Now let's go back to Earth for a brief respiro, since we had focused a bit too much on cosmic interdimensional business. What was Marco up to in the past days? Well, for one, we should understand the temporal context of our different worlds.
While Earth and Mewni share the same time-zone, for lack of a better word, the Council's world does not. In fact, it exists beyond that whole universe's time. Therefore how do we "translate" the time passed at the trial for the time passed back on Mewni or Earth…We…can't. It's as if we go to a country we don't know the language of and start blurting out random noises, hoping we can make ourselves understood. Therefore, a random amount of time could pass between Star's depart and her arrival, back on Mewni. It was about a week…
Now, back on track…Summer began. No school for the following three months and nothing but beautiful weather and never ending fun. However, not quite for Marco. For the past days he had been torn between what he should do…Star said she was going to be gone forever, but Scott told him he should start training with his scissors. At first, he didn't give any thought to it. And at first means for the 8 hours he spent asleep. He missed waking up to her usual bathroom antics…the house seemed a lot emptier without her tower, without her as a whole. No more laser puppies scattered around the few rooms of his home, no more random rainbows almost blinding him when he wakes up…No more tedious, yet interesting explanations of how Earth works, no more concepts to clarify…No more awkward moments between the two of them, no more random hugs, nothing of that matter…No more…Star. And that was terrible. The first day it was pretty hard. Usually when one friend moves away, or leaves for an undetermined period of time, they sent you an advance notice, so-to-speak, whereas Star, his best friend, for that matter, just…left. It was all so brisk and sudden, it kind of left a hole in his life. It was as if his parents would've woken up in the middle of the night and tell him they would have to leave forever…
Thankfully, he had a shoulder to cry on and that was Jackie…However there was something that didn't quite fit in there. Even though she listened to his complaints, she seemed absent for most of it. She always advised him to let it go, slowly, and calm down, because he was worrying way too much, and she was right. But it wasn't what he needed to hear for the time being. It's true, you can't get what you wish for with this kind of situation, in terms of support, so…His mind was in a raging war. He couldn't decide whether he could be mad at her or if she was right. His whole world got turned upside down, which…pretty much reversed the consequences of her arrival, in the first place. He was used to his monotone, bland life, in which he was a straight A student, scared of anything new, then along she came, turning him into one resilient man…and now where was he? Endless uncertainty…He was plagued by his own mind, leaving him defenseless against the army of emotions he had to withstand. How can anyone, let alone a crude fourteen year old bear so many changes in such a short span of time? Well, you can't.
Let's get back to the time loops for a second. If a random amount of time is assigned for each event from different "time-zones", this would mean that while the trial was ongoing, time was simply flowing faster on Earth compared to that of the Council's dimension…It was at the point when Star was summoned to the stand and Scott saw Enigma's sickening grin that he thought he should have a fail-safe ready, a back-up should things take a turn for the worse. Not even surrounded by entirely magic beings, Scott didn't lose his wit and, unbeknownst of the Council, he sent a note to Marco, describing the dire situation he was in…It was one of the most detailed notes, he had ever written.
"Dear Marco, I am writing this to you after such a terrible and sudden separation for I am at the moment in peril of perishing. Forgive my incredibly condescending vocabulary, as I tend to devolve into this completely elevated jargon in times of great stress.
Star is going to be left completely alone in an undisclosed location, that unfortunately doesn't appear on any charts or maps and its coordinates are unknown to anyone, but myself and unfortunately I am bound to not divulge them…I strongly urge you to use your dimensional scissors and go to Hekapoo, who will be more than thrilled to help you understand the difficult art of dimensional hopping.
Ignore my impervious and utterly abysmal fate, and heed my advice at once. It is of utmost importance that you do as I said, and, should you fail to do so…I cannot guarantee the well-being of our beloved princess…I bid you a possible farewell, Marco Diaz. And good luck."
That was exactly what he needed. The carrot on a stick hanging in front of him that would guide him to his purpose…However, there was an enormous problem to this. What would he tell Jackie? It would seem a bit strange to go after a friend of yours and put so much effort into it, wouldn't it…?
"No, dude, it's fine. Go for it!" Jackie encouraged him to follow Scott's advice.
"You serious? You're actually ok with this?" Marco asked, eyes wide open.
"Of course! I mean it's amazing the connection you two have and seeing the effort you put in restoring your friendship, is like…amazing." Jackie was not a person to add subtext to her words, she just spoke her mind out. She meant every single phrase coming out of her mouth, and that stupefied Marco, as he heard what she was saying.
"You're the best girlfriend ever!" he said, hugging her tight, afterwards running to his home to get his dimensional scissors.
"Oh…Marco," Jackie sighed happily, when her boyfriend was too far to hear her. She then grabbed her skateboard and zoomed off.
Back at the Diaz household, Marco was frantically looking for the important item. However, he didn't seem quite capable of finding it, given the fact that, despite his impeccable system, there was an enormous gap where the scissors should be, as if they were…stolen. He checked under his bed, even, putting aside his hatred towards disorder…That was something.
But, be that as it may, there weren't any dimensional scissors anywhere, so logically, the conclusion was to ask his parents…Needless to say that they didn't know anything about it, since they are not really the most present people…Still, he had to think this through. He had to backtrack his steps, retracing all his steps from the moment he left Hekapoo's world. He remembered relying on Star's pair of scissors for the rest of their time together, never actually using his except for one time, when he was drunk with their power and opened up a bunch of portals, like he did before Hekapoo noticed… Bottom line, his scissors should've been resting comfortably in their drawer, where he had put them in the first place. Someone had tampered with them…
However, Marco found something strange about this situation…Scott didn't usually make mistakes, therefore if he told him to search for something, this must mean that he knew that he still had them somewhere thrown away for safekeeping…He never really understood why he preferred to leave those notes. It seemed extremely gratuitous, but he had to admit they got his point across. Wait…the note. He recalled the time when, while being in class, Scott communicated with him through his notebook. Maybe, should he write back to him, his friend would point him on the right track.
"Problem. I can't find them anywhere…"
Now it was all about waiting. He stood on his bed, counting seconds as the piece of paper before his eyes didn't have any new lines added to it. The note stood as empty as he left it, and it was bound to stay like that for some time, since Scott was now questioning Star, even though several hours had passed between him sending the note and Marco's answer. Time-zones are amazing aren't they? Especially when what they do is just add fuel to a raging fire of desire to be reunited with a lost friend...
His mind started going haywire. He couldn't help going through the entire scene of his separation from Star. He wondered whether he was to blame in any way. Even though, Star herself didn't give any details…Scott blurted out a name, a familiar one for that matter. Was Toffee behind all this? He said, that the demon was more powerful than ever, but he couldn't really see why she had to leave…Ludo was also more powerful than they ever saw him be, yet Star didn't need to go back to Mewni, so what gives? A bad thought crossed his mind for a second…What if it was Scott who did that? He was alone with her for a long time…maybe she was severely influenced. But he immediately removed this from his head as the trust in his friends returned to him…However, that wicked little neuronal connection was put on the back burner.
His mind was now processing Scott's first note…What was it with people and their limitless vagueness? He didn't say what problems he was having, but rather he had begged him to follow some baseless advice. The more he thought of it, the more it seemed to Marco that Scott was trying to hide something...Plus, he said that where the two of them were hiding was in a fully undisclosed location, that he, himself, couldn't divulge in order to help him…Why would he do that? Wouldn't it be in his best interest to give all the possible details? There was an unsettling shady business going on and…somehow it felt that the dimensional scissors would be the first piece of the puzzle, needed to uncover this mystery.
It was getting late and Marco was just now getting in bed…It was at this time that Scott had already been thrown into the abyss, but the wonders of time-zones conferred him a Deus Ex-Machina…It was the universe's way of showing its grief and to apologize for its mistakes…the delay between Scott's exile and his death made this possible…
Marco was dreaming, being carried away in the obscure world, Freud had discovered a long time ago. However, it wasn't the filled with symbols as dreams used to be, it was rather…obvious. It probably had something to do with Scott being present…
"Marco, listen…I don't have much time to explain…"
"What? Why?"
"Because by the time you receive this message and your subconscious processes it, I may be dead."
"WHAT!?HOW!?" Marco yelled inside his dream.
"No time to explain, Marco. Please…Your scissors were stolen by StarFan13, when she found out that Star left. It served as a memento of her time on Earth. You will be able to open Hekapoo's portal after you repeat what you did when you first got to her. Tell her that you need help and that I sent you…She should be able to put two and two together. I still cannot tell you where to find Star, for reasons, I again am unable to disclose, but…I can tell you that you should look for…"
And just like that…with an annoyingly and mindboggling timing…Scott faded away. Marco woke up. He could cry, realizing what happened, but instead he went back to sleep, trying to hold his composure…Why would Star and Scott need a whiny crybaby at the moment?
First thing, next morning, Marco was beating at StarFan13's door in order to acquire his much needed item. He didn't wait to get back home, he just opened random portals all over the place, in order to make Hekapoo's appear. When he saw the orange glow of the Committee's lady's home world, he didn't hesitate to step in.
"What are you doing here, boy? You need anything?"
"Training. As fast as you can."
"Why should I do that? You gotta figure things out yourself…"
"Scott is dead, and he said that I am the only one who can protect the princess."
Hekapoo's eyes widened and her flame grew bigger. Shook, she answered with a tremor in her voice…
"V-very well." And just like that she disappeared into thin air, spawning three portals in her place. "Find me, and your training begins. Just like the old times."
Marco stepped into the middle one and he was gone…
Meanwhile, Star was back home crying her eyes out…She couldn't believe that Scott died and now her loneliness and grief only grew bigger and bigger as time passed by. For hours, her thoughts were plagued by this unsettling feeling of despair and sorrow…And for good reason…Now that there was truly no one left for her apart from her mother, God knows where in relation to where she was now. She was alone, isolated, scared and what-not…After such a long time spent sulking on Scott's bed, she decided it was enough. She rose to her feet, still deeply hurt and destroyed and headed towards Scott's book.
She looked at the inanimate object with an empty glare…That was the cause of her losing her last bit of hope. That was why she had lost a dear friend, one who had cared for her and her family for ages…Raising her wand, she stuttered a spell, whose effect sent the 'history' flying across the room, burning its pages and tearing its worn out cover apart. With another, more powerful blast she completely obliterated the cause of her grief. Then, she dropped her wand and she fell to her feet with it, being flooded by another river of emotions…
It wasn't the book's fault. It was hers, and she knew it well. It was only because of her childish curiosity and her carelessness that Scott died. If she hadn't opened its pages and recited those faithful words, maybe she would still have had her friend sitting next to her…Even if she saw the warning, Star knew that Scott's advice would've gone unheeded as always, given her affinity towards rules…
She rose back to her feet and, with shaky steps, made her way towards the small table. Star turned on the little lamp and used it in order to find a book to read…she was looking for a spell book. Surely there was one in his enormous library, right? However, most of the titles were written in a language she couldn't understand…The handwriting resembled that of Mewnians, but it was indecipherable… After a bit of thorough research, she had found a little book, with an intelligible title: "Advanced and Dangerous Bits of Ancient Magic"
She opened the book, only to find an enormous piece of paper, filled with Scott's handwriting…She knew that Scott was an extremely intelligent boy and that he had precautions on top of precautions to swing at, but this was…excessive…
"This is for you, Star. You are probably reading this, because something bad had happened to me. Either I was kidnapped by evil forces, taken back by my creators and leaders, or…worse. Anyway, should any of this be the case, I have devised this plan as a failsafe or a backup. This is an extremely comprehensive book, comprising a multitude of powerful spells. Do not mind the danger part…It wasn't quite meant for you, but still, it would be nice if you would take care of that. We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now, right? This is one of the multiple books, you will have to study, in order to defeat Toffee. Other important titles are, well, on the same shelf. I had also alphabetized them, for easy use. Now, don't be discouraged, if you can't study them all, or learn everything. It's important to get as much knowledge as you can over the time we have left…Toffee will attack at the end of Earth's summer, or in precisely 57 days, from when we've moved in this castle. Until then, you should focus on nothing but your training…If I am not going to be there to help, it might seem difficult and unbearable, but I trust that you will not get discouraged…
Look, Star, I know that the situation seems dire. Your love was a complete fail, your duties are bigger than ever, a great evil had appeared, with a target on your head and now, you've lost your last friend…And I am sorry for that. But…and I am going to be grasping at straws here…I believe in you. You had gotten back from losing your wand, albeit you had gotten it back instantly, you had recovered from losing your spell-book and your mentor and you had put up pretty well with losing your crush and friend. You had built more character in a couple of weeks, than I had in two millennia. I admire you for that. You must pull through this thing too, Star…And after that, I promise there will be nothing else like that…And, I always keep my promises…
Good luck, Star Butterfly…And take care of yourself…"
Star smiled after she had finished reading…with a sad, yet slightly relieved sigh, she said out loud:
"I pulled through these things…But I can't forget…losing you." A tear fell from her left eye. She wiped it off and, still smiling bitterly, she started flipping through the pages of the book…
"I want to know why you came here, boy, "Toffee asked the translucent ghost that appeared in front of him.
"Would you now? Well, I thought that you'd be glad to see me before I die. I projected my consciousness in this temporary form for you to gloat."
"Like you had ever died, Saturn…Those nosey beings you call leaders wouldn't allow it."
"To be that stubborn, Toffee. Don't you ever get tired of your arrogance?"
"Hear me out, Saturn…I had always appreciated your neutral nature. You were made from the same mold as the old man, yet you…fell."
"Your compliment is there, but it's empty. I fell, because of my nature…I'm only human after all. Don't put the blame on me, put it on whoever made me this way…Why don't you review that for once, Toffee? You had died countless times just because you had glossed over this tiny detail. You're impressive and yet so…foolish."
"Reviews? Why would I care for that? I had to die in order to be reborn…It's just my destiny. I do not play into evil's hands because I want to, but because I have to. I can't change what it's written for me, so I just roll with it. It's easier to swim in the current, than against it. Foolish, you say? Saturn, you are the fool here, for you had thought you could change your fate…You tried so hard to do so and look where it brought you. Was it worth it?" Toffee saw the ghost before him fading away, so he answered his question himself. "No, it was not…And it all started when you decided to refuse my offer, which, by your own rules, you had to accept. I feel nothing but pity for you, mortal. Farewell."
And with that last goodbye, Scott faded away…the last bit of his existence was now gone…forever.
(Hidden message inbound! Try reading the first words of the last dialogue. And try not to destroy me. Please)