity to erase his wrongs. After only one dimension remained available, he closed his diary with a loud thud and opened another portal, through which he stepped in.

The other end of the portal was not the sight he was hoping to behold. An immense cave opened before his eyes, but he knew that it wasn't a natural occurrence. The edges of the entrance were faintly glimmering with a green light. Scott knew what that meant and decided that he had to hurry up. Without murmuring any words, he casted a spell that shone an extremely powerful light, that split up between the cave's long and sinuous corridors. After a while, the light faded and Scott ran into the darkness.

It wasn't long until echoes of destruction had been picked up by Scott's keen sense of hearing. They did nothing but signal that he was close, as he already knew where he was headed. The blasts were completely unrelated, there was no pattern to them, but they all shared the green glimmer he saw at the beginning of the cave… However, the shade was significantly lighter, telling Scott that the explosions were fresh. After another short while he could literally see the source of all the damage done to the mountain. A skinny, blonde haired girl, bearing a magical wand, her identity needless to state.

She was ready to cast another blast, but a protective bubble contained it. Startled, Star turned around to face the intruder:

"What do you want…?" she said visibly saddened that he had followed her.

"Right now, or long-term?" he answered with an unusual degree of sarcasm in his voice.

"Now," she replied losing her usual gleeful tone.

"Well, first off to stop you, then to help you solve your problems, because that's what I got sent here for."

"And how should I know that you're telling the truth?"

"Beg pardon?"

"You heard me…"

"Yes, and I didn't understand what you meant."

"Great, then smarty-boy," she said, undoubtedly overcome with the need to be alone," let me clear it out for you… I just realized something about you, you know? You came in our lives, preaching that you would help me, but you've done nothing about that. You did nothing but confuse me even more and all you said was unclear and…"

"Lies," he interrupted her. "I lied to you, to your mother, to Marco, and I did it on purpose," he continued in his regular monotone voice.

"Great, you stand by my point. Now, if you are nothing but full of lies, then please tell me why should I trust you?"

He said nothing. It was true, and for the moment, despite having most of his mind intact and memories complete, he had nothing to help him out of this situation. That was until he decided to stop thinking and just act on instinct…go with the flow. He teleported right near her, but that did nothing but make Star fire a surprised blast, that missed him by an inch. They both recoiled and were now staying about 6 feet one from another. Seeing that blinking towards her did nothing but strike fear, he decided to go for a slower approach. Scott walked until she was sitting at arm's length from him, grabbed her hand, and looking her in the eyes, whispered:

"My name is Scott. I am nothing but a human who stumbled upon a bunch of magical powers and assumed the role of a protector to your family in order to honor his father, who served the Butterfly royal line as a trusty general. I had been trained in my accidentally learned skill by a spell caster who couldn't have been more luckily found. I am nothing but a fraud that has been perpetuating for generations now, due to a curse and here I am now, exposing myself to the most powerful princess there is and the only one to surpass me in power, ever. This is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth."

Star was a bit surprised at first, but it faded away instantly…

"This doesn't move me in the least."

"Then let me continue. I did all this, because it worked before with your mother and her mother before that. They were weaker, brainwashed princesses who retained little to nothing of their personality. Their defining trait was the only one left and it was amplified to extreme lengths. I failed to protect your most prized possessions twice, both the wand and the book, being damaged or stolen, while I was yawning, unaware of that. Only when Glossaryck reached out to me, I had started taking action. I was nothing but a still inexperienced teacher and immature person, even if I lived for hundreds of years, because of the aforementioned magical being. Therefore, I split myself into many other selves in order to better understand the problem, but it only made it worse, because I lost sight of everything. Only recently, I had regained my senses and saw all the trouble I had caused."

"Again, this doesn't warm me in the least…" Star said copying his bland tone.

"I've only got one more point, that's bound to change this," he said trying to sound funny. "I knew my duty from the very point I exposed it to your mother. However, I had nothing." His voice was shaking as if he was on the brink of crying, but he still had a firm grip on himself. "I desperately tried to mask my incompetence by showing off my varied set of powers, that, although were extensively trained, were nothing close to yours. My alternate versions have tried once to get a grip on what you feel, but they both managed to barely graze the surface. I failed miserably and I'm here now because I want to prove that a plethora of wrongs can make a right…So please…Let me help you now so that you can help me…"

Star had shook her hand from his, and turned her back to him. Scott however could see that she was shaking, but it wasn't clear to any of them why. She faced him again and with a cold smile on her lips, charged a blast. Scott's eyes widened as he finally realized what had happened to her after the concert…She had been corrupted and torn apart by her envy and sadness. Scott, however was only surprised, not scared. He knew what to do in order to return her to her usual path. He summoned a portal on the ceiling of the cave and a mattress right below it, predicting that Marco will be falling from the sky.

The second he appeared, Star's colorless eyes returned to their delightful blue hue. Now he knew a sign of her insanity…

"You calmed down, now?"

"WHERE THE HECK AM I?" she yelled almost waking Marco up, had Scott not already being in the process to send him back.

"You're in a random dimension, because you were overcome with grief and jealousy and let them control you…Literally."

"Ummm…really?"

"Yeah…Now, since you have no memory of what I told you and since you're under a lot of stress, let me just say that I'm going to try and solve your problems, right here, right now…First off, a healthier environment."

Without letting Star say anything he transported them both on top of the mountain, Star had destroyed within. The view was…breathtaking. The blue moon shining, surrounded by a crown of stars, the soft soothing sound of the forest…Tranquility reigned over the land. Scott hoped that it would be a perfect place for his psychotherapy.

"So…Star…how do I put it…? What's up with you and Marco?"

"We're friends, best friend for that matter…"

"And you are ok, with that?"

"I am fine," she said, but her eye twitching signaling she was lying, hard.

"Yeah, what happened before pretty much says you're hiding the truth…"

"Yeah, I don't think so…"

"So, you're perfectly ok with the following: You had tried to make Jackie feel included into your shenanigans, while you, yourself had been left out. You had been completely crushed by Marco, and even though he tried to make sure you're ok with it, you pushed him away…over and over again. You were completely unable to face the music, as it only amplified your grief and sadness, and you still enjoyed it even though it sang your life, filled with angst as it was. You tried to destroy a symbol of you and Marco's 'thing' while you lied to yourself…saying continuously that you were fine… You believed and didn't believe that you felt nothing and this is what is eating you, tearing you to shreds…Did I get that right?"

Scott's keen hearing suddenly went deaf. He couldn't hear his "protégée" sobbing, but he could feel her warm tears wetting his arm. Now that he was complete again, he knew how to react. He hugged her, sitting in utter silence as she slowly let her feelings get the best of her…Her cries grew louder and more painful, not seeming that she would stop anytime soon, but without any warning she raised her head, and still crying, mumbled to him:

"How do… you… know that?"

"I've lied a lot in the past: to you, to your mother, but I didn't lie when I said I will help you face your feelings. Even though, you are aware of them, you choose to ignore them…cover them up, consciously so. Why is that?"

In-between sobs, she found the time to answer.

"I…don't know."

"Well, do you want to know what I think?" He sounded mean, but that was unintentionally.

"S…sure," she stuttered, her weeping slowing down.

"I think that you are completely unsure of what you feel and that you choose to live in an eternal warzone. You are the battlefield and your emotions are the combatants. You don't know whether or not you want you and Marco to be "Just Friends"," he said using air quotes," or something else. This insecurity is amplified whenever Jackie enters the picture, because she is a known romantic interest. Since you've dated before you know how it goes, and so you're scared that you will lose your friend to someone else, but at the same time you are afraid that you will lose him as…well, Marco."

"I am not sure I follow you…"

"Well, then let me put it this way, then… I would like you to explicitly state what you feel towards Marco, as simple as that."

Star paused for a while, preparing for what would blow Scott's mind…

"It's NOT as simple as that, Scott…I could say what I feel, but, you said it…I don't know it. I don't know what I am thinking, I don't know how I'm feeling, I don't know anything… Ever since the world decided to crash down on me, I am completely lost…Every day, I try to stay happy and positive, and it works for some time, but when involuntarily I remember…all of this, I just…tune down. And so Star becomes a shooting star, falling through the night sky… I can't tell what triggers this, but I know it's there…It's this uncertainty that's bugging me and is…destroying me. I don't think I can stop it, but…you might be able to…Please…help me."

Her voice was filled with sorrow and it could make even a stone cry…But Scott didn't know what to say to solve this. He admitted to it, but this didn't change anything. As the silence between them grew more awkward his mind grew emptier…He didn't experience anything like this before. He was fourteen in appearance and in frame of mind, but he was also hundreds of years old, which distanced him from a lot of teen angst. Plus, he was trained by Glossaryck, so his social skills and emotional knowledge were limited from the start. He tried to fill in the holes, but this doesn't mean he succeeded in doing so… He had a pretty astounding understanding of the human psychology, but relationships went far beyond… Remaining out of options he tried logical reasoning…which lead to him saying this:

"Have you tried…you know…coming clean?"

"What?"

"Y'know…confessing this?"

"No…I can't do that…"

"Why…? I think it's the only option…"

"Duuuuude," she said imitating Jackie's voice. "He's got a girlfriend…you know, like a relationship?" She was using her usual gestures to articulate, meaning that she was back to her regular self. "Saying this would, just make things more awkward…" She also adopted a different position, resting her feet comfortably on his lap, as she was staring at the clear night sky.

"Then…duuuuuude, you'll be in a lot of awkwardness, but you'll have to do it… You can't fight the great evil, while you are completely out of control…Oh." That oh, was foreshadowing her answer.

"Oh, really? I'd say I've done a pretty good job for the past six months…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but…still. You can't say that you're not scared that sometime you will completely snap, right? It happened now, but what is the guarantee that it won't happen when we are fighting? Plus, even the fact that it happened is extremely worrying…"

Star didn't answer. She just stood there, silently stargazing.

"Why do you think this is all happening now?"

"Umm…Ugh…" Scott stammered as if he was avoiding to answer the question. Star took note of that.

"You know it don't you?"

"Umm…yeah, I do," he said disappointed. "I am kinda not allowed to tell you this…"

"Why?"

"Star, I mess with timelines regularly…I have an immense track record for disturbing them and derailing their course, without creating another one…which is bad. At the moment, hindsight is going to be unforgivable…Plus, jumping through Father's work grants me a pretty decent amount of foresight and that is literally strictly forbidden, there is no way…" he got silenced by a playful kick in the stomach.

"Stop derailing and answer me…" she said still lost in the constellations up above.

"Fine…But I am putting my butt on the line for that, FYI. Remember Tom's plan?"

"Tom's plan…? Umm…oh, yeah. He tried to dance with me under the Blood Moon at the ball, so our souls would…bind," she said recreating the binding gesture.

"Remember how it worked out?"

"Yeah, I danced with Marco, and the he got angry and …WHAT?"

"It took you only 5 months…" Scott said jokingly and mockingly at the same time.

"So, you mean…the Blood Moon…the ball…the dance…"

"Yep, they all tied up, eventually."

"So…it's not my fault? So you're telling me, that…"

"It is…" however, her apparent victory was blocking her from hearing him.

"It's nothing but a curse, and that I…"

"Star, it's your fault…" she was on the brink of exploding, so she let her have her moment.

"I am not actually a bad person! Yaaaaaaaaay!" She said, while shaking joyfully from every joint, like a kid who just won at a crane game.

"You done?"

"Almost," she said while shooting a pink blast in the sky that exploded causing a matrix of fireworks. It was her way of announcing the defeat of her insecurity. Scott was now actually wondering whether or not he should tell her. On the one hand she was now extremely happy and maybe his quest would finally end, but on the other hand it could recoil and backfire, destroying his work so far. He chose the mature side and decided to…:

"STAR!" he said shaking her, so that she would come to her senses.

"YES!" she answered mimicking his gestures.

"You are still to blame, you know…This curse thing doesn't mean that you have no fault…"

"I don't see how this could be…"

"Well, let me give you a brief history over that demonic blood moon, whose effects are the only one not to be capable of being countered…yet. It binds the souls of two people together…but it's not that kind of bond…but it could be… I don't know how to put it…It's not a romantic kind of thing. It can become one, but it isn't bound to happen…So the fact that you chose to let it go on this path…It's still your fault…"

"Oh, okay then…"

"Wait…you're not sad?"

"No, why would I be?"

"Because you can't justify your feelings through a curse anymore?"

"What?" she asked surprised only to immediately realize what he meant." Oh, I wasn't happy about that… I was actually glad that I finally got some closure, you know? Getting a grip on the situation," she said with her usual playful voice.

"Huh…Well, I guess this is pretty much it…Welp, I can only conclude that today was an extremely productive session. Oh, by the way, say hello to your Mom, she's been watching us through that seemingly cleverly hidden eye in that bush."

As he said that, the eye started to shiver as if it were an actual being. Scott lifted it up in the air and they both laughed at how clumsily he was struggling to escape.

"You know, Moon, if you want to keep an eye on me, I can do that, but I would like to know it, first, not being forced to notice your…pathetic attempt. "

"Hi, mooom" Star yelled from behind Scott, waving her arms frantically trying to grab the attention of her viewer.

Crushing the eye on a rock, Scott jumped from the ledge the two had and helped his friend down too. Without saying anything to each other the two returned to their own dimension. Their last interaction for the day was a friendly "Good night" followed by Star's door slamming behind her.